Adrienne Bailon-Houghton is an actress, singer, and Emmy award-winning television presenter. … [+]
Adrienne Bailon-Houghton is an actress, singer, and Emmy award-winning television presenter. The real one. Bailon-Houghton rose to fame as a member of the girl group 3LW and later became a star. The Cheetah Girls films. In this interview, Bailon-Houghton sat down to discuss her new relationship with Adobe Acrobat and share how she prioritizes her mental health and well-being. He also offered advice to business owners, especially multinationals, as we await the global recession.
Janice Gassam Asare: You recently partnered with Adobe Acrobat to launch the Chief Home Officer Kit. Can you talk more about that?
Adrienne Bailon-Houghton: Honestly, this for me was the beginning of a natural partnership and much bigger than that. Such an honor because I’ve been using Adobe Acrobat for so long, on so many of my projects that I can relate to it… it’s honestly been a lifesaver for me. Many of us are now working from home and we are Senior Executives, including myself, being an entrepreneur and running my brand, including my two businesses, XIXI, my jewelry company, LA VOÛTE, my fashion company, and then on top of that, and the renovation of the house.
A runner: Can you explain a little about how it works?
Bailon-Houghton: Of course. What I love is that you can create your own templates here and that’s a lot of what I’ve done. I made my daily plan with the things I needed. And I love that the program allows you to create whatever you want, regardless of budget. I know many of us have used Acrobat and don’t even realize it. There are things that have been sent to us… whether it’s a source code The real one, they will certainly send such things. I love that our team can work together and get them together…it’s so important.
You can use this to create templates, which is what I did. When I’m looking at things, I have a team of three other people who are my brand manager, Lana…and I also have a photographer and a creative director for my brand. The amazing thing is that they can all log into Adobe Acrobat and they can see when I change the order… My daily planning starts with, what do I appreciate? I also incorporate mental health into my daily routine. Don’t just go, go, go, here are the things you need to accomplish, but what are the things that motivate me to accomplish those things?
A runner: That’s the best part of my next question, which is, as a public figure who has to be ‘on’ all the time, how do you prioritize your health and well-being?
Bailon-Houghton: That’s the same; you have to make it a priority. Carve out days and times where you put you and your mental health first. I think it was about a year ago that Lana and I sat down and said, listen, we’re tired. We’re in a boring culture right now… I really like that grilling culture is turning its ugly head when we’re now seeing memes that are like, no, it’s not all about, ‘I’m rocking,’ I’m walking. I can’t stop, I can’t.’ No, please stop. Please stop for a moment and give yourself a moment to relax, so you can prioritize your mental health. We started to schedule time for my health. On my weekly schedule, we saw everything. We were thinking where we could do everything and then we said, you need a day off. So, I take one day a week…that is, nothing can be done in one day. And it wasn’t always the same because obviously it’s a tough schedule, there were people who were like, ‘no, we need you on Saturday, so you can’t leave on Saturday.’ And maybe it was Tuesday that I left. I like the saying, if it’s not planned, it’s not done. Put in your time, an hour, two hours, a whole day if you want. I wanted a full day…one full day a week, that I could dedicate to my family, to my health and to myself. We make sure this is in my calendar… it’s in my plan.
“Even in the economic crisis and the pandemic… you have to be willing to wait … [+]
A runner: So, speaking of mental health and well-being… I’d like to know more about the strategies you’ve been using throughout your career. What strategies have helped you succeed throughout your career?
Bailon-Houghton: I have to say, I am very grateful and lucky to have a wonderful family. For me, my family is like that. I’ve been given wings to fly because I know I have a solid foundation…having a foundation of people who don’t expect me to be amazing all the time. They don’t have expectations of me that I have to live up to. I think sometimes that kind of stress can be exhausting and overwhelming and scary and it can lead to anxiety and depression when you’re like, oh my God, all these people are counting on me, all these people are expecting this from me. me. I am so grateful that I have lived with people who expect me to be healthy mentally, physically and happily.
They are the kind of people we should surround ourselves with. Being mentally happy means that I will have the ability to create things… to achieve my dreams… so for me, I like to work. Working for me is discovery. I have a creative career…I think the most important thing is to be with people who support your dreams, support your goals and ultimately want to see you happy and want to see you healthy. And they are with you in good times and bad. And that they lift you up no matter what.
A runner: Of course. I like that. The last question I had was…we are still dealing with this epidemic…we are about to get into trouble. Do you have any advice for women entrepreneurs of color trying to navigate this uncertain space we’re in?
Bailon-Houghton: I think if you look at your life and yours…whatever you like, what is missing? What do people need now? And I think that’s where people’s businesses have thrived. You see a recession coming. What cheap things we can give to the people who love them actually importance? As the coming recession brings fear, what are the things we can offer to people that are now giving them peace of mind? As designers and entrepreneurs and business people, you can find ways to use these difficult times in a good way to help people… think about what you want at this time.
With the Adobe Acrobat planner I created, for me I feel like I can get very stressed when I think about all the things I have to do. If I’m being honest, I had no idea that remodeling my house would be so expensive and that there would be so many delays. And that was very difficult for me. The only way it made it better was to create a spreadsheet that allowed me to see and know, okay, so these things are coming this month. Well, these are things I have to look forward to. And it gave me something to look forward to. Even in a recession and even a pandemic, and even though all these things are happening, you have to give yourself something to look forward to. If we are financially vulnerable, as business people, let’s start thinking about how we can reduce the costs and make it cheaper for ourselves and consumers. Meeting people’s needs in difficult times is the key.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
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