Adrienne Bailon-Houghton is an actress, singer, and Emmy awarding-winning host of the hit TV show ... [+]
Adrienne Bailon-Houghton is an actress, singer, and Emmy awarding-winning host of the hit TV show The Real. Bailon-Houghton originally rose to fame as a member of the girl group 3LW and then later starred in The Cheetah Girls films. In this interview, Bailon-Houghton sat down to discuss a new partnership with Adobe Acrobat and shared how she prioritizes her mental health and wellbeing. She also offered advice to business owners, and particularly entrepreneurs of color, as we brace for a possible global recession.
Janice Gassam Asare: You recently partnered with Adobe Acrobat to launch the Chief Home Officer Kit. Could you talk more about that?
Adrienne Bailon-Houghton: Honestly, this to me was first of all such an organic partnership and bigger than that. Such an honor because I've been using Adobe Acrobat for such a long time, for so many of my projects that just to be able to partner with them...they've honestly been a lifesaver to me. So many of us are now working from home and we are our very own Chief Home Officers, including myself, being an entrepreneur and literally running my own brand, plus my two businesses, XIXI, my jewelry company, LA VOÛTE, my fashion company, and then on top of that, also the renovations of the house.
Asare: Can you explain a little bit about how it works?
Bailon-Houghton: Absolutely. What I love is that you actually can create your own templates here and that's pretty much what I've done. I actually created my own daily planner with the things that I need. And I love that the software actually allows you to create whatever it is that you need, whether it's budgeting. I know so many of us have used Acrobat and don't even realize it. There are things that we've been sent...whether it's a schedule from The Real, they've definitely sent that sort of stuff. I love the fact that our team can actually collaborate and access them together…that's super important.
You can use this to create templates, which is what I did. As I'm checking things off, I have a team of three other people which is my brand manager, Lana…and I also have a graphic designer and also a creative director of my brand. The awesome thing is that they are all able to log into Adobe Acrobat and they can see when I've updated the planner…you can personalize it on so many levels. My daily planner starts with, what am I grateful for? I also include mental health in my daily planners. Just not go, go, go, here's the things you’ve got to accomplish, but what are the things that motivate me to get those things accomplished?
Asare: That's actually a really great segue into my next question, which is, as someone in the public eye who has to constantly be ‘on’, how do you prioritize your mental health and wellbeing?
Bailon-Houghton: It's exactly that; you have to make it a priority. Carving out days and times where you just put you and your mental health in first place. I think it was about a year ago that myself and Lana sat down and said, listen, we're going to burnout. We are in such a burnout culture right now...I actually love that the burnout culture is turning its ugly head on itself where now we're seeing memes that are like, no, everything is not about, ‘I'm hustling, I'm hustling. Can't stop, won't stop.’ No, please stop. Please stop for a second and give yourself a moment so that you do not burn out, so that you can prioritize your mental health. We actually started scheduling time for my mental health. On my weekly schedule, we'd look at everything. We'd figure out where we'd do anything and then we'd say, you need a day off. So, I would take one day off a week…that was, literally nothing would get scheduled on that one day. And it wasn't always the same because obviously with a demanding schedule, there were people that were like, ‘no, we need you on Saturday, so you can't take Saturday off.’ And maybe it was the Tuesday that I was able to take off. I love the saying that says, if it doesn't get scheduled, it doesn't get done. Putting into your scheduled time, an hour, two hours, a whole day if you need it. I needed a whole day...just one whole day a week, that I can dedicate to my family, to my mental health and to myself. We make sure that is in my calendar...it is in my planner.
"Even in a recession and even in a pandemic...you have to give yourself something to look forward ... [+]
Asare: So, speaking of mental health and mental wellbeing...I want to learn more about the support systems that you've utilized throughout your career. What support systems have allowed you to thrive throughout your career?
Bailon-Houghton: I have to say, I really, really am grateful and I am so fortunate that I have an incredible family. For me, my family really is that. I've always been given wings to soar because I know that I have a strong foundation…having a foundation of people that don't expect me to be amazing all the time. They don't have expectations of me that I have to hold myself up to. I think sometimes that kind of pressure can be really draining and really difficult and really scary and can cause anxiety and depression when you're like, oh my God, all these people are depending on me, all these people are expecting this certain thing from me. I'm really grateful that I've surrounded myself with people who, their expectations of me are to be healthy mentally, physically, and to be happy.
That's the kind of people we need to surround ourselves with. Being mentally happy does mean that I get to have a creative outlet…that I get to pursue my dreams…so for me, I do love working. Working for me is an outlet. I have a creative job…I think the key is to have people who support your dreams, support your goals and ultimately want to see you happy and want to see you healthy. And they're with you in the good times and the bad times. And that they uplift you no matter what.
Asare: Absolutely. I love that. The last question I had was…we're still dealing with the pandemic…we're about to enter a recession. Do you have any advice for women of color entrepreneurs trying to juggle this space of uncertainty that we are in?
Bailon-Houghton: I think when you look at your own life and your own...whatever it is that you're passionate about, what is the need? What are people needing right now? And I think that's when people's businesses have really flourished. You're seeing a recession is coming. What kind of affordable things can we provide to people that they actually need? As a recession’s coming and that brings panic, what kind of things can we provide for people that now give them a pocket of peace? As creatives and entrepreneurs and business people, you can actually find ways to use these hard times in a positive way to help people to...think of what it is that you would want during this time.
With the Adobe Acrobat planner that I created, for me I feel like I can get very anxious when I think of all the things I have to do. If I'm honest, I had no idea that the renovations of my home were going to be so costly and that there was going to be so much delay. And that was really rough for me. The only way it made it better was to create this spreadsheet that really allowed me to see and know, okay, so these things are coming in this month. Okay, these are the things I should be expecting. And it gave me something to look forward to. Even in a recession and even in a pandemic, and even with all of these things going on, you have to give yourself something to look forward to. If we're in a recession, as business people, let's start thinking about how we can cut those costs down and make it cost effective for ourselves and also our consumer. Tapping into the needs of people during hard times is definitely the key.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
