In the “women helping women” category, here’s a good one: On Sunday at the 2019 Grammy Awards, sister act Chloe X Halle delivered a standout, soulful rendition of Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack’s “Where is the Love.” But it might not have happened without a little help from Queen Bey.
Chloe Bailey, 20, and Halle Bailey, 18, are rising stars (you might have noticed them singing “America the Beautiful” at the Super Bowl). Their journey to the Grammy stage, and to nominations for Best New Artist and Best Urban Contemporary Album, actually began on YouTube.
As teens, the sisters regularly shared covers of pop songs, always sung in perfect harmony. Then, in 2015, they shared their rendition of Beyonce’s “Pretty Hurts” — and won the attention of the superstar herself.
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Beyonce signed the Baileys to her record label, Parkwood Entertainment, in a reported $1 million deal, and invited them to open every show in the European leg of her 2016 Formation World Tour. They even got the chance to be in Bey’s “Lemonade” music video.
“We were all saying, ‘What a time to be alive,’” Halle told Rolling Stone. “Just to even witness somebody like Beyoncé make such a statement and invite us … how lucky are we?”
Chloe X Halle have since released several songs and an album, in addition to landing roles as series regulars on the ABC series “Grown-ish.”
While luck may have something to do with it, we’re seeing more examples of famous women using their elevated statuses to reach back and help others up.
For example, fashion entrepreneur Tory Burch is helping out business owners like herself through her foundation, and has lent $25 million to help startups grow. Sara Blakely, founder of shapewear maker Spanx, has also donated millions of dollars to women’s causes and provided mentoring to women-owned businesses. “I saw Spanx as a platform for me to do what my greater mission and goal is, which is to help women in a big way,” she told Variety. Eva Longoria, Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey — the list of women helping women is long.
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Are you looking for a mentor yourself? Not everyone will be as fortunate as Chloe X Halle to find a mentor as famous and influential as Beyoncé. But it’s important to ask for help, advice and insights from business owners you know or admire. Our contributor Patricia Lenkov — who wrote this post: “You Don’t Need to Go It Alone. How to Build an Advisory Board” — says outside advisors can bring your small business the experience and wisdom that you may be missing on your own.
“Oftentimes, when an entrepreneur assembles their first advisory board, it consists of individuals they already know,” she says, such as friends, family, acquaintances and former colleagues. It can be difficult for an entrepreneur to recruit advisory board members with no prior exposure. “However, this is not a rule but rather a convention, and I do believe that one should always aim high as you never know what a person may be interested in unless you ask.”
Make the ask, especially if there’s a woman entrepreneur you admire. You might be surprised at how much those who have experienced success want to give back, to someone who was just once like them. After all, there’s a reason this adage exists: “Behind every successful woman is a tribe of other women who have her back.”
[Related: Another Amazing Woman Who Wowed at the 2019 Grammy Awards]