Kandi Burruss Isn't Afraid of Investing in Herself

"First" is a word that comes up often in a review of Kandi Burruss's road to building several Atlanta-area businesses, winning songwriting Grammys, and starring on Bravo's Real Housewives of Atlanta for a record 14 seasons. Onstage at Marie Claire's Power Play at the St. Regis Atlanta, she tells editor-in-chief Nikki Ogunnaike about her new mission: to get "first" out of descriptions of entrepreneurs like her—and make diverse leaders the norm in every industry.

"I'm tired of hearing all the time, this is the first woman to ever do the blah, blah, blah," she says to applause. "My goal is to open the door for other women, minorities, people of color to take up space and places where it is not the norm for us to take up space."

That work doesn't all fall on Burruss, however. Looking back on her own accomplishments, from opening restaurants to kick-starting an adult toy business, the star shared that anyone wanting to follow in her footsteps—or explore an entirely new arena—will need to be prepared to work.

Building a business empire takes an investment, first and foremost in oneself. Burruss quickly found extending herself from project to project had steep costs, but she willingly paid them. "When you're gambling on your ideas, sometimes you take losses, but you have to be able to understand that that comes with it and not allow it to discourage you to the point where you just stop trying," she says. "I think some people at the first loss they take financially, they'll be like, oh, I can't do that anymore. Or it makes them more scared to take chances. I don't think any successful entrepreneur has been able to be successful without taking chances or gambling on themselves."

Upfront costs to kickstart a business aren't just monetary. Time is just as big of a sacrifice, Burress says, especially when you're missing out on moments with family. As momentum builds, "It is not going to get easier. You're not going to have more time. Just because you work for yourself, you're actually going to have less time because you're putting more energy, you're putting all your heart and everything into this business. You're working 24 hours when you first get started. You may not have the budget to hire people, so you're doing everything yourself."

Being thrifty also has unintended costs—in perception. Burress laughs as she remembers a restaurant where she used to take her business meetings, and how a powerhouse PR friend said she was "doing a million-dollar business on a bootleg budget" by neglecting to open her own office. The observation immediately made Burress want to level up with a space of her own, no matter the final invoice.

"In the early part of your business, sometimes you are free to not take on the expense of having an office or workspace because you're thinking, I can just work with this at home. But there's something different about having your own place to—whatever it is, whatever lane you're in—for people to come and do business with you. It seems more serious."

Burruss reassures that these are lessons of perspective. (She's been working since her teens, when she was a member of the R&B group Xscape, after all.) She says she had "no clue" how to get started—but the point was that she tried, anyway. "I did not go to school for anything that I do—meaning I don't know the steps that people normally take to do certain businesses," she says. "Once I come up with an idea...I'm like, okay, I got to make it happen by any means necessary."

That mindset paid off for her, with several Broadway producing credits—including a buzzy, sold-out Othello revival—and hospitality businesses to her name today. Burruss says founders are more primed for similar success when they're confident no matter the costs.

"I always tell my kids, fear equals failure. If you automatically defeated yourself, if you don't take the step, if you don't even try, you fail automatically and you did it to yourself—nobody else did it to you." Consider this a sign to keep trying—whether you're pursuing a "first" or another "next."