Back in 2005, Natasha Eubanks was a lawyer-in-training and an avid consumer of celebrity and entertainment news. And as much as she loved reading People and E!, she noticed there was a serious void in the coverage she was seeing.
“I noticed they were only talking about celebrities that didn’t look like me. And I knew there were Black celebrities out there. I was like, ‘Huh! Why aren’t they talking about people outside of, say, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake?’”
At the time, Natasha was juggling a job and interning for the Attorney General of Texas while she waited to start law school. She started reaching out to existing blogs to inquire about their lack of coverage of Black celebrities — but responses were few and lackluster. So she decided to create her own blog, one that would showcase the glitz and glamor of Black Hollywood.
With limited coding skills, Natasha launched her platform using Blogger, a free blogging web software. She taught herself basic coding and delved into the world of paparazzi images and news about Black celebrities. This marked the inception of TheYBF.com (the Young, Black and Fabulous), a digital haven for Black entertainment news enthusiasts.
“It’s not necessarily about the actual one-to-one dollars you can save or spend. It’s about the opportunity that can be created from you having all your money organized, categorized, and basically audited on a constant basis.”
Initially, Natasha's blog received minimal attention, but when a DJ from Los Angeles discovered TheYBF.com and shared Natasha's website link with her audience, the website got a surge of traffic that surpassed Natasha’s wildest expectations. That was the beginning of Natasha's journey in the world of digital media.
Alongside her rising success, Natasha faced some of the common challenges of entrepreneurs in the digital age: navigating finances and growing her business sustainably. In a field as dynamic as digital media, staying relevant and financially stable requires constant adaptation and resourcefulness.
"You have to be passionate about [your work], because there will be many days you're going to want to quit," Natasha says.
Finances were a particularly complex facet of Natasha's journey. The struggle to secure advertising dollars and resources specific to Black media became a recurring theme.
“One thing that Black media, whether it’s print or digital, has always been vocal about is the lack of resources we receive compared to our colleagues in mainstream media. We can bring the same number of eyes, if not more, to our projects and content. But for some reason, we don’t necessarily get the same advertising dollars or the same opportunities.”
This inequity made it even more important for Natasha to stay on top of her books and be able to accurately forecast her financial situation.
“You can lose money without physically losing money—and by that, I mean when you don’t keep the proper books, when you don’t have certain things in place, you don’t qualify for certain types of advertising, or loans and grants. You’re leaving money on the table, and I think that’s one of the things that hurts small businesses.”
With Bench to handle her bookkeeping, Natasha was able to focus on what she does best: creating compelling content to engage her audience. Now, she can allocate more time and energy to growing her brand.
“It’s not necessarily about the actual one-to-one dollars you can save or spend. It’s about the opportunity that can be created from you having all your money organized, categorized, and basically audited on a constant basis.”
