Building Businesses and Breaking Barriers: Sharifah Hardie's Path to California Governorship

Welcome to another episode of the Transforming Lives panel podcast, where we delve into stories of resilience, empowerment, and change. Today, we are thrilled to have Sharifah Hardie, a dynamic force in California politics, join us. Sharifah is not your typical politician; she's a black conservative Republican entrepreneur, media personality, and single mother who has faced and overcome numerous challenges. From surviving multiple corporate layoffs to rebuilding her life and businesses, Sharifah is now running for governor of California in 2026. Her mission is to bring real change to a state burdened by bureaucracy, high costs, and a justice system that often prioritizes incarceration over empowerment. In this episode, Sharifah shares her unflinching story and offers insights into her campaign priorities, including economic empowerment, education reform, and mental health advocacy. Join us as we explore her journey and vision for a better California.

Sharmin Prince
Welcome to another episode of the Transforming Lives panel podcast. I'm one of your hosts, Sharmin Prince.

Mitzy Dadoun.
And I'm your other host, Mitzy Dadoun.

Sharmin Prince
And before we continue, just join us in a brief breathing exercise by taking a deep breath in and out. In And out. Another breath in. And out.

In. And before you exhale, just think of the things that didn't serve you and let it go on the exhale. Just let go of the things that didn't serve you today and the things to do in the remainder of the day. And thank you so much for joining us for that brief breathing exercise and for being a part of the Transforming Lives panel podcast.

Today, we have Sharifa Hardie. And she isn't your typical politician. She's a survivor. a warrior, and a relentless advocate for everyday Californians who've been left behind by a broken system.

A black conservative Republican entrepreneur, media personality, and single mother, Sharifa has lived the struggles she's fighting to fix. from surviving eight corporates layoff to rebuilding her life and businesses from scratch. Now she's running for governor of California in 2026 to bring real change to a state-drowned bureaucracy, skyrocketing costs, and justice system that prioritizes prisons over people. While her opponent pushes a build more prisons agenda, Sharifa is fighting for economic empowerment, education reform, and pathways to success, not incarceration for marginalized communities.

On this podcast, Sharifa will share her unflinching story of resilience. Are you ready? Sharifa, welcome.

Sharifah Hardie
Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity. I'm honored to be here.

Sharmin Prince
Is there anything you would like to add to your bio?

Sharifah Hardie
No, that was incredible.

Sharmin Prince
Go ahead, Mitzy.

Mitzy Dadoun
So in talking to the young adults who are working their way through life, what would be your advice? What would be your comments, the things that you wish that you could share with them?

Sharifah Hardie
I would share this. I've done thousands of interviews on my podcast, Ask Sharifa. I've interviewed hundreds of the top CEOs and corporations. I've sat down with Ken Chenault of American Express.

I've sat down with the CEOs of Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Boost Mobile, so many different companies. And I had to find out a commonality between all of them. And after thousands of interviews, the one commonality that I saw was that successful people are never satisfied. Successful people always ask the same question.

It doesn't matter their gender. It doesn't matter their race. They always ask the same question. What's next?

They are never satisfied. And I don't believe it's even a conscious choice to say, oh, well, should I do something now? No, when they decide this is it, this is the last company that I'm going to start. There's the last business that I'm, I mean, the last book I'm going to write.

Then two years later, they're launching a new book. They're building a new company. It's because they can't just be satisfied. So for all the young people, I would tell them, if you want a life that's incredible, then don't be satisfied where you are.

Be grateful. Be grateful for everything that you have, for everything that God has blessed you with, but ask the question, what's next? I've gotten this degree, what's the next degree that I can get? I've read this book, what's the next book that I can read?

Put focus on what you want to build. Because I see so many people who say, oh, well, you know what? I love to start a new company, but I don't have the money. OK, but guess what?

You can get a domain for your website for under $15. You can go get monthly hosting. for roughly $10, right? So you can't come up with the money to build your business, but yet Taco Tuesday, we're all at Taco Tuesday.

Let somebody do an event with boots on the ground. And we're there with, you know, comedy show, which has a two drink minimum. You pay for the tickets. So we come up with the money for what we want.

So I'm telling the young people want more.

Sharmin Prince
My question after that, if you weren't running for office, what's the one problem in California you'd still be fighting for and fighting to fix as a citizen of California?

Sharifah Hardie
I'm the CMO, Chief Marketing Officer for the Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce. With or without an election or without a title, I'm passionate about creating new business. That's what we need in order to have generational wealth. It doesn't come from necessarily being an employee because I'm 49.

You know, when I was growing up, I saw so many people, even my mother. My mother was the director of public relations for St. Mary's hospital in Long Beach for over 21 years. She went on to another company, was there for years and wound up retiring.

I was laid off multiple times, over eight times. Never been fired, never been directly let go. Most of these were mass layoffs where they laid off a lot of people and some of those companies relocated. One company was in El Segundo, relocated to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Another company is in El Segundo, California, relocated to Chatsworth, California. So our longevity is not there. You don't have the ability to stay at these companies for a long time. So what I always recommend is to just build companies.

You have the ability to pass on to your children. your grandchildren to your lineage and not just building a website, not just doing a DBA, but it doesn't take much. You can save that from your job. It's approximately $500 through LegalZoom to set up a corporation, but set it up so you have something concrete that you can pass on.

There's so much money available. That's one thing that people don't understand. Speaking from the government's perspective, there are grants that are available for brick and mortar businesses. Or it may not even be a brick and mortar, but an actual business.

But if you don't have your EIN, if you don't have your bank account, if you don't have your company created, then you're not going to be able to qualify for the money that's available for you. One of the things that's really huge right now In California because they just changed the laws is housing, people are building more housing in the back of their houses, maybe it was the yard back there. Now they're given $30,000 grants away for you to build a new house on your own property. I mean, so there are things that people can do but my recommendation is to start a business.

Sharmin Prince
a Californian is listening to this podcast and say, I want to start a business, but I am barely making it. What's the story you will share with that particular Californian? Because I've worked with been homeless veterans, been to California to do some work, so I am familiar. What would you say to that person that is barely making it, but want to do something, have the desire, have the passion, but not the resources?

Sharifah Hardie
The first thing that I would say, and I do hope and pray that nobody is offended by this, but I would say, I don't believe that. I don't believe that because you can start a business for little to nothing these days. I always recommend, go ahead, set up your website, offer your product, offer your services, because within 30 days, by the time your next hosting fee is done and you've gone out and you have pushed your business, you have sold your product, you have sold your services, you will have the resources.

Because so often 1 of the 1st things that I've learned was actually as a supervisor working for cheap tickets. We learned the expression, which means they all lie. People will always tell you they don't have money. They don't have money, I don't have money, but guess what?

Let Beyonce's tickets come up for sale. They're gonna be right there at the Beyonce concert. Let the latest iPhone come out. They're gonna have the latest Apple.

If they're a shoe person and they have all the Jordans, let the latest Jordans come out. So it's not about not having the resources. They can go directly to sba.gov, free. The internet, I used to say, because I'm also an ordained minister, one of the favorite things, my favorite things to say was my people suffer for lack of knowledge.

And I had to stop saying that because right now we are living in one of the greatest times ever to be alive. And if I leave your audience and the two of you with that, I've done what I came to do. Because that's my main message is that we are living in the age of information. For so long, information was only available for a select few.

It wasn't only about race, but only your elite were able to read books. They didn't want the common man to get knowledge and get to get information because that knowledge and that information Would allow them to overthrow the king They didn't want the slaves to read because if the slaves had this information Then they would be able to overthrow the master and right now for what anytime somebody tell me all what this program and you know And I would love it for my business, but it costs four hundred dollars. I tell them I can google it and get program that's similar for less than nothing.

Almost everything, every program, every book is available in some form that someone could afford. I

Sharmin Prince
hear you and immediately a story of a female veteran came to mind. She was seeking assistance and she went to the VA in California and she was told, do you have a car? So live in your car. And she participated in the moral injury program that I was one of the administrators and found her independence.

I say that to say there might be a few people, even the homeless or the formerly homeless, who is barely making it, but want to get out of the cycle of homelessness, of recidivism, relapsing every year. How do you speak to those vulnerable groups?

Sharifah Hardie
Let me give you an example. I was speaking to a group of unhoused people at a park, and they were having an event. And so they had speakers come out to speak and motivate them. And in return, they came out for the free meal, for the free lunch, right?

But we got to speak to them. And so I spoke, I gave my speech, and after it was over, the lady who had invited me and the lady who put on the event said, Sharika, the people really resonated with you. She was like, I don't know what it was, but they really resonated with you and your message and what you had to say. And I told her, that's because I don't see them as unhoused.

I see them as people. I see them as individuals, right? So even when you talk about the lady who had to live in her car, I'm like, okay, she had a car. There was a blessing in her story.

She had the car to sleep in. And so I can take any situation and say, well, look, if you're here, then we can do this. We can do this in order to get here. Because one thing, and one reason I have so many great conversations with unhoused people and people who are going through situations, not only because I can relate, because I know that many of these people, 99% of these people, when I'm generalizing right now to be clear, just because

they're unhoused doesn't mean they don't have any money. Those are two different issues. Those are two different things. And so many of the people who are in-house, they receive some type of government assistance, whether it's SSI, whatever their check is.

They get it on the first. They have it for a month. So let's say, for instance, they get an SSI check for $1,500. Arbitrary number.

Just made it up. Just threw it out there, right? So they have $1,500 to live on for that month. However, the only rent they can find is $2,500.

Okay, but they called Mitzi and they said, Mitzi, help me. I know you know some people in California. Can you call your people and help me get housing? And Mitzi, she's a wonderful lady.

She's a caring, has a wonderful heart and wants to help people. She calls Charmin in LA and says, hey, I got a friend. They need a place. You got that vacancy.

Can you rent it to them? And she says, sure, I'll rent it to them. And I'll just charge them. 950, right?

Hypotheticals. But out of 1,500, now they're paying 950. Now they're paying for utilities. They're paying their internet.

They're paying their phone bill. So by the time they finish paying for all these things that go with it, their expenses are at $2,000. They only make $1,500. And so what they say is, you know what?

Let me just go on over to Home Depot, spend about $45, give me a nice little tent, go on Facebook Marketplace, spend about $5,000 and buy me an RV and live in my RV and live in my van, which allows them to keep and maintain some of the $1,500 that they have. So again, I want to bring it back to my original statement where I said all of these things are a direct result of not having opportunities for people. Because until you have the opportunities, until you have affordable housing, until you have a job that they can go to that's going to allow them to earn more than the $1,500, why would they come off the streets?

Why? What's the benefit to them? Because they know more than you, more than any of the people who are trying to help and save them, that they know what reality is. And the reality is that housing in Long Beach, I moved into it in 2018.

In 2018, the rent was $1,650. They just recently sold the property, same house, two bedroom, selling for $3,500, renting for $3,500, right? So where am I gonna go to be able to afford $3,500 rent, my utilities, my car notes, my car insurance? Wait, I haven't eaten.

I like to eat.

Sharmin Prince
You're so good.

Sharifah Hardie
That's why you're a politician. No, but I really accept and I receive that. It's my spirit. The reason I'm so passionate about, I don't really think people understand.

And that's why I believe Sheriff Chad Bianco is so dangerous. because the whole idea that I'm getting from the Republican Party is just put people out of sight. If you put them out of sight and they're out of mind, then we don't have to think about it. And what we don't want to do is walk down the street and see all these unhoused people and see all these people who have mental health issues and all these people on drugs.

We don't want to deal with it. So go lock them up and throw away the key and just allow us to get on with our lives. And so it's the system that has to be rebuilt. We have to rebuild an entire system where people can afford to live.

They can afford housing. They can afford to eat. They can afford to enjoy their lives. Because when I was growing up, I was sold.

They sold me. I believe in my heart and my spirit that all I had to do was go to school, get an education, and then I'll get a house. I'll get a career. I'll even get that dog.

with the white picket fence. I've seen many of the people that I went to school with who have master's degrees and bachelor's degrees and degrees in accounting who are living in vans right now today. So these are the things that we have to work on, especially after us being, after a global pandemic, there was a 360 something increase in people living in their cars, just here in Long Beach, and most of them are women with children.

Sharmin Prince
Wow, I, I have. She used to be the administrator for the same research in California, and she lives in Long Beach. So I visited Long Beach a few times, but I don't remember noticing a homeless population in Long Beach. I visited Skid Row, volunteered at one of the shelters.

I don't remember the area, but I call it a tent city where we drove and they were miles and miles of tents. So I really understand the homeless in California and here in New York City, I've worked in the nonprofit sector with the homeless and formerly homeless and with veterans. So I understand that population. But going back to your campaign, what are the three most important things to you as the candidate for governor?

Sharifah Hardie
The three most important things to me are to create corporations, to bring corporations back to California since we have had a mass exodus from California to create more manufacturing opportunities to work on the unhoused issue, this homelessness issues, and to focus on mental health. Those are my three priorities at this time. But I just wanted to say, I don't know when you came to Long Beach, and Long Beach is beautiful. If you haven't been to Long Beach, I would say prior to 2018.

If you haven't been here since 2018, it's probably a drastic difference. But we also, you know, You go to any city, right? There's the tourist aspect of that city. And then there's the aspect where the natives know, right?

Because a lot of people, when you talk about those tents are under the 710 freeway, there are rows and rows and rows of tents along the 710 freeway.

Sharmin Prince
Thank you. If your children were watching your campaign, What's the one lesson you'd want them to take from it?

Sharifah Hardie
My children right now are 28 and 31. And the lesson that they have taken from everything that I've done is simply to be happy. That's the one thing that I've always taught them. And right now I'm so proud that my children are happy.

And I think some people take that word lightly. Oh, I'm happy. No, most people are stressed out. They really are.

When you ask them a question, how are you doing? They're like, oh, I'm here. I'm okay. I'm fine.

Because that's what we were taught to answer, right? That's what we were taught to say. But when I look at my children, my children are so happy and their mental health is incredible. They're both gainfully employed.

have a beautiful home. I had to go to their house to swim in their pool, in their jacuzzi, you know, but they've watched me over time. And I've always told them, I said, life is about choices and consequences. I've never believed in spanking.

I don't believe in corporal punishment. You see, I'm a softie with a big heart because whatever choices you make, you're going to receive the consequences. So I just want them to be happy with their lives. And that's my primary focus for now.

Sharmin Prince
Wow, thank you. My final question before Mitzi asks you about where our listeners could reach out to you. When the campaign is over, win or lose, how do you hope People will describe Sharifa Hardy, the woman, not the politician.

Mitzy Dadoun
Excellent. Let me just say this. I don't look at life as winning or losing. It was an article on the internet that they did about me, and I get all my Google alerts.

Sharifah Hardie

So if my name hits the internet, I see it, right? I didn't even know they were doing this article, but they were writing articles about each of the candidates that were running for governor. So I get this Google alert, and I'm reading this article, and the article is 99% my bio. So they basically copied and pasted, put the bio in.

And then at the end, nowhere in the entire article did they even mention my other prior elections. They simply said, she's a two-time loser. I was like, wait a minute, who calls somebody a two-time loser? That's not very nice.

But I don't look at it like this. I've never went into an election and didn't walk out with a new opportunity because I learned that in getting laid off eight times. I built my first website in 1994. I'm passionate about building companies, building businesses, and not all those companies were successful.

And so what happens is during startups, they'll start a company, they'll begin, and maybe it doesn't work out, but they look around and they have a team and they say, oh, you know what? They were great to work with. I'll take them to the next company. So that's the same thing with running for any political office.

You get your name, your face out there. People are like, oh, well, you know what? I like her attitude. I like the way that she responds.

So I may not get that position. It's just like applying for any position. When you're job hunting, and I'm pretty sure you ladies have job hunted before, you most likely went to the job site and looked for multiple jobs, right? You probably just didn't say, oh, I'm going to apply for this one job I'm done for today.

No, because you have to. put your net out there, cast a wide net, and then whatever's meant for you will come to you. And that's how I feel about this election, getting my name, getting my face out there. My phone is gonna ring, because my phone continues to ring when people say, you know what, can you help me with this?

I'm a business consultant. My website, askshareefa.com, that's what I do, marketing, SEO, SEM, PR. I help people. And so now once they see, okay, well, she's not gonna be doing this, maybe she will help me.

Excellent. And that was one of my questions was, was how do people reach you? So you mentioned your website, if you could just say it again and any other contact information.

Sharifah Hardie
Yes. So my, my governor campaign website is Sharifa Hardy for governor.com. Again, that's Sharifa Hardie for governor.com. For my PR and marketing services is AskSharifa.com.

And I always tell people do not face the unknown alone. AskSharifah.com.

Mitzi Dadoun
Oh, wonderful. And rapid fire with Sherman.

Sharmin Prince
Coffee or tea? Tea. The last song you blasted in your car?

Sharifah Hardie
God favored me.

Sharmin Prince
The best $20 you've ever spent?

Sharifah Hardie
Get in my first domain.

Sharmin Prince
Beaches are among thin.

Sharifah Hardie
Oh, I'm Long Beach beaches for sure. For sure.

Sharmin Prince
The best hidden gem in California.

Sharifah Hardie
The best are beaches. I mean, I just think Long Beach people come from miles around just to come see our city. We have the Queen Mary. We have so much here.

So I think just our beach here.

Sharmin Prince
If you could fix one thing in California overnight, what would it be?

Sharifah Hardie
Love. Love thy neighbor. That's it. Just get people to just have compassion, to care about other people.

Sharmin Prince
One stereotype you'd erase forever.

Sharifah Hardie
Oh, that's great. Angry black woman. You know, people say that. They're just like, you're an angry black woman.

I'm like, all I said was hi. Like, I just said hi. I didn't even say anything. But it's the stereotype that they have that because I'm a woman, because I'm black, I got to be angry.

Sharmin Prince
Finish the sentence. They'll never expect me to

Sharifah Hardie
win for governor.

Sharmin Prince
One word your supporters and haters would use to

Sharifah Hardie
describe you? Ooh, I love that. Supporters and haters. They both use the same word, though.

And that's incredible that you picked up on it. Tenacious. Because they were like, I don't care if they love me or hate me, Sharifa is not going to quit. I am unstoppable, unbreakable.

Sharmin Prince
What's one thing People would be shocked to know about you.

Sharifah Hardie
I'm incredibly shy.

Sharmin Prince
What's your campaign anthem?

Sharifah Hardie
It's the Move California Forward plan. I think I should know this.

Sharmin Prince
Your message to Californians who feel invisible.

Sharifah Hardie
I think the answer to that goes back to what I said earlier, and I don't believe that. I believe that they may feel invisible, but it's a feeling. And sometimes our feelings, our emotions are wrong. You are not invisible.

You are seen. So when Newsom won the election, he only won with 5 million votes, where in California, there are over 30 million people. The majority of the people don't vote. The majority of the people don't take any action.

California is the land of apathy, the land where I don't want to get involved, which is why one of my favorite quotes is Edmund Burke, all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. So if someone were to tell me that they feel invisible, then I would tell them, okay, it's time for you to be seen. So I will find ways for them to get involved, not only in politics, but get involved with life. What is it that you want to do?

How is it that you want to show up? Because for whatever it is that you want to do, there's a way to do it. In 2024, the highest grossing YouTuber, right? The person who made the most amount of money on YouTube was a five-year-old.

You cannot tell me that if there's something that you want to do, that you can't do it. So if they feel that they're not being seen, then that means they're not allowing themselves to be seen. They're not putting themselves in rooms. They're not speaking up in conversations.

They're just sitting there waiting for someone to give them permission to be seen. And I'm like, give yourself permission. In an outdoor

Sharmin Prince
Chick-fil-A, In and out, California. Last question. One thing you've sacrificed for this campaign?

Sharifah Hardie
Money, money. That's why I need all the donations I can get at SharifahHardieForGovernor.com. money. And the reason I say that is even though we can raise money with donations, I spend a lot of time shaking hands and kissing babies.

I tell my whole team and most of my team has been with me through all the last elections and now they know it by heart. Whatever we have to do, I have one job. Just one. Everything else, somebody else does for me.

I shake hands and I kiss babies. So I have to be out there meeting people. And so I can go pick up a new PR client. I can go build a new website.

I can do other things. that would be more profitable for me. But then I have to ask myself, is it more important for me to make money right now for myself, or is it more important for me to let people know that unless they take some type of action and they vote for me, this is the new world that you're gonna live in in California.

So I take on less clients.

Sharmin Prince
Thank you so much, Sharifah. And your closing comments.

Mitzy Dadoun
I just want to say thank you, beautiful ladies, for the opportunity, for your time, for allowing me on the platform to speak. I greatly, greatly, greatly appreciate it. If there's ever anything that I can do to help you, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. To everyone who is listening, please take some sort of action.

If you can hear my voice, And you can feel the passion I have not only for California, but for politics and for the world in general. If you're sitting at home or if you're sitting in your office and you're asking yourself, well, I don't know what I can do, that I always tell people, go do something for someone else. Go be of service to someone else. Because there are so many people who need help and just maybe need someone to talk to, need someone, you know, need to be a friend.

So I just encourage people to be the change that you want to see in the world. It's also go to my website again as Sharifa Hardy for governor.com. Make your donation, volunteer. I need your support in order to win.