Interviews and news

Think in Color 2023"Head of the Table"

Nov 16, 2023

The Think In Color 2023 has officially ended! We're glad and grateful for you taking the time to hear our speakers of outstanding women as well as BIPOC creatives and movers in the field. We're hoping that, at the end of the event, you felt encouraged by our panelists' journeys and learned how you can build a powerful virtual community, broaden your service offerings and expand your company in addition to other aspects.

While many subjects were discussed at the event however, we've made every effort to share the best moments with the attention of. Learn more about the key points we learned from each speaker.

Skip ahead:

Creating Cozy & Collaborative Virtual Communities

Cicely Blain, anti-racism consultant and founder Bakau Consulting. Bakau Consulting

Description of the session: While remote working was a reality prior to COVID-19, the pandemic intensified the necessity for companies to move to a digital setting. By extension, businesses that would like to have a strong relation with their clients decided to set up virtual communities where similar-minded individuals can share their knowledge and help each other. It can, however, be difficult to build an online community as intimate as one that is physically.

In this presentation, Cicely Blain shares their journey to build their virtual community called Living Room. They shared how they created warm and inviting atmosphere in a digital space creating safe and inclusive communities, and using the internet to cater to the needs of people.

  Principal takeaways  

  Be aware of who your target audience is and what they are looking for.  

Before establishing Living Room, Cicely had identify the audience they were trying to create the digital space to. Because their work is rooted in anti-racism and anti-oppression Cicely knew that this community was primarily geared towards those such as DEI professionals, consultants and HR professionals who do similar tasks.

Next, Cicely had to figure out what the people actually desired.

      "I considered"What do these people seeking, especially in these crucial times when so numerous things are changing and being referred to differently?    

      People are certainly looking for community, a sense of solidarity, and connection even when they feel being isolated. [They're also] looking for sources and are eager to gain knowledge."  

  You should be relevant to the people you are targeting.  

The most effective way to convince members to join your virtual community is to give them something they can connect with. For Cicely, that relatable thing was their living room. They were looking to recreate exactly the same cozy and comforting feeling that their living space gave them.

      "I thought, 'What do I want people to experience as they enter this place?' I thought, hey I would like them to feel the same way they might when they walk into the physical space. It should be cozy and wholesome and inviting. I wanted people to feel relaxed, content, supported, connected, and understood."  

Cicely imbibes this vibe in the community through:

  • The beginning of every virtual conference begins with 10 minutes of reflection. They ask a simple inquiry on screen for participants to engage in an internal reflection.
  • Soft, R&B-based playlist to help people relax and ease into the phone call.
  • Engaging in each conversation as though they're having fun with the closest people. When they're not recording videos for their online course, Cicely might be doing her makeup, or making a cup tea in the kitchen.

  Provide a variety of ways for community members to get the information they require  

While people who belong to a virtual community are ideally like-minded folks, they likely have their own needs as well as strengths and weaknesses. As a enterprise, you'll need figure out different ways through how you can satisfy the demands of your members, despite the differences.

With Living Room, Cicely met the needs of their members by:

  • Providing different forms of engagement (e.g. live chat, forums for discussion and online classes that are comprehensive and so on. );
  • The definition of common values and guidelines for the community;
  • Lets people show themselves as authentic;
  • Eliminating unnecessary stresses, such as time constraints and agendas for meetings;
  • Considering accessibility needs (e.g. disabilities and neurodivergence) such as neurodivergence, disabilities, etc.

Funds in the Funnel: How To Maximize sales with a funnel that is focused on the customer.

Ellie Diop, Content and Coaching Coach for Funding at Ellievated Academy

Description of session: To create your business to be successful there are customers who will buy your product or engage with your offerings. Many companies make the error of creating content they think the ideal customer would prefer, instead of what their customers really want. In this talk, Ellie explains how you can grow your business and maximize sales by creating the right funnel that entices the ideal customer and responds to their needs and wants.

  Key takeaways:  

  Every element of content matters  

The process of creating a funnel that's focused on your customers can be described as establishing a connection with your clients. The most effective way to achieve it is by creating information that is pertinent, useful and useful to them. A customer-focused funnel consists of five phases:

  • Awareness
  • Discovery
  • Consideration
  • Conversion
  • Relationship + retention + REPEAT

In regards to the importance of creating material, Ellie states, "Every piece of content you write is an integral part of your sales team. So whatever you posted in the last three months is performing the task of moving people down this channel... Showing up every day with a consistent tone creates something predictable for your customers to understand and help them navigate through the funnel."

  Clarify your brand  

If you're not sure who your products or services target, there's no way anyone will purchase from you or work with you. Before you create a funnel, clarify your brand's mission and purpose by starting with the ideal customer. You can ask yourself:

  • Who do I serve?
  • How can I assist them to with their problem?
  • What can I do?

These answers form the foundation of all your business decisions. Ellie suggests a basic model to help the [YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE] achieve fulfill [YOUR PURPOSES] through the use of [YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE]

In her own experience of growing her company, Ellie says, "For me, it could be 'I help women to build prosperous businesses by teaching them strategy and funding techniques '... In the past I kept this information written on a notepad in the corner of my office, and each time I attempted to make a video, I remembered who I was talking to."

  Create your social media followers  

Social media is one of the most successful digital platforms for creating branding awareness as well as generating leads for your business. It's so efficient that the majority of people will browse through your business's Instagram profile (or the other social media profiles) before they visit your site.

Thus, you must put in the money (and maybe even money) into your social media content to boost its exposure. The best way to accomplish it is:

  • Creating educational, engaging, and shareable content (especially video)
  • Running paid ads
  • Collaborating with influencers with an identical target audience to you

  Utilize lead magnets to expand your email database  

As you're creating content, your goal is to get the maximum number of people who aren't on social media onto your email list. When people subscribe to your mailing list, they're giving an opportunity for you to connect directly with them, which is more valuable than if they happen to stumble upon your content and videos while scrolling through Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). Lead magnets are where they are useful.

In the ideal scenario, when you use lead magnets, you're giving the value of your product for free in exchange for people's contact information (usually their name and email address). But you can solicit other information as well. For example, at the beginning of her company, Ellie offered free 1-on-1 training to clients to get reviews. They were used to gain her first group of clients who paid.

      "You've gotta look at the question, "What's an aspect that I could provide high-quality free services that can inspire people? Make that your primary incentive. [In my business], I've recently implemented a new strategy where instead of pushing customers directly into a product, we direct the user to sign up for a free deal, which is the free masterclass. After that, we sell the backend. The results have been great."  

  The process of keeping existing customers much easier than finding new customers  

With each new lead you acquire You go through the process of driving them along the sales funnel. This is a lot harder than convincing an existing client to buy from you again. So focus on customer retention equally or even more than customer acquisition.

To retain your customers, follow these the steps you can take:

  • Provide high-end customer service
  • Utilize surveys from customers to gather feedback
  • Gather testimonials from satisfied clients (offer incentives, if you can)
  • Create a second product that will fill market gaps

In creating the second offer, Ellie shares, "I created my first business credit course for just $15. Then I started hearing feedback on what [my customersrequire in the future. This led me to create Business Credit, which is Business Credit revamped. Later, I came up with my Business Credit masterclass, and later the complete bundle. It turned out that the majority of those who had purchased the initial one then bought the next one to fill in the gaps. They then bought the third because they were advancing in their skills, they wanted to know more."

Growing both B2C and B2B Business for Multiple Revenue Streams

Jessica Chen, Global Communication Expert & CEO of Soulcast Media

Description of the session: Businesses, in general, have three main revenue and sales elements: their offerings and services and the content they produce to describe those products/services as well as the platforms through which they distribute the information. In this talk, Jessica discusses the power of LinkedIn to assist businesses in connecting to both clients (B2C) as well as other companies (B2B), how to make your content appealing to both types of audiences and how to expand your services and offerings for both audiences.

  LinkedIn is an effective platform for distributing content and grow your visibility  

Many professionals and entrepreneurs are on LinkedIn however, they aren't considering LinkedIn a platform on which you are able to increase your reach and share information. Instead, they regard it as a platform to update resumes, find new opportunities and connecting with people you know.

In reality, LinkedIn is a social media platform, just like Instagram or X (formerly Twitter), and must be treated like such. Only difference is the kind of content that you share.

In regards to LinkedIn's popularity, Jessica says, "The benefit of this platform is this you're communicating with a specific set of audience who is at a point of personal development and are eager to learn."

Jessica is also willing to share her journey from speaking about her experience as a reporter in 2018 to becoming a certified Top Voice and a LinkedIn instructor within five years. The reason she explains this is being consistent on the platform and connecting with a broad range of people who can be benefited from her service to help people improve their communicating techniques.

  Change your messages to fit both B2C as well as B2B audience  

A lot of business owners think that they can only gain visibility when their content is targeted at consumers on a personal basis. It's not the case.

The advantage of LinkedIn is its ability to allow users to modify their messaging in order to appeal to both B2C and B2B customers. The offer itself doesn't have to change, but altering the language you use to describe your business can improve the visibility of your business and draw individual consumers and businesses.

"I discovered that in order to talk to a B2C audience I use language like 'you', 'your' Have ever considered this? ...?'""you"?" asks Jessica. "My style of speaking is clear, so the person that reads the content feels like it's personal.

      "[With the B2B market], instead of using 'you' or "your", I'm framing my talk by saying phrases like 'the team' or 'the company'. This is more optimistic and less personal]."  

  Set yourself up as a thought-leader in order for B2B customers.  

Unlike individual customers who only desire a top-quality product, B2B audiences are looking to ensure they're getting the best. To attract the attention of B2B customers, you'll have present yourself as a professional or thought leader within your field, regardless of whether your offer is generally geared towards B2C customers.

For example, if you're a photographer, then you may create and sell an online photography class for your B2C market. But to get B2B leads, you could post thought leadership material about having a career in the arts or about building a career as an artist. If you provide one-on-one workshops that teach people how to improve their productivity, you can appeal to B2B audiences by posting information about improving the productivity of your workplace.

So, you'll be able to change to selling B2C products such as e-courses, 1-on-1 classes to offering speaking engagements and workshops.

Designing Your Personal Brand through Video

XayLi Barclay an expert as well as Visual Content Coach with Start Shoot Expand

Session Description as an owner of a business isn't it easy to not be noticed, especially when you're selling in a crowded sector or market. You can combat the feeling by establishing your personal brand with video content, be it short TikTok videos, Instagram Reels, or longer-form YouTube videos. In this talk, XayLi explains how you can use video content to promote your online course, get sales, and establish your name to the people who purchase from you.

  It doesn't take much information to start.  

If you are creating your first video or creating your first livestream, it's not necessary for everything to be perfect. It's okay to start with what you already have. When you first start out, viewers are willing to overlook your poor video quality as well as your poor editing abilities since they are aware that over time, you'll become more proficient.

XayLi herself began with her laptop, an easy white background, along with a light bulb that is run-off-the-mill.

"This is the place where I got my start and even got approached to be one of their experts," she declares. "I did not wait until I set up my newsroom to start teaching people. I took what I had because I was aware that what I was trying to impart did not revolve around just how beautiful your setup could be.

      Today, I have a full built-in studio in my home, but this is my first attempt at HTML0 a couple of years ago."    

  More resources will be available as you advance  

If you start to see increased visibility through your video content and earn income, you can start building up your collection and enhance your equipment for video. As an example, you could purchase a higher quality camera/webcam, a tripod stand (worth between $500 and $1,000) and a green screen and eCamm Live as well as a teleprompter software as well as an Adobe Premiere subscription for editing.

In a discussion about the latest equipment and setting upgrades XayLi says, "[At this stage] it is possible to have multiple camera angles, and the list goes on. It's time to start investing in these items because you're earning profits. Many of us believe that it's important to appear good prior to the cash comes in. No. You must get on the market, and after that the money will start coming in."

When you start making enough money, you can begin outsourcing the recording of your videos edits, distribution, and recording to contractors or an internal team.

  Focus on one thing at a time  

There's a common misconception that you have to take every step to grow your business: post on every channel, get on every trend, and speak about a range of subjects. However, this isn't always true. It's much better to focus on a single thing in a row as you develop your brand. This not only keeps the possibility of burning out however, but also let the viewers know what they can expect from you every when you upload videos.

In accordance with XayLi Barclay's "Rule of 5 Ones" These are the five elements to consider in establishing your digital strategy

  • One product or service
  • One possible market
  • One lead converter tool
  • One main traffic source
  • One objective for business

Memberships -- The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Teri Ijeoma, creator of Trade & Travel

Description of the session: If done right, memberships are a great way for businesses to develop deeper connections with their clients, and also generate additional revenue. Teri Ijeoma developed an online membership platform to support Trade & Travel and she currently has more than 35,000 participants taking her classes and over 185,000 email list subscribers. In this talk, Teri shares the benefits of creating a membership program, and explains how businesses are able to set up and manage members in the best way.

  Know when to transition from a free group to a paid membership model  

If you're not the most famous business, then you'll be required to launch your membership program by offering worth for nothing. Teri began her membership program by creating a Facebook group for free. As you expand your group, you'll need to be aware of the time to move from a free community into a paid-membership model.

Here are some signs to be aware of prior to taking a turn:

  • The group you are working with is growing in size, but members only pay a one-time fee for your service -- instead of paying for any additional benefits that your organization offers, e.g. year-long customer support, etc.
  • Members of the group start independent group meetings, or sub-groups. This makes it harder to manage the group's administration.
  • You're hiring group moderators or coaches to offer consulting to members of the group, but with no additional revenue generated through your group members.

  Your member program is a service that is an item in and of its own  

Many businesses that create online courses also create subscription programs to the courses. Although a membership program can be an effective way of making your course more attractive but you must treat it as a complete productand not just an add-on.

In her interview about her Trade & Travel membership, Teri confesses that "In the beginning, I was thinking that it was a continuation of my education. That's not true -- the membership is a service completely on its own. It needs its own staff, promotions calendar, and marketing program... it's best to think about it as a product itself."

  Be aware when you're pricing  

When transitioning from a free group to a membership model, think about your goal for income and set your price on the basis of the goal. At this stage, it's simple to set your price less to attract more customers. If you're certain that your program's full of worth, you shouldn't hesitate to set a higher price to get the program.

In the example above, if your goal is to make the equivalent of $10,000 per month, you'd better make 500 people agree to pay $200 per month rather than 1,000 customers to pay $100/month. The higher your rates are, the less potential customers will sign up for it. But this also means that you'll reach your goals for income quicker, and find it easier to handle your program.

Head of Discussion Panel for the Table

Diandra Marizet, (Host) The Executive Director and co-founder of Intersectional Environmentalist

The description of this panel discussion features speakers Cicely, Ellie, Jessica Cicely, Jessica XayLi sharing their perspectives about the significance of inclusion and representation in the entrepreneurial space, the challenges that women and BIPOC business owners face as they seek to establish themselves in the creator economy, and how to value their offerings ethically in a capitalist environment.

Here are some of the poignant questions and the answers to this discussion:

  A lot of women entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups have reached financial stability for the first time. What new challenges, problems, and opportunities do the future hold for them?

Ellie Diop: Just like there's poverty trauma There's also wealth trauma too. If you're one of the few within your family who owns the 6- to seven-figure enterprise, there's any examples for you to emulate. It's not easy to get people used to speaking about money, specifically for people who is of color and earning more than the majority of people do throughout their lives.

As an example, after I earned my first million, I was afraid to move out of the house my mother lived in. I wasn't ready to commit on a house because I didn't know what I'd do in the event that it went away. I also was afraid to inform my family members because I was worried they'd think differently about me.

One thing I'd like to see more of is collaborative places like these that can remove this stigma, and state "Hey is something going on? If you're stressed about making money and what to spend the money do not be scared to talk about it". The stigma that is perpetuated is one reason many people earn quite a bit of money only to then go back to where they started.

  In business environments, often it is easy to feel the pressure to assimilate, code-switch, keep quiet, or even put aspects of ourselves aside. We may not always feel that we fit into the notion of professionalism. What has that experience taught you about the way you interact with your local community? How do you incorporate that into your work as DEI professional? DEI professional?

Cicely Blain: In the system we were raised in, when we see a particular kind of person on TV, media as well as social media and also when some online creators gain traction, while other creators are banned from shadows, it is easy to think that you have to adhere to a particular way of being and speaking.

In the event that you are in a position that you're recognized for the person you are by those around you and the people in authority (even when they may not have the same lived experiences as you) it's a great feeling. But, even though representation is increasing and opportunities are more readily available, there's still two standards for how people can show up. It's not uncommon for us to internalize the double standards (even when they could not be true) and they keep us from achieving our goals.

As an example, on TikTok the majority of users don't show up polished and put together constantly. While that's liberating, I feel like that chance is available only to a select few as there's an elevated expectation of others, and in the manner they appear.

  What happens when you realize that your current path does not align with where your capacity can be and what your dream could be, and you make the decision to transition to full-time entrepreneurial?  

Jessica Chen: All of us will reach a point in time reach where we realize that the dream we had to attain is done and we're now ready to try something new. Myself I was working in a great career that I enjoyed, however after ten years, I felt like there was more available. I've always been a kind that creates my own path. Then I considered how I could pass on the knowledge I've learned.

My initial career was as a journalist, which could say is the only "proper" profession in which you aren't able to express your opinions, you don't have your own voice, and you're just telling other people's stories. It was a jarring transition to begin creating my own voice and displaying my personality. It was certainly a learning steeple.

  What is the best way to price your services or products to attract people that are in the same boat, eager to learn from you, and recognize the value of the product or service you offer?

XayLi Barclay The majority of the time we offer low prices, but we overwhelm those investing- and that is a shame for the investor. It's tempting to believe that there will be a large number of customers if you set your price low. However, chances are you're attracting overwhelmed investors who aren't prepared to make a decision.

I hired a business coach to determine how much I would be earning as well as to determine my pricing based on volumes. We see a lot of creators who create the course at $7, and then make 6 figures off that course however they don't have the volume. If you're a small-scale creator, it's important be aware of the goals you have as a business so you can price appropriately.

If I can sell five online courses for $1,000 each course, I'll be making five thousand dollars, versus selling 500 courses at the rate of $10 for each course. Think about it that way. That's the process I had to go through.

Watch the sessions of Think in Color 2023 available for on-demand

There you go -- the key insights of the three-hour event designed to help budding and established entrepreneurs working in the creation economy. We urge you to go further into the topics that piqued your interest.