What exactly is it that Casey Richardson is bringing access to community, knowledge and money to Black female entrepreneurs

Jan 20, 2023

Learn how Casey Richardson used her experience with tech-related funding to establish BLAZE Group and empower a group comprised of Black women entrepreneurs.

It was an entirely different time. Ariel Richardson was from the California's Bay Area and worked for Bank of America, structuring huge loans for tech firms. Also, as it turned out she was the only Black female on the team throughout the entire decade working in finance. She could not get funding from any Black company.

"It led me to realise that there was no way to reach that point, and the money wasn't allotted to my local communities," Casey recalls.

In October, Casey made the decision to alter her method of work.

Based on her experiences working in tech finance and business , she decided to leave her 9-5 position and create BLAZE Group. BLAZE Group"Building leaders and not making excuses in providing advice, support, and guidance for the previously unserved population of Black women who are entrepreneurs.

2023 is coming: BLAZE Group offers online classes through Blaze Knowledge Academy. Blaze Knowledge Academy, group coaching as well as an online community that is called"the app," retreats held in person , a bi-annual summit, and exclusive research. The entire operation is under the direction of Casey and her group of experts.

What's the method she managed to accomplish this feat in only two years? It was a combination of offering solutions that meet the gaps in the market, as well as a planned creating of audiences and finding the most effective ways and methods.

From corporate finance specialist to a revolutionary businessman

Prior to becoming an entrepreneur on a full-time basis, Casey was a finance professional that arranged billion-dollar loan for companies in the tech industry. Always up to date with the latest technology, she observed a gap in the equity between her colleagues and the organizations they supported. "I was never the only Black female on the team." On the team. I could see my academic levels, my experience as well as my experience were not available for my local community."

Black females constitute the most efficient segment of entrepreneurs across the United States -- but less than 3% have "mature" companies, while most entrepreneurs fund themselves with the capital needed to start. There's a wide disparity in the quantity of funding and other resources that are readily available to Black female entrepreneurs as compared to the white male entrepreneurs.

At the beginning of the summer of 2000 Casey participated in the demonstrations against police brutality. She felt a sense of community and the enthusiasm was something she never felt when working. "I discovered that I was more motivated and engaged during demonstrations than I've been throughout the time I've been working on the sexually explicit and sexually explicit problems," she says. "I found myself in the same spaces as people who were courageous and brave enough to express their opinion on crucial issues."

At the end of the month the month, she had finished while working as a financial manager at an immense firm. It wasn't because of her success and was however, she was because that she was. What else can she use her skills? What else can she do? utilize her experience in technological advancements and financial innovations in helping others Black women achieve their dreams?

"I'm quite comfortable in the walls. Yet, I'd be willing to have money in my pocket every day to be convinced that I could be able to conquer more of the earth. So I quit."

The job she was working for was eliminated after which she moved to Africa for the start of BLAZE Group, a location-independent company which permits Black women all over the globe to achieve similar goals.

BLAZE The Company has a particular focus on entrepreneurs during the initial three years of starting their business that Casey refers to as"the "entrepreneurial time."

"BLAZE aids clients to understand the most efficient ways to run their businesses to ensure that their operations are running well. This is accomplished by providing technologically-powered solutions. We're in the group," she says.

In order to serve this specific audience, Casey had to build genuine relationships with them.

The reasons behind creating emails (and the steps to take in order to start)

Casey discovered that she'd like to develop a top-of-the-line business-related online courses at the beginning and was required to identify a target market prior to when she launched the first of her courses.

Casey was determined to make sure that this wouldn't happen with the launch of BLAZE's initial product. So, she took the first steps to build an audience. Her purpose that was obvious and that was to establish an email list of subscribers.

Why are people choosing people who opt to join the mailing lists of social networking sites? "I knew that I was required to develop relationships with people I know," explains Casey.

"On Instagram, you don't have the right to manage your relationship. You may not know that you have an email address linked to their account . Likewise, if they change their handle, you'll have to know what their new handle is," Casey says.

"I am looking to build contacts, and be present before them regular basis to enhance that recognition and increase confidence."

Making contact with her contacts from her moment

15 min discovery call with her public target

1. Contacting her contacts currently

There's a wealth of knowledge about how to improve your visibility, and many webmasters believe that the first clients they'll get are people who haven't had an opportunity to explore their site through social media. If you create with your initial group of followers You're not benefiting from the best resource of support that's your friends and family!

Casey has sent out an email to everyone of her social network to notify her that she was creating an Entrepreneur Newsletter and requested that you sign up.

"I began by looking through the messages in text that I'd posted, Instagram DMs, Twitter and Facebook... I set my alarm, and was sure to send any messages could be sent in five minutes chunks," she says.

Numerous family and acquaintances have responded to Casey regarding the issue. Casey has begun creating an email database. It will continue to grow through the date of her launch.

2. 15 minutes discovery call her general access to the general

One of the most efficient ways to get in touch with individuals you would like to know is through talking with them.

Casey published a post on Facebook that announced the birth of a class that will help Black women better understand the working environment. "If you'd like me to talk to members for 15 minutes If there's concerns, please be sure to let me know," she added.

The people who called to set up a meeting for her to talk were her ideal clients: Black women interested in the world of business.

Instead of getting focused on the contents or marketing her own products, Casey asked questions like, "What keeps you up to late at the night? What's your greatest fear? Within a single year, what would you rather be?" This was the moment for teachers to make the women feel appreciated and valued. She also realized the importance of incorporating into the classes she taught.

"Just giving them a to make them feel welcomed is one of the factors that make the difference."

"By the time they had concluded the majority of their conversations the students began asking "Can I buy this course today?" Casey remembers. The course was still in the process of being built. The course was completed but she'd already gathered the names of their email addresses, and she had said she'd let them know that it would be available when it was released.

Once the course was completed after which she announced it on her list of email addresses that she created using the two techniques previously mentioned. "There already was a keen expectation from these participants. They were all set to go."

What did they learn? The majority of women she talked to during the initial call were customers.

In the past 2 years of her service, Casey continues to offer no-cost consultations on her sales and marketing techniques. For potential clients who have doubts about Blaze Business Intensive, Blaze Business Intensive and Blaze Business Intensive, they can make an appointment for an appointment for a absolutely free perfect-fit call for Casey.

"On average, you'll need five more follow-ups to conclude the agreement. This is unfortunate because the majority of entrepreneurs aren't aware of that," says Casey. "I am a caller to conclude deals."

Utilizing the correct resources and individuals can help Casey create her own business

Presently, BLAZE offers online courses and masterclasses as well as groups coaching programs and an online forum. webinars and TablexTribe TablexTribe, the TablexTribe mobile app as well as biannual conferences on technology in the digital age (a 2022 Webby Award Winner to recognize the best in finance and business) in addition to proprietary research.

What will she be able to be able to do in order to deal with this with so many considerations and care?

Casey has gathered an international team of employees who will aid in the expansion of different areas of her company, such as:

A content marketer and blogger with a base in Nigeria

A junior consultant based in London

Production and brand manager (her spouse!) who grew the BLAZE BLAZE Group Instagram to 1,300 people in the month of May 2022 and reached 70,000 when it was due to launch in 2023.

Executive Assistants and Executive Support from Kenya

Research analyst who creates research papers in a variety of fields. She aids BLAZE to find new customers for the consulting services it offers.

Assistant to the team responsible for production each semi-annual Blaze Virtual Summit

Her approach isn't simply hiring people to join her group. She also hires equipment.

"I employ tools I hire with speed," Casey laughs. "And I love it , because it's huge."

Growth in revenue might not necessarily mean that the business is growing even if you're already placed in a position to be more efficient or are spending additional money to help expand.

"The growth in revenue is not your primary objective," explains Casey. "If you're increasing your expenses at the same time that your income increases, then the expense to run your business will not change."

"Scale happens when you can raise revenue and also the price and time your expenditure doesn't drastically change."

Her experience as a technology expert has taught Casey the potential of non-coding instruments like automations, integrations and as also integrations. While she created BLAZE Group, she leveraged instruments that cost little and did not require code, such as Zapier to make sure that the entire process worked efficiently.

What Casey utilizes in her classes are Communities, downloads, and Community

" Was the very first program I ever used to provide goods of an enormous size" Casey shares.

They give Casey "more the time she requires to concentrate on the things she is in control of" such as the one-on-one conversation with customers interested in becoming clients.

Casey created her first web-based course,"the Blaze Business intensive online course," which includes . The course is self-paced, and it's a 6-week course that focuses on "Business Development as well as business Management and the business Performance for people who identify as an "Instagram-friendly Modern Black Woman."

"It wasn't code at least. The course was designed during the 14 trial days, which was free of charge" Casey remembers. "I developed all the course in the timeframe, then started to market the course prior to the expiration date so that it could earn an income."

(Want to to achieve the same success as Casey? Join for a cost-free plan and take your time to have the course materials set up then upgrade once you're ready for selling.)

This course makes up the Blaze Knowledge Academy which is an educational collection of materials for business Casey has created through her website. The Academy further includes:

Many entrepreneurship masterclasses are offered, the majority of which are available free of charge to participants.

The online community she founded is called"the Blaze Women's Network has a membership of over 7000.

"People have the option of signing up to the Blaze Women's Network absolutely free," Casey explains. We organize virtual meetings for coworking as well as host webinars that guide attendees on the cost of courses."

In addition to introducing customers to helpful products and services, Casey's Community provides members with a warm and enjoyable place to meet other founders.

"It was the custom that content reigned as the king of the hill. Now, the trend is shifting towards the culture of the community as the ultimate King of the Hill. People are searching for community-oriented applications... as well as applications that don't appear to be fake. These applications are thought authentic."

The experience she has had using it has given Casey an idea of aspects to be looking at inside the application to make zero-code. "You have a very adaptable platform that has allowed me to design end-to end solutions with your tools," Casey explains. "And I've utilized the exact scoring system to assess the software as I'm looking with the ability to extend my use of the platform you offer."

"It really is a joy using solutions to revolutionize the world through methods that are cost-effective and accessible for everyone who has been excluded in the past."

Try not to do all of the work at once.

All that Casey achieved in less than two years as BLAZE's CEO, BLAZE and the advice she gave for new developers could be as if it's a complete shock system . Make less mistakes at the beginning and then at the point where you're able to begin playing the game.

"Keep your most essential things first. That's precisely what you should take care of," she advises. The Hustle culture encourages anyone new to the industry to understand the fact that it's impossible to make everything, and create content. But, Casey encourages other creators to "There's just one limitation on how much you can accomplish, regardless of how skilled you might be."

"You are not required to do everything right from the beginning. But, it is extremely difficult to perfect many different things at the same moment at the starting out."

It is suggested to begin with a specific class for more development. "I first started by taking the Blaze Intensive, my first course and it remains my favorite course. Entrepreneurs have to figure out what the distinctiveness of their offerings to be, their goals in order to become famous prior to adding various alternatives."

There's lots to consider starting by defining your messages and intended audience, as well as your customers' service and marketing technology. What happens once you're finished with this? There are many possibilities that you can explore more.

"I think we've got the capability to do numerous things. Over the next 200 years. As Blaze is still around. This doesn't mean it has taken place in the present."

We're thankful to have participated part of the journey of Casey and are excited to learn the next steps for her and the BLAZE Group -- in the coming year, 200 years in the future , as well as in the decades between.

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