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Think in Color 2023: Head of the Table

Nov 16, 2023

The Think In Color 2023 has officially come to an end! We're glad and grateful for the opportunity to take in our line-up of brilliant women as well as BIPOC creators and innovators in the field. We'd like to think that by the end of the event you were impressed by our speaker's adventures and learnt how to build an effective virtual community, expand your offerings and expand your business, among other things.

Although many topics were covered at the event, we've done our best to share the best moments with our readers. Learn more about our key takeaways from every speaker.

Skip ahead:

Creating Cozy & Collaborative Virtual Communities

Cicely Blain, anti-racism consultant & Founder Bakau Consulting. Bakau Consulting

Description of the session: While remote working was a reality prior to COVID-19, the epidemic accelerated the need for businesses to shift to a virtual setting. By extension, businesses that were looking to keep a tight relationship with their customers set up virtual communities where the same-minded customers can benefit from and help each other. It can, however, be difficult to create an online community as intimate as one that is physically.

In this talk, Cicely Blain shares their journey to build their virtual community, Living Room. The group shared how they created warm and inviting atmosphere in the digital world, developing inclusive and safe communities and utilizing technology to address the needs of people.

  Principal takeaways  

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

Prior to launching 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 would mostly cater to people like DEI practitioners, consultants, and HR professionals who do similar work.

Following, Cicely had to figure out what they really desired.

      "I was thinking about"What do these people yearning for, particularly in these crucial times when so many things are shifting and they're being called differently?    

      The people are clearly looking for a sense of community, of connection, solidarity, and unity even when they feel the feeling of. [They're also] looking for resources and looking to learn."  

  Make your content relatable to your audience  

The best way to get people to join your virtual community is to provide them with something they can relate to. For Cicely the thing that was relatable was their living space. They were looking to recreate exactly the same cozy and comforting atmosphere that their own living room provided them.

      "I wondered, "What is it that I want people feeling in this place?' I thought, hey I would like people to feel exactly the as they do when they come into a physical space that's warm and welcoming and cozy. I wanted them to feel relaxed, content, supported, connected, and seen."  

Cicely incorporates this spirit into the community by:

  • The beginning of every virtual conference begins with a 10 minute reflection. They ask a simple questions on the screen in order for participants to engage in an internal reflection.
  • playing a soothing music playlist based on R&B to help listeners relax and get comfortable with the conversation.
  • Approaching each call like they're having fun with their closest friends. While making videos for their online courses, Cicely might be doing her makeup, or making a cup of tea in the kitchen.

  Provide a variety of ways that community members can get what they need  

While members of the virtual community are generally similar to each other, they will have different needs as well as strengths and weaknesses. In your own company, you'll have to discover different ways in that you are able to meet the needs of your community members, despite the differences.

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

  • Offering various forms of engagement (e.g. chat forums, live discussions, comprehensive online courses and more. );
  • Defines the community's values and guidelines;
  • Lets people show in their authentic selves;
  • Eliminating unnecessary stresses, like time limitations as well as meeting agendas
  • Consider accessibility requirements (e.g. disabilities and neurodivergence) and other.

Funds In The Funnel: Maximizing sales with a funnel that is focused on the customer.

Ellie Diop, Content & Coaching Coach for Funding in Ellievated Academy

Description of the session: In order to build an effective business, you need customers to take a purchase or use your services. But, most businesses make the mistake of creating content they think their ideal customers would want rather than what their customers actually want. In this presentation, Ellie explains how you can grow your business and boost sales by establishing the right funnel that entices your ideal customers and caters to their needs and wants.

  Principal takeaways  

  Every element of content has a role to play.  

A funnel that is focused on the customer can be described as establishing a connection with your customers. The most effective way to achieve this is to develop content that is informative, useful, relevant and valuable for customers. A funnel designed to be customer-focused has five stages:

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

When it comes to the value of writing the right content Ellie says, "Every piece of content you create is a member of the sales staff. Therefore, whatever you published just three months ago, is working to move people down this funnel... Being consistent and presenting every day with a consistent tone creates something predictable for customers to comprehend so they can move through the sales funnel."

  Define your brand  

If you're not aware of whom your goods or services target, nobody will buy from you or work with them. Therefore, before you build a funnel, define your brand's mission and purpose beginning with the ideal customer. You can ask yourself:

  • Who do I serve?
  • How can I assist them to solve?
  • What can I do?

The answers to these questions provide the basis for every business decision. Ellie proposes a simple template for this: I help your target audience to achieve [YOUR PURPOSE] by [YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE]

In her own experience with growing her business, Ellie says, "For me, it could be "I assist women in building prosperous businesses by giving them strategies and financing techniques '... For so long, I had this on a sticky note up in a corner, so every time I went to create a video, I remembered who I was speaking with."

  Develop your social media followers  

Social media is considered to be one of the most efficient digital platforms for creating the brand's reputation and driving leads for your company. It's so efficient that the majority of people will browse through the profile of your company's Instagram profile (or the other social media pages) before they visit your website.

Thus, you must invest time (and perhaps funds) to your social media content in order to make it more visible. Some ways you can do that is by:

  • creating engaging, educational and sharing-friendly video content (especially video)
  • Running paid ads
  • Collaborating with influencers with the same target market as you

  Utilize lead magnets to build out your list of email subscribers  

When you're making content, you want to bring the maximum number of people who aren't on social media on your mailing list. If people sign up to your mailing list it gives an opportunity for you to connect directly with them - that's more beneficial than if they happen to stumble onto your videos and posts when they browse Instagram or X (formerly Twitter). That's where lead magnets can come in.

With lead magnets, you're giving worth to get people's details of contact (usually their email and name address). However, you may solicit other information as well. For example, at the beginning of her company, Ellie offered free 1-on-1 sessions to customers to get testimonials. Ellie used the testimonials she received to secure her first set of clients who paid.

      "You've gotta look at the question, "What's an area that I can deliver an amazing free service that will inspire people? and make that your main draw. [In my business], I've recently implemented a new strategy that instead of directing you directly to a item, we instead push the user to sign up for a free deal that is a free masterclass. Then we sell on the backend. We have had great results."  

  Retaining existing customers is simpler than getting new customers  

Each new lead that you receive each lead you receive, you must have to go through the procedure of moving them through the sales funnel -- which is a lot harder than convincing an already existing client to buy from you again. So focus on customer retention equally, if not more, than acquiring customers.

In order to keep your clients, here are the steps you can take:

  • Deliver high-quality customer service
  • Use customer surveys to get feedback
  • Get testimonials from happy customer (offer incentives, if it is possible)
  • Create a new product that will fill the gaps in the market

In creating the second deal, Ellie shares, "I created my first business credit class for $15. In the meantime, I was getting comments from my customers on what theyrequire in the future. Then I created my Business Credit revamped. Then I created the Business Credit masterclass, and after that, the whole collection. It turned out that the majority of the people who bought the first one then bought the next one to make up the missing pieces. [Then] they bought the third because they grew in skills, they wanted to know more."

Growing Both B2C and B2B Business to generate multiple revenue streams

Jessica Chen, Global Communication Expert & CEO of Soulcast Media

Description of session: Businesses in general, have three primary revenue and sales factors: the products or services they offer, the content they create for the purpose of describing their services or products, and the channels through which they disseminate that information. In this session, Jessica discusses the power of LinkedIn to assist businesses in connecting with both their clients (B2C) as well as other companies (B2B) How to craft your content to speak to both audiences, and ways to enhance the range of services you offer to suit both groups.

  LinkedIn is a powerful way to share content on LinkedIn and grow your visibility  

Although many professionals and entrepreneurs are on LinkedIn however, they aren't considering it a platform where you are able to increase your reach and publish content. Instead, they view it as an avenue to update resumes, find job opportunities, and communicating with friends and acquaintances.

In reality, LinkedIn is a social media platform, just like Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), and must be treated in the same way. There is only one difference: the kind of content that you share.

The appeal of LinkedIn, Jessica says, "The beauty of LinkedIn is this you're communicating with a specific group of people who are engaged in the process of personal development and are eager to learn."

Jessica also shares the process of how she went from talking about her experiences as a reporter in 2018 and then becoming a accredited Top Voice and a LinkedIn instructor within five years. Jessica attributes this to posting consistently on the platform and connecting with a wide range of people who can profit from her services to help people improve their communication abilities.

  Tweak your messaging to fit both B2C as well as B2B viewers.  

Most business owners believe they can only gain visibility when their content is targeted to consumers who are merely individuals. This isn't true.

The strength of LinkedIn is that it allows the user to alter their message so that it can be tailored to B2B and B2C audiences. Your offer doesn't need to change, but changing the way you describe your business will increase your visibility and attract both individual consumers and businesses.

"I have found that, if I want to speak to a B2C audience I use language like 'you', 'your' Have you ever thought about ...?'""you"?" asks Jessica. "My style of speaking is clear, so anyone who reads my material feels as if it's a personal message.

      "[With the B2B marketInstead of using 'you' and "your", I'm framing my talk by saying things like"the team' and 'the organization'. It's more positive and [less personal."  

  Position yourself as a thought leader for B2B customers.  

In contrast to individual buyers who desire a top-quality product, B2B audiences want to be sure they're getting the best. So to get the attention of B2B customers, you'll have establish yourself as a professional or thought-leader in your industry, even if your offer is generally geared towards B2C audiences.

In the case of an artist, you could develop and market courses in photography to your B2C audience. To get B2B leads, you can post thought leadership material about having a career in the arts or about building a business as an artist. If you provide one-on-one training classes to help people improve their productivity and efficient, you could appeal to B2B customers by releasing articles about improving productivity in the workplace.

So, you'll be able to change from selling B2C products like e-courses and 1-on-1 classes, to providing speaking engagements and workshops.

Crafting a Visible personal brand using video

XayLi Barclay expert as well as Visual Content Coach with Start Shoot Develop

Session Description If you're a business owner, it's easy to be viewed as unimportant, particularly if you're selling in a crowded market or industry. You can combat this by creating a personal brand through video content, such as shorter TikTok clips, Instagram Reels, or longer-form YouTube videos. In this talk, XayLi explains how you can make use of video content to promote your online course as well as to generate sales. establish your name in the minds of your customers.

  It doesn't take much information to start.  

When making your first livestream or creating your first livestream, not everything has to be flawless. You can start with what you already have. When you first start out, viewers will accept your poor quality video and poor editing skills as they understand that as time passes, you'll be better.

XayLi herself started using her laptop, a simple white background, and a run-off-the-mill ring light.

"This is the place where I got my start with my first job, and I was even approached to become an expert," she says. "I did not wait until I set up my newsroom to begin teaching others. I made use of what I had because I realized that the things I wanted to share was not just about how stunning your setup could be.

      In the present I'm using a built-in studio in my home However, this is the place where I started a few years in the past."    

  More resources will be available as you get more  

As you get more visibility with your videos and begin to earn income, you can start building up your collection and upgrade your video equipment. As an example, you could buy a more powerful camera or webcam as well as a tripod stand (worth between $500 and $1,000), a green screen and E-Camm Live as well as a teleprompter software along with a Adobe Premiere subscription for editing.

In a discussion about equipment and set upgrades, XayLi says, "[At this stage] it is possible to have multiple camera angles, and so on. It's time to start investing in those things because you're making money. We [often] think that we need to look good before the money comes. No. You need to get on the market, and after that the money will start coming in."

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

  Focus on one thing at a moment  

It's common to think that you have to do everything to scale your business. You must post on every channel, hop on every trend, and talk about several topics. However, this isn't always true. It's better to concentrate on one thing one at a time while you develop your image. It not only stops your energy from dwindling, but it also lets your viewers know what to expect from you every when you upload the video.

In accordance with XayLi Barclay's "Rule of 5 Ones" Here are five things to focus on when you are deciding on your digital strategy

  • One item or service
  • One possible market
  • One lead conversion tool
  • The most important traffic source
  • One business goal

Memberships -- The Good, The Bad as well as The Ugly

Teri Ijeoma the founder of Trade & Travel

Description of the session: If done right, memberships are an excellent way for companies to build stronger relationships with their clients, as well as generate extra revenue. Teri Ijeoma has created the membership program that she developed to support Trade & Travel and she now has over 35,000 people in her courses and 185,000 subscribers to her email list. In this presentation, Teri shares the benefits of establishing a membership system and provides a step-by-step guide on how companies are able to set up and manage to create memberships in a way that is effective.

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

If you're not a very well-known business, you'll be required to launch your own membership program, offering the benefits for no cost. Teri created her own with a free Facebook group. However, as you grow your network, it is important be aware of when you should transition from a free community into a paid-membership model.

These are indicators to be aware of prior to taking a turn:

  • The group you are working with is growing in size but your members are only paying a one-time fee for the service you offer, instead of paying for the additional benefits the group offers, e.g. year-long customer support, etc.
  • Group members start their independent group meetings, or sub-groups. This makes it harder to manage the administration of the group.
  • The group is hiring moderators and coaches to provide consulting services to group members, with no additional revenue generated from your members.

  Your membership program is a product in and of itself  

Many businesses that create online courses also have membership programs as add-ons to the courses. While a membership program is an effective method of making your course more attractive, you should treat it as a complete productit's not just a gimmick.

When discussing her Trade & Travel membership, Teri acknowledges "In my initial stages, I was thinking that it was a continuation of my training. It's not the case -- it's a product completely on its own. It should have its own marketing team, promotional and marketing plan... you should be thinking of it as a product itself."

  Be aware when you're pricing  

In the transition from a no-cost group to a membership model, think about your goal for income and set your price according to that. It's possible to make your offer lower to get more members. But if you're sure that your membership program is packed with quality, then don't hesitate to ask for a premium rate to get the program.

For example, if you're hoping to earn $10,000 each month, you'd better have 500 people pay $200 per month rather than 1,000 people to pay $100/month. In reality, the more expensive your rates are, the less potential customers are likely to sign up. This also means you'll hit your income goals faster, while finding it relatively easier to manage your program.

Head of the Discussion Panel for the Table

Diandra Marizet, (Host) The Executive Director & Co-Founder of Intersectional Environmentalist

Description of the session: This panel discussion includes the panelists Cicely, Ellie, Jessica, and XayLi giving their opinions about the significance of inclusion and diversity in the entrepreneurial space, the difficulties women as well as BIPOC business owners confront as they enter the creation economy and the best way to determine the right price for their goods ethically within a capitalist system.

Here are a few of the poignant concerns and questions in this conversation:

  A lot of women entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups have reached financial stability for the first time. What new challenges, issues, and opportunities does this bring?

Ellie Diop: Just like you've experienced poverty trauma There's also wealth trauma also. If you're one of the few in your family to own an e-commerce or a 7-figure business, there aren't numerous examples you can follow. There's a stigma that still exists when talking about money, especially in the case of a person with a different race earning more than what most people can imagine over the course of a lifetime.

For example, when I made my first million dollars, I was scared to leave my mom's house. I was reluctant to invest the money because I was unsure of what to do in the event that it went away. I was also afraid to share the news with my family since I was concerned that they would think differently of my character.

What I'd love to have more of is collaboration spaces like this that remove that stigma and say "Hey is something going on? If you're struggling to make money and what to spend your money for, don't be afraid to talk about it". The stigma that is perpetuated is a reason why it is common for people to make quite a bit of money only to later return to the point at which they began.

  Oftentimes, in business settings, we feel the need to assimilate, code-switch, remain silent, or put aspects of ourselves aside. We may not always think that we belong to the concept of professionalism. Did that experience influence the way you interact with your community and how do you integrate that experience into your work as an DEI professional?

Cicely Blain: With the systems that we grew up in and where we are seeing the same kind of person in media, TV as well as social media as well as when certain creators on the internet get traction while others get banned, you begin to think that you have to adhere to a particular way of being and speaking.

If you can find a place in which you're seen as what you really are by the people around you and your people in authority (even even if they're not having similar experiences to you) it's a great feeling. Although there is a growing number of representations and opportunities are more readily offered, there's still two standards for what people are expected to do. Sometimes we internalize those double rules (even though they might not be true) which can keep us from achieving our goals.

For example, on TikTok there are a lot of people who aren't well-dressed and polished constantly. While that's liberating but I'm of the opinion that that possibility is limited to a select few as there's an elevated expectation for others and how they present themselves.

  When do you decide that your current path doesn't align with the direction you're able to take you and what your passion could be, and you decide to move to full-time entrepreneurial?  

Jessica Chen: All of us reach a stage in our lives get to where we realise the goal we set out to attain is done and we're ready for an entirely new experience. Myself I was working in a great career that I was passionate about, but after ten years, I felt like there was more available. I've always been the type of person who has the ability to design my own path. Then I considered how I can pass along the techniques I've learned.

My first job was as a journalist, which may consider to be the only "proper" profession that doesn't allow you to share your thoughts, and you don't have your own voice and are merely sharing stories of other people. It was an upsetting transition to begin creating my own voice and displaying my personal style. That was definitely a learning process.

  How do you approach pricing your services or products in order to draw people who are aligned, ready to gain knowledge from you and recognize the value of your offering?

XayLi Barclay Says: Lots of times we price low however we can overwhelm those investingwhich is an injustice to the person. It's easy to think you'll attract a lot of people if you price cheap, but the reality is, you're getting overwhelmed people who aren't prepared to make a decision.

I worked with a business coach to figure out the amount I could make as well as to determine my pricing based on volumes. We see a lot of creators that launch a $7 course and make 6-figures off of that product and yet they lack enough volume. If you're a smaller creator, you need to be aware of what you want to accomplish in the business world so that you are able to price your product appropriately.

If I can sell five online courses at $1,000 per course, I'll be making $5,000. This is in contrast to selling 500 courses at $10 per course. Consider it this way. It's what I needed to experience.

Watch Think In Color 2023 sessions available for on-demand

Here's the scoop an overview of the most important insights from the three-hour-long event created for budding as well as experienced entrepreneurs in the creator economy. We invite you to dig deep into those topics that caught your interest.