What is it that Casey Richardson is bringing access to the community, information, along with the capital Black female entrepreneurs
Find out how Casey Richardson used her experience with tech-related funding to create BLAZE Group and empower a group made up of Black female entrepreneurs.
Two and a half two years ago, Richardson's world was quite different. She was a resident of California's Bay Area and worked for Bank of America, structuring large-scale loans to tech firms. It was discovered that she was never the sole Black female on the team in the entire 10 years working employed in finance, she failed to have any funds allocated to any Black firm.
"It showed me that not just was the information not reaching the people however, the information was not reaching my community," Casey recalls.
In the month of October, 2020 Casey changed her mind.
In light of her experience in tech funding and business, she decided to quit her 9-to-5 job and founded the BLAZE Group -- Building leaders and accepting no Excuses -- to provide assistance, knowledge, and a community for the previously under-served communities of Black women who are entrepreneurs.
And 2023 is coming up: BLAZE Group offers online courses through Blaze Knowledge Academy, group coaching, an online community, the application, individual retreats as well as a biannual summit along with proprietary research led by Casey and her global team.
What was she able to accomplish in just two years? This was due to providing services that addressed the need that is not being met, a deliberate development of audiences, and selecting the right methods and people.
From corporate finance specialist to an entrepreneur who can make a difference
Prior to becoming a fully-time entrepreneur, Casey worked as a finance specialist in making billion-dollar loans for tech companies. Always at the forefront technological advancements. However, she was also conscious of the differences between her coworkers and the companies that they funded. "I was the sole Black female member of the team. It was a sign of how educated and my expertise along with my personal experiences were not available in my communities."
Black women are the biggest group of entrepreneurs within the United States -- but only 3percent of them own "mature" companies while the vast majority of entrepreneurs are self-funded with startup capital. The gap is huge in the funding and resources that are available to Black female entrepreneurs when compared to those of white male entrepreneurs.
In the summer of the year 2020 Casey participated in the demonstrations that protested against police brutality. Casey found community and morale that was missing in her daily job. "I felt more alive protesting than I had in all of my years in the midst of those flirty transactions," she says. "I had the pleasure of being with people who were brave and courageous enough to take choices that have an actual influence on the world."
At the end of October, she was finished at the end of her job in finance at the corporate level but not for her success, rather because of it. What else could she be able to use her talent for? What else could she do? use her knowledge of financial and technological advancement to help others Black women be successful?
"I'm completely at ease within these four walls. However, I'd wager money on myself any day to think that I'd be able to take up more space in the world. So I quit."
She took a break from her work and moved to Africa, and started building BLAZE Group, a location-independent firm that is helping Black women from all over the world to accomplish the similar thing.
BLAZE Grup is specifically targeting entrepreneurs during their initial three years of business development within what Casey refers to as the "entrepreneurial stage."
"BLAZE exists to really help users understand how to run their organizations with a way that keeps the company going. This is done by providing technological solutions which is why we're among those," she tells us.
To reach out to this particular group of people, Casey had to build solid relationships with them.
What are the reasons to create your own email lists (and how to begin)
Casey was inspired to develop an online business training course of the highest quality immediately -- however, it was crucial to create an audience prior to the time she even launched her first course.
Casey did not want this to occur with the release of the first BLAZE product. Therefore, she started her first activities to build an audience by setting a specific objective, which was to establish an email list.
Why do people choose email subscribers over social media followers? "I was aware I had to build and keep my personal connections," explains Casey.
"On Instagram, you don't control the relationship with your friend. You're not sure what their email address is as well as if their handle is changed, then you must know what the name of the new handle," Casey says.
"I would like to have relationships , and reach them on a regular basis to increase brand awareness and confidence."
Contacting her current contacts
15 minute discovery calls for her intended public
1. Inquiring about her current contacts
There's plenty of online information on how you can grow your followers, and many creators are of the belief that their first clients are people who have never heard of them on social media. If you create with your first audience it's lacking a massive source of help from family and friends!
Casey reached out to everyone in her circle to let her be aware that she's planning to start an entrepreneurship newsletter and she asked if anyone would like to join.
"I began by looking through my most recent texts, Instagram DMs, Twitter and Facebook... I put a timer on and then sent as many as I could in 5 minute chunks," she describes.
Numerous family members and friends embraced Casey as a model for her product. She started to create a strong email list in preparation for her launch.
2. 15-minute discovery calls with her targeted audience
One of the best methods to meet the people you meet is to talk with them.
Casey shared a post on Facebook on Monday, announcing that she'd created an online course that would assist Black women to better comprehend the world of business. "If you'd like me to talk to you for fifteen minutes, and you have questions, let me know," she added.
She was aware that those who had a telephone conversation to her would be her primary group: Black women interested in the business world.
Instead of discussing the course's content or even marketing her own course, Casey asked questions like, "What keeps you up at late at night? What is your biggest anxiety? If you only had one year, what do you would like to be?" She used the time to help women feel heard and valued. Then, she realized what was the most crucial issue to be focusing on in her course content.
"Just making space and making them feel relaxed is an important part of magic."
"By the time they had concluded the majority of these calls, they were asking, "Can I buy the program now? What do need to buy?" Casey recalls. The course was in the stage of development. The course was being developed, but she had gathered the email addresses of those who signed up and promised that she would notify them of the moment it was launched.
When the class was completed She tweeted the course to her email list which she had built using these two tactics. "There already was this expectation in the minds of all those who signed up. They were ready to enroll."
What did she get? The 80 percent of women she spoke on the first chat became customers.
In the past two years, Casey still offers free discovery calls as part of her sales process. If potential customers have questions about this Business Intensive, they may make an appointment for a absolutely free telephone contact to Casey.
"On average, you need five follow-ups to conclude a deal. The majority of entrepreneurs recognize this fact," Says Casey. "I utilize these calls to actually make the sale."
Working with the appropriate equipment and the right people will help Casey grow her business
There is a current offering, BLAZE is offering online training and masterclasses and group coaching programmes as well as an online community. webcasts and the TablexTribe app for mobile phones and the biannual online conference (a 2022 Webby Awards winner to be the top in Finance, Business and finance), and proprietary research.
How do they manage all these things all with such a great deal of love and intention?
Casey has put together an international team that will help her grow different aspects of her business, including:
Blogger and Content Marketer based in Nigeria
A junior consultant, with the base of London
Brand manager and producer (her fiance!) who grew the BLAZE Group Instagram from 1,300 users in May 2022 and over 70,000 at the time of the launch in 2023.
An executive assistant from Kenya
A researcher analyst who writes research paper in a variety of industries. He helps BLAZE discover new clients through consulting
A production assistant to the annual Blaze Virtual Summit
Her strategy isn't just about hiring people to join her team , but also hiring tools also.
"I employ tools at a speed," Casey laughs. "And I love it since there's some the scale."
A rise in revenues doesn't necessarily indicate that your business has expanded, particularly if you're working harder or spending more to support that growth.
"The growth in revenue should not be the main goal," explains Casey. "If your costs are rising at the same rate the revenue is growing, your bottom line doesn't change."
"Scale is when you're in a position to increase revenue and costs and duration you are spending aren't in any way affected."
The experience gained in the technology industry has taught Casey how powerful no-code tools , as well as how powerful integrations and automations can be. In the process of the creation of BLAZE Group, she leveraged low- and no-code solutions such as and Zapier to ensure that everything runs smoothly.
How Casey utilizes her classes Community, downloads, as well as Community
" was the very first software I needed to utilize to offer things on an enormous scale" Casey shares.
These techniques give Casey "more time to finish thoughtful things" like the one-on-one discovery calls she offers potential clients.
Casey created her first digital product, dubbed The Blaze Business intensive online course. It includes . The self-paced six-week course that covers "Business Building, Business Management as well as the business Excellence to be a successful Black Woman."
"It was built using no codes. I built it when was doing the 14-day free trials," Casey remembers. "I created the entire course within this timeframe and then began to sell it after the trial expired so that I could make quickly profitably."
(Want to emulate Casey's success? Start a free trial and take the time to get the course materials set up, and then upgrade when you're ready start selling.)
This course is part of the Blaze Knowledge Academy which is a set of instructional resources that businesses Casey created on her website. The Academy is also the home of:
A lot of entrepreneurship masterclasses. Many of which are offered for free
Her online community, known as the Blaze Women's Network has nearly 7,000 members
"People are able to choose signing up to the Blaze Women's Network absolutely free," Casey explains. Virtual coworking is what we do, I host webinars and then funnel people into the courses that are paid for."
As well as introducing customers to items that are helpful and solutions, Casey's Community provides members with an inviting and warm space to connect with other founders.
"It was once the case that content was the most important thing, but things have been changed and now 'community is the king.' The market is now flooded with community-based applications... as well as ones that aren't perceived as spam are genuine."
The outcomes of her work using it has given Casey a rubric for the things to look for when selecting a tool for creating code-free. "You are a highly adaptable system, which has allowed me to develop end-to end solutions from within the system," Casey explains. "And I've used the exact scorecard in evaluating the software as I'm looking that I can improve to this."
"It truly is gorgeous to use solutions that can impact the entire world with ways that are affordable and easily accessible to the people that are disadvantaged today."
Don't try to do everything at the same time
With all the accomplishments Casey has achieved within just two years of being the BLAZE's CEO BLAZE the company, her tips for new creators might come as an unexpected one: try to be less, at minimum, at the time you get into the game.
"Keep the primary thing in mind primary, which is what you should have been doing" She advises. The Hustle culture informs entrepreneurs who are just beginning their journey that there is not enough time to complete the work and the output of content. However, Casey is a reminder of fellow creators "There's no limit to the things you can do regardless of how talented you are."
"You don't have to do everything out of the box. And it's going to be really, really hard to perfect multiple things simultaneously as you're only beginning."
She recommends starting with a signature deal before building up on that. "I first started with an Blaze Intensive, my first course. This is the main course I took. Entrepreneurs should spend time figuring the core of their services should consist of, what they want to be known for prior to adding a range of additional items."
There's lots to think about at the start: the message you want to convey and your target market, the marketing process and customer satisfaction. Once you've mastered it? This opens up the doors to so much more.
"I believe we've got the capacity to accomplish numerous things. Maybe in 200 years. Since Blaze continues to be around. However, that shouldn't have to happen today."
We're honored to be a vital to the story of Casey We can't wait to see what's next for her and BLAZE Group -- this year, 200 years further down the line, and all the time between.
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