What's it about Casey Richardson is bringing access to information, community and money to Black female entrepreneurs
Learn how Casey Richardson used her experience of financing tech startups to establish BLAZE Group and empower a community composed of Black women who run businesses.
In the past two years it was a different world. She lived in California's Bay Area and worked for Bank of America, structuring massive loans for tech firms. The bank found her to be the only Black female in the group throughout her 10 years as a finance professional. She was not aware of any funding allotted to any Black company.
"It showed me that, it wasn't just that the message wasn't reaching the right people, but also that the message wasn't reaching my community," Casey recalls.
In the month of October, Casey decided to change her methods of working.
Based on her experiences working in finance for tech and in business, she came to the choice to quit the grind of 9-5 and started BLAZE The Group an organization for non-profits that is focused on creating leaders , and making no excuses. It provides guidance as well as guidance, and a community to those communities previously neglected by the system of Black women entrepreneurs.
In 2023, we're here: BLAZE Group offers online training courses via Blaze Knowledge Academy. Blaze Knowledge Academy, group coaching as well as an online community via the application, as well as in-person retreats and a biannual summit, as well as exclusive research led by Casey and her global group of experts.
What did she accomplish within just two years? The result was providing services to meet a specific, underserved requirement, and the deliberate growth of the target audience, in addition to deciding on the appropriate equipment and staff.
From corporate finance professional to an entrepreneur with the potential to change the world
Before becoming an entrepreneur full-time, Casey worked as a financial adviser that helped negotiate loans of billions of dollars to businesses who were in the technology field. Always on the cutting edge in technological advances. She also noticed an inequity between her fellow employees and ventures that they funded. "I was the sole Black female member of the team. The world was aware that I could compete at a college level, my knowledge and experience did not exist in my local communities."
Black women make up the most successful category among entrepreneurs across the United States -- but less than 3 percent are in possession of "mature" companies as well as the majority of entrepreneurs themselves fund their own startup capital. There's a significant gap regarding the amount of funding and other possibilities that are readily available in the hands of Black entrepreneurs, when they are compared with white males.
In the course of summer 2000, Casey took part in demonstrations against the use of force by police. Casey felt a sense of feeling of belonging and strength she'd previously never felt in her everyday job. "I found myself more alive and involved in protests than I did during my experiences of signing explicit sexually explicit contract," she says. "I felt like I was in a group of people who were brave enough and courageous to make choices that really matter."
In the month of October the conclusion of the month, her position ended in the middle of finance in her firm - however, not because of her having been successful however it was because it was due to. What other ways could she use her skills? What else could she do in order with her expertise in the fields of tech and finance, to aid other Black women achieve success?
"I'm very good within those four walls. Yet, I'd love to take money from my pocket at any time in order to believe that I'd be able to control the entirety of the planet. So I quit."
After that, she quit her job and relocated to Africa in the hopes of creating BLAZE Group, a location-independent business that helps Black women from all over the world to do similar goals.
BLAZE Group is specifically targeting entrepreneurs in the first three years after establishing their business that Casey describes as"the "entrepreneurial period."
"BLAZE helps people understand how they can manage their company to ensure that they are in operation. This is done through tech-enabled solutions. One of the solutions." she elaborates.
To reach out to the group of people, Casey needed to develop genuine friendships with them.
Why you should build an email database (and how to start)
Casey realized that she would like to design a high-end online business training program right at the start -- but she needed to build a following before she launched her first online course.
Casey wanted it not to take place at the time of the launch of the initial BLAZE product. So, she commenced her initial tasks to develop an audience. She had one purpose in mind: to establish an email subscriber list.
What makes email users more well-known than those who use social media? "I realized the necessity to build relationships with my peers," explains Casey.
"On Instagram, you don't hold the connection. You're not sure which email address is associated with their account or handle, and in the event that their handle changes it's best to are aware of what the username of the account is." Casey says.
"I would like to make contacts and to stay on their radar often so that they can build brand awareness and build confidence."
Looking for her contacts
15 minutes of discovery phone calls to her targeted group of clients
1. Contacting her current network
There's a lot of advice accessible online on how to expand your reach, however , most creators think that their initial customers will be people who have never heard of them on social media sites. But, if you start by focusing on your initial customers it's missing an enormous potential source of help from family and friends!
Casey met with everyone around her to let them know that she had started an entrepreneur newsletter and invited them to sign up.
"I began by going through all the latest texts, Instagram DMs, Twitter and Facebook... I set the alarm and made sure I had sent every message I could in five-minute intervals," the woman explains.
A lot of family and friends took Casey up on the offer Casey started to build an efficient email list prior to going to the launch of her new product.
2. A 15-minute discovery session is scheduled for her viewers
One of the best ways to meet the individuals whom you meet is by having a conversation to them.
Casey published a blog post in her Facebook and Twitter pages and revealed that she developed a program to help Black women get a better understanding of the world of business. "If there is a desire to speak with me for a 15-minute period If you have any questions, let me know," she added.
She was aware that those who made a phone call to her would be her most ideal clients: Black women interested in entrepreneurship.
Instead of talking about the course' content or advertising the program Casey was asking questions such as "What keep you up in the late at night? What's your greatest anxiety? After a year, what is the place you'd like to find yourself?" The chance was utilized to make women feel valued and respected. Then, she found out the most crucial things to take into consideration the materials she used in class.
"Just making space and helping them feel secure is the most important aspect of the joy."
"By the time they'd completed their majority of conversations, the callers asked "Can I have the class immediately?" Casey recalls. The course was in process of development. It was in the process of being created, but she had their email addresses and told them she'd inform of them the day that the first time that the course was launched.
After the class was complete It was promoted to the email list she had created with two techniques previously described. "There there was already a sense of excitement among the people who registered. Everyone was ready to join the group."
What were they able to discover? 80 percent of women she spoke to in the initial chat turned into customers.
Two years on, Casey still offers free discovery calls that assist with her marketing and sales processes. For prospective customers who have concerns regarding this Blaze Business Intensive, they may schedule an free Perfect Fit call to talk with Casey.
"On an average, it takes 5 follow-ups to close the deal. It's not enough business owners to be aware of this fact," claims Casey. "I make these calls to ensure that the transaction is completed."
What is the best way to utilize equipment? Working with the right team will help Casey to expand her company
Presently BLAZE offers online courses and masterclasses and groups coaching and an online community. webinars, as well as the TablexTribe mobile application and a biannual virtual gathering (a 2022 Webby Award Winner for the best in Finance and Business) and custom research.
How does she manage to manage it all while maintaining the same level of care and dedication?
Casey is putting together an international team to help to grow various aspects of her company, such as:
A Content Marketing and Blogger with their headquarters in Nigeria
A junior consultant with an office in London
A brand and production manager (her companion!) who grew the BLAZE Facebook Group account by 1300 users between May 2022 to over 70k by the 2023 launch
A executive assistant of Kenya
Research analyst who creates research paper covering a range of disciplines, aiding BLAZE to identify new clients to consult with
Production assistant for the two-time Blaze Virtual Summit
She is not only looking for individuals to join her team She also employs equipment.
"I employ tools at rapidity," Casey laughs. "And I like that since they are enormous tools."
A rise in revenues doesn't necessarily mean that your company is growing, in particular when you are working more or investing more money for that increase.
"The rise in revenue must not be the primary objective," explains Casey. "If the costs of your business are increasing similar to that revenue is growing the final result is not going to alter."
"Scale happens when you can boost revenue but your costs and the time you spend on them don't alter dramatically."
The experience gained in the technology industry has shown Casey the potential of non-code tools Integrations, automations, or integrations. When she started BLAZE Group, she leveraged the cost-effective and non-code alternatives like Zapier and Zapier to ensure that all was working smoothly.
What Casey makes use of for her classes Downloads, community, and the community
" was the very initial program I was required to employ to deliver services at scale," Casey shares.
These tools provide Casey "more the time she needs to do essential tasks" like the one-on-one appointments she makes with potential clients.
Casey has created her very first online product, which is dubbed"The Blaze Business Intense online course. It includes . The program is self-paced and six weeks long which focuses on "Business Construction and Business Management and business Excellence to the contemporary Black Woman."
"It was completely uncoded. The course was created by me when I was trying out the 14-day trial absolutely free," Casey remembers. "I designed the course in this timeframe and then started selling it before the date that it was due to expire, and was immediately successful."
(Want to emulate the success of Casey? Start by signing up for a test period of access for free and make sure you take time to get your materials for the course set up, then upgrade once you're ready to begin selling.)
The course forms part of the Blaze Knowledge Academy collection of education resources for businesses Casey developed on her site. The Academy is also home to:
Numerous entrepreneurship masterclasses. The majority of these she provides gratis
The online community she has created, called known as The Blaze Women's Network, Blaze Women's Network includes more than 7000 people
"People have the option of joining to the Blaze Women's Network absolutely free," Casey explains. We conduct virtual coworking sessions as well as hosting webinars which allow participants to attend paid classes."
As well as introducing consumers to products that are useful in addition to offering members the opportunity to have a welcoming and friendly area to connect with other founders.
"It was once that "content was the main factor,' but it's been changed to the belief that "community" is the key. There are many looking for community-based applications... in addition as those which don't look like spam seem to be legitimate."
Experience with the app has offered Casey an idea of things to look for in an application that doesn't need programming. "You are a very versatile platformthat has allowed me to do some all-inclusive solutions directly from the system," she describes. "And I've used that exact scorecard whenever I evaluate my tools because I want them to develop to be as flexible as it is."
"It truly is an incredible thing to implement strategies to transform the environment with strategies that are cost-effective and accessible to those who are marginalized within the current system."
Don't try to do everything at once.
With all the things Casey achieved in just two years of being the chief executive officer at BLAZE the company, her suggestion to younger creators may be a shocker: Do much less, at minimum, at the beginning.
"Keep the main thing primary it's the first thing that you should achieve," she suggests. The Hustle culture is a way to teach entrepreneurs starting their career that it's difficult to do all of the work or content produced. However, Casey encourages other creators to take note of "There's only the amount you have to do regardless of how talented you are."
"You don't have to be able to master all basics right out of the box, however it's going to be difficult to learn a range of things simultaneously when you're only beginning."
It is advised to start with an initial signature course and then build upon it. "I first started with one of the courses called the Blaze Intensive, my first course, and that remains my favorite course. Entrepreneurs have to determine the core of what their company's product has to be, how they wish to be acknowledged for, before creating a myriad of different kinds of."
There are many things to take into consideration at the beginning, starting with your message and the target market as well as marketing techniques and satisfaction of your clients. If you've got this down? You open up the potential to do so much more.
"I am convinced that we can accomplish a myriad of things. In the coming 200 years. As Blaze continues to exist. However, that shouldn't mean it has to occur today."
We're thrilled to be a part of the journey that Casey is currently on. We cannot wait for the next chapter to be written for her and the other members of BLAZE Group. BLAZE Group -- this year, another 200 years later as well as every day in between.
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