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The Color of 2023 The Head of the Table

Nov 19, 2023

Think In Color 2023 has officially been completed! We're thrilled and grateful to have the chance to be able to enjoy our line-up of outstanding women and BIPOC makers as well as pioneers of the field. We'd like to think that by the end of your evening, you're impressed with our speaker's journeys and learned how to create a powerful online community, expand your service offerings, and scale your business in addition to other aspects.

While many subjects were discussed at the conference we've taken every opportunity to present the best of them for the consideration of. Learn more about what we took away from each of the speakers.

Skip ahead:

     Creating Cozy & Collaborative Virtual Communities    

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

The session's description Remote working was not a new concept prior to when COVID-19's discovery and was a catalyst for businesses to shift into a virtual environment. This meant that those trying to keep close relationships with their customers formed groups of like-minded people can learn from and assist with one another. However, it can be difficult to make it as tight-knit like an actual one.

In this presentation, Cicely Blain shares their experience in creating an online community, called Living Room. They shared their method to creating a cozy and warm atmosphere within a virtual space creating secure and welcoming communities as well as using technology to cater to the needs of individuals.

Principal takeaways

HTML0Find out who your customers are and what they are looking to find.

Prior to establishing Living Room, Cicely had determine the demographic they wanted to build this digital platform for. Because their work is rooted in the fight against racism and oppression, Cicely knew that this community would mostly cater to people like DEI professionals, consultants and HR professionals performing similar work.

Then, Cicely had to figure out what these people really desired.

"I considered, 'What are these folks looking towards, particularly at these crucial times when everything is shifting and governed by different names?

     People are certainly seeking an atmosphere of belonging, and solidarity connection when they feel of isolation. People are also seeking sources and are eager to learn more."

 Be relevant to the people you are targeting.

The best way for members to be convinced to join your community online is to provide them with something that they will be able to connect with. For Cicely this resonant thing was their living area. They were looking to replicate the exact comfortable and warm feeling that their living room offered them.

     "I was thinking, "What is it that I'd like people to feel when they enter this particular space? I thought to myself, I'd like for them to feel just as they do when they step into the physical space. It must be warm, welcoming and cozy. I would like them to be relaxed and content, as well as being understood, supported and encouraged."

Cicely infuses this spirit into the community by:

  • The first step in every virtual meeting is to start with a 10 minute time limit for reflection. Facilitators ask one easy inquiry on screen to encourage participants to conduct an internal reflection.
  • Music playlist with soft sounds based off R&B to help listeners relax and feel comfortable during a phone call.
  • Engaging in every conversation like they're engaging in an enjoyable conversation with their most beloved friends. While filming videos for their online class, Cicely might be doing her makeup, or pouring the perfect cup of coffee in the kitchen.

 Provide a variety of possibilities so that the community are able to choose from.

Although the people who make up the online community are likely to share a similarity with one others, they'll differ in their needs in terms of strengths, weaknesses, and needs. In the course of your business it is essential to find different ways in how you can satisfy the needs of your members, in spite of their different needs.

With Living Room, Cicely met the needs of the community through:

  • The company offers a variety of ways to engage (e.g. live chat, discussion forums and online-based classes with comprehensive content, etc. );
  • The community's values are defined as well as the guidelines for its members;
  • People should be able to show that they are authentic;
  • Decrease unnecessary stress, such as the time limit and agendas for meetings.
  • Considering accessibility needs (e.g. disabilities and neurodivergence) and other.

Fonds in the Funnel How to Maximize Sales With an affluent funnel

Ellie Diop, Content and Coaching Coach for Funding in the Ellievated Academy

The session's description: In order to build your business into a successful one, you need customers to buy or participate in your service. However, many businesses make the mistake of creating products that they believe the most ideal client would like rather than what their customers need. In this session, Ellie explains how you will grow your business and increase sales by creating the right funnel that entices the ideal customer and responds to their wants and needs.

 Principal takeaways

HTML0Each element in the content is crucial.

A funnel that is focused on the customer will help you build relationships with your customers. The best way to do this is to develop content that is informative, useful, relevant and valuable to them. A funnel created to be customer-focused comprises five steps:

  • Awareness
  • Discovery
  • Then there is the consideration
  • Conversion
  • Retention + Relationship

In regards to the necessity of writing material, Ellie states, "Every piece of content you write is an integral part of your sales team. What you wrote just three months ago, does the work of getting customers to buy through this funnel... Your consistent appearance using the same style sets a consistent tone for clients to understand and assist them navigate through this funnel."

Your brand's definition

If you're not aware of who your products or services cater to, then no one's going to buy from you or hire your services. When you design an internet-based funnel it is essential to clarify the purpose and the mission of your organization by beginning with your ideal clients. Consider:

  • Who do I serve?
  • How can I assist my client in resolving their issue?
  • What should I do?

These answers form the basis of every business decision. Ellie offers a straightforward model for this You can help your customers to fulfill the goals you have set through your product or service

Based on her experiences with growing her business, Ellie declares, "For me, it might be "I help women create lucrative businesses by supplying their business owners with financial and strategy strategies. '... for an extended period of time I kept this information on a sticky note up on the wall of my office. Every time I went to record an audio recording, I could tell the person I was talking to. "

Create your social media presence

Social media is among the most successful digital channels for generating brand awareness and also for creating leads for your business. It's so effective that most clients will go to your business's Instagram profile (or any of your social media accounts) prior to visiting your site.

Hence, you need to put in the your time (and possibly funds) to your social media content so that it becomes more noticeable. A way to accomplish this is by:

  • Engaging, informative, and shareable content (especially video)
  • Pay-per-click ads are running
  • Collaboration with influencers who have the same market segment as you

Make use of lead magnets in order to increase your email list

As you create content, it's important to add the majority of users from social media onto your list of email subscribers. When people join your email list you'll have the chance to engage directly with them. That's better than hoping that you'll randomly stumble across your content and posts while they browse on Instagram or X (formerly Twitter). Lead magnets is where they can be found.

In the ideal scenario, using lead magnets, you're handing worth in exchange for the contact information of your prospects (usually their email address as well as name address). However, you may solicit additional information, too. When she first started her company, Ellie offered free 1-on-1 training for clients in exchange for testimonials. Ellie used the testimonials she was given to find her first clients that paid.

     "You've to think about the question, "What's an area that I could provide an incredible gratuitous service that gets some one excited? Make that your primary incentive. My company changed my approach recently, where instead of forcing customers directly into a product, we rather encourage customers to take advantage of the free offer which is the free masterclass. It is then sold on the backend. Our success has been amazing."

 Maintaining customers who are already in the system is less difficult than getting new customers

When you are presented with a new lead every new lead, you need to be able to follow a process for driving them along the sales funnel -- which is much more difficult than convincing a previous customer to come back to you. Thus, you must focus on maintaining your customer in the same way or even more than you are focusing on customer acquisition.

To keep your clients, there are steps you should follow:

  • Provide high-quality customer service
  • Conduct surveys with customers to gather information and feedback
  • Collect testimonials from pleased clients (offer incentive programs, as it is)
  • Create a secondary offering that can fill in gap in the market

When she created the second offer, Ellie shares, "I have created my very first business credit class for $15. After that, I began listening to feedback about what my clients would like to see next. So, I came up with Business Credit, which is Business Credit revamped. Then, I came up with Business Credit, the Business Credit masterclass, and then, the complete collection. It was the result that the majority of those who bought the first version also purchased the second version to fill in the gaps elements. They later bought the 3rd version as they improved their skills, they wanted to be more knowledgeable."

The Growth of Both B2C as well as B2B Business to generate numerous revenue streams

Jessica Chen, Global Chief Executive Officer and Communication Expert of Soulcast Media

Description of session: Businesses in general, possess three major components of revenue and sales that they can consider: their services and offerings along with the content they create to explain their products/services and the channels by which they disseminate the content. In this talk, Jessica discusses the power of LinkedIn to help businesses communicate to their customers (B2C) and to other companies (B2B) and the ways you can ensure that your content is relevant to both types of customers and how you can improve the range of services you can offer both of these groups.

LinkedIn is a powerful platform for distributing content and boosting your profile

Many professional and business owners have profiles on LinkedIn but they do not consider LinkedIn a platform on which you are able to increase your profile's visibility or post articles. Instead, they see LinkedIn as an instrument to update resumes, search for job opportunities, and communicating with friends.

In actual life, LinkedIn is a social media platform, similar to Instagram as well as X (formerly Twitter), and ought to be treated as similar platforms. The only difference is that is the kind of content you publish.

Regarding the popularity of LinkedIn, Jessica says, "The advantage of LinkedIn is that it can reach some portion of the population that is in a mind space that is focused on professional growth and eagerness to improve their skills. "

Jessica will also share her journey from speaking about her work as a reporter in 2018 before becoming accredited Top Voice and a LinkedIn instructor in five years. Her reason for this is to post regularly on the platform and connecting to a variety of audiences that can benefit from her services in helping others learn more effective communicating techniques.

Modify your message to accommodate both B2C as as B2B audiences

The majority of business owners believe that they only get noticed in the event that their material is targeted to consumers who are merely people. But this is not the case.

The benefit of LinkedIn is its ability to allow you to reframe your message you can appeal to B2B and B2C audiences. The content you offer does not need to change, but altering the way you define your business will increase your visibility and draw business and individual clients.

"I know that when trying to convey my message to my B2C customers, I use terms like "you," "your," and have you thought about this? ...?'" Says Jessica. "My words are clear this means that anyone who read the material feel like they are reading something personal.

     "[With the audience being B2Binstead of using 'you", "you' I'm now presenting my message using phrases like "the team" and "the organization'. This is more optimistic and less personal."

 Make yourself known as a thought-leader in order to reach B2B customers.

Unlike individual customers who only want a great product, B2B buyers need to make sure that they are getting the best. To get the attention of B2B buyers, you must present your self as an expert or thought leader in your industry regardless of whether your products are targeted at a B2C audience.

For instance, if you're a photographer you may create and sell workshops in photography for your B2C customers. To attract B2B customers, you may develop thought-provoking content that reflects a career in the arts or about building a business by being an artist. Also, if you are able to offer one-on-1 classes teaching individuals how to increase their efficiency and productivity, you could appeal to B2B customers by releasing articles that focus on increasing productivity in the workplace.

So, you'll be able to participate in offering B2C things like e-courses and one-on-one classes to delivering seminars and talks.

Building a Personal Brand that is Visible by using video

and XayLi Barclay expert and visual content coach for Start Shoot Expand

The description of the event for a business owner. Isn't it easy to not be noticed, especially when you're operating in a competition-driven industry or. However, you can get around this by creating your personal brand through videos. It could be short TikTok clips, Instagram Reels, or longer-form YouTube videos. In this session, XayLi explains how you can use video content to advertise your online course, generate sales, and build your reputation with the buyers who make purchases from you.

It's not that difficult in order to begin.

If you are you are making your first livestream, or even launching your first livestream, there is no need for everything to be perfect. Start with the footage you have. At first, the viewers are likely to be okay with your poor quality video and poor editing abilities since they know that with time the quality will improve.

XayLi herself began using her laptop, a simple white backdrop, and an ring light from a scrap yard.

"This is the place which I began my journey and was even approached by one of their experts," she declares. "I was not waiting until I was able to create the newsroom and start teaching other people. I utilized my resources as I realized the information I was looking to impart wasn't just about how amazing the space would look.

Today, I have a fully integrated studio at home however, this is the place which I first started years in the past. "

More resources are available as you gain more

If you're able to get greater visibility with your videos and begin to earn income, you should expand your video collection and improve your video equipment. As an example, you could get the best camera/webcam as well as a tripod stand (worth between $500 and $1,000), a green screen, and E-Camm Live, a teleprompter app along with the Adobe Premiere subscription for editing.

In a discussion of upgrades options for set and equipment XayLi elaborates, "[At this stage] There are a variety of camera angles and the list keeps growing. Now is the time to invest into these things as you're earning money. We are often told that we need to appear attracted before cash arrives. No. It is imperative to get yourself out there first, and the cash comes in."

Once you have earned enough cash, you are able to begin outsourcing the recording of your videos, the editing and distribution to freelancers as well as an in-house team.

Focus on just one thing at the moment

It's easy to believe that you should be doing everything you can in order to expand the scope of your company: publish across every platform, jump into every trend and speak about a range of topics. However, this isn't always the case. It's better to concentrate on one thing at a time as you develop your own brand. Not only does this prevent you from burning out and wasting time, it also lets your audience know what to look forward to whenever you make videos.

In accordance with XayLi Barclay's "Rule of 5 Fives", here are the five factors to take into consideration in deciding your digital strategy:

  • A single item or service
  • One possible market
  • One lead conversion tool
  • A major traffic source
  • One goal for business

Memberships Members The Good, The Bad The Ugly, and The Ugly

Teri Ijeoma, designer of Trade & Travel

The session's description: If done properly, memberships are a great way for businesses to build better relationships with their customers in addition to generating more revenue. Teri Ijeoma has created the program for membership that she developed to support Trade & Travel and she is now able to enroll more than 35,000 people to her classes and over 185,000 people who are on her mailing list. In this talk, Teri shares the benefits of establishing a system that is based on membership. She also explaining how companies can be able to set up and manage your memberships in a way that is efficient.

Learn when it is time to move from a group which is completely free to one that charges an expense

If you're not a famous business, then it's required to begin your membership plan by providing these benefits at no charge. Teri began her membership program using a group on Facebook which was completely absolutely free. As you expand your group, you'll need to be aware of when it's time to transition from a social network that's free to a paid membership model.

Here are some indicators you should be aware of prior taking a turn:

  • Your organization is expanding in size, but the members have to pay a fee annually to avail the services they receive, not being charged for other benefits your organization offers, e.g. year-long customer support, etc.
  • The group members begin with their own group or meet and make it difficult to control the group's administrative tasks.
  • You're hiring group moderators or coaches who provide coaching to members of the group, however, they don't earn any additional income from members.

HTML0Your Membership program is an item by it's own

Some companies who create online courses also have subscription plans that are an added benefit to the course. While membership plans are an effective way of making your courses more successful but you must treat it as a complete productit's not just an added-on.

While discussing the benefits of her Trade & Travel membership, Teri says "In early on, I thought the membership was an extension of my course. That's not true -- it's a complete product on its own. It's got its own marketing team, promotional, marketing schedule... It's better to view the product as an individual item."

Be sure to be informed of the price you will pay.

If you are transitioning from a no-cost organization to one that is a member-based model take into consideration your goals for revenue and price your product according to the goal. In this point, it's possible to make your offer lower to get more members. If you're certain that your membership plan is full of worth, you shouldn't hesitate to ask to pay a higher price for it.

For example If your goal is to generate the equivalent of $10,000 per month, it's much better to have 500 clients spend $200 a month than 1,000 people who are willing to pay $100 a month. If your costs are higher, the less people are likely to join. This means that you'll reach your goals for income sooner, and find it easier to control your program.

Head of table panel discussion

Diandra Marizet (Host) Co-founder and Executive Director for Intersectional Environmentalist

Description of the discussion Panel discussion: The session will include participants Cicely, Ellie, Jessica Cicely Jessica XayLi, and Jessica Cicely giving their opinions about the significance of diversity and inclusion in the business world, as well as the challenges that women and BIPOC business owners face when they seek to establish themselves as creators in the marketplace as well as how they can determine the right price for their goods ethically within the capitalist system.

Here are some of the most heart-breaking questions as well as the responses to this conversation:

     Women from diverse backgrounds who have become entrepreneurs have reached financial stability for the first time. What are the obstacles as well as the new challenges and opportunities does this bring?

Ellie Diop: Just like there's poverty trauma There's also wealth trauma also. If you're the only one in your family to own an eightor seven-figure enterprise, there's not numerous examples to use to follow. There's still some stigma attached to the topic of money, specifically those of a different race earning more than what many people imagine over a lifetime.

When I made my first million, I was anxious to move out of my mom's house. I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend on a new car because I was unsure of what would I do when it was gone. It was also a bit scary of telling my loved ones as I was worried they'd be influenced by my personality.

What I'd like to see more of is collaborative places like these that can remove this stigma and tell "Hey What's happening? If you're worried about earning funds and how you can use the money you earn, don't be afraid to discuss it". The stigma that persists is the reason that many individuals earn lots of money and return to the place they started.

     In corporate environments, sometimes it is easy to be pushed to conform codeswitch, remain silent, or leave a part of yourself aside. There are times when we don't believe that we are a part of the notion of professionalism. Has that experience shaped how you engage with your community and how do you apply that to the liberating work you do as DEI professional? DEI professional?

Cicely Blain: In the media platforms we grew up with, there is the same type of person represented on the television, in media, and social media. And when certain web creators get noticed, and other creators are banned from shadows, it's easy to imagine that you must to have a specific way of talking and acting.

When you find a space where you are seen for what you are by those around you as well as your leadership (even when they may not share the same experiences as you) It's really liberating. Although there's a rising variety of perspectives and opportunities to be seen, there are still two norms for what individuals must do. There are times when we accept those two norms (even even though they may not be true) which can hinder us.

For example, on TikTok there's a large number of people who aren't well-dressed and polished all the time. Although it's wonderful I'm of the opinion that the possibility of this is only available to only a few people as well as a greater expectation of other users, as well as in the way they show their profiles.

If you're confronted by the decision that your present path may not align with where your capacity can go and where your passion is, and you take the step of transitioning into full-time entrepreneurship?

Jessica Chen: All of us reach a stage when it is clear that the thing we were hoping to achieve is completed and we're now eager to take on challenging new things. For me I was enjoying a great career that I loved, but after 10 years of working, I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't something more to provide. I've always been one which creates my own way. Then I began to think about ways I could impart the techniques I've mastered to my fellow students.

My first job was the field of journalism. It's something you might believe to be a "proper" occupation that doesn't allow you to express your thoughts, and you don't have a personal voice, and are simply telling other people's stories. This was a very difficult change to create my own voice, and to show my personality. This was definitely a process of learning steeple.

     What is the best way to price your offerings or services to ensure that you can attract customers who share your values, are ready to learn from you and see the value of your product or service offer?

XayLi Barclay Says: Lots times, we set rates low only to burden those who invest which is a terrible thing for the person. It's easy to think you'll attract a lot of clients if you keep prices that are low. However, chances are you're attracting overwhelmed investors that do not have the confidence to make a move.

I hired a business coach to map out how much I could possibly earn. He I then figured out my pricing based on volume. We see a lot of creators who release the course at $7, and then make 6 figures off that item and yet they lack the volume. If you're a less experienced creator, it's essential know what your goals are as a business so you're able to price your product appropriately.

If I offer 5 online classes for $1,000 each course, I'll be making five thousand dollars, as opposed to selling 500 courses at 10 dollars per course. Imagine it in this manner. It's what I needed to undergo.

Session Viewing from Think In Color 2023 on-demand

So there it is. The key takeaways from the event that lasted for three hours, designed to help the entrepreneurs of all ages, both novices and veterans operating in the economy. We encourage you to dig further into the areas that piqued your attention.

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