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The Color of 2023 The Head of the Table

Nov 19, 2023

The Think In Color 2023 has officially ended! We're grateful and happy for the opportunity to take in our line-up of outstanding females as well as BIPOC makers and pioneers of the industry. We'd like to believe you'll leave the event you're inspired by our speakers' stories and have gained an understanding of the best ways to create a successful virtual community, diversify your service offerings, and scale your business, in addition to other aspects.

Many different subjects were discussed during the discussion, we've done our best to share the best moments with readers. Learn what we took away from each speaker.

Skip ahead:

     Creating Cozy & Collaborative Virtual Communities    

Cicely Blain, consultant on anti-racism and the founder Bakau Consulting. Bakau Consulting

Session description: Although remote work existed before COVID-19 was established, it increased the necessity for companies transitioning to a virtual setting. By extension, businesses that were looking to keep a tight relation with their customers decided to create online communities which the same-minded customers can be a part of and help each other. However, it can be difficult to create an online community that is as tidal like one that is physically.

In this video, Cicely Blain shares their process of building their own virtual community, Living Room. They shared their method they use to create a cozy and welcoming vibe in a digital space making safe and welcoming communities and utilizing digital tools to meet the needs of people.

The most significant lessons learned can be summarized as follows:

Learn who your customer is and what they're searching for.

Prior to the creation of Living Room, Cicely had choose who they wanted to build the digital space for. Because their purpose is rooted on the struggle against the oppression and racism that exists, Cicely was aware that this community would primarily be a target for people like DEI specialists, consultants, and HR professionals who do similar work.

In the following, Cicely had to figure out what these people really wanted to find.

"I was thinking, 'What are these folks anticipating, particularly at these critical moments when things are shifting and people are guided by various names?

     People are certainly looking for an atmosphere of community, of belonging, solidarity and connection, even if they don't are feeling the sensation of. "They're searching for ways to be connected and learn."

Relevant to the individuals you are looking for.

The best method to convince participants to join your online community is by providing members with something they feel connected to. For Cicely the thing that was relatable was their home. They wanted to recreate exactly the same comfortable and cozy feeling the living room gave the residents.

     "I thought, 'What do I want people to feel as they enter the space?' I thought to myself I would like people to feel exactly the as they feel when entering an atmosphere that's warm as well as warm and inviting. I wanted them to feel comfortable, relaxed and reassured. The need for people to feel comfortable and understood."

Cicely conveys this energy all over the globe through:

  • The meeting begins by setting aside the participants to reflect for 10 minutes. The facilitators ask one basic question on screen to assist people reflect internally.
  • Soft music playlist based on R&B to help people relax and ease into the call.
  • Engaging in every conversation as though they're having amusing conversations with the closest people. While recording video clips for their online classes, Cicely might be doing makeup or making a cup coffee in the kitchen.

Offer several ways for community members to get the information they require

Although members of an online community may appear to have a similar outlook however, they might have distinct demands, strengths and weaknesses. For your business, you'll need to find different methods by which you can fulfill the requirements of your members, despite the differences.

With the Living Room, Cicely met the requirements of its patrons by:

  • Engaging in a variety of ways (e.g. live chat, discussion forums as well as online-based courses with comprehensive content and much more. );
  • The community's principles and values;
  • Allowing people to dress as their true selves;
  • Removing unnecessary stress like deadlines, and schedules for meetings;
  • Take note of accessibility concerns (e.g. disabilities and neurodivergence) and any other.

Fonds in the Funnel Maximizing the Revenues of a Funnel with a focus on customers.

Ellie Diop, Content & Finance Manager at Ellievated Academy

Description of the session To allow your company to succeed, there are customers who will purchase your product or interact with your offerings. But, most businesses make the mistake of creating content they think their ideal customers would want rather than what their clients actually need. In this talk, Ellie explains how you will grow your business and boost sales by designing the perfect funnel that draws the ideal customer and responds to their needs and wants.

 Principal takeaways

Each element in content plays a part in the perform.

A funnel that is focused on the customer is like creating a connection with your clients. The most effective way to achieve this is to create material that is educational, relevant, helpful, and valuable for your customers. A funnel that is designed to cater to the needs of customers comprises five parts:

  • Awareness
  • Discovery
  • Inquiry
  • Conversion
  • Retention, relationship and REPEAT

On the importance of creating content, Ellie declares, "Every piece of content that you produce is part in the sales process for your company. What you wrote in the last three months is performing the task of moving users through the funnel... It is important to ensure that you show up regularly using the same format creates an established tone which your clients can understand and help them navigate through the sales funnel."

Clarify your brand

If you don't know whom your product or service is targeting, nobody's likely to purchase from you or employ your services. Therefore, before you create a funnel, you must clarify your company's purpose and goals by starting with the ideal customers. It is possible to ask you:

  • Who do I serve?
  • How can I assist in resolving their problems?
  • How do I do that?

The answers to these questions form the basis of your business decision-making. Ellie provides a simple method to assist you in bringing [YOUR the audience] reach [YOUR PURPOSEwith your service or product

In her own experience with expanding her business Ellie shares, "For myself, this may mean helping women to build profitable enterprises by giving them the right strategy and financial strategies. '... At one time, I had the information on a post-it note in my corner office. Whenever I wanted to write videos, I would remember whom I was speaking with. "

 Build your social media following

Social media is among the most effective ways to build brand awareness as well as generate leads for your business. It's so effective that majority of people will browse through the company's Instagram profile (or any other social media pages) before visiting your site.

Therefore, it is important to invest the time (and perhaps even money) into your content for social media, in order to boost its exposure. A way to accomplish this is to:

  • Producing engaging educational and entertaining video material (especially videos)
  • Payment for advertisements
  • Collaboration with influencers who have the same target market as you

 Make use of lead magnets in order to expand your list of email recipients

While you're creating content the aim is to get most people who are not on social media onto your mailing list. When you sign-up people to your mailing list, you give them the opportunity to interact directly with them, which is more valuable rather than merely hoping they stumble onto your videos and posts while scrolling through Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). Lead magnets are where they be useful.

In the ideal scenario, with lead magnets you're offering the value of your product for free in order to obtain the contact details of people (usually their email and name). address). There's also the option of asking for more things as well. When she first started her company, Ellie offered free 1-on-1 sessions for customers to collect testimonials. She used those testimonials to secure her first set of customers who were paid.

     "You've gotta look at what aspect I can provide an incredible free service to make people satisfied? You should make that the primary reason to draw them in. (In my firm) I have recently implemented changes in that instead of pushing the user directly to a specific item, we rather encourage users to sign up for an offer that's free, such as an opportunity to take a masterclass for free. Then we sell on the backend. The results we have seen are fantastic."

This process makes keeping existing customers simpler than getting new customers

Every time that you receive, you must proceed with moving them through the sales funnel this is harder than convincing a previous client to buy from you again. Therefore, you should focus on maintaining your customer just in the same way and not more than acquiring customers.

In order to keep your customers loyal, here are some tips to keep in mind:

  • Offer high-end customer care
  • Use customer surveys to get feedback
  • Get testimonials from happy customers (offer incentives if you are able to)
  • Develop a product to address market gaps

When she came up with the offer, Ellie shares, "I am the creator of my first business credit class at 15 dollars. Following that, I began to get feedback from customers on what [my customerswould want to see in the next. Then I created Business Credit, which is Business Credit revamped. This was followed by the Business Credit masterclass, and later the complete bundle. The result was that a majority of the people who purchased the first then bought the next one to fill in the gaps pieces. They later bought the 3rd due to the fact that they had been advancing their skills, they were interested in learning more."

Expanding both B2C and B2B businesses with Multiple Revenue Sources

Jessica Chen, Global Communication Expert and Soulcast Media's CEO. Soulcast Media

Description of the event Business generally speaking have three primary elements that affect their revenue and sales: their products/services as well as the content they write for describing their services or products and the platforms through the channels that they communicate their data. In this talk, Jessica discusses the power of LinkedIn to assist businesses in communicating with both customers (B2C) and other businesses (B2B), how to make your content appealing to both groups, and ways to enhance the range of services you offer for both audiences.

 LinkedIn is an efficient way to share content on LinkedIn to increase your exposure

While many professionals and business owners are on LinkedIn but they do not consider LinkedIn a platform on which it is possible to increase your visibility and publish content. Instead, they see it as a way for updating resumes, finding jobs, and connect with friends and acquaintances.

In actual life, LinkedIn is a social media site, similar to Instagram as well as X (formerly Twitter), and must be treated as such. Its only distinction is the type of content you publish.

The attraction of LinkedIn, Jessica says, "The benefit of this platform is that you're able to reach a particular set of audience that are engaged in a procedure that's dedicated to professional development and eager to grow. "

Jessica will also share her experience from speaking about her experience working as a journalist back in 2018 to becoming certified Top Voice and a LinkedIn instructor in just five years. What she is describing is that she posts regularly through the site and connecting with an array of audiences that can profit of her help to users improve their communication abilities.

HTML0 Modify the message you are sending to accommodate both B2C as as B2B audiences

Many business owners believe that they'll only be noticed if their material is targeted at people who are just individuals. But this isn't the case.

The strength of LinkedIn is its ability to allow users to alter their messages so that it can be tailored to B2C and B2B groups. Your offer doesn't need to be altered, but using different language in describing your company's image could increase the reach of your business and draw individuals and companies.

"I am aware that to speak to people who are B2C I will use words such as "you," "your," but have you ever thought about the idea? ...?'""you"?" asks Jessica. "My style of writing is clear, so anyone who is reading my material feel like they are reading from a individual.

     "[With the audience being B2Binstead instead of using the words 'you" or "your" I'm now framing my presentation with terms such as "the team" or "the group'. It's more positive-driven and [less personal]."

 Position yourself as an thought-leader for customers from B2B.

In contrast to individual buyers who need a high-quality product B2B buyers want to make sure that you're the real deal. To get their attention they'll need to position yourself as an authority or thought-leader in your area, even if the product you offer is usually targeted at B2C customers.

For example, if you're an artist, you can develop and market courses in photography to attract B2C customers. In order to get B2B leads, develop thought-leadership content within the arts field or on establishing a profession as an artist. Also, if you are providing one-on-one workshops to teach people how to be more productive, you may be able to appeal to B2B audiences by posting content about improving the efficiency of your workplace.

So, you're able to change from selling B2C products like e-courses, or one-on-one classes to offering talks and other events.

How to build a brand for yourself by using videos

XayLi Barclay, expert as well as Visual Content Coach, with Shoot Expand Shoot Expand

Description of the event When you own your own business, it can be difficult to be noticed, especially when you are selling in a crowded industry or. However, you can be able to overcome this feeling through creating a brand image for yourself by creating video content including short TikTok clips, Instagram Reels, or longer YouTube videos. In this presentation, XayLi explains how you could use video content to help promote your online courses as and to increase sales. Build your brand's image in the minds of your clients.

It doesn't take much for you to start.

While making your first livestream or even launching your first livestream everything has to be perfectly. You can start with what you have. When you first start out, the public will be able to tolerate your poor quality video and poor editing skills as they understand that as time passes, you'll get more proficient.

XayLi herself began by using a laptop, an easy white background, along with an LED light bulb which was a run-of-the-mill.

"This is that I started my career and even got approached as one of their experts" she states. "I did not wait until I set my own newsroom and began giving lessons to other people. I used what I had because I realized that the things I wanted to impart was not only about how stunning the set will look.

Presently I've got a house with a studio built in, but this is where I began a couple of years back. "

You will receive more information as you move up

If you notice increased visibility from your videos and generate money you can begin expanding your equipment and upgrade the equipment for your videos. For instance it is possible to buy an upgraded camera or webcam and a tripod stand (worth about $500 to $1,000) and a green screen, E-Camm Live as well as a teleprompter software, and the Adobe Premiere subscription for editing.

Speaking out upgrade options for equipment and sets, XayLi clarifies, "[At this stage] there are many camera angles and the list continues. You should invest in these items because you're making the money. A lot of us think that we must be beautiful before we earn cash. No. It is necessary to go to the market, and after that the money will start to come into."

If you are able to earn enough money, you can start outsourcing the videos, editing distribution, as well as recording to contractors or an internal team.

HTML0Pay attention to only one thing right now

There's a common misconception that you must take every step to grow your company: share content on all channels, jump into each trend, and talk about many subjects. However, this isn't always accurate. It's better to keep your eyes only on one aspect at a given time when you develop your image. It doesn't just stop your from overworking yourself and spending time on it, but also lets the viewers be aware of what to anticipate from you each when you upload videos.

Based on XayLi Barclay's "Rule of Five Fives" The following are five key elements to consider in establishing your digital plan to take action:

  • One product or service
  • One possible market
  • One tool to convert leads
  • The main source of traffic
  • One goal of business

Memberships - Memberships The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Teri Ijeoma founder of Trade & Travel

The description of the class When done correctly, memberships are a great opportunity for businesses to create more intimate relationships with their clients and generate additional revenue. Teri Ijeoma has created an online platform for memberships that caters to Trade & Travel and she currently has over 35,000 students taking her courses and more than 185,000 members on her list of email subscribers. In this session, Teri shares the benefits from establishing a program for members as well as describes how businesses can set up and create memberships in a way which is efficient.

Learn when it is time to move from a model that's completely free to one that is a paid model

If you're not the most popular business, chances are that you'll have to begin your membership scheme by giving value for money. Teri created her own by establishing an online Facebook group that is free. But, as you build your group, it is important to be aware of the time to move from a no-cost community into an paid-membership plan.

These are the signs you should be looking for prior to making a pivot:

  • The organization you're working with is expanding in number, yet members only pay a one-time fee for your service -- instead of paying for any additional benefits members receive, e.g. year-long customer support, etc.
  • The group members begin the group's meetings or groups on their own, which makes it difficult to manage the group's administrative tasks.
  • Moderators for groups are hired as coaches who provide coaching for members of the group, but without other revenue derived from group members.

Your membership program is a product that is an item in the sense of

Many businesses that create online courses offer subscription plans to add to those classes. Although membership plans can be an excellent way to make your course more efficient, however you should treat it as a real product not an add-on.

As she discusses Teri's Trade & Travel membership, Teri admits "In early on I thought it was part of my education. It's not the case -The membership is an individual service. It has its own marketing staff and a marketing, promotional, or sales schedule... it's best to view it as a service in itself."

You must be aware of your pricing

If you're transitioning from a free-group to a membership-based model, consider your income goal is and then set the price according to that. At this stage, it's simple to set your price lower in order to draw more people. But if you're sure the program is full of value, don't be afraid to demand a premium cost to purchase it.

In the example above, if you're hoping to earn an equivalent amount of $10,000 each month, it's much better to let 500 individuals pay $200/month than to get 1,000 people to pay $100/month. The higher your rates are more people will be less likely to join. But this also means that you'll reach your goals for income faster, while finding it much easier to run the program.

Head of the Table Panel Discussion

Diandra Marizet (Host) The Executive Director & co-founder of Intersectional Environmentalist

Session description: This panel discussion includes the panelists Cicely, Ellie, Jessica Cicely, Jessica, and XayLi giving their opinions regarding the value of inclusiveness and diversity within the world of business, and the challenges women as well as BIPOC entrepreneurs confront as they transition into the world of creators and the best method to market their goods ethically in the capitalist market.

Here is a list of the most poignant questions and answers in this discussion:

     Women of color who are entrepreneurs are entering financial stability for the first time. What are the challenges, new problems, and the opportunities this brings?

Ellie Diop: Just like you've been through poverty, there's as well wealth trauma. If you're one of the very few in your family with a 6- to seven-figure company, there's not any examples to follow. There's still a stigma around speaking about money, specifically in the case of a different race earning more than most people see throughout their lives.

For instance, when I earned my first million, I was anxious to leave my mom's home. I was hesitant to put in the funds because I was unsure of what would I do should I lose it. Also, I was afraid of telling my family members because I was worried they'd think differently of me.

Something I'd love to be more aware of is collaboration such areas, that will help to remove that stigma and say "Hey, what's going on? If you're worried about earning more money or spending your money on, don't hesitate to talk about it". Allowing that stigma to continue is one reason it is common for people to earn a significant amount of money only to return to the point at which they began.

     Oftentimes, in business settings there is a need to assimilate, code-switch, not speak, or to put certain aspects of us off. It is not often the case that we belong to the notion of professionalism. Did that experience influence the way you interact with your community and in the manner you bring that to the liberating tasks you undertake as a DEI professional?

Cicely Blain: The media systems we were raised in and where we are witnessing a particular type of person on TV, media as well as social media and when certain online creators have a lot of traction while others remain in the shadows, it's not hard to be led to believe that one needs be a certain way of talking and be.

In the event that you are in a position in which you're recognized as the person you really are by your peers and people in authority (even even if they don't be experiencing the same things as you do) can be a great feeling. However, even as the number of opportunities for representation has increased and are becoming more accessible There's a double set of standards for what people have to be doing. In some cases, we accept these two rules (even when they could not be true) and they hinder us from achieving our goals.

On TikTok the vast majority of users do not appear dressed in a neat, well-dressed manner all the time. Although it's wonderful, I'm of the opinion that the chance to be a part of it is limited to a select few with a higher expectation of others, and in how they portray their image.

If you're confronted with the dilemma of deciding that the direction you're taking doesn't match your capabilities to take you and the direction you're drawn to Then why not consider the option of moving into full-time ownership of a business?

Jessica Chen: All of people will come to a point at which we realise that the goal we wanted to do has come to an end and we're now ready to try various new things. My experience was a wonderful job I loved, but after 10 years of working, I was sad that there wasn't more available. I've always been a kind that likes to design my own path. It was then that I thought about how I can pass along what I've learned other folks.

I started out as a journalist. This could be viewed as an "proper" job where you can't share your views, aren't able to express yourself as a person, you're simply sharing tales of people. It was a bit of a shock to begin creating my own voice, and to show my own personal way of speaking. This was definitely a growing curve.

     What's the most effective way to price your products or services in order to attract customers who are aligned and eager to gain knowledge from you and appreciate the value of your product?

XayLi Barclay: A lot times we provide low prices, but we overcharge investors, which is a shame for the investor. It's tempting to believe that you'll attract many customers when you price your product very low. It's likely that there are people in your area who don't have the courage to take action.

I worked with a coach to determine how much I could earn as well as to determine the prices I would charge based on quantity. It's not uncommon for creators to offer online courses for $7 and then earn six figures from that course and yet they're not able to generate enough quantity. If you're a new creator, you must that you know what you want to achieve for your business, so that you can set your the prices in line with your goals.

If I offer 5 online courses at a cost of $1,000 for each course, I'll be earning $5,500. That's in contrast to offering 500 courses for $10 per course. Think about it this way. This is what I had to go through.

Watch the sessions of Think in Color 2023 on-demand

We've compiled a list of the key details from the three hour-long conference designed for budding as well as experienced entrepreneurs working in the economy. We encourage you to explore the topics that have piqued your curiosity.

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