What is it that Casey Richardson is bringing access to information, community and the capital Black female entrepreneurs
Discover the ways Casey Richardson used her experience using tech-related funds to launch BLAZE Group and empower a group made up of Black women entrepreneurs.
A few years ago the world of Casey Richardson was quite different. She hails located in the California's Bay Area and worked for Bank of America, structuring massive loans for tech companies. However, she noticed that she was always the only Black woman on the team -- and throughout her 10-year tenure in the field of finance, she did not see the need for funding to a Black business.
"It showed me that, not only that the data didn't get there, but that the capital did not get into my community," Casey recalls.
In October of 2020, Casey made the decision to alter her decision.
Through her vast background in funding for tech and business, she decided to leave the grind of 9-5 and created her own organization called the BLAZE Group"Building Leaders & Accepting Zero Excuses providing guidance, education and an atmosphere of belonging for the previously under-served communities of Black women who are entrepreneurs.
2023 is the year that BLAZE Group is a company which BLAZE Group offers online courses via the Blaze Knowledge Academy, group coaching programs, an online community an app, on-site retreats, an annual virtual summit, and exclusive research directed by Casey as well as her international team.
What could she possibly have accomplished in less than two years? A combination of providing resources that meet a certain need that's not being met, deliberate creating an audience and choosing the right equipment and the right team.
From corporate finance expert to revolutionary entrepreneur
Before becoming an entrepreneur full-time, Casey was a finance expert who managed multibillion-dollar loans for tech firms. She was always on the cutting edge in technological advances, but she was also aware of the differences between her coworkers as well as the businesses which they funded. "I wasn't the only Black female in the company. I was able to see that my educational level, my expertise and my experience were not accessible in my community."
Black females make up the biggest group of entrepreneurs within the United States -- but only 3% have "mature" companies, while 61% of them self-fund their start-up capital. There's a significant gap regarding the level of financing and other resources accessible to Black female entrepreneurs contrasted to white male entrepreneurs.
As of the summer of 2020 Casey participated in demonstrations against the brutality of police. The sense of community she experienced as well as the courage she felt was lacking during her normal work routine. "I found myself more inspired and engaged in protests that I have ever felt throughout my entire time of doing the sexy things," she says. "I enjoyed rubbing shoulders those who were brave and courageous enough to lead events that actually matter."
In October, she was come to terms in the middle of her position in finance for a major business, and not just because of the fact that she had succeeded, but because of the fact that it. What else was she able to accomplish with her expertise? What else can she use her knowledge of technology and finance? Can she assist fellow Black women to be successful?
"I'm quite at ease within the four walls. But I would place money in my own pocket any day to be convinced that I could be able to control more of the planet. So I quit."
Then she quit her job and relocated to Africa and set out to create BLAZE Group, a location-independent company that is empowering Black women from all over the world to achieve the exact identical thing.
BLAZE The Group specifically targets entrepreneurs within the initial three years of building their business that Casey describes as"the "entrepreneurial stage." QQATEMGFADDCQYxgYcTq
"BLAZE is here to help individuals understand how to run their companies in ways that keep them running. We accomplish this by using technology-enabled solutions. We're among them," she adds.
To serve that audience, Casey had to build authentic connections with them.
Why you should build the email database (and how to start)
Casey decided to develop a top-quality business online course right in the beginning, but it was important to build an audience before she launched her first product.
Casey was not keen for this to happen during the launch of BLAZE's initial product. So, she approached her first audience-building efforts with a particular goal in mind: to create an online database of email addresses.
Why do people choose email subscribers over social media followers? "I knew I wanted to establish and maintain my own network," explains Casey.
"On Instagram, you don't hold the connection. There's no way to know what email address they use, and when the handle of their account changes it is best to ensure that you know their name of the brand new handle is," Casey says.
"I would like to build relations, and to be regularly in front of them to build brand awareness and increase confidence."
Reaching out to her network
15 minutes discovery phone call to her intended public
1. Contacting her current contacts
There's plenty of information online regarding how you can expand your following, and most creators believe that their initial customers will be people who have never heard of their site via social media. If you're creating your audience from scratch, it's missing a vast array of potential sources of assistance this includes your family and your close friends!
Casey sent out an email to everyone in her network to inform people that she had started publishing of a newsletter every month on entrepreneurship, and asked them to sign up.
"I started by going through my most recent text messages, Instagram DMs, Twitter and Facebook... I set a timer, and sent as many texts as I could within five minute segments," she describes.
Many family and friends were among those who took Casey to her pitch when she set out to develop an impressive email database before the building to her launch of the product.
2. 15 minutes discovery call with her customer group
One of the best ways to connect with them is through talking to them.
Casey published a tweet on her social media accounts, revealing that she is working on an online course to aid Black women learn about business management. "If I could talk to you for 15 minutes, and have questions, tell me about it," she added.
She realized that those who called to arrange a meeting with her were the ideal people to meet: Black women interested in entrepreneurial endeavors.
Instead of chatting about course content or marketing herself, Casey asked questions like, "What keeps you up until midnight? Which is the biggest worry you're afraid to face? If you only had one year, what do you want to be?" It was her chance to ensure women felt heard and valued. She also learned about what was most important to address in her course contents.
"Just being there for them and making them feel secure is a crucial part of the magic."
"By the time they had concluded the majority of these calls, they were asking, "Can I now purchase the course? What will I require to buy?" Casey recalls. The course was in stage of development. The course was being developed, but she took their email addresses , and advised them the course would be made available once it became live.
Once the course was complete, she marketed it to her list of email subscribers that she had built using two of the methods mentioned above. "There already was this excitement among all those who had already signed up. The people were keen to sign up."
The result? the 80 percent of women she spoke to in the initial chat became customers.
Two years on, Casey still offers free call-ins to her sales procedure. If potential buyers have concerns concerning or concerns about the Blaze Business Intensive, they have the option of making a Free Perfect Fit Call to speak with Casey.
"On average, it takes five meetings to conclude an agreement. There aren't enough entrepreneurs who realize this," says Casey. "I make these calls to close the deal."
The right tools and people can help Casey develop her business
In the present, BLAZE offers online courses and masterclasses in addition to groups coaching, as well as an on-line community. webinars as well as webinars, the TablexTribe mobile application and a biannual online summit (a 2022 Webby Awards winner for the Best in Business and Finance) along with exclusive research.
How do they manage all this all while displaying such a great deal of love and intention?
Casey is currently assembling an international group of experts that will help her grow various areas within her firm including:
A blogger and content marketer with a base in Nigeria
A junior consultant with a base in London
A production and brand director (her husband!) who grew the BLAZE Group Instagram from 1,300 followers in May 2022 to over 70,000 at the time of the launch of 2023.
A executive assistant of Kenya
Analyst in research, who composes research papers across various industries. She also helps BLAZE find new clients by consultation
Production assistant at the Semi-annual Blaze Virtual Summit
Her method isn't just the hiring of people to join her team She also hires equipment as well.
"I employ tools that have a rapidity," Casey laughs. "And I love that because it's because of the size."
Growth in revenue does not necessarily indicate that your business is scaling, especially if you're doing more work or spending more money in order to reach that increase.
"The growth in revenue ought to not be your primary objective," explains Casey. "If you're increasing costs at the same time when your revenue increases but your bottom line doesn't alter."
"Scale happens when you can boost revenue but the price and amount of time you spend are not affected."
Experience she gained in technology has taught Casey the value of no-code tools Automations, integrations, as well as integrations, can be. When she launched BLAZE Group, she leveraged the low-cost and no-code options such as and Zapier to make sure everything ran well.
What are the ways that Casey does is use her classes, community, downloads and community
" was the first app I used to provide services at the scale of" Casey shares.
Tools like allow Casey "more room to focus on intentional things," such as the individual meetings she holds with clients she is interested in.
Casey created her first product online, which is her Blaze Business intensive online class that includes . It's a six-week, self-paced class covering "Business Building, Business Management and Business quality for today's Black Woman."
"It was completely uncoded. It was actually developed when I had a 14-day trial for free," Casey remembers. "I developed all of the content within this timeframe and then began to sell it prior to the expiration date in order to turn it instantly profitable."
(Want to be able to duplicate Casey's successes? Register for a free plan and take the time it takes to complete getting the course's content set up, and then upgrade it when you're ready to sell.)
This course is part of the Blaze Knowledge Academy an assortment of educational resources for businesses Casey has created on her website. The Academy is also home to:
Numerous entrepreneurship masterclasses. The majority of these she provides at no cost
Her community online, referred to by The Blaze Women's Network , with nearly 7000 members
"People have the option of joining in this Blaze Women's Network absolutely free," Casey explains. We hold virtual coworking meetings as well as host webinars that lead participants to paid-for courses."
Alongside introducing clients to useful products and services, Casey's Community provides members with an open and friendly space to meet other founders.
"It was the norm that "content was the top aspect,' however, we are moving to the belief that "community is King. A lot of people are seeking community-focused applications... and also communities which don't seem like spam and appear genuine."
The results of her experience with it have given Casey some guidelines on what to look for when you're looking for an application that does not require programming. "You are very flexible system, which allows me to develop end-to-end solutions on your platform," Casey explains. "And I've used that exact scorecard when I assess the software since I'm looking to increase my use of the software."
"It truly is an incredible thing to implement methods that can transform the world with a cost-effective approach and accessible to those who have been marginalized by the status quo in the past."
Do not try to accomplish everything at the same time
With all the accomplishments Casey has achieved within just two years as CEO of BLAZE and BLAZE, her tips for beginners could be a surprising: Try to be less -- at the very least, when getting established.
"Keep what's important that is the main thing" she suggests. Hustle culture teaches new entrepreneurs that there's never enough work done or material made. But Casey is a reminder to fellow creators "There's only the amount you must do, regardless of how good you are."
"You should not be doing every single thing at the start It's going to be incredibly difficult to master a variety of aspects at the at the beginning."
The best way to begin is with a specific offering prior to expanding on it. "I started by taking the Blaze Intensive, my first course, and that is my primary course. Entrepreneurs have to determine the uniqueness of their offering to be, their goals in being recognized in, prior to adding many other things."
There's plenty to think about in the beginning: your messages that reaches your target audience, your technology such as marketing, customer service. Once you've mastered it? You can open the doors to explore many more.
"I am convinced that we have the capability to accomplish millions of things. In 200 years, maybe. It's because Blaze continues to be in the air. It doesn't mean that it has to happen today."
We're thrilled to be being an integral part of the story of Casey and we can't wait discover what's to come for Casey and the BLAZE Group in the coming year, 200 years to come and in throughout the years between.
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