What exactly is it that Casey Richardson is bringing access to community, information and money Black female entrepreneurs
Learn about the methods Casey Richardson used her experience with tech-related funding to establish BLAZE Group and empower a group comprised of Black women who are entrepreneurs.
A few years ago the life of Casey Richardson was quite different. She is from Bay Area of California's Bay Area and worked for Bank of America, structuring massive loans for tech companies. But, she realized that she was always the sole Black woman on the team in her 10-year tenure within the finance field, she did not consider the necessity of funding for businesses that were Black firm.
"It proved to me not only that the data didn't get there however, the capital did not reach my neighborhood," Casey recalls.
In the month of October, 2020 Casey made the decision to change her mind.
Due to her experience and expertise in funding for tech as well as business, she made the decision to quit the routine of work and set up her own company called BLAZE Group. BLAZE Group"Building Leaders & Accepting No Excuses" that provides guidance as well as education, and a sense of community for previously under-served groups of Black women entrepreneurs.
2023 is the year that BLAZE Group is a company which BLAZE Group offers online courses through its Blaze Knowledge Academy, group coaching courses and an online community app, retreats at the site and a virtual summit every year with exclusive research led by Casey along with her international team.
What would she be able to achieve in less than two years? A combination of providing the resources needed to meet a specific need that's not being met and focusing on establishing an audience and choosing the right equipment and the most appropriate staff.
From corporate finance expert to a revolutionary businessman
Before becoming an entrepreneur full-time, Casey was a finance expert who managed huge amounts of loans for tech companies. She was always at the forefront of technological advancements, yet she also was conscious of the differentities between her coworkers as well as the firms that they helped to fund. "I wasn't the sole Black female in the company. I was able to see my education degree, my knowledge and my experience were not accessible in my community."
Black females make up the most entrepreneurs in the United States -- but only 3percent of them own "mature" businesses, whereas 61% of them self-fund the initial capital. There's a huge gap in the amount of funding and other resources accessible to Black female entrepreneurs compared to the white-male entrepreneurs.
In the end of summer 2020, Casey participated in demonstrations against the brutality of police. Her sense of community felt as well as the determination she felt she had was missing during her normal work routine. "I found myself more energized and involved when I protested than I've ever felt throughout my entire period of performing sexy activities," she says. "I was able to connect with people who were brave and strong enough to take on events that actually matter."
The month of October was when she had at peace within the confines of her job in finance at an important company that was not solely due to the fact that she had succeeded in her endeavor, but due to the actual fact that it was. 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 in achieving success?
"I'm completely at home within the four walls. However, I'd put the money I have in my pockets every day in order to believe that I'd have control over more of the planet. So I quit."
She then left her job, moved to Africa in order to start BLAZE Group, a location-independent company that is empowering Black women all over the world to achieve exactly the same thing.
BLAZE BLAZE Group is specifically targeting entrepreneurs during the first three years of establishing their company, which Casey refers to as"the "entrepreneurial stage." QQATEMGFADDCQYxgYcTq
"BLAZE is here to assist people understand how to manage their businesses efficiently and effectively to keep them operating. We do this through technology-enabled solutions. We're among them." she says.
In order to serve this audience, Casey had to build real connections with them.
Why you should build the email database (and the best way to begin)
Casey was inspired to design an online business course of the highest quality right in the beginning, but she needed to build an audience before she launched her first product.
Casey did not want this to happen at the first launch of BLAZE's product. Thus, she began her initial audience-building initiatives with a specific goal in mind: to build an online database of email addresses.
Why do people choose email subscribers over social media followers? "I was aware that I wanted to create and manage my own community," explains Casey.
"On Instagram, you don't control the account. There's no way to know which email address they're using in addition, if the handle of their account changes it is best to make sure you know the names and what the name of their account." Casey says.
"I would like to build relationships with them, as well as constantly be in front of them in order to raise brand awareness and boost confidence."
She is reaching out to her networks
15 minutes discovery phone call to her intended public
1. Contacting her contact information
There's plenty of info online about how to grow your reach, and many designers believe their primary users will be the ones who have never heard of their site via social media. If you're creating your audience entirely from scratch, you're not utilizing a vast array of potential resources for assistance, including your family and your close acquaintances!
Casey posted an email to all of her circle to let people know that she'd started the publication of a newsletter every month on entrepreneurship, and asked people to sign up.
"I began by looking through my most recent text messages, Instagram DMs, Twitter and Facebook... I set a timer, and I sent as many text messages as I could, in five minutes," she writes.
Many family and friends were among those who took Casey to pitch her idea as she began to develop an impressive email database before the building to her launch of the product.
2. 15 min discovery call with her customers group
One of the best ways to connect with them is to talk with them.
Casey posted a tweet to her social media pages in which she revealed she's working on an online course designed to help Black women learn about the business world. "If I can talk to you for 15 minutes, If you have any concerns, inform me about it," she added.
The people who had contacted her to schedule for a time to meet with her were the ideal people to meet: Black women interested in entrepreneurial endeavors.
Instead of chatting about courses or how she was marketing her own business, Casey asked questions like, "What keeps you up all night? What is the most daunting thing you're afraid to face? If you had only one year, what do you want to be?" The opportunity was to ensure that women had a voice and were appreciated. Also, she learned things that were important to include when she wrote her class content.
"Just being there for them and helping them feel comfortable is an essential part of the magic."
"By the time they'd concluded the majority of these calls, they were asking, "Can I now purchase the program? What do I need to purchase?" Casey remembers. The course was still in the initial stages of development. The course was being developed and she was able to get their email addresses and advised them they would have the course made accessible once it was operational.
Once the course was complete the instructor promoted the course to her database of email recipients she had created with two of the strategies mentioned earlier. "There already existed this enthusiasm among all those who had signed up. They were all eager to join."
What happened? The 80 percent of women she spoke to in the initial chat became customers.
A year later, Casey still offers free call-ins to her sales procedure. If potential buyers have concerns concerning or concerns about or concerns about the Blaze Business Intensive, they have the option of making a free Perfect Fit call for a chat with Casey.
"On average, it takes five meetings before a final agreement. There aren't enough entrepreneurs who recognize that," Says Casey. "I call these people to help close the deal."
A good set of tools and the right people will assist Casey build her company
In the present, BLAZE offers online courses as well as masterclasses, in addition to small-group coaching, and an online community. webinars as well as webinars, TablexTribe, the TablexTribe mobile app as well as a biannual conference online (a 2022 Webby Awards winner for the best of the Best in Business and Finance) along with research that is exclusive to BLAZE.
How do they manage all it while still displaying a great deal of love and commitment?
Casey is currently gathering an international team of experts to help her expand the various departments within her company including:
A blogger and content marketer with a base located in Nigeria
A junior consultant who has an office in London
Brand and production director (her partner!) who grew the BLAZE Group Instagram by 1,300 users in the month of May 2022, to nearly 70,000 at the time of the 2023 launch.
A executive assistant of Kenya
Analyst in research who composes research reports in a variety of industries. She also helps BLAZE discover new clients through consulting with clients.
Production assistant during the Semi-annual Blaze Virtual Summit
Her method isn't just the recruitment of new employees to work with her. she also employs equipment as well.
"I use tools with speed," Casey laughs. "And I like that since it's because of the size."
Revenue growth does not necessarily signify that your business has grown, particularly in the event that you're working more or spending more money in order to reach that increase.
"The rise in revenue has to not be your primary aim," explains Casey. "If you're increasing your costs while you earn more money, but your bottom line doesn't alter."
"Scale occurs when you increase revenue, but the cost and amount of time your spend is not changed."
Experience she gained in technology has provided Casey the value of automated tools. Automations, integrations as well as integrations, are all possible. When she launched BLAZE Group, she leveraged alternatives that were low-cost and without code such as and Zapier to make sure everything ran efficiently.
What is the method that Casey does is use her classes community, downloads, downloads, and the community
" was the first app that I made use of to offer services at the scale of" Casey shares.
Tools like allow Casey "more time to focus on intentional things," such as the private meetings she has with clients she is interested in.
Casey created her first product online, which is her Blaze Business extensive online class , which includes . It's a self-paced, six-week course that covers "Business Construction and Management, Business Management and Business quality to today's Black Woman."
"It was not coded. It was actually developed when I got the opportunity of a free 14-day trial," Casey remembers. "I developed all of the content within this timeframe and then began to sell it prior to the expiration date to make it immediately profitable."
(Want to to replicate Casey's success? Register for a free plan and take the time it takes to get the course's contents set up, and then upgrade it when it's time to launch.)
The course forms part of the Blaze Knowledge Academy collection of education resources for businesses Casey has developed through her website. The Academy is also the home of:
Numerous entrepreneurship masterclasses. Most of them classes are provided for free
Her online community, which is 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. The Blaze Women's Network hosts virtual coworking sessions and also host webcasts, which guide participants to paid-for courses."
As well as introducing clients to beneficial solutions and products, Casey's Community provides members with a welcoming and relaxed place to connect with other founders.
"It was generally accepted that "content was the main thing of a website, but we are moving to the notion that "community is the king. Many people are searching for community-oriented applications... and communities that don't look to be spammy and seem authentic."
The outcomes of her work with it have given Casey some tips on what to look at when looking for an application that does not require any programming. "You are very flexible system, which allows me to develop end-to-end solutions with your platform" Casey explains. "And I've used the exact scorecard to evaluate the program since I'm seeking to improve my use of the software."
"It truly is an amazing thing to implement strategies that revolutionize the world through an affordable approach that is accessible to those who have been marginalized by the status quo in the past."
Try not to try to complete all of the tasks at once.
With all the accomplishments Casey has achieved within just two years as CEO of BLAZE and BLAZE, her tips for newcomers could surprise you try to do less -- at the minimum, while getting established.
"Keep the things that are important and the main thing" she suggests. Hustle culture teaches young entrepreneurs that there is no limit to the amount of work or product produced. Yet, Casey serves as a reminder to co-creators "There's only what that you need to accomplish, regardless of how good you are."
"You must not do all the things in the beginning. It's going to be incredibly difficult to master many elements start."
The best way to begin is to start with a certain offering prior to expanding on the subject. "I started by taking the Blaze Intensive, my first course. It is now my main course. Entrepreneurs must determine the uniqueness of their offering and their objectives to be recognized prior to adding many other items."
There's plenty to think about at the start: the messages you use to reach your target audience, your technology such as marketing, customer service. After you've learned it? Then you can go on for exploring possibilities.
"I am convinced that we can do a lot of things. Maybe in 200 years. That's because Blaze is still floating in the air. That doesn't mean it has to happen today."
We're very happy to be an integral part of the story of Casey and can't wait to see what's in store for Casey as well as BLAZE Group. BLAZE Group in the coming year, 200 years to come and in between.
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