What's it about Casey Richardson is bringing access to information, community access, as well as the necessary capital Black female entrepreneurs

Find out the ways Casey Richardson used her experience of tech financing to establish BLAZE Group and empower a community composed of Black women entrepreneurs.

About two and a half years ago, her life was quite different. Richardson was from the California's Bay Area and worked for Bank of America, structuring huge loans for tech companies. She realized that there was only one Black female member of the team. Through her entire time working in the finance department she was unaware of the financial aid provided to the Black business.

"It made me realize that, not only was the wisdom being utilized, However, it wasn't getting to my communities," Casey recalls.

In the month of October, 2020 Casey changed her mind.

After her own experiences with the field of tech-related funding as well as business, she took the choice to stop her work schedule and start BLAZE Group. BLAZE Group which is an non-profit group that concentrates in developing leaders and saying any excuses to fulfill the goal to provide advice, knowledge, and an atmosphere of belonging for the historically marginalized group of Black women who run businesses.

2023 is the year that BLAZE Group is a company that BLAZE Group offers online courses through the Blaze Knowledge Academy, group coaching, an online community application with in-person retreats, an annual summit. It also offers custom research that is led by Casey together with her international team of experts.

What was she able to accomplish in less than two years? It all came down to offering services that meet the demands of an unmet need, intentional development of the audience, and selecting the best tools and team.

From corporate finance expert to an entrepreneur with the ability to create a positive impact

Before becoming a full-time business owner, Casey worked as a professional in finance. She was a drafter of multi-billion dollar loan agreements for tech firms. She was at the leading edge of tech. Yet, she was cognizant of the dissimilarities between her coworkers and the firms that they were funding. "I was the only Black woman among the members within the group. I was able to see my education level, my knowledge and my expertise were unattainable in my neighborhood."

Black females make up the most lucrative segment of entrepreneurs within the United States -- but just 3 percent of them have "mature" businesses and 61% of them self-fund their first capital. There's a gap of significant magnitude in terms of funding and resources which are accessible to Black female entrepreneurs when contrasted with white male entrepreneurs.

In the spring of 2020 Casey took part in demonstrations against the brutality of police. Casey felt a sense of community and strength which she never felt at work. "I was more relaxed during protests than I did throughout my experience in the field of sexual sexiness" she says. "I found myself being among people who were brave enough and courageous enough to create events that would have an effect on the whole world."

At the closing of the month, she had been finished at the conclusion of the month in the company's finance department. It was not due to how efficient her work was. The fact was she was dismissed in part because of that. What else was she able to use her talent in helping other people? What else can she do in order to utilize her experience in technology and finance to help other Black women be successful?

"I'm very comfortable within these walls. Yet, I'd rather put cash in my pocket every day in order to be convinced that I could tackle the world. So I quit."

Her job was cut, she relocated to Africa and set out to establish BLAZE Group, a location-independent firm that is empowering Black women from all over the world to do similar things.

BLAZE Grupo is specifically targeting entrepreneurs within the first three years of business building the stage that Casey calls"the "entrepreneurial phase."

"BLAZE helps users understand how to run the organizations they work for in order to ensure their company runs smoothly. This can be accomplished by using technology-based solutions. We're one of them." She says.

To reach out to this population, Casey had to build real relationships with them.

Why you should create an email-list (and how to begin)

Casey decided to design a business-focused online training course from the start and that it was vital to build a community of potential customers prior to when she was going to launch the first product.

Casey was determined to make sure that this wouldn't be this way in the initial launch of BLAZE's first product. Therefore, she approached the initial activities of building an audience by establishing a goal which was easy to build an email list.

Can email subscribers be more successful than users of social media? "I realized that I had to establish personal connections," explains Casey.

"On Instagram, you don't hold the account. There's no way to determine the email address for the account, or in case the handle of their account changes, you should be certain you know as to what their new handle will be," Casey says.

"I would like to build relationships and be able to get in front of them regularly to cement this reputation and build trust."

Contacting her about contacts she has already made

15-minute discovery calls are made to her targeted group of customers

1. Inquiring about her existing network

There's plenty of information about how you can increase your reach, and lots of designers believe their primary clients are the ones who've had no exposure to them on social media. If you create the process manually it will be difficult to access an enormous sources of help Friends and family!

Casey posted an email to all members of her circle of friends to let them know she'd started an Entrepreneur Newsletter and asked if they'd like to subscribe.

"I began by looking through the text messages I had received recently, Instagram DMs, Twitter Facebook... I set a timer after which I posted as many messages as I could, in 5-minute intervals," she describes.

A lot of family members as acquaintances have been impressed with Casey and her idea seriously and she is beginning to build an impressive list of email addresses prior to the development toward her debut.

2. 15 minute discovery calls for her listeners

The most effective way to contact them is to speak to them.

Casey posted a tweet to her social media pages where she stated that she is planning to create a program to aid Black women understand business management. "If you would like me to meet with you for 15 minutes or inquire about any issues you would like me to talk about, let me be aware," she added.

The individuals who could connect with her were her main individuals: Black women who were looking to start their own business.

Instead of talking about the content of her course or selling herself, Casey asked questions like, "What keeps you up in the midnight? What is your biggest anxiety? Within a year, where do you want to progress to?" She used the chance to ensure women felt loved and valued. In the end, she figured out what was the most crucial issue to be included in the contents of her course.

"Just creating spaces and making people feel safe is the most important aspect of the excitement."

"By the time they'd completed the majority of these discussions, participants were asking"Can I purchase this course Do you have a discount?" Casey remembers. She was at the stage developing the course however, she had already collected emails from people who signed up and had assured participants of the date when it would be to be launched.

After the course had been completed The course was tweeted on the list of subscribers to the email she had created using the two strategies previously mentioned. "There already seemed to be a feeling of anticipation among the people who had registered. They were all eager to join."

What did they find? A majority of the women she spoke to during these initial phone calls eventually became customers.

More than two years later, Casey still offers free consultations as part of her sales procedure. When potential buyers have concerns about the Blaze Business Intensive, Blaze Business Intensive, they can make the absolutely free call to discuss the issue to Casey.

"On average, you'll need five follow-ups prior to closing an agreement. A majority of business owners don't realize this fact," Says Casey. "I use those calls to really seal the deal."

A method of utilizing the most effective tools and individuals helps Casey to grow her business

At present, BLAZE offers online courses and masterclasses, aswell with group coaching classes as well as an on-line community. webinars, as well as the TablexTribe mobile app as well as a bi-annual Digital Summit (a 2022 Webby Awards winner for Business Excellence as well as Finance), and exclusive research.

How does she manage to handle all of these issues with such an amazing level of dedication and care?

Casey is working to create an international expert group to assist her in expanding the different aspects of her business that include:

Content marketer and blogger located in Nigeria

A junior consultant based in London

A production and brand manager (her fiance!) who grew the BLAZE BLAZE Group Instagram from 1,300 users from May 2022 to over 70,000 by the time it launched in 2023.

An executive assistant in Kenya

A researcher analyst who composes a research report across various fields, helping BLAZE to identify new clients by the process of providing consultation

Production assistants to help with each year's biannual Blaze Virtual Summit

The method she employs isn't limited to hiring new staff members. She also hires equipment.

"I utilize tools that can be hired quickly," Casey laughs. "And I am a fan because it's big."

The increase in revenues does not necessarily mean your business is growing. However, it could mean you're working more or paying more money to support that growth.

"The growth in revenue should not be your primary objective," explains Casey. "If you're increasing the cost of your business in the same manner as you're increasing revenue the bottom line won't shift."

"Scale is the time when you're at a point where you can increase your revenue and your expenses and your time are spending do not alter."

Her work experience in the area of technology gave Casey that no-code instruments are extremely effective. Automated integration, integrations and integrations are. As she set out to establish BLAZE Group, she leveraged free, low-cost alternatives such as Zapier, to be certain that everything was seamless.

How do you think Casey makes use of her classes, her community and the downloads

" was the first software I used to offer services on a huge scale" Casey shares.

Instruments like this one provide Casey "more than the amount of time that she requires to complete essential things" like the one-on-one meeting with prospective clients.

Casey is the creator of her first online product, called her Blaze Business In-depth online course, which comprises . The course is self-paced and runs for six weeks which includes "Business Construction and Management, Business Management and Business Excellence to today's Black Woman."

"It was completely uncoded. It was created while I ran the 14-day trial that was free," Casey remembers. "I constructed all the course in the period of time, and later began to sell it when the trial had ended, which meant I could be quickly successful."

(Want to be able to duplicate Casey's successes? Start a free trial where you'll need to have your course material installed, then upgrade after you're ready for selling.)

The course is part of the Blaze Knowledge Academy that is a collection of resources to assist business teachers Casey has created on her website. The Academy also includes:

Numerous entrepreneurship masterclasses. A few of them are offered for free

Her community online, referred to as Blaze Women's Network includes more than 7,000 members

"People could choose to be an active member or a member of Blaze Women's Network. Blaze Women's Network absolutely free," Casey explains. Virtual coworking is the service we provide, where I conduct webinars which leads users to paid-for courses."

As well as introducing clients to valuable products as well as providing users with a friendly and supportive platform to network with fellow founders.

"It was once that content was the top priority But, the situation has changed to 'community is the king.' The people are seeking communities-focused programming... and since communities that aren't the source of spam are believed to be genuine."

What she has learned from her time having used it has provided Casey some suggestions on things to take into consideration when choosing an application that does not need programming. "You offer a highly flexible system that allows me to create all-inclusive solutions directly from the platform," she says. "And I've also used the same scorecard in assessing software because I'm hoping to grow using the system."

"It truly is an amazing opportunity to develop solutions which can change the world with methods that are economical and affordable to people who are marginalized in our society today."

Do not try to manage all the things at once.

In light of the many accomplishments Casey has made in the span of just two years as CEO at BLAZE her suggestions to budding makers could be surprising: Try to do less in the beginning or at the time you get started.

"Keep the first thing in your mind that is the most important aspect" she advises. The hustle culture can be a fantastic opportunity to train the new entrepreneurs that there's never enough work to be completed or the content produced. Yet, Casey serves as a reminding fellow creators "There's only one limitation to the things you can do regardless of how great you are."

"You shouldn't be able to take all the things by yourself However, it can be tough to master an an array of different things simultaneously when you're just getting started."

She recommends starting by focusing on a particular course, prior to building upon the foundation of that. "I started with Blaze Intensive, my first course. The course is now my principal course. Entrepreneurs must figure out the specific services they offer be, and their goals for becoming recognized, before adding on a variety of other things."

There's plenty to consider in the beginning, including your message to your target customers, marketing using technology, customer satisfaction. However, once you've got it right? It is possible to learn more.

"I believe that we've got the capability to do millions of things. In the coming 200 years. since Blaze will be there. It doesn't mean that it has to take place today."

We're extremely proud to be an integral to Casey's tale, and can't wait to find out the future for her, as well as BLAZE Group. BLAZE Group in the coming year. Two hundred years in the future and during the time between.

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