What is it that Casey Richardson is bringing access to knowledge, community and capital Black female entrepreneurs

Discover the strategies Casey Richardson used her experience with tech-related funding to create BLAZE Group and empower a network made up of Black women entrepreneurs.

A few years ago, Casey Richardson's world was completely different. She was from California's Bay Area and worked for Bank of America, structuring large-scale loans for tech firms. But, she realized that she was never the only Black female member of the team. Through her decade of being within finance, she did not see the funding provided to an Black business.

"It showed me that not just wasn't the right way to go however, the money did not reach my neighborhood," Casey recalls.

In the month of October, Casey decided to change her ways of doing things.

Her extensive knowledge of the funding of technology and business, she left her job at 9-5 and created BLAZE Group which is a charitable group that's focus is on developing leaders and embracing zero Excuses for providing support, education as well as an environment of support to previously un-served groups in the form of Black female entrepreneurs.

Fast forward to 2023: BLAZE Group offers online courses via The Blaze Knowledge Academy, group coaching and an online community an app as well as in-person retreats, a biannual summit as well with exclusive research done by Casey along with her global team of experts.

How did she do it in just two years? It's a matter of supplying resources that satisfy a specific, underserved need, intentional audience building, and choosing the appropriate tools and team.

From corporate finance professional to the game-changing Entrepreneur

Prior to becoming an entrepreneur full-time, Casey was a finance professionalwho arranged large-scale loans for tech firms. This kept her at the forefront of the latest technology and was aware of the differences in her group and in the businesses which they helped fund. "I wasn't always the sole Black female on the team. The team showed the world I earned a college degree and that my skills and experience did not exist in my local communities."

Black women comprise the largest segment of entrepreneurs within the United States -- but just 3% of them have "mature" businesses, whereas many entrepreneurs are self-funded with startups with capital. There's a wide gap in the amount of funding and other sources accessible for Black female entrepreneurs as compared to the white male entrepreneurs.

As of the end of summer 2000, Casey was involved of protests against the violence committed by police. She felt a sense of community and the energy she felt that were missing from her day-to-day work. "I discovered that I was more motivated and engaged in protests that I have ever felt throughout the entire duration of making the sexy things," she says. "I had the pleasure of rubbing shoulders those who were courageous and courageous enough to take on issues that really matter."

At the end of October, she'd come to terms within the finance department at her firm - not due to how effective she was rather because she was. What else could she use her talent for? What could she do to make use of her knowledge in technology and finance in order to help fellow Black women in their success?

"I'm very comfortable within the four walls. However, I'd put money on myself any day to think that I'd be able to take up more space on earth. So I quit."

The woman took off from her work, relocated to Africa in order to begin developing BLAZE Group, a location-independent firm that allows Black women from all over the world to do the same.

BLAZE Grup has a particular focus on entrepreneurs in the first three years of development which Casey describes as"the "entrepreneurial phase."

"BLAZE helps clients understand how they can lead their businesses in order to sustain them. This is done through technology-enabled solutions, being one of the few." We hear her tell us.

In order to serve this particular audience, Casey had to build real relationships with them.

What are the reasons you should create an email list of your own (and how to begin)

Casey realized that she would like to develop a highly business-focused online training course right at the start and she was essential to create an following before she could even launch the first product.

Casey decided to make sure it wouldn't happen when she launched the initial BLAZE product. So, she approached her initial tasks to create an audience. Her goal that was clear that was to build an email list.

Why do email subscribers have a better experience than those on social networks? "I was aware that I had to build as well as maintain my own networks," explains Casey.

"On Instagram, you don't control the relationships. You're not aware of the email address for their account, and if their handle changes then you need to know the present handle is." Casey says.

"I am looking to develop connections, and to be visible to them frequently to build brand recognition and trust."

Reaching out to her existing contacts

15-minute discovery calls for her public

1. Contacting her current networks

There's plenty of online information regarding how you can increase your following, but most designers believe that their first customers are people who have never heard of their site via social media. If you build your own community from scratch, then you're missing out on an huge sources of encouragement Family and friends!

Casey posted an email to the members of her circle to inform them she was starting a magazine about entrepreneurship. She then requested that they sign up.

"I began by looking over my latest text messages, Instagram DMs, Twitter and Facebook... I set a timer which I followed through with all of them that I could, in five-minute increments," she says.

Many family members and friends were able decide to Casey up on her offer. Then she started to create an email database to be used until the time of her debut.

2. 15-minute discovery call with the target audience

One of the best ways to reach them is by talking with them.

Casey shared a post on her social media pages and revealed her plans to develop an online class that will help Black women understand the business environment. "If I can talk to you for 15 minutes , and ask questions, let me be aware," she added.

The woman was aware of the fact that the persons who made a phone call with her were her target individuals: Black women interested in entrepreneurial endeavors.

Instead of chatting about topics in the course or marketing the program, Casey asked questions like, "What keeps you up at night? What's your greatest anxiety? If you only had one yearto live, who do you wish to become?" She made use of the opportunity to ensure that women felt appreciated and heard. She also learned about what was most important to discuss in the course's contents.

"Just being there for them and helping them feel at ease is a big element of the magic."

"By the time they had finished the majority of the phone calls, they said"Can I get the course right now What do I need to purchase?" Casey recalls. She was still working on the course but already had the addresses of the people who had signed up, and told them she'd notify them when it launched.

Once the class was over, she tweeted it to an email list she had created using the two strategies. "There was already this excitement from everyone. Everyone was keen to join."

The results? The majority of the women she talked during those first calls were converted into customers.

After more than two years, Casey still offers free call-ins to discuss her sales and marketing processes. Should potential customers have any questions regarding this Business Intensive and would like to schedule an complimentary perfect Fit phone call to speak with Casey.

"On average, you'll need five follow-ups before closing a deal. The majority of entrepreneurs don't are aware of this," says Casey. "I make these calls to conclude the deal."

Working with the appropriate resources and individuals can help Casey grow her business

In the present, BLAZE offers online courses including masterclasses, group-coaching programmes and an online community. webinars and TablexTribe, the TablexTribe mobile application and biannual summit online (a 2022 Webby Award winner to be recognized for its excellence in business as well as finance) as well as proprietary research.

How does she manage everything with an incredibly high degree of compassion and intention?

Casey has put together an international team of professionals who help her grow various aspects of her business This includes:

Content marketer and blogger with the base of Nigeria

A junior consultant based in London

A production and brand manager (her fiance!) who grew the BLAZE BLAZE Group Instagram by 1,300 people in May 2022 and 70,000+ at the start in 2023.

A executive assistant from Kenya

Analyst in research, who creates research documents across sectors. He also assists BLAZE to find new clients for its consulting services.

Production assistant for the semi-annual Blaze Virtual Summit

It's not just about hiring individuals to be part of her teamshe also hires equipment also.

"I employ tools I hire with rapidity," Casey laughs. "And I love it since it's a lot of scale."

The increase in your revenue does not necessarily indicate that your business has grown, particularly when you're working harder or are paying more for the rise.

"The increase in revenue should not be the main goal," explains Casey. "If the costs of your business are increasing in the same way when your profits increase, your bottom line doesn't alter."

"Scale is when you are able to boost revenue but your expenses and the time that you invest barely change."

The experience she had working in the field of technology taught Casey how effective no-code instruments as well as integrations and automated systems are. When she launched BLAZE Group, she leveraged the no-cost, low-cost options such as and Zapier to make sure everything ran seamlessly.

What Casey utilizes for her classes Community, downloads, and community

" was the first application I made use of for providing services on a large scale" Casey shares.

Methods like these give Casey "more time to complete important tasks" such as the one-on-one meetings she makes with potential clients.

Casey built her first digital product, dubbed"the Blaze Business Intensive Online Course. It includes . It's a six week, self-paced course covering "Business Building, Business Management and business excellence for today's Black Woman."

"It was completely no-code. The course was designed by me in the days of a 14-day trial at no cost," Casey remembers. "I built all of the course in this timeframe and then started selling it before the expiration date in order to make it immediately profitable."

(Want to emulate Casey's success? Register for an initial free trial and then take your time to finish getting your course's material installed and upgrade when you're in a position to begin selling.)

The course is part of the Blaze Knowledge Academy  A collection of educational resources for business education Casey developed on her site. The Academy is also the home of:

Numerous entrepreneurship masterclasses. The majority of these she provides to participants for absolutely no cost.

Her online community, known as the Blaze Women's Network  has nearly 7,000 members

"People have the option of joining the Blaze Women's Network absolutely free," Casey explains. Virtual coworking is the way we offer and I hold webinars. This funnels users to the paid classes."

Alongside introducing people to products that are useful, Casey's community gives members the opportunity to be a supportive and friendly place to network with fellow founders.

"It used to be  content was the king of the hill, but things have changed to 'community is king. There are many looking for community-focused software... and as ones that aren't perceived as spam come across as authentic."

The experience she had with the tool has provided Casey with an insight into what to be looking for in the software to create non-code solutions. "You provide a highly adaptable system which lets me create full-cycle solutions with your system" the author states. "And I've utilized the same scorecard to evaluate tools because I want to extend it."

"It truly is gorgeous to utilize solutions like to transform the world through methods that are cost-effective and easily accessible to all who have been marginalized previously."

Don't try to tackle all of it at the same time.

Given the many accomplishments Casey has achieved in only two years at BLAZE the advice she gives to beginners could be a a surprise: Do less -- at the very least, when you're getting established.

"Keep the main thing in your mind, which is the primary aspect," she advises. The Hustle culture educates entrepreneurs just getting started that there's not enough time or effort made. However, Casey advises creators to remember "There's only the amount that you must do, regardless of how good you may be."

"You don't have to do each and every thing correctly from the beginning, and it's going to be really difficult to make everything right at once when you're only beginning."

She suggests starting by choosing the most popular course first before working up on that. "I started by enrolling in an initial course named The Blaze Intensive, my first course. It is still my most favorite course. Entrepreneurs must figure out what their distinctive service needs to consist of, their goals in establishing themselves as a brand, prior to adding a whole bunch of things."

There's plenty to consider initially: your message, target audience, marketing, technology, client's experience. But once you do? You can open the doors to explore a lot more.

"I believe that we have the capacity to accomplish many things. Perhaps in 200 years. Since Blaze will still be around. This doesn't mean it has to take place today."

We're delighted to be an integral in the story of Casey and can't wait to find out what's to come in the future for Casey along with BLAZE Group in the coming year, 200 years down the road and all the time in between.

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