Latest / WOC and Allies: Business and Career Realtalk with Elaine Lou Cartas / 13. Mindset, Marketing, and Money for BIPOC Business Owners and Allies with Troy Sandidge

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13. Mindset, Marketing, and Money for BIPOC Business Owners and Allies with Troy Sandidge · WOC and Allies: Business and Career Realtalk with Elaine Lou Cartas

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Get ready.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to laugh and have fun because we're talking about mindset marketing and money for BIPOC business owners.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: And we finally have our first man of color guest.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: He happens to be my friend Troy Sandage, an award-winning marketer who spent over 12 years building sustainable strategies and scalable systems.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: He's generated millions for startups and Fortune 500 companies.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: He's kind of a big deal.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: He's also the host of the top 1% marketing podcast, I Digress, and is on a mission to help businesses, especially BibOC communities.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: So, DJ, let's drop the beat.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Hey Legacy Maker, I'm your host and MC, Elaine Lucartis, business and career coach for Women of Color and Allies.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: And welcome to the Call Your Dreams podcast, where we have conscious conversations to help you create a business or career that is sustainable, abundant, and equitable to the lifestyle you deserve.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because our ancestors sacrificed so much so we can have this life of choice.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Now, grab your coffee, tea, and arboba, and let's call your dreams to create your legacy.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: Hey legacy makers, I am excited because as I was telling our guest that's coming up, we finally have our first man of color.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: So Troy, thank you for being our first.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: It was just amazing, it was just him being himself, being funny, being hilarious, and being also vulnerable.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: So, Troy, I appreciate you coming on here.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Anything else you want to brag about yourself, by the way?
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: I I know I've read your stuff.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: I've been watching to the imposter syndrome everywhere.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: So he has he's made millions for Fortune 500 companies.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: He speaks on stages, he's part of the HubSpot network.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Anything else I could brag about you or you want to go add on to that?
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: I wrote a book that I launched this year in my pockets at the 50th episode.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: I'm nominated for a webby.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: I'm trying to process all this happening at the same time, but I'm humbled, but I'm grateful.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I am grateful that I have him before he you know blows up even more.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I know you can't see this visually, but behind him is a rocket ship, and that's essentially what's happening to him right now.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: He's just launching.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: So what we're here focused on is mindset, marketing, and money for the BIPOC business owner.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I really want to talk about this with Troy because this is his whole framework, actually, that he teaches with his own clients and to even have that perspective from a fellow person of color.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: But Troy, since this is kind of like the foundation of everything that you teach with your clients, why was this so important for you?
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what's your personal story that got you to focus in on this for your clients in your community?
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I really realized I did so many actions, you know, as people of color, you we already know the game.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: We are climbing on the harder side of the mountaintop, it's heavier, you got more weight, you have to do so many things so many differently.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: And we can get stuck in this in this busy mode and feel like we're not getting ahead.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: We have the burden of our families, of our honor, um, of ourselves.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: We're trying to make all these different things happen.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I realized all these years that I was putting on that work and not getting maybe the success that I would like, or access or understanding, was all around my mind.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: My mind was my own prison to my own beliefs, which fed my own ability to do what I need to do or lack thereof to do.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: And once I dealt with the stuff that was holding back within my mind, yes, I'm a person of color.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: There's nothing that's ever in the world that can change that.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, there are things out of my hands that are gonna be against me socioeconomically, whether my race, my ethnicity, my gender, my identity, my belief system, all these things are gonna always gonna be obstacles.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: But once I understood, I could still get to where I want to be with despite that.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: Instead of letting that be the be all, I didn't get that because I'm black.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't get that because of my identity.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: Now it's a difference.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not saying it's not challenging, but just how one person has a smooth highway to get to the same destination and I just the back routes, just because I'm taking the backwards doesn't mean I still can't get to the same destination.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: Is it fair?
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's not fair.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: But if I want to get to that destination bad enough, I can still do so.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's where I really realized I need to put in the work for the mind because the mindset will unlock better marketing, better messaging, better positioning.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: You'll find yourself having that level of swagger and confidence and conviction in yourself that you thought you were showcasing out to the world, but you wasn't.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: Because if you really are, your light is going to shine so bright that whatever obstacles or issues that they have or stereotypes about you, they can't even deny your greatness anymore because you're shining that bright.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so once I realize that mindset is the key to start that process so we can really shine brighter than these diamonds out here in these streets.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's when I'm seeing Rihanna.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: I know, right?
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: Insert Rihanna, all great Rihanna.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: Then I need to tell that to my fellow colleagues, my friends, my clients, my loved ones, people who I see who have all the talent in the world, had the initiative, the mission.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: But what's stopping them is not the external forces, it's the internal ones.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Troy, actually, thank you so much for already going so deep talking about mindset.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: And with everything that's going on in the world, it's just so enlightening to see a fellow man of color working on his mindset.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: People are talking about toxic masculinity.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: And majority of the people that do listen to this podcast are women.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: So, any tips and advice you have for them on how they could hold space for a man they love, whether it's a partner, a brother, a father, you know, because it's not accepted so much in our society to, hey, let's really talk about how you feel.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: Where does that come from?
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously, you've done the work, we know how important it is, but it's also up to us as women to hold that space.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: I promise we'll talk about business stuff, but I just needed to go through.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: Oh no, I am willing to go wherever this conversation goes.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I love that question.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: I think for starters, you know, my hope and desire is that men understand how powerful women are.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: They're not less than.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: I was raised by strong women, I was empowered by strong women.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: I've learned the skill sets that I have today as well as my swagger, because of strong women.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I think many times because society has put in so much pressure on our BIPAC brothers, the men, our husbands, our sons, our uncles, all the different uh ranges of things that you have different people of men and color in your life, that sometimes they are designed and told not to share their vulnerabilities, to not expose when they're scared, when they're worried, when they're nervous, when they don't know what to do, because it's seen as a weakness.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: And when a man seems weakness, they feel unworthy, right?
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: And so sometimes some men will do the opposite, which doesn't mean it's right, but they'll do the opposite to compensate for their insecurity.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: And so sometimes you know it's really about creating that space that hey, in this moment, you can relinquish all of that weight, all of that burden, all of that worry, and just tell me how you feel.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I guarantee you, you start doing that with a lot of these men, they will not be as shallow, they will not be as bitter, they will not be as distant.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: They will understand and identify you not just as someone maybe to protect or to do different things for, but as a a confidant, as someone they can confide in.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that serves on both sides, not just for the men, but for the women as well, and everything in between.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: But I think that right there, just creating that space for them to and this is a process most men don't know.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: They have to be taught, they have to learn how to be vulnerable and be okay with that vulnerability and realize that vulnerability is also a strength.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's also knowing and in tune is with themselves, and that way they can show better, be better as businessmen, as husbands, as sons, as fathers, as uncles, as leaders.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: But that that space needs to be there.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: In most cases, it's it's lacking, it's like the air is out the room and they're barely hanging on to every breath.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's my thing.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: I think if we can start creating better spaces to hear each other and listen, I think that would really start moving the needle to start seeing some improvements.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the big takeaway that I'm hearing from you is hey, I see that you're feeling something.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: I want to hold space for you and not hold any judgment, right?
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: From for both sides, for all sides.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: And it just becomes better.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: But as a woman, thank you for doing that work.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: And we need more men to be doing it for just, I mean, not just on your side, but on both sides, holding that space.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's just so important to have that understanding.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: So obviously, your mindset has created diamonds.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Rihanna, and created your swagger.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: So tell us more about how, in turn, that has helped with marketing and what tips do you have for fellow business owners when identifying their marketing.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: And just so you know, the folks that are listening, they've been in business for a while, but they're probably a victim to their own success that they may not be doing what they really want to do.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Do you know what I mean?
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like they've built their business up to now that they probably need the right mindset and market who they truly are moving forward.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: No, totally.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: I think, you know, when it comes to business, you really gotta manifest the business you want to be.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: I think so many times we see ourselves in a certain way, and that's how we come up, which we show up in the world.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_01: Versus I acknowledge I'm at point A, but I'm trying to be at point B.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: Therefore, for me to achieve point B, I have to think and manifest and believe I'm already there and present myself at point B.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: So therefore, I can become and obtain point B.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: And many times as people of color, we've been told our whole lives to like, unless we have it in hand, we can't talk about it.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: When I've seen people who are not people of color, who just off a root few words they wrote on a napkin go into a room and get funding for their idea.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: It hasn't come to fruition, it hasn't been proven that it's going to work, but they've getting paid money, they've been given the keys to the kingdom, the title, the position, whatever, to do it off the idea because they brought people to where they want to be, which was point B, even though they're currently at point A.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: But people of color, we have this thing that we have been taught this.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: We have been grind through if you come through the nine to five process, you know, mentality of if we don't have it in hand, we can't talk about it.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: That's the first thing we need to kind of throw it out the window.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: The moment we have an idea and we know it's something that could be of value, let's talk through it.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: Not sure, you know, if you get deep and you need patents, all that stuff, that's a whole other conversation for the day, copyrights and stuff.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm talking about the grand scheme of things.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: You need to present yourself who you want to become and not just stop and stop where you where you are.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: That's and that's a hard thing to do because we deal with imposter syndrome, we deal with insecurities, we deal with, well, I don't know.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: If I come off too strong, headstrong, you know, that seems as a problem when all I'm trying to be is confident.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: If I come off as too strategic, that comes off as me being too shy.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: And if I say it this way, now I'm angry.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: If I say it this way, I don't have enough assertiveness.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just all these, if we do this, then they'll respond with this.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: If you do this, then you respond to this.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like there's gonna come a time where maybe if that person or that business or that venture capitalist or that individual or that potential customer doesn't see you for who you are, they're not the right one for you.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: Has nothing to do with you.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: You did everything right, it's not they're not for you.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: Another person, another phone call, another Zoom call, another pitch, another presentation somewhere else.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: Someone's gonna hear what you have to say, and it's not gonna be friction.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: I I love what you're saying and I want to learn more.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: I want to buy and I want to invest, whatever the call to action is.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: That's the thing that once you get your mindset right, you switch.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: Because I, for many a part of my life, when I would rise up the ranks of corporate America, when I would just go to bed, I'm not taking a vacation, I'm grinding, I'm working, I'm working, I'm working, and I do all these things, and I get to the end of it and it didn't work out.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I'll be like, Oh, is it because I'm black?
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: Was it because you know you didn't see me in yourself, and therefore I wasn't worthy of this title or this promotion or this race.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: And there may be some subjective common answers, and I will never deny that that's definitely true.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: But I also had to recognize that what's meant for me is mine, and I have to claim it like it's mine, and I think that small middle gap there is what a lot of people, uh, people of color fall in and they don't get out of is claiming what's theirs and going after what's theirs and that whole totality in the business world.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: So, Troy, I've been binge watching your podcast since we met a couple of weeks ago, and I believe what 20,000 downloads a month.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: Is that correct?
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, we're averaging 20, 20,000.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: Look at the little humble pie over there.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: 20,000 is amazing, 20,000 a month.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I even listened to that episode, which I really loved.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: It was very motivational.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: You just published your 50th episode.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: So you did this, you manifested this, you basically claimed it.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: Listening to earlier episodes, you're like, I'm gonna commit to this, I'm gonna be consistent to doing weekly podcasts.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: And and I don't think you even know this.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm actually only month two of my podcast, and I also want to just commit to it weekly.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: I would love for you to share your personal story of how you just decided, like, I'm committing to this.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: This is happening weekly.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: Oh no, 20,000 downloads per month.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, HubSpot, cool.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: You want to get me?
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna go fly to California from Chicago to speak.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm being nominated for a Webby.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: Cool.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how did you overcome that as a person of color?
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: How did you claim it?
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: Well, let me just say, you sound very seasoned.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, wow, you're pretty seasoned.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: I think I had to give myself grace.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: I think people of color, we tend to not give ourselves enough grace and think, oh my goodness, if the back end isn't perfect all the time, they're gonna judge me.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's kind of like um how your house uh people come over and now you put that extra effort to clean every ounce of your house, knowing that they're not they're never gonna check everything.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_01: They're never gonna feel compelled to just do that, right?
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: Right, just shove it all in there and just leave, I'm all clean.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I think sometimes when we make a declaration, that's why sometimes we're so afraid to give make declarations and tell people what we're trying to do.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: Because what if I don't be consistent and then I don't finish?
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_01: I look like a failure, I look like a fool.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I already got enough stuff on my back.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: I don't need to add to the stereotype that a person of color can't finish anything.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: Personally, see, this is why you need to stay in your lane, and I don't want to hear you with those words and those uh mate messages and statements, and that runs through your mind, right?
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I and I I I acknowledge that, but also at the same time, I acknowledge what if I do continue.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: And so for me, I learned early on that consistency is subjective.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: Don't be so caught up in the how the cons the consistency has to be.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: The consistency may change depending on what's going on in your life.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you have a newborn, maybe you're moving, maybe you just you know the pandemic.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, goodness gracious, like my creativity's gone this month.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, instead of me trying to do weekly, can I just do one for the month?
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: That's still me still being consistent.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_01: And so letting go of the the necessary the how consistent and just focus on the act of being consistent, it's a totally different game changer.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_01: And so I'm always at a state of what did I do this month?
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: Because we will we're you know, there's some there's some individuals who will naturally think all the things they didn't get done in this month, and that's all they focus on.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: They don't focus on all the things they actually did achieve in this month, right?
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: And so once I really got into the groove of the things with the recording for I digress, there were seasons where I did go weekly committed, and there were seasons where I switched it up to bi-weekly, and then there were seasons where I did one a month, but I was still consistent in whatever place my consistency was able to do so.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: And it took me about five to six months in to understand and give myself that grace.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: That way I didn't obsess over, man, look all the episodes I could have had done, but I couldn't because I chose family or I chose to take a break, or I chose this, or I chose whatever.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: There's a line that when you're creating a podcast specifically, you know, it trends, and someone has echoed this actually a podcast movement, one of the rare gems I heard that really landed.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: You know, once you get to a certain point, podcasting becomes a second job and less of a hobby.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and I think sometimes as you're growing, you have to give yourself your grace as that transition happened.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it looks great now that I got the 20,000 downloads, I'm part of the Hustle Podcast Network.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: My podcast got nominated for a Webby, which is insane.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I did it my way, personal color, unapologetically, in a business space that aren't many of us in.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: And everyone told me I shouldn't do it, and I still did it my way.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: And it, yeah, it looks great.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's a great case study.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: But from when I started September 28th, 2020 to February 20th, 2022, when I got the 200,000 to today, April 7th, 2022, where I'm recording this moment was a lot of challenges and a lot of doubts and a lot of insecurities and a lot of learning to love my own voice, learning to love my own skin, learning to see if what I feel is worthy of saying on the record on the mic would translate to somebody else.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: And granted, I didn't hear enough support probably the first seven months.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: But I kept going because I kept the thing that kept me anchored was when I started in marketing, I didn't have the opportunity to hear voices that sounded like me to give me what I wanted.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: And so, if if for nobody else I want to speak to Old Troy from back in the day that didn't have that voice, or that person who talks all over the place of Morado and uses various sports references and cultural references to talk about business and marketing, which normally doesn't go together.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I did it in a way that's confident, that's what I would want to be if I were back then.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: Until as I kept being consistent, more people know about it, more people land it, and here we are now.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: And so if you're starting out, if you're really getting to that groove, make your North Star be about you and about what you would have wanted this to be.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_01: And as it be more consistent, all the other things, the choirs of people praising and acknowledging and validating your efforts are going to come in time, but knowing in the initial phases, it won't be a lot of noise.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be you and a mic.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: So get comfortable and just start speaking your truth.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: And that goes like kind of transitioning to marketing.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: And this is kind of like a love podcast episode to podcast.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, I've been in business for almost five years.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: How I generated leads out clients was a was doing free monthly events.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then I use social media a bit.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: 100% of my clientele comes from referrals or renewals.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: But what I noticed, and I don't know if you feel the same way, Troy, I felt like I couldn't, I felt like people couldn't really know the depth of me online.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: You're given X amount of words, X amount of characters on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, whatever it is.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like I couldn't really be myself fully as much as I wanted.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why I got into podcasting.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you feel the same way.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I just want to say how I really feel.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: And also what's great.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: And also, I'll just be honest, I don't appreciate how so much on social media is a cancel culture, right?
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: You could say the wrong thing or it may not resonate.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: So people will tag everyone else and try to cancel you out.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: What's really great about podcasting, if you don't like what we're saying, you could just drop off.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I didn't even know that.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: So true.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: So true.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: So liberating.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: But with that being said, when it goes to marketing and really being your authentic self, what tips and advice do you have for listeners when it's bringing out how they want to market, what channels they want to use, identifying it?
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_01: I definitely think uh an East framework helps.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: And East is all about making it easy, making it attractive, making it social, and uh making it timely.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so even if we make the transition from like I love for podcasting and how to grow a podcast and how to be consistent and how to get your voice out there, first thing is make it easy.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: So, what do you want?
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: What are you good at?
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: What do you like?
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: What's your passion?
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: Because that's gonna bring forth it being easy to do because you know it already, you're passionate about it, there's confidence in it, you know, there's no barriers or friction.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: And then making it attractive, not just for you to continue doing consistently, but make it attractive to the very people you're trying to speak to, you're trying to get it the attention to.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: Making it social means making it two-way conversation, not broadcasting and all I'm on the bee's knees, look at me.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_01: No, engage in conversation.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_01: I always like to think it this way, and that in many cases, I can't assume that because someone questions my reasoning for doing something is from a place of disempowerment.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: It could be just a place of curiosity because they themselves have no idea what my life is like, where I'm coming from.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: And this is a perfect opportunity to make that bridge happen.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: And so make it more social is to have those conversations and making it timely is to be very effective about when and where and how when we and how you do it.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: I think, you know, sure, yes, you know, you know, uh February, Black History Month, March, Women History Month, and there's different months of different ethnicities that may become where people want to bring things to the limelight.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I get it, you know, talk about us all day long.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: I I said before in one episode, I'm black 365, you know, my my female friends, the female 365.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like it ain't changed just because the internet holiday is over, the month is over.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_01: We want to be more heard, we want to have our more expressions throughout the whole year.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_01: But I also have to say that when things come up where you do have an opportunity to be more amplified, whether you feel it's comfortable or you don't like it as much as not, I said don't let that squander from the opportunity to have more people hear your message that can make an impact.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I've said this too was that during the summer of 2020, probably one of the most uncomfortable times as a black man in business in my world in America, and just in the universe, I guess you could say, but it was the premise to why I did the podcast was people kept asking me, how did I feel about looking at George Floyd?
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I felt how insensitive are you when you should already know?
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_01: I I mean, put the two together, black man, black man, I mean, it shouldn't be that difficult.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: What I realized during that season of advising companies of what to do and what not to do after that transpired, and you know, how do we create DEI conversations and how do we empower my people of color in different sectors of their leadership style to not just be given DAI title and not empowered to actually make a change, which hold of the conversation for another day, y'all.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: We already know about that.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna go there.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: So good.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: I kind of want you to go there, but it's okay.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's okay, keep going.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: But I am saying that once I recognized that and had those conversations, I was very hesitant about speaking my truth because you know how you'll find as a person of color, you find that sweet spot where you're comfortable in your own skin, but you're not being attacked as much for your own skin.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you can kind of just do your job and keep it moving, right?
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_01: And you don't want to bring too much attention to your sub because you're like, I don't drip that as my paycheck or my family or my name or being thrown out on the walls.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: If you're not used to being public in the limelight, it can be very uncomfortable.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_01: I get that.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: But some lady had told me, I never forget, it was on a Twitter DM.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_01: I was complaining about I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: And she's like, it doesn't matter how you got the opportunity, use that to your advantage to amplify what you need to be amplified.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, Well, dang, I was so focused on well, now they want to hear me.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: Now they want to listen, I don't want to do it.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_01: You've been screaming, you want this opportunity, you've been screaming, you wanted a platform for people to see what you have to say, be unapologetic yourself, no code switching, all truth, all you all day, yo, most authentic self that you yourself ain't forget how you sound uh once you walk out these doors, what it sounds like.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, Well, I guess I should do that, and I did.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: And then the podcast happened a few months later, and then I never stopped.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: And it's a switch, it's a switch.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I think all people of color have a time that moment where things switch.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and you finally embrace what you've been putting off, you finally acknowledge your situation, and then you finally take action to actually make change versus complain about where is the change.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: Ooh, where is the change?
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: I was just feeling everything you were saying because my focus is being a business and career coach, woman of color, and allies.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: And when everything happened in 2020, and I think I kind of told you when we first met, I was a grassroots organizer, knocked on doors, did phone calls, worked on progressive campaigns, but I worked with everyone, right?
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: You worked with all community leaders, if they're white, part of the LGBTQIA plus.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: And then when things happened in 2020, I started kind of noticing how different ethnic groups started kind of siloing and then kind of like attacks to some allies, like, well, you're not doing enough, not doing the work.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, there's truth in it, but also kind of giving them grace, like they their intention, they are learning and growing from it.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: They may not be perfect, but at least they're trying.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of, I always compare it to like having a romantic relationship with our partners, with your wife, with my boyfriend.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_00: We fall in love with them more when we have those conscious conversations, as opposed to nope, you're wrong.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I got tired.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: Where's the change?
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: Why aren't people working together?
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: Why aren't people having conversations?
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: And which is why I created this podcast.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I want people to hear that we could all work together and also be imperfect.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm an imperfect ally to you, who is come on.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: You're a black man.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: I know I'm imperfect by trying, but I know I'm gonna make mistakes and at least we tried.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: Come on.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, oh, that one landed, y'all.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: I hope y'all heard what she said.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's the truth that a lot of folk need to hear.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_01: We're imperfect, we're all imperfect beings trying to make things better.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_01: Give us some grace.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, and at the same time, too, you know, and this is in one of my podcast episodes, not everyone deserves our feedback, right?
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_00: If someone does something wrong, you're like, you don't deserve me telling you you said something wrong.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: But at least if it's, for example, the situation happened when COVID just started, and a friend of mine who I've known put this message out, like, oh, I guess that's why like Chinese people speak in Chinese, because they don't want this and I was like, oh my God, she does not realize that's racist.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_00: Mind you, she is a good friend.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: I could have attacked her easily because this was a post on social media, and I sent her a separate message.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, hey, this is actually hurtful.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: She's like, oh my gosh, I didn't know that.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: But that's what I mean.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like, there's some people you could choose, you could share that, but there's other people like, no, you are just a horrible human being.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: You have no energy to receive that.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: But but I appreciate you sharing that.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like, if you don't see the change you want, why don't you be part of that and be okay if you don't get it perfect?
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I always think of it this way: you can name anybody who inspired you in any way, shape, or form to become who you are to be in your business, your profession, your life, whatever your character of type is.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_01: They all had that moment where they didn't have that personal reference.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_01: What what did MLK do before there was MLK?
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_01: He just did.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_01: He just became think of anybody you think of who is now a prominent leader in your identity, in your space, that you reference it from a book, anything.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_01: What did they do before that person became who they became?
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_01: Who do they have right to reference?
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_01: They became the person they needed so that you can reference them and become who you are to so someone else can reference from you.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: And so change does not happen unless we become that change.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not saying you got to change the world and take on everything, but those micro changes do play a bigger impact than I think we even realize.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_01: Now, what's the chances of me deciding last minute to go to podcast movement evolution?
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_01: You know, last minute didn't even have my slides, they didn't have my slides ready.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_01: We arranged to get that set up.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_01: I went through it, went really well.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_01: We got to meet, and now we're here.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_01: There's so many micro moments that had to occur outside of myself to allow this moment to happen.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so sometimes we may think the changes that we're pursuing or doing, the actions are weak because the world doesn't know about it.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_01: Doesn't matter as long as people are being changed and impacted by it, that is the world.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's just really cool to think of it more so that way than put all this pressure on ourselves to think that, you know, if the whole world doesn't release press releases on every move, we didn't make change.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_01: Those micro changes add up to big changes.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_00: And also, I think what helps me get going, as well as I'm pretty sure for you, Troy, is that this work is beyond me.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_00: Like I was put here, I always joke around, like whether it's God, you know, Beyonce, whatever higher being you believe in, like there is something bigger than.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_00: And sure, my skill set is really great in terms of strategy and sales.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_00: I know for you, Troy, it's marketing, but yeah, that is the skill set.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_00: But who you're teaching, like within that specific niche, with if it's people of color or whatever it may be, could create that change where as corny as it sounds, it's as simple as just be yourself and just own it.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: So it goes to the third part of this episode, which is money.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know, how do you?
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_00: I know we could talk about the mindset and the marketing for it, but how can you own up to charging your worth?
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's I I mean, you know this when it comes to scaling, it can be as simple as that, just increasing your price points.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I know for us, and I know we challenge because wait, we love it so much.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: So shouldn't we give back?
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_00: And and I'll be vulnerable.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_00: I had a conversation with a team member and she was like, Yeah, we had a great retreat.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I love having team members who give me feedback.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_00: She's like, I'll just be transparent.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we probably should pay like all the vendors more because they they outgave themselves, which is great.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I agree with you.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_00: I need to pay the vendors more at the same time.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_00: I need to go increase the prices, right?
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: So, what would you want to share?
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_01: I think the first thing I understand is that money is a tool.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_01: I think you know, many people of color, they have religious undertones or community undertones or how they were raised, that they associated a certain way about money and that translates into how you conduct yourself in business.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_01: Many times we think, well, I want to make sure my business is there for the community, and it can.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_01: But if their current subcommunity can't afford to pay the prices that you need to create the product that you want, you have to leave so you can make the money so that you can come back and make the impact that you want.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_01: You can't make the impact without money.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_01: And you need to go to the people that have the money and leverage language to launch it.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_01: I like to say, the right language to compel someone to see you and really be captivated to give you the financial funds, see your worth and your value accordingly.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of that is in the mindset work, it is in the marketing work of how you message and position yourself, but it's also in just being honest and acknowledging I cannot go lower than this price, no matter what.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_01: And we have to stop associating volume of change from the PayPal, the Cash App, or the invoice to is that the money that I'm worth and do I actually need?
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_01: And so a really good hack for myself, I'm an empath.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_01: If you tell me any type of story, I'm gonna start wanting to help you like it's nobody's business.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I have the talent, I have the ability, I can help you.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_01: I put this on my mind and I said, there's a certain section of percentage that you can give edit uh for free.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_01: I don't do discount, I will create a separate offer that's lower for a specific group or specific individuals.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_01: I have a big heart for SB, small businesses, marginalized communities, entrepreneurs.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_01: So I leave 25% of my business only for them.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_01: But to sustain myself, 700% have to be for people who are willing to pay me my prices, and that's final.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_01: I can't negotiate with that.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_01: There's just something too non-negotiable.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_01: You gotta eat, don't you?
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_01: You gotta drink water, right?
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_01: People have to pay me this certain price.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_01: And so when you learn how to less is more when I have sales conversation or on my on my website copy, things like that, I give less.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_01: That's the price.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_01: I would rather people disqualify themselves, acknowledging they can't afford me right now, but they may want me later.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_01: And so I really want a lot of my people of color, individuals and business owners who are listening, think of yourself like a Tesla.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_01: The price ain't gonna change for no Tesla.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like, can't afford it right now.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_01: They're either gonna do one or two things they're gonna go get a loan or they're gonna wait.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_01: They're gonna come back when they got the money and then buy that Tesla.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_01: And the same way with your business, for all those people who you set your price and I said, Oh, I can't afford you.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, I'll see you later.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_01: And you keep moving.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_01: Don't start counting how much money it could have been because guess what?
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_01: It still wouldn't be worth the money that you want or needed.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're a service business, you're actually giving away money for free, doing work for free for the value that you're not gonna get.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not the highest quality that you want.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_01: You're feeling some type of way because they're not paying you right, and then you know, you're spending time where you could have spent time elsewhere, focus on the folks who are paying you or positioning yourself to get paid.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_01: These are the hard questions that they don't talk about when it comes to entrepreneurship because they just think it's a volume game and it's not.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's a volume game only when the volume is in the right ratio of quality of value that you demand for yourself as your business.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_00: Oh I am all for everything that you're saying right now because I'm high premium prices.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll be honest, I've had fellow women of color come up to me and say, your prices are really high.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_00: Women of color can't afford that.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I have shared with them, thank you so much for sharing that.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_00: Well, at the same time, I have a team.
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_00: And as a fellow woman of color that has a team, they deserve to get paid their worth.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, one of my team members said, Oh my God, thank you so much for paying me.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm able to bring my two kids to private school.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like, and she's from Philippines, which is where my family is from.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_00: And that was like, oh my gosh, that's like the impact that I'm making when I pay people.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so much online, as you know, it's like, okay, let's get as many people through our funnel.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then you're just looking at the numbers, looking at the conversions, but people forget, do you know how easy it is?
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, my first business was a fund being a fundraising consultant.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I only have one client that paid me six figures.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_00: There's like this, ooh, get a six, like make six figures by doing X amount of things.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, that was one client.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_00: Like what Troy was saying is less is more.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_00: So, how did you change your mindset to acknowledge that where you're like, I don't need a lot of people?
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_01: And how did you really hard?
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_00: How did you because there is a shift that happens too?
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: How did you start becoming that person?
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 38:27
  unknown: Yeah.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_00: So, like my journey, I just announced I ended my mastermind.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to work with beginning entrepreneurs.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_00: If they're gonna work with me, it's not through a group program, it's one to one, you're gonna pay me a high dollar.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like my my focus is high, like scaling established entrepreneurs because that's where the fun begins.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_00: We've got to talk about like the life and scaling, but I realized I had to shift and change like everything and the embodiment of me.
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_00: So, how did you shift and change?
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_00: Because you're out there making multi-sticks.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_00: I don't mean to like just drop numbers.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, I do read, listen to your episodes if you don't acknowledge that, Troy.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: But how did you become that person versus before where it was all about the volume and number of likes?
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_00: I think people always focus on number of likes and comments and not what's actually in their bank account.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I keep telling people, vanity metrics, likes, don't pay the bills, yo.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_01: You can't pay too much for money.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_01: I I can't walk it up.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_01: Look you up any followers I got.
• 39:23
  SPEAKER_01: I got a boot check, and uh the bill collector's gonna be like, okay, and where's my money?
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_01: That was the translate at all.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_01: I think one of the ways to for me to like wake up, I mean matrix style, wake up was do a line item where my time went.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_01: Look how many clients I got or customers, if you're selling products, whatever, you can swap it out for that.
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_01: Do not just humor me.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_01: Take a minute right now, last 30 days.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_01: How much of your effort has made you money versus how much of your effort hasn't made you a dime?
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_01: You know, most people get all uncomfortable, they get quiet, the throat gets all scratchy, they get maybe sweaty.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I don't want to talk about it, and they deny it, they just put it off.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, no, no.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_01: You gotta really be honest with yourself.
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_01: Every move you make is either making you money or taking away money.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's either creating the life that you want or taking you away from the life that you want.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_01: And you have to understand the difference.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_01: And so there's three ways you can make more money.
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_01: You can raise your prices, you can increase your volume, or you can try to do a combination of both and hope that it works.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_01: You will create a new offer, so to speak, right?
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_01: But which one of these things is the easiest to do?
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_01: Which one of these things will allow you to just maintain your current systems and cause your speed?
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_01: And the only logical option is to raise your price because you don't have to change anything, you don't have to add anything, you don't have to create anything new.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_01: You just raise your price.
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_01: Now, yeah, you might have that sticker shock of less book or blowing you up.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_01: Guess what?
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_01: Out of the 30 folk who emailed you this month, the five phone calls you had this month, and the two people used to the invoice contract to how many actually signed and went through all that?
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_01: One.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_01: So the numbers suggest that if you raise your prices, you're gonna have that same exact scenario with one.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_01: But guess what?
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_01: That new one person, let's say it was five grand, but now it's 15 grand a month.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_01: Woo! That's a big jump up all because you raised your prices in your new waiver.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_01: But the thing I really, the second thing outside of doing the line item thing, was acknowledging that I was looking for individuals to pay me what I'm worth who didn't have it to get.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_01: They were trying to live a lifestyle that was not their own, that's built off debt and credit and IOUs and had no thing of substance.
• 41:55
  SPEAKER_01: And I think anytime now in my community, you and you talked to this earlier.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I said, Troy, your price is too happy.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_01: I want to work with you, and that's that moment of well, your personal culture help you.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_01: I do.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_01: That's why I created a podcast.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's free.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, just all day long.
• 42:07
  SPEAKER_01: That's why I wrote a book.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_01: Buy it once all day long.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_01: I've at it when you want me, just how they want you, they want to work with you one-on-one.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_01: That comes with some green, that comes with the real price.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_01: I'm giving you all the tea that I and I think that's the other thing.
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_01: Stop making it feel like when someone says your two prices are too high that they can't afford it, you feel guilty that you let down the culture.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_01: You didn't.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_01: That person just couldn't afford your prices.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_01: Don't make it that deep.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_01: It ain't that deep.
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_01: You're still making an impact, and you can still make an impact on their life without you lowering your price and giving them a discount because they said that line to you because they know that's a line.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_01: Because they don't sell that line to Gucci, they don't sell that line to electricobile, they're gonna buy their Gucci bags, they're gonna get the Louis Baton.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_01: They're gonna, they're not gonna say that.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you're lower your price, they're gonna look at you like what?
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_01: Come and come get it, and they'll go get it.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_01: So that same respect I demand for my business, I demand for myself, and you should use that your way too.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_01: And the best respect you can get for your business is to make sure your prices give you enough cushion, not just to barely get by, it gives you enough cushion so you can live.
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_01: Because I don't know about you, being an entrepreneur is hard, y'all.
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's hard.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_01: What's the point of me working more hours than I would a nine to five, making more sacrifices than the average person, learning multiple things to do, always in conversation mode, trying to win new deals and express from my impact is if all this effort doesn't create the life that I want, and I'm actually making less money than if I would have made it work a nine to five.
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_01: For what?
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_01: My pride?
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_01: We gotta rethink, rewire, unlearn some things, relearn some things, and wake up.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the thing I think a lot of people of color need to accept is that I can't help people who are broken until I get to a place.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_01: Where I am rejuvenated, I am whole to serve in capacity that makes sense.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_01: A broken person can't help another broken person.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_01: A broke person can't help another broke person.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_01: And I can't demand another broke person to evaluate my worth because they don't have it.
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_01: I need to go where the money resides, and I needed people with money to tell me this is confusing.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_01: Change this, update this, and then I'll be willing to pay your price back.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_01: That's what we mean to do.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what I woke up and realized.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_01: But it took me to leave my circle to discover that.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the thing we get uncomfortable with.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_01: We don't want to leave, we complain about it, the circle, but we don't leave the circle to go find out what's true, what's genuine.
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_01: Would this work?
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_01: Would people actually pay for it?
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_01: And you have to leave your circle in order for you to see and determine if it really will be successful.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_01: And once you know it is, raise your prices every year.
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_01: Let's evaluate, raise them prices.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_01: Let's see what happens.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_01: Is it hard?
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_01: Is it difficult?
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_01: It gets easier the more you do it.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_01: It gets easier the more the money starts coming in and things start making sense and you're able to give back to other folk and make an impact, however, you want to do that, it gets so much easier.
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_01: So release yourself of that pressure, but raise your prices.
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_01: Don't make it so low that anybody can enter.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_01: Don't do that.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard to do it.
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm actually in the middle of it.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_00: When I made the discernment and decision, I'm not working with beginners, I want to work with more established entrepreneurs.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm actually still going through the grieving process.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_00: And it's easy to be like, wait, I am so comfortable doing this process.
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_00: Because what what my lead gen was I just did an event every month and then I got clients.
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_00: But then now it's like, yes, this podcast is part of the equation.
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like you said, just like your podcast for ID Gress, it's it's giving back to the community.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_00: But I also know more established entrepreneurs listen to a podcast because they want to know you're real.
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like they want to know like your depth, your philosophy, because a social media post is not enough.
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_00: You could have as much likes and comments, but when you're really established, you're like, you could go look through that smoke and mirrors and be like, nope, this person doesn't look real.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_00: I need to get to know them.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_00: But it's graving through process.
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_00: And it's interesting you're saying, like, hey, they were okay paying for Gucci because someone that was interested in wanting to work with me like didn't because I was too expensive.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_00: And then the next thing I see, she's in Hawaii.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, well, oh no, that trip to Hawaii was not cheap.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_00: But Troy, I always like ending episodes with what is one action that you recommend folks to listen to?
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_00: What's one action they could take?
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_00: And what is one reflective question?
• 46:45
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes people combine it.
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_00: So it's up to you.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_01: I'll do the reflective take first.
• 46:51
  SPEAKER_01: I think the question I would ask myself, and that maybe you should ask yourself, is what's my deadline?
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_01: What is my deadline?
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_01: If you don't put a date timestamp to something, you can't hold yourself accountable for it.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_01: Put a deadline to it.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I think the action I'd say to take away outside of putting it out to it, just do inventory and to see does everything that you're doing right now, everything you're building, if you're in the building phase, if you're in the marketing phase, if you're in the selling phase, repurposing phase, whatever phase you're in, is your actions uh leading you to the life that you want to live?
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's not enough.
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_01: You will find, I know this sounds crazy, y'all, but you will find once you hit that coveted six figure, which is really at it could be as low as a hundred thousand dollars in one penny to 999.
• 47:43
  SPEAKER_01: Like there's a range here, y'all.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_01: But once you get to this coveted number, you'll you're gonna want more.
• 47:49
  SPEAKER_01: It won't be enough.
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_01: So it can't be about money.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_01: The business that you're creating, you chose to do so because you wanted a better lifestyle, you wanted a different experience than maybe what other people chose.
• 48:03
  SPEAKER_01: You're different, you're a different breed, you're a divergent, you're different, and that's perfectly fine.
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_01: But make sure that every effort you're doing to be different is creating a life that you actually want.
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_01: And that requires you to do inventory with your time, with your actions, write down what makes you happy, write down what makes you sad, write down what you want and make sure it lines up.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_01: I want to create a life where I'm working and making really good money that allows me to provide for my family, but I also want to be able to Netflix and chill and not have to think about like work every single second of the day.
• 48:38
  SPEAKER_01: I want to be able to go out anytime I want uh to dinner with my wife or um watch the game with the boys or something every once in a while.
• 48:46
  SPEAKER_01: Literally shape the life that you want in this action scenario to make sure that your business that you're building allows you to be in that space because we didn't make all these sacrifices for nothing.
• 48:58
  SPEAKER_01: And especially people of color, we have worn our stripes like badges of honor.
• 49:04
  SPEAKER_01: We've been through some things that we haven't even shared on this mic.
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_01: We have been through some things to get to this point, and so we want to make sure that our sacrifices were worth something, and so make sure your sacrifices are worth something.
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_01: Take that action, make inventory, make that list, make that alignment, put a deadline to it, and go get yours.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_00: And it's okay to be selfish and want the life you want, just like what Troy was saying.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_00: You deserve it.
• 49:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I think there's a lot we I think there's a lot that we've gone through as a person of color.
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_00: So uh we deserve to be selfish, just saying.
• 49:36
  SPEAKER_01: We're worthy, y'all.
• 49:37
  SPEAKER_01: What were they?
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_00: Troy, because everyone's gonna fall in love with you just like I did when you presented at podcast movement.
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_00: How can people find you?
• 49:46
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you can find me everywhere at Find Troy.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_01: Y'all, Brandon, I know, I know.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_01: Find Troy.com from the website find Troy, all social media platforms.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_01: I live on Twitter and LinkedIn, so feel free to jump in anytime on social audio.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_01: I love to say hi and connect.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_01: I'm pretty easygoing.
• 50:02
  SPEAKER_00: Troy, thank you so much for your time.
• 50:05
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me.
• 50:07
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god, we did it.
• 50:09
  SPEAKER_00: So here's my key takeaways after that interview with Troy.
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_00: One, learn to love your voice.
• 50:17
  SPEAKER_00: Two, money is only a tool.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_00: And three, focus on creating a sustainable business and lifestyle.
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_00: So if you loved what Troy and I talked about, I want to let you know you can have a sustainable business and lifestyle.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're an established coach or consultant who wants to create a business that aligns with the life and abundance you deserve, I want you to apply for my Color Your Dreams Inner Circle, a 12-month one-to-one group coaching program for coaches and consultants with in-person and virtual calls.
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_00: So just apply by going to ElaineLew.com forward slash inner circle.
• 51:01
  SPEAKER_00: And here's the thing, legacymaker.
• 51:03
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to stop choosing between what works over what you really want.
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm here to support you in the business of releasing what you've built up to now to something that is more aligned with you.
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_00: So go to ElaineLew.com slash inner circle to apply.
• 51:38
  SPEAKER_00: Want more?
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_00: You can find all of the links and information mentioned in this episode in the show notes on my website, elanelew.com slash podcast.
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_00: All right, legacy maker.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'll see you next Thursday for our newest episode.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_00: Remember to call your dreams to create your legacy.