Words by Buy from a Black Woman's Founder, Nikki Porcher
Earlier in September, I was invited to speak at Facebook’s Community Boost event here in Atlanta. They were looking for people who attended the event the previous year and had “success stories” that would educate, empower and inspire the current participant. Well, of course when I shared the story of Buy from a Black Woman and the growth that happened over a one-year span, I was a sure thing.
During one of the meetings one of the Facebook reps called Buy from a Black Woman “the unicorn that we always look.”
It was truly an honor.
This event was great and taught me so much as far as public speaking in front of massive, diverse influential crowds. It’s been over a month since the event happened and I am still hearing from people who say, “I learned about you because of the Facebook event.”
Some things to remember the next time you are speaking…
1. Always repeat your brand/companies name during your talk or speech when in front of a new group, but don’t be annoying.
During this four-minute chat I said, “Buy from a Black Woman” 26 times.
And nobody was annoyed by it.
In fact, later that day a White Man walked up to me and said, “Your talk was great, I love every second of it. I really loved how you kept reminding us of your brand. If I don’t remember anything I learn today, I know I need to ‘Buy from a Black Woman’.
When I started “Buy from a Black Woman” I knew the phrase would work because it was a statement AND a call to action. It’s very easy to tell you to buy from a Black Woman.
2. Don’t leave events early. The real impact starts when you get off the stage.
While giving the talk, I meant sure to mention that I would be around the whole day to talk, answer questions and connect. This was a prefect time for me to network and build not only Buy from a Black Woman, but also my personal brand. I had an audience that wanted to learn more, who took pictures to share with their audience and also I was there able to exchange energy in real time.
Never forget, energy is also a form of currency.
Yes, I had a list of things I could of went home to work on, but being able to connect with a new audience and build relationship that I could not had made at home. When face with these type of dilemmas, set yourself up a little office space in a high traffic area. You’ll be able to work while sessions are going on. When the sessions let out and people are walking to the next topic room they will see you and want to connect.
People want to see you and connect.
3. Be ready so that you’re ready when it’s time to be ready.
One that I always say to any business owner, black or white…you must do the work!
The only reason why I was able to give this chat was because, I had did the work. Opportunities are everywhere, but they mean nothing if you aren’t preparing yourself to be ready for when they show up.
You must do the work.
Nikki Porcher is the Founder of Buy from a Black Woman. You can keep up with her journey of opening doors as a Black Woman Business Owner via her person Instagram and LinkedIn accounts.
That's a great story about speaking at the Facebook event. It's always important to promote your brand consistently, even in front of new audiences. And you're absolutely right - staying engaged after the talk is key to building valuable connections. It sounds like you really made the most of the opportunity. Have you tried using platforms like omegle new to connect with even more potential customers and partners? I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on leveraging emerging technologies to grow your business.