iSpeakLOUD The Premier Black Owned Business Resource

Peace Family, I was in the bookstore this week looking for books for my two year old son who absolutely loves reading time. I sat down on the floor next to the shelf of books that I know he'd love. There was a Dr. Seuss shelf not too far from me and after a while I decided to take a look. My son has never really expressed any liking to the Dr. Seuss books we have at home but I figured 'why not?' The first one I grabbed was Green Eggs & Ham. I read the book and it occurred to me that Sam-I-Am was on to something. In fact, he had a great lesson to offer business owners, not just children. Sam-I-Am is Marc Cuban, Richard Branson, Robert F. Smith, Quintin Primo III and so many more! If you've read this book then you'd know why I compared Sam-I-Am to some of the world's most successful entrepreneurs, millionaires. We hear it all of the time, CONSISTENCY is key so I found it quite amusing that even though the character kept saying 'I do not like green eggs...

 Up until this point I've had a lot of conversations with black business owners regarding business building best practice tips, client experience skills and social media marketing.  But the one thing that always comes up in every conversation, coaching session, workshop, event etc. is the most anticipated question, WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME?   This question is very simple but so very important.  It's the single most critical way to communicate your value.  I want to give you guys three important things to think of whenever you are communicating the 'what's in it for me?' answer to your clients. As consumers that's the one thing they're looking for! If you address these three areas you will have effectively established the benefits of doing business with you.  The first thing you want to address is, is it going to save your client time?  Convenience is so very important in this day and age and everyone wants to save time and everybody wants convenience. ...

Today I want to talk about how I overcame being the new Black Owned Business directory on the block! Just like EVERY business owner, you have competitors. What can be so frustrating is when you come up with an innovative concept, more established businesses catch wind of it and make it their own.  BUT that's business! I use to get caught up in building a platform a large as my competitors and at times losing sight of my purpose/vision. Anything worth having is worth working for and waiting for. I wanted to be THE GO-TO Black owned business resource for my people YESTERDAY! But one of the things I am most passionate about when it comes to iSpeakLOUD and my personal life is leading by example. While my competitors may be just that (competitors), there is also an opportunity to work with them and create business relationships.  For example, I just relocated to Fort Pierce, FL and I have been doing a great deal of networking. I was introduced to a Queen who happens to ...

Just like many business owners in the Black community I assumed putting together the basis of my business would be similar to baking an instant cake. I would gather my ingredients, mix them and throw it in the oven to bake. The only problem is, my cake (business) didn't rise. I thought to myself 'I must be missing something' only I couldn't figure out what it was! February of 2015 I completed something for the first time in my life on my own and it felt amazing! I became a licensed Investment financial advisor. I was working for one of the top financial brokerage firms in America. Life was GREAT!  February 2016 I delivered my first iSpeakLOUD seminar broadcast. It struck something in me, talking about the Black community and our issues; ways to possibly solve them. This went on for a few months but then it occurred to me that I am capable of doing more. Talking about it just didn't cut it anymore. I sought out someone to build me a website and iSpeakLOUD Sol...