Leading a Business as a Woman of Color: Obstacles and Opportunities with Nastassia C. S.: An EOFire Classic from 2022

0:01Boom! Shake the room, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire. are brought to you by High Level, the all-in-one sales and marketing platform. On today's classic episode, we'll be breaking down how to lead a business as a woman of color, the obstacles and opportunities. To drop these vibe bombs, I are brought to Nastasia and the EO Fire Studios. Nastasia is a startup launch expert, DEI strategist, and founder of The Mind Designer. She helps founders develop authentic leadership skills so they can create inclusive and innovative workspaces. And today we talk about how business values are an amazing way for entrepreneurs to know whether they are on the right track or not, and oh, so much more.

0:39And a big thank you for SmartSense Studies episode goes to Nastassia and our sponsors. Here's something most of us don't think about until it's a problem, our phone service. Cape is a privacy-first mobile carrier built from the ground up with security as the priority. If you care about protecting your digital life without giving up your smartphone, Cape makes that possible. Visit cape.co to sign up today. Are you ready for the ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies? Build funnels, automate follow-ups, manage clients, and even white label your own software.

1:14Say hello to our featured partner, HighLevel, and visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial today. nas say what's up to fire nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with hello fire nation happy to be here thank you um so something that people disagree or people that i disagree about becoming successful um i think that people know what that even means i don't think people know the definition of success is what I think most people would disagree with. I think about how a lot of folks that I work with, you know, I work with a lot of founders that are launching first startups or second or third startups.

2:02And, you know, a lot of times folks come in and they just are ready to become successful without ever having taken that time to actually define what that means for themselves and what it means to be successful in their business. So, and how the two align, right? So for example, my definition of success, uh, when I first launched one of my, one of my first businesses was like, did not align with the definition of success for my business, right? So I was launching a manufacturing business and, you know, the definition of success for that business would be products in a bunch of different stores and products being sold every day and, you know, massive amounts of people buying the product.

2:46And when I took the time to actually define what success meant for me, I did not want to have people buying loads of products that came in plastic packaging. And I did not want to be the, that CEO running things every day in a massive scale like that. And so the two did not align. Hence, there was just no fit for me to be the CEO of an organization or a company that by definition would be doing things that I personally didn't agree with. So I think that, you know, a lot of people just tend to, okay, I'm going to launch a business and I go right into it and they don't even really know what success means for themselves.

3:26So I would definitely say like define what that means for yourself, define what success means for you personally define what success means for your business and then see if the two align and the thing I really really love about entrepreneurship is that we just like we have so much freedom we get to do so many things in our own terms and so you get to be the creator of what success means for you so if for you it means like you're like super excited to work 16 hour days and seven days a week because your mission is so incredible, that's awesome. But if success for you means like, I'm going to work like four hours a week and that's plenty for me, that's great too.

4:10You just really have to be super mindful of what that is before you launch. Otherwise you get to a point where you either overwhelm and exhausted, or you just have lost sight of like where it is you're going because you forgot to define that. A lot of food for thought there, Fire Nation. And I'm going to ask you to digest this as we move on to the main focus of the day, which is leading a business as a woman of color, the obstacles and the opportunities. And Nas, I just want to dive right in and talk about the obstacles for founders of color. And let's even talk about how these obstacles can be overcome.

4:46There are a couple of ways to talk about, you know, obstacles that come up for people of color, specifically for women of color as we launch our businesses. And one of them is, you know, they're the systemic obstacles, you know, they're the things that are out there in the world that are true. Like, you know, it's just the fact that women of color get less funding, you know, it's just the fact that, you know, it's more difficult to get your emails answered if you're if the email is coming from a name that's hard to pronounce, or if it's coming from a woman. So there's like, those are systemic obstacles that are out there.

5:21And they can really like they can bring people down. I have worked again with a lot of founders and people just get just so annoyed and like to have to deal with these sort of day-to-day systemic obstacles. But what I really like to focus on really when I, when I work with founders is are the internal obstacles, right? Because those are within our control. Like, it's not like we're going to go out in the world and like solve racism tomorrow. It's not going to happen. So instead of focusing you know, those things focus on the internal obstacles, right? Because there are certain things that come up a lot with the folks that I work with and the founders that I work with.

5:57And those are things that have become sort of generational obstacles. You know, there are generational traumas, things that we are holding onto that a lot of times we don't even realize we're holding onto. And that if we take time to tackle them as they come up or tackle them before we launch our business, we are really going to be doing ourselves our favor, right? So I'm talking about things like, you know, fear of exposure, of fear of success is a really big one, all kinds of money mindset issues. I have a book that I launched last year called The Perfect Launch Plan, obviously perfect being tongue in cheek.

6:40And the way that I take people through the launch process. Yes, I take them through the tactical steps of launching, but with every step in your business launch process, um, I also help people address a fear or one of the generational traumas that might come up for them. And so like, like I said, you know, there are things like, um, money mindset stuff. So for example, if you're coming from a poverty background or like there's generations in your family of like poverty. There are a lot of times these mindsets that we're holding on to of like, you have to hold on to money, you can invest in yourself, you know, money's hard to come by.

7:20Like those are things that if you launch a business with that kind of mindset, you're going to have a hard time, right? So take the time to see like how that's coming up for you, the ways that you can tackle that. And what are things that are true? And what are things that are not? I'm not even saying that all of these generational things that you're holding on to are bad. Some of them are going to serve you well, but really be mindful of what are going to be these internal obstacles and internal traumas or just internal patterns and habits that are coming from your family or from your history that you can let go of before you launch a business or let go of while you're in the process of scaling your business.

7:59Now, that was a very thorough response, and I really appreciate you going through all of that. And I do want to shed some light on the positive side of things here as well, because there are some advantages of being a first-time CEO of color. And you've experienced this. Can you talk about it? Yes. Oh, my God. There are so many amazing things to being the first. And I love working with the first, right? I love working with founders who are the first person in their family to launch a business. So the first person in the family with enough ambition that I'm going to make seven figures this year.

8:33or the first who are graduating from college with a business degree and are starting to launch a business. So I love working with firsts because there are rarely any bad habits, right? I think when I work with my founders who have launched like two, three, four, or five businesses before, there are certain things that people sort of tend to hold on to, like hold on close to their heart because they feel like these are the things, the way things must be done. But when you're a first time launch, well, first time CEO or a person of color launching for the first time. Again, you don't have those bad habits, but also, like I said before, there's just so much freedom.

9:11You get to do things your way. Um, and you really get to be a representative, which I think is awesome. Like if you are again, the first woman of color to launch a certain type of business, you sort of have like a built-in network and that is so precious because once you're representing other women of color or if you're representing other you know folks in whatever community that you happen to be a part of or an identity that you hold that you really are proud of you get again you get that built-in network and so much of running a business of scaling a business is tapping into your network and so own whatever identity that you want to own whether that's being a woman or being a person of color or whatever other identity you hold on to and use that to your advantage as a first time CEO or as a first time entrepreneur to, again, tap into that network because that's already built in for you because so many of us are starved for that kind of representation in leadership that we will be more than happy and more than eager to sort of like, you know, go behind you and support you and your business.

10:21So much I love about that, Fire Nation. And, you know, when you're looking for the advantages, when you're looking for the positive side of things, they absolutely are there to be found. And I want to talk with Fire Nation now about what founders in general should be thinking about when it comes to DEI, diversity, equity, inclusion, especially during their launch phase. Like, what is that thought process? Um, yeah, I love this question because since I do work with a lot of first time entrepreneurs, um, and again, even the second or third time entrepreneurs, there is a lot of times this question of like, why should I even be thinking about DEI in my launch phase?

10:58Right. I'm just, I'm just starting out. Like I'm, there's so much, uh, that I need to focus on. There's all these other little details that I have to think about every single day. Why should I keep, why should I be thinking of DEI on day one? Um, and the answer here really is to do with the, the, the eye part, right? The inclusion, um, or even the equity part, because again, you are launching something and you want to make sure that whatever that definition of success that you set out for yourself in the very beginning, um, it's going to be very clear in, uh, how you run your business. Right. So I just spoke with a pair of founders today, and they were very mindful about the fact that even though they have these really lofty goals for their organization, every single time that they launch a new initiative or they come up with a brand new creative idea, they always tap back into their definition of success, which is nobody is going to work more than four days a week.

12:01Right. So for them, like inclusion and making sure that everyone in their in their in their organization has that flexibility of working a four day week is really important. And so because it's important for them personally. So these two founders decided, OK, day one, this is how we are going to work. And so therefore, anybody else that comes into our team gets that same level of respect from us. And that's just the simple definition of inclusion. Right. That's a simple definition of equity, too. So making sure that from day one, again, you have that clear definition so that as you grow, as you scale, and even if you want to become a massive empire, you want to make sure that you have something that you can always sort of tap back into and go, okay, are we making sure that the definition of success that I created for myself, me as a founder, is really being infused into how we run day to day, right?

12:57So is every person who joins our team feeling like they can contribute, feeling like they have a sense of belonging or feeling like they can come to the table with new ideas and they're going to be heard. So you're just going to find so much more success and longevity in your business if you are thinking about your future team. OK, granted, you're starting, you know, let's say you're starting just you or just you and your co-founder. And there are not that many people to think about. However, the idea is your company will grow and you want to make sure you create that environment and that culture where everybody feels like they can come to the table with as much passion as you have for the business.

13:42And that's only going to happen if they feel that sense of belonging. but also when it is just you and just you and your co-founder for example bringing that idea of dei to how you create your product is also so exciting and so cool because of course we all have our customers avatars right we want to we know who our ideal customer is and we have our ideal customer profile however we also want to be always thinking like how do we tap into the mindset of our ideal customer, but also ensuring that we're not leaving money on the table by excluding people that could potentially be a customer, even though they fall outside of our ideal customer profile.

14:23Fire Nation, there's a lot to think about here. And I think when you are going through your own DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion, this has to be part of the thought process. And we have a lot that we're going to be talking about when it comes to business values, when it comes to your mission, and so much more. when we get back from thanking our sponsors. Here's something most of us don't think about until it's a problem, our phone service. The big carriers, AT &T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have made headlines over and over for data breaches, tracking, and selling customer data. And the wild part is, even if you use things like VPNs or encrypted apps, that doesn't protect you at the cellular level.

14:59Stuff like SIM swaps, call interception, and silent tracking can still happen behind the scenes. That's where CAPE comes in. CAPE is a privacy-first mobile carrier built from the ground up with security as the priority. It works like premium cell service you're already used to, but without collecting a bunch of personal data they don't need. In fact, Cape doesn't even ask your name or address when you sign up. They can't sell what they don't collect. Cape also protects you from SIM swap attacks, encrypts your voicemail, and even rotates the behind-the-scenes identifiers tied to your phone, making it much harder for anyone to track you over time.

15:30It's real network-level privacy, something apps alone just can't do. If you care about protecting your digital life without giving up your smartphone, Cape makes that possible. Visit cape.co to sign up today. Okay, let's talk about a platform that's completely changing how entrepreneurs are running their business, and they are also our featured partner, HighLevel. If you're an entrepreneur, coach, agency, or course creator looking to grow faster and smarter, HighLevel is the all-in-one platform that replaces your entire tech stack. Seriously, think ClickFunnels, Calendly, MailChimp, Kajabi, and even your CRM all rolled up into one powerful white label solution.

16:08You can build funnels, send SMS and email campaigns, schedule appointments, manage pipelines, run memberships, and even launch your own branded mobile app. It's drag and drop simple, incredibly customizable and built for serious growth. My favorite part, you can resell high level under your own brand. That means recurring revenue, loyal clients in total control. So whether you're tired of duct taping tools together or ready to start offering high value services with ease, High Level is your unfair advantage. On top of it all, their support team is second to none and has your back every step of the way.

16:41Seriously, every question that pops up, they will have your answer waiting. And if you visit my special partnership link, you'll get a free trial. So visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial and see why thousands of businesses are switching. That's highlevelfire.com where marketing, sales, and automation finally come together. High level, join the revolution. Naz, we're back and I'd like to talk about the current ways of doing business and how they're getting in the way of innovation in an inclusive work culture. Can you give some specifics there? I know entrepreneurs, I know myself, I can sit and have a million ideas all day about different businesses to launch.

17:23And so we kind of get really excited about the idea, we get really excited about the product, and we just sort of, we're really good at like these like big picture thinking, right? But I think that we kind of sometimes lose sight of the, like just the number of opportunities that we have to do things differently rather than just following status quo just because that's the way things have always been done, right? So you want to find, you want to create room for yourself as you're launching or as you're scaling your business to disrupt the way that things have always been done, not just for the sake of disrupting and being different, but for the sake of finding new opportunities, better opportunities, right?

18:07So one example is, you know, I think people will launch a business and if, especially if there's already a product out there that's similar, they will look at their competitors and sort of try to emulate the way they've done things because it's worked for them. When I think there's so much room there to maybe bring people in to ideate with you that don't have experience in that field, or maybe again, tap into that network that you already have built in based on your identity or whatever other, you know, other communities you are a part of to maybe see like, how would somebody with zero experience in this do this thing that I'm trying to do?

18:50Right. How can I tap into a different way of thinking by tapping into people who maybe are a little bit removed from the process? You know, and again, just to find opportunities for yourself to not hold like so many things close to heart. You know, don't get stuck to your business model. Don't get stuck to any one thing, especially if it's not working. So give yourself room to sprint test. I love the idea of sprint testing, especially if you're just starting as an entrepreneur. because you can move on really quickly from things that are not working. So for those of you who don't really understand, like don't know the concept of sprint testing, the idea is super simple, right?

19:32You get an idea, whether that's for a new way of doing marketing or a new business model or a new product or a new branding, whatever it may be, you get that new idea, you put it out in the world, you test it really fast, you get some data really fast, And then you move on really fast so that instead of spending all that time gathering data or spending all that time waiting to see if the thing is going to work, you just learn from it right away and either double down on it because it's working really well or you move forward really quickly and pivot into the next idea. So again, like there's so many opportunities here for things to be done differently.

20:14You just have to look for those opportunities and tap into your network and tap into your community. And I think that's what you're doing a great job of here today, Nas, is you're really kind of giving us the different options and the different perspectives to look at these situations that we're going to be in as we move forward as entrepreneurs, as business owners today. So I kind of want to talk about why do business values matter? Like, let's talk about that specifically and what you've come across there. And then let's move into how we can develop those business values and our own mission.

20:47I'm a big fan of business values. I think like there are many different names now for them. I think I think it's great. Right. We don't have to be stuck to this to this one word. And it goes back to what the first thing that I was talking about, which is definition of success. Right. I think the business values are an amazing way for entrepreneurs to know whether they're on the right track or not, or whether something that they want to try fits into where they're ultimately wanting to get to or wanting to go. right so when you get stuck or when you get or when you don't know which direction to go um business values are a really easy way to get back on track and so and and again i've worked with loads with founders who are just so eager to launch that they forget this really basic part of starting something new which is like you've got to ground yourself on something and values are such an easy way to ground yourself.

21:48So, you know, you want to, from day one, again, like define for you and your business, what is it that you're trying to do, but also how you're trying to do that thing. Right. Um, again, that can go back to a simple thing as like flexible work environment, or it could be as simple as integrity. You'd be surprised at how often we get sort of stuck on Like, how am I going to push back on this request from a client or how am I going to, you know, market this product? And the simple things like integrity can really help you guide ways forward, right? If integrity happens to be one of your values and your company values, it's such an easy way to figure out, okay, well, if this client is asking me to do X, Y, and Z, and it doesn't feel like it aligns with my ideal of integrity, then I know for sure this is a no for that client right so you want to create these simple guidelines for you and your business and they don't have to be written in stone you know these are things that can evolve and grow as you grow as a leader as your company grows and yet it's really powerful to have these set of um you know like I said grounding things that can it can help you figure out if you're on the right track or if you're veering from where you ultimately want to go and to define those to start setting the values for yourself especially in the very beginning if you're just launching it's much easier to start with your own personal values like who who are you as a person who do you ultimately want to be as a leader if your company is not huge and you don't have you know 250 people a thousand employees 5 000 employees it's much easier to start with your own personal values because you are ultimately the creator of the future culture of your company Right.

23:40So you want to get back. You want to get back to looking internally and figuring out, OK, how do I want this business to grow and start putting those down? And even if you have like three, four, maybe five things to help guide you and guide you and ground you, it'll be, again, much easier to help move forward when you're stuck or help you get back on track when you don't know which way to go. And I don't think that can be stressed enough, Fire Nation. Start with your own personal values. So many people just don't know where to start. Start there. Now, Naz, as we start to wrap up here, give us the one key takeaway that you really want to make sure our listeners get from our entire conversation here today.

24:22Give us the best way to connect with you, any call to action you have, and then we'll say goodbye. My one takeaway, obviously, I do have a bias here. The name of my business is The Mind Designer. So my one takeaway is remember yourself. remember that you are launching a business, but you're ultimately and always a human being with feelings and again, values and your own personal definition of success. So no matter how big of an empire you'd like to build or how small of a business you'd like to have, um, keep in mind that you are your own best guide as ultimately where you want to go, where your business wants, business wants to go.

24:59Um, and so my call to action for folks today is to, I give out a, a weekly workshop. It's always live. I love doing live workshops. And in this workshop, I go through all of that. I talk about internal obstacles. I talk about tips for launching successfully tips for, um, you know, managing your time, especially if you're a person who's busy with, you know, life and you still want to launch a company or you'll launch a business. I do this weekly workshop and all you have to do. So fire nation, just all you have to do today is go to the mind designer workshop.com. That's the mind designer workshop.com.

25:41Um, and I actually have a coupon for you all today. So if you want to go in there and show up and see me on Tuesdays, Um, the coupon for you all is fire and I can see you in the workshop or we can go through all your internal obstacles and tips to how to launch successfully. That is fantastic. Thank you for that coupon. Much appreciated. And one more time, fire nation, that's fire. So fire nation, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. You've been hanging out with NCS and JLD today. So keep up the heat. head over to eofire.com just type nas in the search bar and her show notes page will pop up with everything that we've talked about here today links to everything and Nas thank you for sharing your truth your knowledge your value with Fire Nation today for that we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side thank you all so much such a pleasure being here hey Fire Nation today's value bomb content was brought to you by Nas and Fire Nation are you ready to rock your very own podcast check out our free podcasting course where I will teach you how to create and launch your podcast for free, freepodcastcourse.com.

26:51I'll catch you there or I'll catch you on the flip side. Here's something most of us don't think about until it's a problem. Our phone service. Cape is a privacy-first mobile carrier built from the ground up with security as the priority. If you care about protecting your digital life without giving up your smartphone, Cape makes that possible. Visit cape.co to sign up today. Are you ready for the ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies? Build funnels, automate follow-ups, manage clients, and even white-label your own software. Say hello to our featured partner, High Level, and visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial today.