On October 26, I attended the inaugural Owning the Block conversation/event/awakening/entrepreneur chat (yes all of these slashes were necessary) created by Karleen Roy. Karleen Roy is a force and I am so happy to have been in the space to soap up the knowledge that she and her guest, Myleik Teele gave. According to the Eventbrite page, Owning the Block ” is a conversation series created for aspirational, Millennial women and Generation X’ers seeking the knowledge and tools to think BIG.”
Karleen is originally from Memphis so what better place to have her event than home? I’m stoked and glad that she did because I learned a lot about my mindset and how to approach my business moving forward. So who are Karleen and Myleik?
Karleen Roy is the boss behind the Vanity Group , an experiential agency that has brought some of your favorite celebrities’ events to life. Remember that time we couldn’t stop talking about Cardi B’s baby shower? Yep, The Vanity Group did that. Read more about Karleen here. Myleik Teele is known for CurlBox, the first subscription box service for natural hair women, as well as her podcast and retreat. Ask any entrepreneur and I’m sure they’ve heard of her. If not, work on that by reading more here.
Truthfully, I struggle with putting information out about myself. I don’t really like sharing because I love the idea of people not knowing. Yet, I want people to support my endeavors. Contradictory, right? Owning the Block was kind of a reality check that I’ve slick been avoiding, but I paid for this event so if my ego has to be checked…. I paid for them to check my ego. It doesn’t mean that I’ll like it but whew…
Here are my takeaways and a few gems from the talk so that you can own your block
- Does your hood know you? You have to be hot in your neighborhood and your city to take over the world. (This is where owning the block came from).
- Put your blinders on and offer your specific gift. Allow yourself room to grow.
- People want to support you. Just because someone starts something doesn’t mean it’s theirs. You can’t be afraid to jump.
- Find your zero balance for your bank account. What is the balance in your account that makes you feel uncomfortable? When you reach this point you know that there’s work to do and that you have to cut back on spending.
- When you ask for money, write a check with a date that you could pay it back. Myleik mentioned that her dad gave her a small business loan in the form of a check with a date on it. On the date of the check, he cashed the check. The pressure was on for her to come up with the money so that the check doesn’t bounce. Imagine telling your parent that you took a loan from them AND have to pay an overdraft fee or returned check fee?
- One major tip anyone can take for owning their own block: be honest and take inventory about who you are and who you’re not. Hating on people who don’t know what you don’t know is not a strategy. Joking about people who don’t know what you don’t know is not a strategy.
- What would 40 year old Myleik tell 20 year old? That you’re on the right track. The people who are making fun of you won’t get you. Remain graceful.
- Say your name. Speak up for yourself. Run towards everything that makes you uncomfortable.
- An example of how to promote your product / service and build up momentum:
- The is coming
- This is here
- This is a review
- Now it’s gone
- Repeat
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