Reclaiming Creativity and Creating Impact Through Storytelling & Connection with Christina Blacken

Guest: Christina Blacken

Host: Clarita 

In this episode of Begin, Build, Blossom: Your Business Journey, we’re joined by Christina Blacken—a public speaker, writer, performer, and founder of The New Quo, a leadership development company focused on authentic leadership, behavior change, and building trust within organizations and communities.

Christina shares her journey from full-time employee to full-time entrepreneur and opens up about the experiences that shaped her voice, creativity, and approach to leadership. From growing up as a Black woman in Utah to building a business rooted in storytelling and human connection, this conversation explores what it means to create impact through story telling.

We also talk about how one video led to exponential social media growth overnight but how genuine, offline relationships were still the foundation that helped grow her business and opportunities.

In this episode, we discuss:

•  Transitioning from employee to entrepreneur 
•  The power of storytelling and why your story matters 
•  Using personal experiences to influence and connect with others 
•  Reclaiming creativity and using it to navigate difficult conversations 
•  Building trust and creating meaningful impact through leadership 
•  How changing policies and uncertainty created “whiplash” for businesses and communities 

Connect with Christina:

•  Website: The New Quo
  
  
•  Podcast: Tell It Proud Podcast
  
  
•  Social Media: @christinablacken including Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Tell your own story before someone does it for you, because most people feel like their stories don't matter, and they typically are operating on stories that have been indoctrinated on them from childhood, maybe from religious institutions if they attend those, educational institutions, media, TV. You get to define your own value, your own worth, your own story. And it's one of the most powerful things that you can do as an individual. And so every person who listens to this, I hope you can understand and know that your story is important and necessary. And the sooner that you tell it, and the sooner you use it and own it, the sooner that we can have a better future and a better outcome. And I would wish, I would hope, that more people understand that their story matters. People assume networking is what I call the pray and spray method. Here's my business card, here's what I need. You know, that's all this very pushing, like kind of salesy approach. And I think that's one of the worst ways to network. The primary thing I do is build one-on-one connections with people who I have something in common with, who I might want to learn from. And the conversations are usually informational chats, so I can understand what they stand for, what problems are they trying to solve, what are their values, and how can I be of support, and vice versa. So it's a lot of actual relationship building, showing curiosity, asking meaningful questions, reaching out and sending supports and information to people when it's useful. And I have that with them. So typically, if I go to an event, I'll make a connection with a couple of people, and then I'll really follow up and be like, let's have a real conversation and one-on-one with those individuals and start to seed efforts and connection and commitment to those. Even if you meet three people at an event of 300, that could be so invaluable because those relationships can become years-long relationships that can contribute in so many ways to what you do and what you are excited about.

SPEAKER_02 1:48

Welcome to Begin Build Blossom, your business journey, the podcast where we share valuable insights, resources, and motivation to fuel your entrepreneurial spirit. Let's build a supportive community together. Don't forget to subscribe or follow wherever you listen to podcasts and be part of this journey. Let's pause for a moment to hear from our sponsors. You've built a name for yourself through hard work and dedication. But does managing the business side feel like a distraction from your true passion? Are you dealing with unmanaged finances? CME Accounting LLC is here to help. We specialize in organizing your financial records, allowing you to focus on what you do best. With organized books, you'll have more time for what inspires you, whether that's expanding your influence, building relationships, or simply enjoying life. Don't let unmanaged finances hold you back. Reach out to CME Accounting LLC today and let us help you thrive. Visit our website www.cmeaccountinglc.com or email us at admin at cmeaccountinglc.com. Alright, let's jump back into our conversation. Good day. It's a wonderful day in New York. My guest and I, Christina, we're just talking about how great the weather is today. What is it? We're in May, this first day of May. You'll be hearing this episode later on in the month. We just really love the weather. So today we're joined by Christina Blacken, a public speaker, writer, performer, and the founder of The GNU Core, a leadership development company focused on behavior change and authentic leadership. Through her work, Christina has trained over 31,000 people across multiple industries, helping them build trust, strengthen connection, and lead with intention, no matter the title. She's also the creator of Tell It Proud Framework, which uses personal storytelling as a powerful tool for everyday leadership and courage. Her work has been featured in outlets like the New York Times, Forbes, and Business Insider, and she's built a community of over 70,000 people across social media. A Utah native who's called New York City home for over 16 years, she also brings a unique perspective. And apparently, more uses for Jell-O than most of us would expect. Christina, welcome. Now, that Jell-O, what are those uses we're talking about here?

SPEAKER_01 4:33

I love keeping that in because people do not know that Jell-O at one point was Utah state food because of the amount of Jell-O that they consumed. It was like the highest per capita Jell-O consumption in the country. And you know, New York gets up to some strange things. There's a niche for everything. So Jell-O could be used here. So I feel like it's been a thematic thing in my life, Jell-O.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

Wow. You know, that just brought me back to so many memories from my childhood. Um, I lived in St. Lucia, and we, whenever we would get jello in one, you know, we would get barrels sent to us. So we'd get those little boxes of jello in there. And oh my goodness, that was Christmas.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

Now, what flavor was it? It's important to know the flavor though.

SPEAKER_02 5:12

Many different flavors. We had a variety, but what comes to mind now is is it strawberry? Oh, I know it's was red. Okay. Yeah, red was a classic. Yes, the the the one I rem I'm remembering. I'm remembering different colors as I speak to you, but red definitely was one of those.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

It was probably just red flavor, not even cherry. It's just like, what's the flavor? Red.

SPEAKER_02 5:30

Yeah, I I don't even know. So Christina, I'm so glad that we're having this conversation today. I met you through a mutual friend, Christina Brian, who hosts those amazing events in New York City. She has been a guest on this podcast. So if you're listening, she's definitely somebody to get to know. Um, so Christina, I know in the intro we talked about you having 70,000 people across social media. That is no easy feat. How does this happen?

SPEAKER_01 6:01

It was kind of a fluke. I hate to admit it, but it's true. I was walking in Prospect Park, which is right across the street from me. I live in Brooklyn near Prospect Park, and I had on my mind at the time a pretty significant news story around Charlie Kirk and um the shooting that had happened at a university in Utah where he was located. And I just felt compelled as somebody who grew up in Utah to say something. And so I wrote a video really quickly in my notepad on my phone called The Values That Drive Conservative Thinking, and recorded this really short three-minute video that just kind of described specific behavioral values you might see from people who have a specific sort of ideology that might support somebody like a Charlie Kirk. And the video just took off. It at one point had 1.7 million views. I think it might be up to 2 million. And from that singular video, I gained around like 45,000 followers or something overnight on Instagram, and then another like 12,000 on TikTok. And so it was sort of like right place, right time, right clear message that led to a huge bump in following. And from there, I've been able to continue to share my perspective around storytelling, leadership, daily acts of courage people should take. But it was not this methodical, I'm growing social media thing over many years, which goes to show you that the algorithm is just it'd be algorithming and you can't always control it, to be fair.

SPEAKER_02 7:22

Thanks for sharing that. That that really um brings across the storytelling because that is what happened there. You it was something in the news, you had an opinion on it, and you shared it. And you used your storytelling framework, I'm guessing, to deliver that.

SPEAKER_01 7:37

I did, yeah. And I used some parts of my own personal story of growing up in Utah as a black woman, which I think is very rare. People are like, who, what? What do you mean? A black person in Utah. And what's your perspective on this very specific national news story? And so I think knowing how your identity can be a lesson or wisdom for others, especially for really important, widespread topics, is a really key thing on using your story in a way that can garner you know influence and and leadership.

SPEAKER_02 8:05

Awesome. Thank you. Yes, and we will um talk about that a little bit more. You spoke about growing up in Utah. So let's talk about you a little bit. Um, can you tell us one word that describes you now and one word you'd have used to describe yourself as a child?

SPEAKER_01 8:19

I would say they were the same, creative. I was a super creative kid who was a storyteller and also a performer. I remember one of my earliest memories was stomping around our apartment in my diaper with one of those little microphone toys. It had the mic attached to a speaker, and I'd be stomped around the house making my own little concerts and singing RB and hip-hop songs from the 90s at the time. And then I'd one point got this um toy guitar that had the buttons, not actual strings, but you push the buttons and you pretend you're playing, and I would put concerts on for my parents and my two siblings. I have two younger sisters. So I've always been really creative, constantly using imagination and singing and writing poetry and making up stories for my toys and dolls. And so I feel like that still plays a huge role in my life now. And I've reclaimed so much of it, probably in the last five years specifically, with how I lived my life and also the business that I built.

SPEAKER_02 9:11

And when you say you reclaim, tell us a little bit more about that. What do you mean there?

SPEAKER_01 9:16

You know, I think for a long time, and I'm sure so many people relate to this, I felt like my creativity was a nice hobby and extra and not a central part of my life. So I was always in choirs and bands and a cappella groups, and it was always just something to do outside of everything else. And so there was a big part of my personality and perspective that I wasn't honoring and sort of just compartmentalizing. And when I became an entrepreneur seven years ago, I started to incorporate a lot more of my creative voice as a public speaker and a writer. And in the last two years, I stepped fully into more creative expression beyond just the corporate trainings and things I do. I write poetry and I'm doing things that are about creative self-expression in addition to behavioral organizational change. I try to infuse my creativity in that, but then I realized it doesn't have to only live in the container of organizational change management. There's something more here that I haven't fully invested time in because I felt like it's a distraction, maybe a waste of time, or could be detrimental to my stability and well-being long term, which is not necessarily true.

SPEAKER_02 10:19

I'm glad you share that because there might be somebody processing that right now and you probably just help them. So thank you.

SPEAKER_01 10:25

Yeah. You know, there's a lot of hesitation we all have around creative creativity. We think we have to be a Beyoncé or a Jay-Z to be creative, or we have to constantly monetize and prove that creative outlets are worth our time. When in fact, it's such a central part of being human. Expressing our stories and our creative points of view is an incredible part of being human. And so many people feel like they don't have the space and time to do that.

SPEAKER_02 10:49

Yes, and and listening to you, I'm thinking of my daughter and even the memory you shared about, you know, when you were younger and you're just free and you know, embracing that creativity, and somehow along the way, that that kind of goes away sometimes. So I'm glad that you mentioned you reclaimed that and that now is an integral part of every your everything, your business, who you are, and all of that. Okay, so if there is somewhere in the world you could travel to today, where would that be?

SPEAKER_01 11:17

South Africa. I love Amont Piano music, the energy, the vibe. I just think I would have such an incredible time. I also have a friend who moved there a couple years ago, and we've been talking for a while to have me come out and visit. And it just seems like it would be such a nourishing, creative, and fun experience. I also haven't done enough traveling around the continent of Africa. I've been to Zanzibar, I've been to Ghana, but there's so much more time I'd like to spend there. Because I've definitely traveled in Europe, I've traveled in Latin America. I feel like it's time I expand my horizons and my experiences and go more to the continent.

SPEAKER_02 11:53

Yes, yes, I love that. I love that. And if there is one book or movie you'd recommend, um what would that be?

SPEAKER_01 12:00

Movie, it would be Origin by Aber Duvernay, and it's based on a book from Isabel Wilkerson, who's this incredible author. It's kind of like this creative genius movie about a woman who discovers how caste systems around the world have shaped how we love and treat each other. But it's this beautiful love story that encapsulates so much social complexity around how the world works and how oppression works. And I think it's uh the defining movie of our time because it's done so eloquently, infused with deep love and a deep kind of biopic story. And a lot of people have not seen it because I don't think it was funded in the ways that it should have been. Probably because the subjects it talks about right now are things that are being villainized by our government. So I would love if more people saw Origin, even if they don't know about the book or the author. It's an incredible love story about humanity and just how we can treat one another better and reconcile our past and the issues and the injustices that have come from our past.

SPEAKER_02 12:59

And that is so needed. That is so needed. Thank you for sharing that. So going on to the business, is there a highest high you've experienced in business? Is that something that comes to mind?

SPEAKER_01 13:11

There's a few. I'll say one of them was I took on a pretty significant project with the technology company that was needing help around content moderation. And they were really struggling with racism and bias on the platform. And they were like, how do we get ahead of this? We have social media pages mocking our product and making fun of the fact that people are fighting and constantly not connecting. And so I created this moderation course that helped people to learn how to de-escalate conflict on the platform and in their neighborhoods because this tech company was around getting neighbors to communicate with one another. And the highs were just the impact. We had at the time, I think, 45,000 people signed up to do the training, around a third completed it. And we measured that people changed their behavior six months past the course, and they were taking those behaviors and applying them in their families, in their communities. So seeing something that came from my brain and from my lived experiences and research actually changed how people think and how they treat each other was incredible. And to do that for a year's long, uh, we did the project for three years total, and it was measured by Stanford University in terms of the behavioral impact, and it felt really meaningful, especially at a time because this was from 2020 until 2023, in the middle of the pandemic, when people were really isolated and divided, it felt very important to do that work.

SPEAKER_02 14:30

Oh, wow, talk about impact. Goodness. Thank you for sharing that and congrats.

SPEAKER_01 14:35

Thank you. Yeah, it was a challenging project, but also it felt really meaningful to incorporate all the different methodologies and tools that I use for behavior change, including storytelling, historical context, entertainment. You know, the trainings have singing and it's fun. Like there are ways that people are like, I'm learning some really serious stuff, but I'm laughing too. And also, this is fun. And like we end up having really great reviews of the experience. And so I think that's hard to find. Like, how do you get people to deal with the tough, hard topics, but make it entertaining and engaging and something that feels like it's going to benefit them and help them to become better leaders, better communicators. That's not an easy thing to balance. And I'm really glad that we were able to do it. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 15:18

And on the opposite side of that, can you think of maybe a not so good moment that you've had?

SPEAKER_01 15:23

Yeah, the last few years have been pretty tough. I mean, a lot of my work, so I've primarily done facilitation and workshops and trainings for organizations. So helping them to improve trust and communication on teams and within communities. And that organizational work got labeled under diversity, equity, and inclusion because I incorporate those tools into the work. You can't be a good leader or communicator without knowing how to speak to people who are not like you. That's just a fundamental. But because I was in DEI, and that is now a slur in our country, the funding, the support, the public conversation completely pivoted from five years ago. And so that had a significant impact on my business. I lost 90% of my revenue in the last like year and a half that I was normally making. And I had to kind of rebuild and start over because so much of the work was being categorized in ways that were really unfortunate, inaccurate, and wrong. And a lot of people self-complied because of executive orders. So that was really tough. It was a really dark moment. I think the statistic is like 600,000 black women were pushed out of the workforce. They were deregulated, defunded. I would consider myself one of those black women. And it felt like a methodical attack from our government on our population solely out of fear and not because it was valid or justified. And that was really, really hard to move through, especially because the conversation and attitude was a 180 just a year before that, where people are like, Yes, we want to be better, we want to improve our skills, we want to reduce bias, help us do that. And then the next year is like, how dare you talk about bias? How dare you want us to do this kind of work? It just was it was whiplash. And it was very, very disappointing, especially from people who had made commitments and promises that they retracted on.

SPEAKER_02 17:09

Yeah, I'm listening to you, and you know, this environment we live in. I don't even know what to make of it. But I do know as a black woman myself, I know the experience. We are definitely not living through good times. And um, I just had a question that pop up for me like, what happens after that? You said you lost 90% of your revenue. How do you rebuild?

SPEAKER_01 17:32

Well, one of the things I did a couple years before that was build a safety net in case this kind of thing would happen. So I had significant savings and investments that helped me to weather that downturn. And I did that because I saw a few years prior, um, when Trump was elected right before Joe Biden, he did a test around some of this DEI defunding. So he had a couple of key executive orders. And I had some friends at the time who primarily had government contracts and they lost all of their business revenue with one order overnight. And watching them go through that, I was like, oh, this could happen again. So I started to make sure that anytime I was closing projects or deals, I set aside significant amounts of funding to make sure if things happen and I can't close deals or projects are fooled arbitrarily, I'd be okay. So that was one. The other was, you know, my work has always been around helping people to understand storytelling as this tool of deep relationship change. And that's always been the goal. It's leadership and storytelling, and that isn't something that's technically being villainized. So there were still people interested in the work. I just think the way that I messaged around it and the way that I implemented projects shifted too. So I started doing more public and individual work outside of institutions because institutions have been so all over the place. They're they're a hot mess right now. So that helped as well. Pivoting who I was serving, the way I was messaging it, in addition to having my own kind of safety net. If I didn't have those things, I think I would have had to have completely closed the business and started over again and just went back to the drawing board. So I was fortunate that I planned ahead. And I tell people that a lot in entrepreneurship. We don't know what's gonna happen. The pandemic that happened 2019, when people were excited about 2020 and they were doing their New Year's resolutions, you think they were like on the docket is gonna be a worldwide global pandemic? No. And most people were not prepared for that. So I think now that's just taught me how to be present and not being too fearful of the future, but making some A, B, C, D, E, F G plans in case things don't go well.

SPEAKER_02 19:32

Yes, yes, yes. So I heard safety net there. I heard um keeping your ears to the ground, I guess, and really understanding what's happening. And you mentioned that you saw what happened when Trump was elected the first time, and you could see that if you know it could happen again. So preparing for that. Yeah, and you also mentioned pivoting, which is a big thing for business owners. It's um so I'm really glad you covered all of that. And something that comes that's coming to me now is um what if you don't have the safety net or you've already spent it all and now you're still in a situation? It's just something that came to me. So it's something definitely to for all of us to think through as well. But in terms of the business, you touched on it a little bit. I talked about it in the introduction, but just tell us a little bit more about what you do in business.

SPEAKER_01 20:25

Yeah, so I started out in I would say 2015. I was working in a couple of different corporate industries at that time. So I was a professional that was using storytelling, um, mostly as a tool for marketing, campaign building, doing it for nonprofits and media companies. And I kept thinking, wow, storytelling is this really powerful tool, but we're only using it for sales or to push things that people don't really need. How would it change things if people use storytelling as a tool for their own personal development, their leadership growth, their voice? And so I started doing research on how storytelling affects your brain, how it affects relationships, and built frameworks and tools and started teaching them on the side, mostly at conferences, sometimes to colleagues. And I was getting some momentum. People were like, wow, I see a huge difference. I have clarity on my perspective. I have a set of stories I can use to motivate and inspire people to adopt new ideas or take on new goals. And so I was like, oh, I can make this a full-time thing and decided to save up what I called my FU fund at the time. And I was like, when I get to the number that I could essentially cover all my expenses for six months, I will quit my full-time job and go into this full-time. So I was able to hit that number in 2019, which at the time was$20,000, and quit my job. And I was like, great, I'm gonna do the new quo. I'm going to teach as a public speaker, facilitator, writer, how to use storytelling for leadership and communication and relationship building. And I was getting really good momentum and then COVID hit. So I was like, yeah, this is great. I got referrals from my community. I'm building with Fortune 500. Companies and then COVID completely shut down any in-person kind of facilitation or teaching. So I had to be again pivot. And at that time, I had a digital tool. So I decided to turn my frameworks, my workshops into online courses and was able to scale to that, you know, 31,000 number that you mentioned in my bio. So it was just being flexible, being on your feet. And really, my work is twofold. It's really helping people to become more conscious of how they use storytelling because 65% of all of our daily conversations are through stories. It is unconscious typically. And it's usually learned from your upbringing. So however you learned how to emulate stories, the beliefs and values that kind of got encoded from your experiences become the way that you tell stories. And a majority of people focus on negative storytelling. So complaint, criticism, and judgment is the primary way they're communicating and moving through the world. And so helping people to shift from that and communicate using their values is really important and primarily what I teach. So, how do you use your values to collect the right anecdotes, to use those anecdotes strategically in conversations, in emails, and presentations, and help people to understand the goals you're moving towards and the ideas that you can create together. And that's really resonated with people because I think very few people feel like their story is worth telling or that they're a good storyteller at all. And most leadership is just you telling stories and hoping and getting people to be motivated about the goals and ideas that you're sharing. And good storytellers have a lot of power, whether they're telling the truth or not. Right now we live in huge amounts of misinformation from people sharing stereotype stories, scapegoat stories of immigrants, stories of myths about the world and history, like all that is storytelling. And so getting other people to understand that and use that is really the crux of my work. And it also looks like um events. So I facilitate storytelling events and I have a learning community. So all of it is how do you get people to use storytelling more intentionally, more thoughtfully, and more with a social justice outcome?

SPEAKER_02 24:00

And how do you go about building those? You mentioned online courses, you mention actually being able to facilitate at conferences. How do you go about getting these or how do you do that?

SPEAKER_01 24:14

It started off with networking. You know, I was really good with first when I had started my company, I was talking to a lot of my colleagues and my peers about my work and the problems that I was solving and why I was focusing on it. And a lot of the problems I was solving at the time is reducing bias in how people communicate and how they share their stories and show up in teams and in their organizations. And so I was like, hey, if you need help with bias reduction, I have all these tools to help with that. So that was the preliminary conversations, and then people would bring me in by referral. The other thing I did was content marketing. So I do a lot of thought leadership on social media, LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, really giving perspectives around social issues and cultural analysis, and then giving specific practical tools, communication tools that people can use to address it. And that's helped too. It's helped people to see the credibility and the validity of what I do. And then the third thing was really just putting myself out there when I would see asks, when people would open up, you know, open calls for speakers or applications for things. I'd be like, let me throw my hat in the ring. You know, it might not work. I've gotten a lot of notes. I'm like, you know what? Let me just try. Like, I would do that a lot. Let me just, and then we'll see what happens. Like one thing I've I started doing specifically in New York City is a storytelling event called Change My Mind. And that kind of came from this idea that people are isolated and lonely and don't have a lot of spaces to listen to true stories from people who are they're not related to or friends with. And that's a primary way of building trust in a community, is knowing people's real stories beyond the surface, beyond stereotype. And so I pitched the idea to a government agency here who had an open call for a community grant. And I was like, hey, I got this really great series called Change My Mind. People tell true nonfiction stories about an act of courage that changed them for the better. I facilitate audience interaction. And they were like, sounds great. I was like, oh, it worked. Like, people are they're interested. And so they funded it and it became and there, I'm bringing the series back again for the summer. And so I guess to say if you have an idea and you want to test it, you have to take the risk to put yourself out there to talk about your point of view, to talk about the problem you solve, and to attract the right people who want to support it and who have that pain point. And that process is constant when you're running your own business. So that's primarily the activities that I was always focusing on is how do you be a value and service to people and how do they know what you stand for and what problems that you solve?

SPEAKER_02 26:40

Let's pause for a moment to hear from our sponsors. You've built a name for yourself through hard work and dedication. But does managing the business side feel like a distraction from your true passion? Are you dealing with unmanaged finances? CME Accounting LLC is here to help. We specialize in organizing your financial records, allowing you to focus on what you do best. With organized books, you'll have more time for what inspires you. Whether that's expanding your influence, building relationships, or simply enjoying life. Don't let unmanaged finances hold you back. Reach out to CME Accounting LLC today and let us help you thrive. Visit our website www.cmeaccountinglc.com or email us at admin at cmeaccountinglc.com. Alright, let's jump back into our conversation. Yeah, and a lot of that it sounds like um people getting to know that it's through visibility and basically putting yourself out there, answering those questions, being the thought leader, and not necessarily waiting for people to come look for you. You put yourself out there, and you also mention referrals, um, which I hear a lot. So that's good. And the fact that you do a good job, you get more referrals, so that's great. And you also mentioned networking, and that's how we met through a networking event. So we know how important that is. Would you like to just share a little bit more about how you network or any advice on how to do it effectively?

SPEAKER_01 28:11

Yeah, I I love that question. I think people assume networking is what I call the pray and spray method. Here's my business card, here's what I need. You know, it's all this very pushing, like kind of salesy approach. And I think that's one of the worst ways to network. The primary thing I do is build one-on-one connections with people who I have something in common with, who I might want to learn from. And the conversations are usually informational chats, so I can understand what they stand for, what problems are they trying to solve, what are their values, and how can I be of support, and vice versa. So it's a lot of actual relationship building, showing curiosity, asking meaningful questions, reaching out and sending supports and information to people when it's useful. And I have that with them. So typically, if I go to an event, I'll make a connection with a couple of people, and then I'll really follow up and be like, let's have a real conversation and one-on-one with those individuals and start to see efforts and connection and commitment to those. Even if you meet three people at an event of 300, that could be so invaluable because those relationships can become years-long relationships that can contribute in so many ways to what you do and what you are excited about. So, really, it's actual genuine relationship building. It's better to build thoughtfully with a smaller group of people over time than to like be thoughtless and self-involved and transactional with dozens and dozens of people. It's not just about what you can take from people, but genuinely, how can you have a reciprocal, mutually beneficial relationship with people? And that takes time. There is no shortcut, there is no buzzy, hot take social media way of doing that. It takes time to show genuine curiosity and effort to people. And so that's the primary thing. I would say most of my community, my network, value that I'm a dependable person, that I'm a person that doesn't just pop up when I need something. And I'm kind of constantly seeding those relationships over time.

SPEAKER_02 30:01

And for someone who has grown their social media so extensively, how do you like bridge the gap there? Like now, you know, because we talked about intentional and you know, one-on-one and all of that when you meet people at events. So, how does that work in the social media space? And how does that change all that?

SPEAKER_01 30:21

I was just having a conversation with a friend about this because I'm still figuring that out. I find social media very frustrating, and I think it's frustrating in the sense that you have little control. Even if you have a huge following, you cannot control how much of that following actually sees your content and engages with it because the algorithm is set up to intermittently reinforce the success of your content to keep you on the platform making content for free. That's just a fact. And um, the ethics of the algorithm sometimes can be questionable. So, in terms of relationship building, I think comments, DMs, like actual one-on-one conversations with people who continuously engage with the content can be useful because those people show an interest beyond being entertained, escaping for a second, and then moving on. And so I'm still figuring that out in terms of building one-on-one connections with people who have indicated through the like of a content post or through a follow that they they're interested, they want to know more. But I think about social media almost kind of like a street in a city where you don't know who's gonna pass your street. You might have a cool storefront and you got a sign that's like stop by and get a coffee. And some people may come in and some may not. And so you have a neighborhood of 50,000 people, but there's no guarantee that all 50,000 of those people come into the coffee shop. And that's kind of how the social media game is. So you're like, hey, come, don't you remember me? We live in the same neighborhood. You could come inside. And so I'm kind of trying to find a balance of not allowing these platforms to siphon my energy and my joy and get something in return out of it. And that is a hard balance. And I think a lot of entrepreneurs constantly have that battle of social media can be important. But I'll keep it really honest. A lot of my business I told you I built, social media had nothing to do with it at all. Like all those relationships, those projects primarily were built offline through networking and communities, not from social media. Social media was useful in terms of some visibility, credibility in terms of influence. But besides that, it was genuine real relationship building offline that helped me to build a business without a huge social following. I just got that following six months ago in terms of how big it is now. Before that, I had maybe three or four thousand followers on each platform, three thousand on Insta, 4,000 on LinkedIn, which is still an okay number, but it wasn't 70,000. So that is a very recent development that had nothing to do really with any of the business stuff I had done before. So I think that's the other thing, too. People think they have to have. I know people with humongous social media followings who make zero dollars from it. There is no guarantee. You have to work very hard to convert people in social media to actual genuine customers. That's a whole other conversation. But yeah, you do not need social media to have a successful, sustainable business.

SPEAKER_02 33:03

Thank you. Thanks for that perspective. And earlier you mentioned about funding for one of the programs that you're having, and you're actually running it this summer. So I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit more about how that works. Like the just anything about funding and grant applications that you could tell us about. And tell us a little bit more about your programming coming this summer, in case somebody's interested in being part of it.

SPEAKER_01 33:29

Absolutely. Yeah. So it was a grant in New York City. We have two offices called the New York City Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes and the New York City Commission on Human Rights. And both of their goals are to fund through, you know, pack taxpaying dollars, interventions, and projects that help to reduce bias in neighborhoods. So they fund all types of different projects from trainings and interventions, direct service to things like I did, a storytelling event that helps people to connect and build community. And I just Googled it. I was like New York City grants, because I was like, you know what? I'm interested in doing an event. Could I get funding for it? Could I get support? So I was just Googling away and came across their open call for the grant application. And because I had already done the event before, uh for a community membership I was already a part of, I had a test pilot. So I wasn't coming off of um, had never done the event before. I had some legs to it and some momentum and some track record. So I do think that helps with these applications. You can prove you've had some level of impact. You have a structure and a point of view and a goal, and they feel more um secure, I would say, in investing in something that has some level of validity and some track record. And then from there, I just delivered really well. I was really responsive to all of their emails. I was really thorough with how I planned and structured things. I made a really comprehensive report on the impact. And that's why they wanted to work with me again. Because they were like, hey, you are so easy to work with. Your event did really well in terms of the ways people feel and the feedback they gave. Let's do it again. And the event structure itself, you know, the funding for it primarily covers my fees as somebody who's producing and facilitating the event. It also covers honorariums for the storytellers who I have performing the show. And it covers some basic, you know, videography and stuff. And the venues I've worked with luckily have been very low cost or no fee, which has helped with structuring the grant. And now I'm partnering with a new organization this year called A New. They're a social impact space in the West Village. And I'm really excited about that because they can help with bringing other community members and people into this event. But the event is really, you know, a credible way for people to hear a real story, to be inspired, to feel hopeful about the future, to make a connection with a new person and to do it in a way that doesn't feel like it's a huge cost or not affordable. Right now we have a wait list for the next event, which is May 14th. I don't know when this podcast is coming out, but that's their next event. It's happening May 14th, 6 to 8 p.m. But I'm hoping outside of the series, um, my thinking has been how do people get access to tools that help them to make meaningful connection with people, particularly at a time where people are really lonely. I think the loneliness epidemic has grown significantly because of COVID, but also because of the horrific oppressive injustices that are being enacted by our leadership across business and government. And so creating spaces for people to feel safe, to feel seen, to feel heard is incredibly important right now. And I think anyone who's doing that kind of work is going to have a huge uptick in interest, even if they have to find creative ways to fund it. Yes, yes. So loneliness.

SPEAKER_02 36:39

Well, I'm glad that you're playing a part in the solution, right? Because uh a lot of people in this environment they're creating the problem.

SPEAKER_01 36:47

So that's 100% true. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 36:50

We were hearing about all this wonderful work that you're doing. What does team look like for you?

SPEAKER_01 36:55

Yeah, absolutely. So I'm a solopreneur, so I do a majority of the work myself, but I do have contractors who I'll hire for very specific things. So I've had a virtual assistant for many years who've helped with research and preparation. I've had editors when it comes to I do a podcast and other kinds of forms of content. I've paid CPAs to help with finance and tax. So I really hire experts for specific areas of the business that I don't want to run fully by myself. But a lot of the execution is still on me. And one reason why I chose that is the level of freedom and autonomy and also not having to have the pressure to pay a team full-time. And thank goodness I had that structure because with that loss of revenue, I would have been really dire and unfortunate if I had a team I needed to pay. The other reason is I have never necessarily wanted to build a large corporate structure where my majority of my time is spent managing people. I have been told in previous corporate jobs that I'm a really great manager and I think I have a knack for managing and mentoring people, but that's not where I want to spend 90% of my time. I actually like the execution of the work. I love public speaking facilitating, being in the work and less in managing people to do the work. And so that is one reason why I've built a more lean solopreneur model. And the reason why it's been sustainable is because my model has repeating services that are replicable and scalable outside of a big team. So me running a course can reach thousands of people without having to hire a lot of people. Me doing public speaking, I can tweak my intellectual property and deliver that same kind of intellectual property in slightly new ways for different clients and tailoring it to their situation. So I've been able to really be smart about how I scale things so I don't burn out and that I can be lean and still have an impact and still have flexibility to not be working all the time. But I think that's a unique model because of me being a public speaker and that being the primary thing I offer. For other people who have maybe more tech-heavy stuff or different services, they need more of a team for that. But because of my structure, I don't necessarily always need that.

SPEAKER_02 38:56

Yeah, but it sounds like you you were very intentional about it. You knew what you wanted and you you know what works for you. And we know we talked about pubertine before. So if that ever changes, even in that case, you could always change. But for now, this is what works for you. So I I love that.

SPEAKER_01 39:11

I think also, too, you know, one big thing, you're right. The intention in terms of I wanted to be able to take on a specific level of clients a year and still be able to cover all the expenses and have some more for savings, safety net future. And that's one reason why I did a lot of organizational work because I can take on, say, 20 clients in a year and be okay versus needing to take on hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of clients and transactions. So that's something people can keep in mind as well. You don't necessarily have to burn yourself out or have hundreds of clients of years to have like a sustainable business.

SPEAKER_02 39:44

Yeah. And I had a difference there between just necessary, like working with organizations. So I guess that's what we call B2B, right? Like being able to do that. Um thanks for sharing that. And you mentioned intellectual property. What do you put in place to protect that?

SPEAKER_01 40:00

Well, I have some copyrights, they're not always honored. I will say that, but I have copyrights on my name, of my business. There are copyrights on certain phrases that I've developed for frameworks. And that's the primary thing. I think also I try not to be too cagey around how I talk about stuff because you know, at the end of the day, I want people to be able to take these tools and to improve their experiences. I don't necessarily want to hold it just for myself. Um, but I primarily make sure that people need to be in person typically to experience it so that they can really digest it and not necessarily just replicate it from somewhere else. But yeah, copyrights are very important, trademarks are very important. I started those processes many years ago because it takes a little while to trademark or copyright things. So that's the first step is you know, use legal protections to be able to keep people from trying to siphon away your labor in ways that are exploitative or not okay. And it sometimes it doesn't stop people. I've had copycats, I've had people try to copy my business name, I've had people try to copy frameworks and things, and I guess that's a form of flattery, you know, mimicry is a form of flattery at times. It can be frustrating too, especially from people who claim that they care about equity and social justice. But I've also realized that if you've developed something that's from your specific lived experience, it's hard to copy and steal as well. So there's parts of the things I teach other people just could not replicate. Like I'm I have very specific experiences as a black woman from Utah. I talk about as context for a lot of the tools. If you aren't that, I mean it's hard to be like, well, I'm gonna steal that. You still have to have your own flavor, your own sauce, your own style in terms of doing and delivering. You know, I'm a performer, so I sing in a lot of my trainings. I facilitate really interesting dialogue between people. I use humor and comedy. And a lot of people can't always do that. So that's also part of it, too, is what is your unique sauce of how you deliver what you deliver? You can try to take the tools, you can steal the name, but can you deliver it in the same way? Probably not. So that's the key too. People need to focus more on their unique perspective and less on shortcuts and desperation and feeling like copying is the only way to find a sense of stability and security because you might be wasting your time and there might be something unique and cool about your perspective of something that might be worth pursuing. All right.

SPEAKER_02 42:22

So, Christina, what does success mean to you?

SPEAKER_01 42:27

I love that question because I feel like a lot of us are questioning what we think success is. For me, it's being creatively realized. Like, am I living to my fullest creative potential? And am I living in integrity with my values? One of the main reasons I decided to become an entrepreneur is I felt like the opportunities for my ancestors to have choice in freedom and autonomy was so limited. I have enslaved ancestors and come from a background of a lot of different adversities and setbacks that my family experienced intergenerationally and currently in this generation of my time. And so, choice, creative autonomy and choice and freedom of how I use my labor and time is really important. I would also say, too, this idea of living in my values, like not feeling like I have to portray myself to get a paycheck, you know, doing stuff that doesn't feel good, that doesn't feel just. A lot of people are in those moral conundrums where they're doing jobs that are really harmful to the world, to the planet, to people. And then they go home and they're like, is this worth it? I'm stressing out at a job that's doing bad stuff. And you're like, is this worth crushing my soul and my body? And I'm I've been so lucky to close that gap a lot over the years where I feel like I get to show up every day and make things that have the impact I would like them to have on people and sleep well at night and not feel like I'm betraying myself or betraying others in that process. And so that to me is success. It's hard to have that in the world that we live in and the ways that the world is designed that we live in. There's very few people who maybe feel like they have choice. And success to me is choice and integrity.

SPEAKER_02 44:03

I love that. Thank you so much. And um, if there is just one final thing you'd like to share with our audience, what would that be? Anything?

SPEAKER_01 44:14

I would say tell your own story before someone does it for you, because most people feel like their stories don't matter. And they typically are operating on stories that have been indoctrinated on them from childhood, maybe from religious institutions if they attend those, educational institutions, media, TV. You get to define your own value, your own worth, your own story. And it's one of the most powerful things that you can do as an individual. And so every person who listens to this, I hope you can understand and know that your story is important and necessary. And the sooner that you tell it, and the sooner you use it and own it, the sooner that we can have a better future and a better outcome. And I would wish, I would hope, that more people understand that their story matters.

SPEAKER_02 44:58

You're speaking to me here. And I'm sure many others were listening. So thank you so much for sharing that. And can you tell us how our listeners can reach you?

SPEAKER_01 45:08

Yes, one of the best ways is on my website, which is the newquo.com, T-H-E-N-E-W-Q-U-O.com. I also have a podcast as well called Tell It Proud, which is about stories of courage, too good, to erase or ignore, about all types of ideas in terms of history and culture and social justice that can inspire people to change for the better. And my social media. I'm Christina Blacken on all platforms. So you can see me kikiing and acting a full on Insta, TikTok, LinkedIn, wherever you use your social media. So definitely check out my work there.

SPEAKER_02 45:41

Okay. Thanks so much for spending time with us and for sharing so much with all of us. I think I speak on behalf of myself and all those listening that we really enjoyed the conversation today. So thanks again.

SPEAKER_00 45:53

Thank you. A quick note before we wrap up: the insights and experiences shared by our guests are their own. We love creating space for real conversations about business and growth. And everyone's journey is unique. Therefore, this podcast is for informational and inspirational purposes only. It is not meant to replace legal, financial, or other professional advice. So we encourage you to take what's useful, do your own due diligence and build what works best for you.

SPEAKER_02 46:34

Thanks for listening to Begin Build Blossom Your Business Journey. We hope today's conversation gave you the insights and inspiration you need to move forward on your own path. Don't forget to subscribe or follow wherever you get your podcast so you never miss an episode. Do you have feedback? We'd love to hear from you at podcast at cmeaccountinglc.com. Join us again next week for a new episode.