Entrepreneurship covers tips and tricks for solopreneurs to start up CEO’s.

Black-Men-Xcel-Summit

The Black Men Xcel Summit 2019

 

The Black Men Xcel Summit 2019 was an amazing event this year held in my backyard of Miami, Florida. Thankfully, it was a short drive from my condo to experience new people and ideas from all over the country. What I learned from the conference can be broken down into 3 parts:

 

I was thankful for the hospitality extended by Mr. Alfred Edmund Jr and Johann Alleyne-Morris. These two provided me with a media pass to experience and document this event with available time I had outside my regular work schedule.

About Black Men Xcel Summit and Black Enterprise

 

Black Enterprise’s Black Men Xcel Summit is an event where more than 800 men and women who will celebrate and honor the leadership and excellence of today’s men of color. 2019 would be its third installation but the first time in Miami. Black Enterprise is the premier source for black entrepreneurs, black-owned businesses, and career, tech, and money content for an African American demographic. Founded by Mr. Earl Graves Sr. and its first issue was published in 1970.

Women deserve more love and respect for the success of black men in business

 

We live in a time where roles have become extinct in relationships and acknowledgment of support or contribution is few and far between. With that being said, I for one can say that the lines have to open up more between black women and men. Too often it can be adversarial but even with that, my focus is on men. From my vantage point; the moments where it counts, we have to work on acknowledging a contribution to use from the opposite sex.

Your finances have a positive and negative effect on your relationship

 

Henry Ford has been quoted saying, “It’s not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It’s the customer who pays the wages.” Basically saying, if you don’t make a lot of money; find a job where customers pay a premium. However, we all have some personal and business relationships that aren’t focused on our take-home pay. What I have learned is my finances play dearly as to how I am able to create and build relationships. The conference featured a panel titled: “Love and Money – How finances can influence relationships” that touched on this topic between couples. Check out some of the other events from the Summit. 

Step out of the office and have fun building your business

 

Golf, tennis, video games, pool or whatever leisure activity that comes to mind is a good outlet to do to build relationships with colleagues and business partners. Think back to your team at the office and ask yourself when was the last time you’ve been out doing an activity? As a business owner having limited time is not an excuse to not network in your community. Furthermore, the Summit featured golf and as one of their leisure activities to not only play but learn the business of golf.

Come to the Black Men Xcel Summit in 2020

 

Next year, make plans to be in Miami at the Black Men Xcel Summit. Moreover, when you do come, be sure to look me up and I can definitely ensure you have the full Miami experience outside of the conference as well but you might not need it.

Looking to stay up to date with the Miami lifestyle?

 

Are you looking to visit Miami and want to experience the Miami Lifestyle without lifting a finger? Go ahead and sign-up for The Lifestyle Connoisseur Concierge Newsletter. It features all of the experiences under one roof. In conclusion, the process is easy and you’ll be exploring Miami without a care in the world.

 

Black Tech Week 2018 Where Techies Educators and Others In Miami Reconnect

Black Tech Week 2018 Where Techies Educators and Others In Miami Reconnect

Black Tech Week was a blur for me

This year Black Tech Week was a blur for me, again. lol The reason being is, my startup has moved away from: a napkin, different startup programs and now to an actual working MVP with real clients. Thus, preventing me from attending conferences as I did while still figuring out the tech landscape. I had the pleasure of being part of Black Tech Weeks 2018 VC in residence program for a week, 2nd time for me! Blessed! Balancing my small business called Magnitax.com and my start up, Shngli App this program really jump started some growth ideas for me.

Peace and happiness while in FinTech

The conference brought me peace and happiness because based on a few moves, I was unsure where I stood in the Financial Tech landscape. Yes, from the image above you can see that I am once again a solo founder at the moment and it is not fun, especially when it comes around conference time. However I was able to meet a lot of new entrepreneurs and other successful entrepreneurs who reminded me that the journey is not over. If you’re looking to join my startup team, give me a ring at shngli.com.

Miami and south Florida’s Poppin Tech Scene

Miami and south Florida’s poppin tech scene encourages many entrepreneurial activities (hyperlink to breakdown of activities) at the moment. One thing I can say that Black Tech week does right is the feeling of having a family reunion with a bunch of strangers in a city where most people think about the beaches and parties. If you are looking at adventuring in Miami, check out this guide.

The contacts I made during that week included entrepreneurs from:

  • Atlanta
  • Texas
  • New York City
  • More

Who knows what will come out of these relationships but what I do know is, to be successful as a black entrepreneur unless I work with more entrepreneurs who understand my strengths and weaknesses.

Three takeaways from Black Tech Week 2018

  1. Research who will be in attendance at the conference such as:
    • Other startups that may fit your business model
    • Potential customers
  2. Don’t attend workshops that are your strengths.
    • Learn about something new that could enhance your startup
  3. Don’t just pass out business cards!
    • Have a coffee/smoothie/etc
    • Learn more than surface level information, this could truly expand your startup!

Until next time, build your best startup and remember it really does take a Tribe to grow your brand!

Want to learn about starting your own startup? Go to: whoisdesir.com/contact

Unbound Festival Miami - 2017 | WhoIsDésir - The Lifestyle Connoisseur

What is the Unbound Festival? Unbound, is a festival of events geared around innovation. Their ultimate goal is to connect entrepreneurs to the corporations who are interested in start-ups around the globe. Unbound provides a platform to enable products and services that are being created at the ground level, be visible to the corporations who […]

Black Professionals Summit 2017 | WhoIsDésir - The Lifestyle Connoisseur

What is the Black Professionals Summit? The black professionals summit is a one day event that aims to bridge the gap between different generations of leaders in south Florida hosted by the Black Professionals Network. The event now in its 3rd year has created a  space for conversations, insight and knowledge sharing to be had […]

BET Hip Hop Awards Media Credentials

Want to be backstage at the Hip Hop Awards? Here is the link: Click here Below, continue reading to find links to BET and their outlet.

Jean-Désir and Gerard Adams In Back of Car For Toyota Corolla

Going Back to Cali

$15k Grand Prize! Five Pitches. Toyota Corolla Startup and Go! Do you know what it feels like to fly to California on someone else’s dime? Gerard Adams, a millennial entrepreneur and co-founder of Elite Daily which was sold for almost $50 million, gave me that opportunity. He partnered with Toyota and hosted the Toyota Corolla Startup and Go Competition. I submitted my application about 2hrs before the deadline and was excited to hear when I made it to the next the next round. *Disclaimer, I apply to many startup competitions and pretty much have the information readily available to submit at moments notice. After two-rounds of interviews, I was on my way to taking, Shngli to the next level.

Do you know what it feels like to fly to California on someone else’s dime?

Advertisement
Advertisement

Read more

three caucasian women in blue suits

Why no one cares about your startup

Why no one care about your startup, is not a diss or put down. From my calculation music artists have several stakeholders who are involved in their startup or should I say brand. Why aren’t you doing the same thing, as far as having several stakeholders involved in your startup? Hence, the reason nobody cares about your startup is you haven’t set up the right stakeholders who care about not only the operations of your startup but also the branding and impact of your startup on them.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Why aren’t you doing the same thing, as far as having several stakeholders involved in your startup?

Who is your favorite music artist

Do you have a favorite music artist? Think about the artist and how much effort it took to get you to listen to their first song and every new video or streaming audio that they’ve produced.

From the past several months of working on this blog and other startups, here is what I have used to get people to care about my startup.

Advertisement
Advertisement

5 Tips To Improve On How Much People Care About Your Startup

  1. You first need to find out who are your stakeholders.
  2. If you’re a restaurateur make sure your restaurant provides patrons the best and freshest ingredients.
  3. Look at your logo and the branding that you’re currently presenting on social media.
  4. Does it present what you want customer customer to think?
  5. Or does it present what you actually are as a startup?Make sure you are marketing to the right clients who actually care about what you are offering, the last thing you want to do is to speak into a empty room.

Conclusion to Why No One Cares About Your Startup

Find clients pain points earlier in introductory conversations, networking events or other face to face or online interactions.

Therefore, take the time necessary to give people the opportunity to care about your startup, it will take some time but ensure it will all pay off when the revenue rises.