Nairobi, Kenya -- October 12, 2022 -- Nina Scott, a life coach focused on helping exhausted moms, pulled up with me to answer some of the burning questions from Black female founders. We are also excited to share that she is one of our newest TablexTribe Community Ambassadors and an active alumnus of the Blaze Business Intensive. She will be working very closely with the Blaze team going forward so you can expect to see more from her soon enough!
Nina Scott is the Corner Coach you didn't know you needed. She is a Certified Life Coach on a mission to help black mamas put themselves first. By prioritizing self-care and community, Nina motivates her clients to overcome the pressures of perfectionism. Nina is a speaker, provides individual coaching, curates self-care experiences and hosts a community of mamas on a mission to live beyond what they can do for others and thrive in joyfully serving themselves first.
"Often we are told that we have to pour from empty cups, we have to give everything to everyone around us, leaving ourselves empty, depleted, overwhelmed, exhausted, and resentful. And so I am here help you Black mamas, to put yourselves first.
Because when you put yourself first and you serve from an overflowing cup, you then have the capability, the ability, and the heart to serve those you love from a much better space. You serve from a healed and whole space," said Nina
She answers 3 questions about entrepreneurship from Black women founders from across the world in this interview.
First Question: How can I get over my fear of speaking in front of my target audience on social media?
Nina: That's a great question! Speaking can be very difficult, especially when you are thinking about tapping into your audience because you want to make sure what you're telling them is right. You want to make sure your facts are right. You want to make sure that you say the right thing and give them the right resources. Specifically for me, that's always my intention when I open my mouth to speak to my target audience.
What has helped me to get over the nervousness and some of the fear of speaking in front of my audience is not worrying about it being perfect. I no longer worry about giving them the perfect answer or hoping I give them the right resources. What I focus on is giving them my heart and giving them the real deal. I have found that doing that connects so much more with your audience than trying to be perfect and having a well-thought-out script and the perfect answers.
A lot of times people want to connect with who you are and they want to see how you show up in those spaces versus showing up perfect. Because we know perfect is not reality. That's really how I have learned to get over my fear of speaking in front of my target audience and might be useful for you to try a similar approach as well.
Second Question: How do I know what my target audience should look like? How can I narrow it down versus serving everyone?
Nina: If you Google "finding a target audience", there are a series of question ideas that you will get in terms of identifying what that person looks like. Some people call it The Avatar. And that could change over time. But what is important to do is to think about who it is that you feel most connected to. I'm personally a connector - I'm a heart-string type of person and that's how I approach my business. And so when I think about my target audience, I think about my own struggles, my own journey. I think about the stories of those who I am in daily communication with. I think about looking at society as a big picture and identifying who I feel is at the most disservice - who's not getting someone tapping on their shoulder, who's not getting the focal point, who's not getting the attention that they need and they deserve. And that's how I identify my target audience.
For me, my target audience is Black moms. How did I get to that point? Because on my own journey and looking back to those who have come before me, I see the deficit in the resources that have been given to that audience. And so that's where I feel most connected.
My suggestion for identifying your target audience would be to really sit down and think about your story and your journey. Because again, we're relating with people. And the only way they can connect with you is if they can relate to you. So think about your own story, think about your own journey and think about the kind of pitfalls or the potholes that you recognize that you can make a difference in. That narrows it down to not serving everyone, and that helps you become more of an expert in that specific area versus trying to give it all to everybody.
Think about your Chick-fil-A's and your Burger Kings and all of these other companies. They have a very specific audience and they aren't trying to market to anyone else. That's because of their own journey and understanding where they have the best impact in reaching.
Last Question: What has been your greatest joy in entrepreneurship? What makes it all worth it?
Nina: I ask myself this question every single day! But I'd say my greatest joy in entrepreneurship is in designing things. Designing the journey to be exactly what I want and how I need it to be. There is no greater feeling than to walk into my office space or sit at my desk and design the day to what I need it to be and not have to worry about clocking in or having only a certain number of days of PTO where I can go on a vacation or be cautious about the things I can say or can't say in my office space. I don't have to stress about all that in entrepreneurship. But that's just for me. That's not everybody's story, and that's not everybody's answer.
I have learned in my journey that I am not one to really follow a lot of rules. I'm not one to want to ask for permission. I like to make an impact in the way that I like to make an impact. And so that has been my greatest joy - being able to create my own path and my own lane and do it in the best way that I know how to do it, without any restrictions, without any boundaries, without any boxes. I can do it without limitations the way that I want to in my own time. What makes it all worth it? Knowing what tomorrow holds is what makes it worth it. There are a lot of challenges and there are a lot of struggles that could come with this journey. But knowing what I am designing for my future, what I'm designing for my family's future, makes it all worth it.
Nina's Blaze Journey
I have been a member of the Blaze community for about a year and a half now, and what I love most about this community is the ability and the freedom to do it in my own time. I laugh a lot and was just having a conversation not too long ago about how some of the things that I learned from the Blaze community back, in the beginning, are just now making sense - and that's not a bad thing. Being in the community has helped me see that that's not a bad thing.
A lot of times, when you involve yourself with different groups and communities, you have to do it right then. They want you to do it right then, right there, not understanding who you are as a person. But the Blaze community has nurtured me. The Blaze community has given me space to show up. The Blaze community has given me space to reach out and grab my sister's hands and encourage them to do what it is that they are supposed to do. I would not be the entrepreneur that I am on this journey without the Blaze community. I'm not where I want to be, but I'm a lot further than where I was a year and a half ago, and I would not have been able to get to this point without Blaze, period.
That's how I feel. And I encourage Black women entrepreneurs out there to check out the Blaze community. There is something for you at some level of the spectrum. There are a lot of resources. There are a lot of community opportunities, and there are a lot of sisters in the community just waiting to grab your hand and to walk with you, beside you, in front of you, behind you, all of that.
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I am extremely proud to know Nina Scott. Don't you all forget that name! :)
Expanding your network of like-minded peers is a necessary part of the entrepreneurial journey. If you are a Black female entrepreneur, I invite you to download our iOS and Android app called TablexTribe. It is the first socio-business app for Black women, created for us by us. I'll see you inside! :)
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