The secret to landing 6-figure deals for Black women entrepreneurs in 2022

There are about 6.4 million businesses in the U.S. owned by women of color, as of 2019 according to American Express. After my conversation with a sponsorship strategist and consultant, I’m convinced there’s room and resources for more to succeed, especially online. 

If you’re someone who’s hosting events, an influencer, a small business entrepreneur, a nonprofit founder, a digital content producer, or know someone who is, I’m about to share a secret to skyrocketing your exposure and profit.

And the best part: It’s from the brain and brand of a Black woman who’s done it for herself and many others.

Jessica Chinyelu is a sponsorship strategist who teaches people how to get sponsored through their dream partnerships. She’s an expert at securing bags and has generated close to $850,000 for her clients and students and that number is steadily rising. 

Black women are participating in The Great Resignation and teaming up with Chinyelu to make a splash and scale their businesses and you can too.

“I’m seeing more and more moms who were in the healthcare industry who have decided that, you know what, I no longer want to put my family at risk so I’m going to become a mompreneur. And as a mompreneur, I’m going to give advice and tips on how to be a great stay-at-home mom and make a great living sharing tips and do that through my digital content,” said Chinyelu.

“I’m seeing teachers and educators who are leaving their jobs, where they’ve been educators for years, now create content online where it’s digital content e-courses, and they’re licensing that out to corporations.”

She added, “You have women who are leaving their full-time corporate gigs, where they were making six figures and some of them are coming out now in their own businesses where they’re making triple that, hitting the seven-figure mark. They’ve never seen this kind of money.”

Chinyelu believes your gifts will make room for you and that’s exactly what she’s seeing for women who are deciding to make the big leap. The key to hitting the seven-figure mark? Relationships.

As my Nigerian father-in-law always said (Rest in Peace Reverend Olu Bereola) life is about relationships. It’s also the unofficial business mantra of Nigerian-American Chinyelu. It all starts, she says, with developing an authentic relationship with a corporation you love. 

“When you start a relationship with someone, you don’t start off by making an ask, you start off by saying, hey, how can we work together? Or do we even align working together? And I think that’s where a lot of times, some people make that mistake. They think about the money first before building and nurturing a relationship. And I will always stand by that. Relationships are key,” she said. 

The Container Store is one of her biggest partnerships to date and it started with a simple pitch email. The store designed her closet, she churned out some solid content and they started reaching back out to her.  Now she has a relationship with more than 10 people within the company and sends them gifts and keeps in touch. She’s now an insider. 

“Once you get that official contract, don’t just take the money and leave it at that. Continue the relationship. Share with them new ideas that you may have. You’d be surprised at how many times they will continue to pay you and give you multiple repeat contracts,” she said. 

Chinyelu has a gang of gems so watch the video above for the full blueprint but I want to leave you with something tangible you can do today to get you one step closer to securing a brand partnership. 

Make yourself visible on LinkedIn.  

“Those are people who cut the checks. These are the C-level executives that you should be building connections with. Create content that really draws them in where they would be willing to hire you to come and teach their employees. They would hire you to come and speak at their conferences. They would hire you or license your content or come and create content for them,” she said.

Here’s your challenge. Research up to 15 brands that you really want to partner with and begin to cultivate a relationship with them, then start working on your pitch or team up with an expert like Chinyelu to help you. I have no doubt you’ll find success with the right brand. 

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