Hooks

How your experience across cultures to stack dough
Why a TED Talk just might be the thing gets you in the room
How to leverage your clients to get MORE clients

In two sentences or less, tell us about yourself．

I am a diversity and inclusion consultant who works with companies from fast-growing startups to multinationals. I also am a brand strategist for aspiring changemakers.

Tell us the story of HOW or WHY got famous．We'd also love to hear any fun/interesting/funny stories about your experience! Please include as much detail as possible

As a Nigerian, I grew up under two military dictatorships as well as 5 countries and 4 continents. All this gave me a strong sense of justice, an identity crisis as well as exposure. After working through my identity crisis and overcoming a near-death experience, I started teaching people how to effectively connect across cultures. This led to me speaking in the United Nations, Chautauqua Institution, The World Bank as well as TEDx multiple times. I have also been fortunate to have been awarded the visa for aliens with extraordinary abilities by the American government.

What happened when you got your first gig or customer? Did you do anything special to celebrate?

I didn't do much but I found a moment to be grateful and gave a loud yell!

How much did it cost to get started (and what did you spend that money on)? What's your monthly or annual profit from your business?:

I believe it was about $250 plus or so to start.

How do you find your customers? Please share the marketing techniques you've tried, if they cost you anything, and what's worked/not worked．

Initially, I branded my website to my expertise, created a list of HR professionals on LinkedIn, and offered to give their companies workshops in exchange for referrals and testimonials. In addition, I pitched multiple TEDx's to talk on my topic of expertise and I focused on putting out content. Doing all these consistently helped boost my credibility.

What has been the best part of the experience thus far? Additionally, how has being famous benefited you?

It has been meeting people and hearing how they have connected with themselves and others. Being famous has helped me use my voice more to call out injustices.

What struggles have you encountered, and how did you overcome them? Is there anything you'd go back and do differently?

I wouldn't go back and do anything differently. One struggle I encountered was not properly filing my taxes. That eventually backfired and put me in debt. It helped me understand the importance of having an accountant.

What are the top two pieces of advice you'd give to others wanting to follow a similar path?

Create content regularly and regularly engage with your intended target audience.

What’s next for you?

I am working on my next book as well as coming up with programs on personal branding and storytelling.

Vernon's Take

Your experience is an asset, use it. - Tayo used his experience as a 3 third culture kid to teach companies about diversity.
Turn clients into referrals - I love that he'd do free workshops in exchange for referrals. You can build your resume and profit at the same time.
Get expert help - There's an old joke that says the only two guarantees in life we'll have are death and taxes. Those are both things worth spending the extra money on to hire a professional

Links:

Tayo's website https://tayorockson.com

Tayo's YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB94C3l3KcEYrmBNxB-8AUw

Instagram handle: @tayorockson

Twitter: @tayorockson

Skills community https://www.facebook.com/groups/levelupskills/

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