295-SYB-Arlene-Blake.mp3: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.
Carol Cox:
What does it look like to create a nonprofit organization to channel your thought leadership? You’re going to love my conversation with guest Arlene Blake on this episode of The Speaking Your Brand podcast. More and more women are making an impact by starting businesses running for office and speaking up for what matters. With my background as a TV political analyst, entrepreneur and speaker. I interview and coach purpose driven women to shape their brands, grow their companies and become recognized as influencers in their field. This is Speaking Your Brand, your place to learn how to persuasively communicate your message to your audience. Hi there and welcome to the Speaking Your Brand podcast. I’m your host Carol Cox. On the podcast this month we’re exploring different ways you can channel using your voice. Last week we talked about building your personal brand. Next week, we’re going to focus on the impact you can have by writing op eds for newspapers and magazines. In this episode, we’re taking a look at creating and leading a community based nonprofit as a way to amplify your thought leadership. My guest is Arlene Blake, who’s the founder of Women on the Rise, a 500 1c3 organization based in Orlando, Florida. Arlene has built an incredible community, and I’ve seen her build this over the past few years. So I invited her to come on the podcast to share what she’s learned. We talk about why she started her nonprofit organization, Women on the Rise, and it ended up being in a way that she didn’t expect.
Carol Cox:
We also dig in to the power of vulnerability and sharing personal stories in order to build trust within your community. Arlene shares with us the biggest leadership lessons that she has learned. And this is going to be so valuable for you whether you run a nonprofit or a business or any type of community. And then Arlene shares for you. Our listeners here are Speaking Your Brand, what she looks for in the speakers she invites for her events, including where she finds them. So you’re going to want to make sure to pay attention to that section of the podcast for sure. If you’re new to Speaking Your Brand, welcome. We work with women entrepreneurs and professionals to clarify their brand, message and story, create their signature talks, and develop their thought leadership platforms. Our mission is to get more diverse, progressive women in positions of influence and power, because we know it’s through women’s stories, voices and visibility that we challenge the status quo and change existing systems. You can find out more about us and how we can work with you by going to Speaking Your Brand. Now let’s get on with the show. Welcome to the podcast, Arlene. Hi, how are you? I am fantastic. We are laughing because literally about 10 seconds ago before I said I’m going to hit record, I said, let’s make sure everything that makes noise is turned off. And then what did you say?
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
Arlene Yes. My child is put up in a room with his iPad. That’s what I had to turn off. Okay. Oh.
Carol Cox:
No, he is great because I was at we’re going to talk about your organization, but I was at your organization’s meeting in July and he was there on his iPad, just totally doing his own thing while a whole room full of women, we’re all talking about stuff. So I was.
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
Born into this. This is like his thing. He owns Women on the Rise. Yes.
Carol Cox:
Okay. So let’s talk about women on the rise. Arlene, tell us what women on the rise is today and then we’ll back up and talk about how you got here.
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
Absolutely. So Women on the Rise is a 500 1c3 nonprofit women’s empowerment organization that was formed with the opportunity to provide a platform for women to be able to share their story as to how they’ve been able to overcome obstacles, whether in their personal life or professional life, but to share that story, to empower and inspire other women to be able to do the same. And so that is the premise behind our organization. And we also mentor middle school and high school young ladies and self esteem and empowerment.
Carol Cox:
And so you started with Orlando, which is where you live and where I live. And now you also have a chapter in Jacksonville, Florida.
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
We do. We do. Very excited about that.
Carol Cox:
And hopefully growing into more cities at some.
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
Point. More cities. More countries. Absolutely.
Carol Cox:
So then, Arlene, let’s talk about women on the rise as an organization. So it’s a501c3, so it’s a nonprofit organization. What was the genesis, the seed of the idea where you decided, I really need to start a group like this? And why did you decide to do it as a nonprofit versus running it or creating a community through a business?
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
So on the actually came out of my own pain. So in 2015 I made the decision to go to therapy because in 2010 I had lost my mother to pancreatic cancer. In 2014, I lost my father to esophageal cancer. Mind you, my mom was only 48. My dad was only 56. They were relatively young, right? I was in my early twenties and then my mentor, he passed away too. He had Alzheimer’s and it just it took him. And so with that, I decided to go into therapy. Mind you, I come from a community where therapy was very taboo. No one in my family had ever talked about it or ever done it. And so me taking that leap and doing it was a huge thing. And so the therapist that I went to, she actually offered me the opportunity to be a part of a women’s therapy group. And so I go into this space and I seeing these other women who are very well put together, professional women sharing their personal story, and they’re sharing the pain and the trauma that they had been through. And for me, I was able to feel like I was not alone and I was able to actually be very vulnerable with those women. And as we began to meet every week and have that level of vulnerability with each other and share with each other, we were also able to pour into one another and build one another up.
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
And so every week I came, I was excited and I was ready to pour into others as well. And the therapist put a calling on me that there was an opportunity for me to bring women together on a consistent basis and do the same thing. And that sat with me for a while, for some weeks, and I decided to hire a career coach, and I decided to jump on an idea that I had actually thought about back in 2009 prior to my mom getting sick. And the idea was to do this women’s empowerment event that I had saw. They did something like this in LA and so I met with her. I show her this this notebook full of ideas that I had for this event. I share with her this calling that was placed on me by the therapist. And she said, I think you really got to move on this. And so like any type of coach, they put a date on you as a one, you’re supposed to have this done. And the next thing you know, I’m putting down a deposit, I have a date confirmed, I’m working a full time sales job and I’m trying to figure out how am I going to build this this one day conference, 123 women show up to this event.
Carol Cox:
That’s amazing.
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
Yes. 123 women show up to this event. It was a great success. And I was like, I did it. It’s done. Yay. And then people were like, okay, well, when’s the next event and how do I get involved? Well, I hadn’t thought it out that far, right. And so after that, I was like, okay, let me continue to create some events that are similar in nature to some of the workshops that we had during that event. And then I had a mentor who said, Arlene, you know, I’m in the nonprofit space, and I think what you’re doing is in alignment with nonprofits. He was like, You really need sponsors and partners, and it’s going to be very easy for them to align with you and what you’re doing because every event that you’re doing, you’re educating people. And that’s that’s what a nonprofit really is there to do. It’s able to support and educate the community. Right, and offer services. And that’s exactly what you’re doing. And so I looked into it. I hired an attorney that specialized in development of nonprofits. And before you knew it, we had a501c3. And years into this, I’ve developed strong partnerships with organizations like our Connect Ford with Ford Motor Company Partners, and we’ve been growing together over the years. So it’s been amazing being a nonprofit and being able to receive the support that we do with the programming that we’re able to do in the community.
Carol Cox:
Well, Arlene. Well, first I want to say I’m sorry about the losses of your parents. I can’t imagine I lost my dad when I was in college and he was 46 years old. So that yeah, it’s really hard. Thank you for taking though, your experiences from that and then putting it into something that you know will help so many other women. You mentioned about vulnerability and about in that women’s therapy group, you really got to open up. You felt understood by the other women. You were able to share your stories. And from when I attended that meeting of your organization in July, I noticed that that you had every single woman who was there and you had a good number of I don’t know how many there are 30, 40 women answer a question, but it was a personal question. It was about friendships. And is there someone in your life that you wish you you would reconnect with who’s maybe friendship has faded away or something? And I know, Arlene, you set the stage as the leader of the group by sharing your own personal, vulnerable story first. And that truly is contagious, because then the other women feel safe to do so.
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
The power of vulnerability is something amazing. And I feel like over the years and how we’ve been able to connect with other women is first, starting with each of us, right, with sharing our personal story and allowing for others that comfort and knowing that this is a safe space where we can come together and we can share. Right? Because people are looking for that that space where they can be their authentic self and share their story and feel like they’re supported. And there needed to be that safe space created for all women to be able to come together. And that’s what Women on the Rise serves to do.
Carol Cox:
And I feel like I know each of those women just a little bit better from hearing their stories than I would otherwise.
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
Absolutely. That makes me want to cry. There’s so many superficial relationships that exist within the world, right? And when you’re really able to get in touch with who a person is and what they’re going through, it’s really important. I mean, we actually have our membership team. We’ll do like Hall a thons where they’ll call our members and check in to see how they’re doing. Because oftentimes you may not hear from someone you’re like wondering like, I haven’t seen so-and-so in a while. Right. And you may not know that they just lost their mother. Right. Or they they have a child who’s gone off to college and they’re having a hard time with this separation. And so when we reach out and make those calls and now we know how we can better show up and support them. And so the power of having that sisterhood where we’re able to do that just is amazing. And so it’s not just being like a traditional nonprofit where we have services, we have this membership level as well too. And it’s just our opportunity to really connect and create that sisterhood to where now we can together go and support and empower our community.
Carol Cox:
Arleen, let me ask you a little bit about just running a community and running a nonprofit, because there’s a lot of different people, a lot of different personalities, a lot of different goals and priorities and things like that. So I’ll ask like maybe like a positive spin on it first, which is what is the most surprising thing that you have learned about running this community?
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
So I will tell you, I, as an individual, have grown so much over the years because I think when I first came into this, I kind of had my way of doing things and my way of thinking. And anyone who did not think or act that same way, which is weird. Right. And so so I’ve come to learn there’s so many different types of people out here and there’s no one way that is right or wrong. And so I try to extend grace as much as I can to individuals, because I have like if somebody comes back and they have a little bit of sass and how they respond to me, I have to consider in my mind what happened to them today, right? Like what’s been going on in their life. I had one of our members. It was just every time I reached out and asked something, there was a little bit of an attitude and I couldn’t figure out what it was. And there was another one of our leadership team members was like, I’m done. I can’t reach out anymore. And I was like, Something is wrong. I’m telling you something is wrong. And I reached out to her and I was like, Hey, how are you doing? I’m not calling about anything. I just need to know, how are you doing? Because I’m concerned. I was like, I’ve reached out multiple times, something seems off and she just let it all out.
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
And we were able to connect. I think we were on the phone almost like two or 3:00 in the morning. Right. But I’ve come to realize over the years you just have to extend grace because you don’t know what someone is going through. And then leadership styles are completely different. So I really wish that Deloitte did this for all organizations, but they have this chemistry test that kind of figures out what your leadership style is and your ability to work with other people with that is. And so we did that as a group one time where a Deloitte representative came in and they worked with us and we figured out, okay, that’s why you’re like that about your emails. And that’s why I can never just call you and ask you something because you need to have a conversation about how my children are doing for us. Like we just figured out how each person really works and that was extremely helpful and how we then work together, right? Like understanding someone’s love language, you know, what their work language is like, right? And so understanding that and taking the time to understand that about others is something that I’ve learned over the years and we’ve been able to learn about each other that is so important when you’re working with women. So important, yeah. You have to know them. You have to take the time to get to know them.
Carol Cox:
Yes. I so appreciate this, Arlene. Yeah. First, truly understanding the other people who are who are in your community, on your leadership team, but then also, like you said in the beginning of your answer, is knowing that we all we always we like to do things our way because we’ve done things our way for a long time and it works really well for us because it’s our way of doing things. But you’re right, letting people have their way and sometimes their way. It can even be better than ours.
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
When it can. And so many times now, even when we’re having a meeting, I’ll have to say I’m going to give my idea last, because I want to be what you all say. I want to be influenced by what my thought is or what my idea is, because then they won’t say anything, right? So as a leader, I’ve had to understand what that looks like and step back. And so like I’ve said over the years, I have grown so much, you know, building a community is completely different than taking any other random leadership position, especially when it’s on a volunteer basis. There’s a level of patience that you have to have with individuals. It’s been amazing. It’s been amazing to do. I’m blessed by.
Carol Cox:
It. And Arlene, so let’s talk about some of the events that you run. So you mentioned that Women on the Rise really started from a conference that you thought was just going to be a one off one time event. And obviously, it has grown to so much more than that. And so I know that you are you put together in person meetings and events, and I know that you did virtual during the pandemic. And so let me ask you about the events, because I know for the listeners who are public speakers, they’re going to want to know as an event organizer. Arlene, what do you look for when you decide who you want to invite to speak at your events?
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
So I think what I look for are subject matter experts, right? So they work in whatever that space is day to day. So being that where a women’s empowerment organization will have who I call feel good speakers, who will reach out, right? And they wanted to share a message about empowerment. But I’m looking for something very technical to be able to provide a certain skill set to those who are attending our events. And so I typically try to look for someone who’s either working in that particular field. What we’re looking to do, if they happen to have a public speaking background, that’s an additional plus, right? I know the presentation is going to be even more powerful, but I’m not always looking for people who typically do it on a regular basis. I’m looking for someone who just has that background, whatever that topic is, and that that’s the person that I want to to lead that discussion or to be a part of it.
Carol Cox:
When you have an event in mind and you know that you need speakers on a certain topic for that, are you then kind of going through your network or asking people for recommendations for speakers? Are people approaching you as speakers who want to speak at your event?
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
It’s a little bit of everything, right? I have my eye open over the course of the year, so sometimes I develop event topics based off people that I’ve come in contact with like they specialize in. I’m like, That’s really interesting. That’s a conversation I need to have. I literally ran into someone who she just sold a business that she created. It was like her second business that she created and sold. I was like, Oh my God, we need to have a whole discussion around that. So now I’m thinking about who are people who can speak to that particular topic, right? So I go on LinkedIn, I’m looking there when I’m networking, I’m looking to see who I can meet with. They specialize in what’s their thing because that would probably be somebody that I would want to have. I listen to podcasts and listening to podcasts and hearing guests identify people who we might want to have a special guest speakers as well, sometimes just on Facebook. So social media is a big part of that and I screenshot different people who I see just to make sure I remember them. When we’re sitting at the roundtable and having the discussion, attending other events, right, like we have the Orlando Women’s Conference that’s coming up. It’s a great opportunity to see other people that are out there and what they do and to network for that. So it’s so many different things. And then my email, I sometimes get different speakers who will send me their bios sheet and some of the topics that they speak on. And those are other opportunities for us to have people in our pipeline that we might want to have feature in an event. And just because this one event does not line up with that person, does that mean that later on we won’t be considering them for another event that we have?
Carol Cox:
That’s really helpful. Arlene, thank you so much for sharing that. Now let’s talk a little bit about the speaking that you do. What types of topics do you most enjoy speaking about? And I assume the audience tends to be mostly women.
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
Yeah. So you know what? I have found myself also inspiring men as well to when I share my story, it just depends on which audience is before me. I love talking to the kids, right? So about any time that you call me and say, hey, we have some kids that are either at college, can you come and your story with them? I’m all about it. I know I did an event a couple of years ago right before the pandemic closed everything up and I was speaking in front of the kids. I didn’t realize until I got there that I had 30 minutes. I was like, I thought it was 15 minutes. What happened? So they’re like, No, we need you to do 30 minutes. So I get up there, I do this 30 minute speech in front of these kids, and I didn’t think they cared about anything that I said. It was so quiet. And I like to make contact, like I put people on the spot during my presentations. And so I was like in some of their faces and they were like, like that, giving me that blank look. And so afterwards they were allowed to choose any of the speakers they wanted to hear more from and go to their section of the room and ask them questions.
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
And so I was ready to pack it up and leave. Do you not know? Probably about 55% of those kids came over to see me and I was like, You got a lot. You want me? I couldn’t believe it. So sometimes you resonate with people you don’t even realize you’re resonating with them, right? And so that was awesome. Like, Yeah, I want to come volunteer with you. I don’t want to get involved. So that was great. So I love working with the kids when I’m talking to. I’m in. I’m sharing my personal story as to how I started with women on the rise, how I was able to turn, you know, the pain that I suffered with losing my parents. I can hold it together most times, but at night it hits me sometimes or random parts of the day, and it’s still a lot. But I feel I feel so blessed to know that I was able to take that and pour into others who cannot seem to find the light outside of what they’re dealing with right at that moment. And so I love sharing that. I also like talking to people about stopping the whole procrastination thing and really jumping into the ideas that they have.
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
Because I had to launch myself into creating women on the rise. I have to launch myself and just starting membership and going and getting sponsors and creating these community partnerships, right? I can’t just talk about it. I actually have to execute and do it. So I love talking about that as well. And then I love talking about the development of relationships. You know, like we talked about friendships recently. And what I realized over the years is that there are a lot of people who are suffering from the loss of a friendship or a relationship because they can’t figure out how to move that forward. And I have two friendships that at some point in time had ended in my life, and we’ve come back together and there had to be a level of maturity that we each had in order to do that. And it has blessed my life beyond anything that I can even describe to you. And I want to see more people get outside of themselves and take that leap. And so I feel like sharing that story I think will help a lot of people as well. So those are all different things that I love to get up and share and talk about.
Carol Cox:
Well, I’m going to give a call to action to the listeners right now based on this idea of friendships and relationships, because it was really powerful when we talked about it at the meeting, is if there is someone in your life, a friendship that has faded, whether it was from long ago or relatively recently, to Arlene’s point, like make the first step and see if there’s an opportunity to have a conversation and to reconnect.
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
Absolutely. Absolutely. Because more than likely, that person is feeling the same way. Just someone has to be bold and brave enough to step into that and to make that first move.
Carol Cox:
All right, Arlene, so let me ask you a couple of your favorite recommendations for our listeners. I always get so much out of these when guests share them. So the first one is, what is a favorite book?
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
Yes. Yes. So I had to think long and hard. I was like, what is my favorite book by a female author? And I’ll Tell You, It’s Shark Tales by Barbara Corcoran. I remember when I first read that book and I was like, She is the goat. Okay, listen, I told you, I put him away and here he is. He is.
Carol Cox:
Quiet. We can see him on the video. So listeners, you can go watch the video on the show notes page.
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
That’s my mini me. He always has to make it appearance ever since I can remember. That’s enough. That’s enough. So Shark Tales by Barbara Corcoran is like my ultimate favorite book by a female author. I think that book allows for me to realize who I was and to be able to really step into that. I think oftentimes we worry about what other people think of us. It’s almost like a fake it till you make it, which I hate that term, but I loved how Barbara shared how when she really wanted to step into into real estate and really show up, she basically had to say, she bought this fur coat, put it on, and she owned it. And I have to do the same thing because sometimes I don’t know what the hell I’m doing right, but I’m like, I just got to own this and step into it, right? And every time I do it, it’s still very successful. So I took a lot of lessons from her and there was a failed relationship that she grew out of in order to build what she was able to do. And at the same time, when I was building Women on the Rise, I was going through a toxic relationship that I had to get myself out of. And even with that, I was able to inspire a lot of other women to be able to do the same. And so I love I love her story. And that was definitely one of my favorites.
Carol Cox:
Oh, okay. I have not read that. So I will check that out. All right, Arlene, what is a favorite TEDTalk?
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
So we’ve talked about vulnerability today, right? And so Rene Browne’s The Power of Vulnerability was a game changer in my life. I first experienced some of her books back when I was going through therapy originally when I started Women on the Rise, and that TEDx talk was everything to me.
Carol Cox:
Yes, it is amazing. Yes. It’s so powerful. And a favorite quote that you’d like to share.
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
Yeah. So every day you hear something that’s amazing. And so I have to read this word for word and what I wrote. And so today I had the opportunity to be in front of Susan Worthington. She is the interim director at. Our hospital here in Orlando, Florida. And she said, Loving what you do and allowing yourself to be excited about the work you do and be curious. Opens up opportunities, things that you did not think were possible suddenly become reality. And that was so powerful to me because oftentimes we don’t think that we’re maybe not necessarily capable to do something, maybe our resume doesn’t speak, that we’re able to do it. But when we really show up and we’re passionate about what we do, the doors will open and we’ll find our place. And so I really love that.
Carol Cox:
Arlene, thank you so much for sharing that. And for those of you listening, you can find Arlene on LinkedIn. We’ll make sure to include a link to her LinkedIn profile there, as well as on her website, which is Women on the Rise. Orlando, which is the Orlando chapter. So make sure to especially if you live in the Orlando Central Florida or Jacksonville area, you definitely have to come to one of women on the rises meetings or events. And so, Arlene, tell us. Okay, so this is we’re in September 2022 right now. What is on the horizon for women on the rise?
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
So if you also follow our website, what are AI and C dot org, which is our main non-profit website, you’ll be able to see some of the main events we’ll be doing. So we have educated and coming up, that is like a huge part of what we do. So our core, core principles for our organization, we have career development, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and health and wellness. And so coming up, we’re going to be focusing on that career development and that entrepreneurship piece with Educated Broke. It’s all about not being educated and being broke, right? It’s all about getting rid of that. And so we’re here to help women to be able to identify the resources, to be able to help them thrive in their careers and in their businesses. And we’ll have that coming up. We also will have our fall themed picnic in the park taking place in Jacksonville, and then we’ll have some community activities taking place to support women and girls in both Jacksonville and Orlando towards the end of the year. And then we’re rallying up to get ready for the first big quarter of 2023 because that’s when we have like everything back to back. So Vision Board, Events, Conference, Women on the Rise Awards Gala, all of that stuff comes at full speed come the top of the year.
Carol Cox:
Oh, fantastic. Well, I can’t wait. Arlene, thank you so much for coming on the podcast, sharing your stories and your leadership lessons. I really appreciate.
Carol Cox: Arlene Blake:
It. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate the opportunity. So good to be with you, Carol.
Carol Cox:
Thanks again to Arlene for coming on the podcast. Be sure to connect with her on her website. That’s what I try and see as well as on LinkedIn. Both of those links are in the show notes. You can also take our speaker archetype quiz if you haven’t already. This is a fun free quiz. Just takes a few minutes. There’s ten multiple choice questions and you’ll discover which of our four speaker archetypes you are. And this will help you to leverage your natural communication strengths as well as add to them. You can take this free quiz by going to speak in your brand slash quiz again, that’s Speaking Your Brand slash quiz. Next week we’re going to be talking about the impact you can have by writing op eds with my guest, Princella Tarly. You’re not going to want to miss that, so make sure to hit, follow or subscribe in your podcast app. Until next time. Thanks for listening.
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