One thing that is an important part about building a brand is building a community. Jasmine Utterback has been extremely successful in building a community through Creative Women Build which is a growing safe haven for creative women and entrepreneurs based in NY and D.C. It is also important as a woman of color to share experiences and lift each other up in various pursuits. In and interview with Jasmine, she was able to drop many valuable gems that she has learned over the years to build her brand and grow.

How do you pitch to brands?

In terms of pitching, We had the first Creative Women Hustle at Peace and Riot in Brooklyn and then we had the second Creative Women Hustle in August that was at the Tillary Hotel based in downtown Brooklyn. I really wanted to elevate the experience of Creative Women Hustle with sponsors and we had [the beauty brand] Glossier, an app called Swivel which is based in NJ and NY where basically you can find hairstylists near your home or even hairstylists that can come to your home, and there were other brands too. What worked for me is I bought a pitch template from a blogger named Monroe Steele and she pretty much lays it out and she even gives you an example with a pitch letter that she has used in the past. All you have to do is fill in your information and come up with your different tiers. So, Tier 1 was my monetary sponsor where I decided that this is all the money I will need to cover all the expenses of this event. Next, Tier 2 was my gift bag sponsors and what I was looking for from them and what was going to be the deliverables on my end. For each brand that I reached out too I just changed the message a little bit but the intro stayed the same.

What challenges do you face when launching anything new?

I really feel that having a business, a platform, or a blog is really all about overcoming yourself. That’s what it is all day and every day. For example, I recently launched a membership service a couple weeks ago and the membership program was something that I’ve wanted for a long time but then I had a list of worries like wondering if people would think I’m qualified, wondering how is the membership would go, if people were going to enjoy it, and if they were going to get what they need. Eventually, I was just like look, Jasmine your going to do it and it’s time. So, yeah, it’s a lot of just overcoming yourself.

How do you learn your target audience?

I did an event planning webinar and one of the things I talked about there is learning your target audience. The audience that you have right now is going to grow and evolve and you will also grow and evolve. So, it’s a continual process of learning your audience and asking your audience what they need because people are going to be at various stages. One of the ladies who was on the call is about to start an event series for Moms. I said that Moms who have a baby just under 12 months and moms who have toddlers, and moms who have kids over 5 all have different needs and yet they are a part of your audience. How I get feedback from my audience is I usually send out a survey after the event but sometimes I do forget or I don’t communicate it well enough. In this case, I also receive feedback from people who post about going to the event on social media and having an amazing time at the event or they come up to me after the event and tell me how they enjoyed the event. I’ll also may get messages on Instagram where they say how inspired they were by my event that they are now creating their own event.

What motivated or inspired you to create Creative Women Build?

I lived in NY for a year and I was searching for a community to be a part of and I felt like I hadn’t found one so I created one for myself. In the very beginning I just wanted to get black creative women in the room together and I just wanted us to have a seat at the table and just openly discuss our needs, what types of workshops and the content that we need to progress our ideas forward. I am also just really big on getting feedback and I will continue to do that andI just like people to feel like they are a part of something and that their feedback is valued. I want to help them meet their goals and I want to meet their needs basically. Many of the things we have done have come from that first meetup where I literally asked what do you need and there were some things that I haven’t even gotten too but people wanted to do some social things together. At that first meetup they mentioned going thrift  shopping together and I was like let me run with this idea. So I was like, why don’t we go to a vintage store and we meet the owner and we learn her story and that is where Creative Women Hustle came from where we were able to hear all 3 of their stories. I take what I hear from other business owners very intently and try to figure out how I can help them problem solve. For example, if someone asks about how they can get funding for their business I’m going to tell them that I’m actually trying to get funding myself and here are the grants I am trying to get. I just strongly believe that we go further together and the community is really about sharing resources and celebrating one another’s accomplishments and really appreciating people for what they’ve contributed. There have been many women who have come to CWB events who have talked about how being a creative can be lonely and I want people to know that they have support and they may not be able to attend every event but when they do come they will get the same energy they received at the last event. So, I’m really working on improving CWB’s company culture so that if you are in CWB DC, Atlanta, LA  or wherever you are that you are going to leave feeling the same way.

When did you know it was time to expand your team?

It took a very long time for me and I am the type of person who wants to do it all. I still do a lot of the work but there were areas where I realized I needed help. Like, I do need people helping at the event to check people in, get photos, or run an Instagram live. There is a lot that goes into planning an event and getting all the people together and still when you get to the event there are still all of these people to coordinate. Even at our first vision workshop a friend of mine advised me that I really need a team to help with  the day of the event but as I went along I realized I that my friend was right. Also, there is the fact that I’m building this community but at the same time I still want to exist outside of the community.

CWB is really my heart and everything that I am and when people come to the event the energy that is created is my energy. We’ve recently expanded to DC so now I have a DC team lead and it is absolutely necessary because I don’t live in DC and I only plan to be there when we have the events. So, I knew from the outset that I needed to have a team lead and it’s a blessing because she already already plans events so it was like wow I found someone that does something similar to what I do with CWB and probably does it even better because she knows the DC landscape and where to have events. One of the major things that I feel has been helping with CWB growth is I have been taking time to sleep.So as I grow personally, my brand also grows when I take time to take care of myself. I become more clear about my direction and I infuse these things into CWB and one of those things is quick recovery. So for instance, with the Creative Women Hustle [event], when I was looking for sponsors I went to an event where I met this amazing brand and I was so excited but then they ended up not being able to do the event. However, at this time I’ve already started talking about quick recovery and I talked to Courtney who is a CWB member who expressed her sympathy because  she knew how much I wanted that sponsor but  I just told her it was okay. What brands are we now going to now replace them with? Later, the replacement ended up being Glossier. So it was like OMG! So much better!

What do you think was the catalyst for your growth and when everything clicked for you in a way where you knew that this was what you wanted to do?

I had a really rough period this year and before CWB I had a previous platform and blog back in 2012 and I was still living in Louisiana. My uncle passed away suddenly and I just had a huge void in my life and so I was like wow life is short. My uncle was the life of the party and I realized that I need to do the things that I love doing and part of that was hosting events and supporting black owned businesses. CWB is all part of the journey and I’ve had years of experience planning events for different things and I’ve been public speaking since I was a kid so everything has just been a part of my nature. So, I started CWB and I told myself that I was committed and that if anything happens I am committed. The best way for me to do that is to host monthly events. However, I quickly got burnt out doing that because I was working on CWB day and night literally. Waking up early and going to bed late and my energy was just very low. Then I was at the first session of CWB and there was pain radiating down my leg. I have never experienced that before but I told myself I was going to push through the pain. Later, I went to Jersey to visit one of my friends and realized that I really couldn’t move. I was in a lot of pain so fast forward I found out that I have two large fibroids and the doctors I have spoken to told me I would have to remove the fibroids. So there was a week in January where I was crying everyday because I was in so much pain and I didn’t go to work. However, the first Creative Women Hustle event was coming up so I was like Jasmine you gotta pull through because you are not cancelling this event. I literally could not walk and was in so much pain but I still had to make it to the event. So from January to May I was building CWB but I was also at a low point.  I just told myself that I have shit to do. Everything started to lift a little bit when I turned 30 in May and as I gradually went on I got a little bit better and stronger each day. You would not know now that I went through such a rough time but my closest friends were there and when my drive kicked back in it was like a whole new level.

Did you ever feel like you need a huge following to start what you did?

I really thrive being able to connect with different people. A part of CWB philosophy that I am developing is just to start. Even at the beginning of CWB I was making some changes in my life and I moved to Brooklyn because I wanted a new space to be able to create. When I moved to Brooklyn there was so much inspiration around me and so much community and I was just building all the time. One thing about me that never changes is that I have a lot of faith and so when I put on events I know that without a shadow of a doubt that the people who are supposed to be there will be there. The number of tickets that we want to sell will be sold. Like, it’s going to be exactly how I intended it to be in the end. I just had an intense desire to start CWB and I told myself that I just had to do it and there were no other options.

In 10 years where do you see CWB?

In 10 years we will have chapters in many different cities. We will then expand into Philly, then Chicago and Texas. We will have event spaces and from this moment forward I’m going to be working on crowdfunding so we can have an event and office space which will be our first CWB Headquarters. In 10 years we will have created a pipeline for women to have access to capital. That is a goal that has come about in the last couple of months. I have so much faith and one of the big things about me is that I am a visionary and you can give me a blank canvas and I’m going to figure out how to create on that blank canvas and so I want to encourage people to do the same thing. I also want to have internships, training programs, and be a business incubator that can help women start a business from step 1 to 100.

What did you learn over time is a huge no?

I think I’m intentional about having contracts developed. Like for example, my sponsorships for Creative Women Hustle, I had a lawyer draw a contract because I read in a business journal that contracts are really important.I think that as I go along I will continue to build my skills in business.

What are upcoming events you have coming up and things people should look out for?

Our October 15th Happy Hour focused on self love, self care, and sensuality. Lotus Leloba will be there and talking about unapologetic self love. We will also have Christiana who is the owner of Bum Cake Vintage. October we will do a work sessions but I don’t have a date for that yet. November we will do community service.Then in December/January we will have a holiday party.

Comment down below with your thoughts on this interview! Have you had a similar experience in building a community? Do you have a gem you would like to share?

Boss Watch will feature creatives, entrepreneurs, influencers, digital professionals and anyone who is moving their passions from an idea into a reality. Boss Watch is for anyone who aspires to live a fulfilled life and just needs a little bit of inspiration to know that they are not alone on their journey towards self-realization. Boss Watch is for anyone who has made it through the growing pains of realizing their dreams and is now looking to share wisdom or just find new people to increase their network.  Is this you? If so, then feel free to leave a comment or email cnkstylebook@gmail.com for a chance to be featured on the next Boss Watch.