Are there in person Speak your way to cash events happening in May or July? I just joined the waitlist for the Sept Women’s event (imma just have to bring my wife and act like with her 😂🤣) but I already had these 2 events in the calendar? Anyone know about these, or did I make em up in a dream I had to finally get in the room? @Ashley Kirkwood ?

In 1861, one Black woman dressed both of their First Ladies. Same hands. Same needle. Same thread. She made gowns for Varina Davis — wife of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy. She made gowns for Mary Todd Lincoln — wife of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States. Their husbands were at war. Their sons were dying on opposite sides of the battlefield. And they both wanted Elizabeth Keckley. Let that sink in. Elizabeth was born enslaved. She couldn’t legally keep a single dollar she earned. She spent years generating income for people who owned her — sewing dresses for their friends, building a reputation she couldn’t cash in on. When she asked to buy her freedom, they said $1,200. That’s $45,000 today. She didn’t have it. But her clients did. She had become so essential that the women she served pooled their money and handed it to her. Her skill created income for others. Her relationships created freedom for herself. Once free, she moved to Washington, D.C., opened her own shop, hired 20 seamstresses, and became the most sought-after dressmaker in the capital. She didn’t just serve powerful women. She became powerful. Here’s what I want you to steal from Elizabeth: Be so valuable that ideology becomes irrelevant to you moving your business forward. Then invest in justice for what you believe. Varina Davis didn’t care that Elizabeth was Black. Mary Todd Lincoln didn’t care that Elizabeth once served the Confederacy. They cared that nobody could make them look and feel the way Elizabeth could. Your excellence is your access. Elizabeth couldn’t post this on LinkedIn. She couldn’t share what she learned. She couldn’t teach other Black women how to turn relationships into freedom. When she died in 1907, we missed out on decades of stories and wisdom - thank God she was at least able to write a book! But I’m not letting that happen again. That’s why I’m teaching sales secrets from Black women who built empires under impossible circumstances at Black Women Sell Live 2026.

Elizabeth Keckley did it, then went on to build a million-dollar clothing empire. Born enslaved in 1818, Elizabeth watched her enslaver force her mother to work as a seamstress to support his entire household. When she was old enough, Elizabeth asked to take on the work herself — to spare her mother. Her enslaver agreed, but not out of kindness. He sent her to work in a dress shop where she served clients, built a reputation, and generated enough income to support a 17-person household — but legally, every cent belonged to the people who owned her. She had clients. She had skill. She had a business — but couldn't keep a single dollar she earned. When she asked to buy freedom for herself and her son, they named an impossible price: $1,200 — around $45,000 in today's money. But what he didn't expect was this: Keckley was so good at what she did that her clients loaned her the money to buy her freedom. Her needle created INCOME for others. Her relationships created FREEDOM for her. Once free, she moved to Washington, D.C., built a luxury dressmaking business, hired around 20 seamstresses, and dressed Mary Todd Lincoln and the political elite on both sides of the Civil War. She paid back the loan, but it took years. She exemplifies how UNSTOPPABLE Black women really are. Here's the framework I want you to steal from Elizabeth: The Keckley Leverage Method™ 1️⃣ Be great in any state. Your environment can be unjust, but your performance standard is about you. 2️⃣ Relationships are currency. Elizabeth's clients became her "investors" — the bridge between no legal wages and a $1,200 freedom loan. 3️⃣ Don't build a one-woman factory. Once she was free, she hired ~20 seamstresses and scaled. If you're the most skilled and still doing everything, you're capping your revenue at your energy. 4️⃣ Market your proximity to power. Elizabeth didn't stay a secret. She intentionally served high-profile women; their visibility became her marketing. If your clients are heavy hitters but no one knows, you're hiding your best proof.

@Ashley Kirkwood and anyone who may have experience in this area… ⁉️ How important is a TEDx talk to the brand of a professional speaker? 🤔 How much difference would it make if your TEDx talk gained 5k views vs 20k views versus 250k views for after talk leverage or does just having a talk all mean the same? 🗣️ My wife and I have an opportunity but we are seeking guidance on the decision to be made. Thanks in advance for your help.

“Is this anti-white… or just pro-Black?” That was the real question hiding inside an email I got from a white woman asking if she was “allowed” to come to Black Women Sell Live. Every other year, we host Black Women Sell Live — a sales and leadership event built for Black women experts who are ready to sell from inheritance, not insecurity. And we named the event intentionally — to call in the women who’ve been unnamed, overlooked, and edited out of every “mainstream” business narrative for generations. It’s a celebration of us not an indictment of anyone else, but science explains why some are confused by this… Research shows that when institutions highlight racial equity or diversity, many start to feel their own group is being devalued or “left out.” In one national survey, about 3 in 10 white Americans said discrimination against white people has increased “a lot” in recent years. Which is wild considering the overt attack on diversity. 🙄 Psychologists call this a zero-sum mindset: If someone else is centered, I must be pushed out. So when you put “Black” in the title — Black Women Sell Live, Black founders, Black history — some folks don’t see “pro-Black.” Their brain reads “anti-white.” Let me show you why that math doesn’t add up. → 76% of U.S. journalists are white. → Over 80% of newsroom leaders are white — deciding which stories get told and who gets framed as the default face of success. → Turn on business TV. Scan most bestseller lists. Look at who gets quoted as the “expert.” Images of white success are not scarce. They are saturated. So no — Black Women Sell Live is not an attack on white people. It’s an interruption of erasure. Here’s what the research actually says happens when we interrupt that erasure: → Entrepreneurs who see someone “like them” succeed are 48% more likely to take high-risk, high-reward business moves — the exact moves that SCALE businesses. → People who learn their family’s economic history are 24% more likely to build wealth and report 34% higher confidence.