BUILD IT B2B™
Entrepreneurship is a Team Sport
Build It B2B™ is a group business coaching program for intentional consultants, and seasoned professionals who want to build consultancies in a way that honors their values, their time and their community. We center the experiences of femme and BIPOC identifying professionals and the strategies to help them thrive personally and professionally.
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In every role you have stood out… Imagine the business you could lead, now.
*Calling in all who identify as woman/women/femme
You are a badass
You know the game
You’ve carved a path
You make shit happen
Your ideas carry weight
Your approach is refreshing and inspired
You always rise to the challenge. Your whole career, you have listened to folks tell you, you couldn’t, and then you did. You’ve been courageous as you have smashed glass ceilings and left the door open for those coming behind you. You may have been the only in the room, but you damn sure won’t be the last. And that’s on period.
Your commitment to create waves and empower change is fuel. You see new ways, when others stop looking. And you have grown stronger in your faith and your self belief along the way. You have always led with heart. Putting people first isn’t a strategy, it’s who. You. are.
And that way about you has been key to your success.
Your career is proof of your power. Check that CV.
You crushed that degree, got the certs, have been devoted to your growth and it has served you well.
You earned every seat at every table that has been blessed with your presence.
And when you’re not slaying at work, you are still the #1 auntie the soror folks depend on, a definite for the church fundraiser, and a true true friend. You hold a lot.
And you do it with seeming grace, ease, confidence, and of course love.
AND. . .
Entrepreneurship has you second guessing everything. You’re a sole prop who does a gig here and there but now you are curious about landing more corporate clients.
You never thought you would be a business owner. You don’t even have entrepreneurs in your family. Shoot, most of your friends think you are crazy to give up this bom career you have built. And maybe you are.
Are you really about to give up on your stellar track record and be out here winging it as a business owner?
At least in corporate you had templates to follow. Now, it feels like you are more alone than ever before, and your only comfort is your big, crazy, heartfelt dream to serve. But we both know – love don’t pay the bills.
And let’s be real, you didn’t bust your ass this last decade or two, just to fall flat on your face now. To disappoint yourself now. To let your community down now. That’s not the kind of role model you are. That’s not the kind of legacy you want to leave. And for real, if you didn’t answer this calling in your heart, in your Spirit, you know you would forever mourn what could have been, the existence you could have had, the purpose you would have fulfilled.
I see you.
I got you.
You are not the only one.
You got this. You can be a badass business owner, who has her shit together, shows up for her family, and never compromises on fam time, community service or being the damn role model that other little Black girls and boys look up to. You will not compromise on integrity. You will not falter on who you are. Not now. Not ever.
Just think, a year from now:
- You have the consultant cheat codes
- You have a rockstar team who backs you up
- You work 30 hour work weeks (max)
- Your clients are thriving
- Your work brings you joy
- You have newfound grace for yourself and the forever corporate ladder climbing is over
- You experience levels of mental, emotional and financial abundance that working a 9-5 NEVER gave you
- You are living your purpose, on purpose
- And you are not alone
Build It B2B™ is that roadmap, that sisterhood.
Admit it. Your Past Successes are your #1 Problem
- You’re already successful working for someone else.
- Splitting your time between maintaining your 9-5 and building your dream feels like a crazy tug of war for your time, energy and finances.
- You’re confused about how to replace your current salary without slipping backwards into debt. I mean, this lifestyle you got didn’t come easy, and you ain’t gonna give it up on a whim
- The idea of jumping with no solid client base has you unsure of your viability. How will you get clients? Like literally, who is gonna pay you?
- You don’t even have the words to explain what this business really is. Not really. Elevator pitch? What’s that?
- Your co-workers are drinking that kool-aid, quiet quitting and keeping their heads down, which means
- You’re starved for peers who understand entrepreneurship
- You’re smart. Check. Double Check
But when it comes to business, you don’t know what you don’t know. (Scary)
and . . .
There are more to-dos in starting and growing a business than there are hours in the day to do them. I mean, at the rate this overwhelm has you reaching for Netflix and the B&Js, you may as well just resign yourself to that corporate ladder and tell your entrepreneurial vision to take several seats. You’re comfortable.
The freedom of time, money and energy that comes with having your own consultancy is a no brainer, but the path to making that a reality is anything but.
In order to really do this thing, you’d have to be willing to get uncomfortable. Are you ready for that? You ready to stop hesitating and face your future?
The 4 Myths
of striking out as a Consultant (the ones that got you stutter stepping like you can’t jump double dutch 
)
#1
Working 60-11 Hours is part of the founder code
The funny thing about having your own business is that you are the boss. You set the hours. Anyone who is “grinding” and working around the clock is doing that because they want to. Or worse, because that’s what they are used to.
What about you? When’s the last time you worked 40 hours or less in a week? 30 hours?
I know it seems impossible but great businesses succeed, not because they are working harder. They succeed because they are working smarter. Having systems and processes in place, means that you don’t have to be “on” all the time, your systems do. That means, you can breathe because there’s a set order to the madness.
Of course, order doesn’t come by chance. You do have to create it. That’s why starting your business with clear boundaries and processes is key to making sure you don’t repeat the toxic work patterns of Western corporate culture (you know, the ones you groomed your career embodying)? Yea, you’re gonna have to give those up if you really want time freedom.
It’s possible, but the purge is real. I’ve seen it happen time and time again. Work smart from the start and you never have to work a grind again.
#2
I need an MBA to be seen as a credible consultant
Data don’t lie. MBA grads are statistically more likely to fail at starting a business than those without them. It was in the Financial Times. Google it.
An MBA is great if you have an existing business and need to know how to analyze past trends to make future predictions.
But for a start up, you have no track record. There’s nothing to study. Your job is to roll with the punches and figure stuff out in the start up and growth phases of business.
All the things that you need to build credibility as a consultant are the things you have already done. In real life. Working.
The only thing preventing you from using that real world experience as your calling card is you. It’s one thing to have done it, but do you know how to sell it? How to market that knowledge and expertise you have amassed? Probs not.
You know why? Because you never had to. But that’s okay, because getting crystal clear on your value and how to speak to it, position it, and make sure it resonates with the folks that matter, is the #1 thing you get to master as a new business owner. Forget grad school – it’s time to study your clients and your offering.
#3
Founders are broke. It’ll be a year before I turn a profit
Girl bye. You didn’t come all this way to work for free.
Are there start up costs? Yes. Should you give away your goodies at a discount? Hell to the naw. I’ll say it again. The knowledge in your head right now is super valuable. There is a reason you were/are a top performer. The way your mind works is gold!!
The only person who can discount that value is you. So don’t.
You can be profitable from your first client if you understand your numbers.
Consulting has very low overhead. You don’t need a physical space or a bunch of equipment to do this gig. You literally just need your brain and a way to communicate with folks. Everything else you invest in will help you grow further faster. In fact, let’s stop thinking of them as expenses, ok boss lady? You’re a business owner now, which means you will choose what are good and not so good investments for the business. There will be things that will help you make money and create impact and things that won’t.
Invest in the things that help you grow value (financial and intrinsic). That’s called ROI. Look at that, business lingo without the B school. . .we on a roll now. You’re welcome.
#4
Solopreneurs wear 100 hats and need 2 more arms to get it all done.
Skurrrrr. This is the one that really gets me. Being in business for yourself DOES NOT mean you are working by yourself.
I said it once and I’ll say it again, entrepreneurship is a team sport, especially if you are a consultant. Your business hinges on your expertise, on you doing and sharing the one gift, talent, knowledge that you have spent a career honing.
The one thing you cannot afford to do in your business is hoard all the other To Dos. And yea, there’s a bit of other stuff to do: marketing, financials, legal, sales, research, design . . .there’s stuff. But just because there is stuff to do, please don’t think you have to do it.
Think of any other CEO you have ever met. Do they also do the financial reporting? Post on social media for the business? Design the website? File the trademark paperwork?
???
The answer is NO THEY DON’T. They have a team of people standing by who 1) LOVE to do that stuff and 2) Do it way better than the CEO ever could.
Knowing who and when to hire so you get to keep shining in your zone of genius is a little bit science and a whole lotta art. But at the end of the day, please know your success as a business owner will include a team. It has to. Too many hats will mess up your hair anyway.
You Get to BE different when you Build it B2B™
Meet former clients and hear about their experiences
The Secret
How to Build a Consultancy Without Becoming ‘The Man’
There was no entrepreneurship class in my High School. College was all about getting an internship so you could work for someone else. Corporate was all about learning to “play the game” and “fit in”.
It’s not your fault that you have no idea where to start on your entrepreneur journey. It’s not by accident that it all feels daunting and scary and immensely uncomfortable.
You haven’t been preparing for this. No one told you how to do this part.
And that itch in your belly, that tug in your heart is calling you. Spirit is calling you. And you must answer. You are compelled to respond.
All that’s missing now is a map, some accountability, and a safe space where you don’t have to know all the answers.
I got that space.
Scaling Black Women Owned Consultancies to Be Bold. Be Priceless. Be Intentional. Be Intuitive. At Work.
(without financial fear, emotional stress, or burnout)
I have taken all of my knowledge from working in business operations for 2 decades, and as financial advisor for 11 years, broken it down into bite sized implementable steps, paired that with all my SOPs from running a consultancy since 2016 and tied it all up in a bow for you.
Build it B2B™ ISN’T A TRAINING. THIS IS AN INTERACTIVE BUSINESS community for purpose driven Black women who crave space to impact the world like only they can.
Yes, you’ll get a comprehensive checklist of what to do to grow your business, but more critical is a braintrust of support from other women just like you who are building with purpose, making impact (not dollars) on their bottom line, and choosing to cast off the toxic habits of Western corporate workplace norms.
THE RESULT: A business that honors your worth, protects your time and energy, and establishes a new standard for future Black women CEOs to follow for years to come.
Through Build It B2B™ you will create a business that has:
- Intuitive systems and processes that create space and time for your life
- Prices that reflect the high value of care, expertise and time that you pour into each and every client
- Transparent sales workflow that is easy to replicate, automate and delegate
- Financial statements that make you smile yourself to sleep
- A team of expert coworkers and colleagues that make you look good 24/7
- A schedule where you can spend more time caring for your social, emotional, mental and spiritual well being
- The benefit of constant business brainstorming with a cohort of other Black women entrepreneurs
- Celebrates and embodies ease and grace in working with clients, coworkers and partners
This program is available by application only. A 45-minute interview call is provided to answer any of your questions, and make sure that you and your business is best suited for this container. A deposit is due within three days of acceptance in order to confirm your space.
Build It B2B™ is for YOU if:
-
- You are a Subject Matter Expert, newer consultant, or seasoned professional who wants to build a consultancy in a way that honors their values, their time and their community.
- You desire support creating and holding boundaries that nourish your needs for abundance of time, energy, wealth and meaningful work
- You are ready to shift from scarcity mindset (of time, energy and money) to one of endless abundance, opportunity and spaciousness
- You intend to build legacy for future generations
- You see yourself as a trailblazer, trusted auntie, community advocate, someone who could lead the way for others
- You deeply care about supporting Black and brown people in their professional and personal development
- You want a balanced life that reflects your core values
- You plan to make good use of your knowledge and expertise
- You crave creative authority in how you support your clients
- You know you were created for an authentic and meaningful existence, true impact and a life filled with passion and joy
- You want to have trust in yourself, belief in your vision and the courage to follow where Spirit is calling you
- You know that the way of working you have grown accustomed to doesn’t serve you at your highest ideals
- You like being in company with inspiring Black women who are doing amazing things, AND who have unsubscribed from the grind, the hustle, and the toxic overworking so prevalent in Western work cultures
- You are ready to get uncomfortable in service of your next evolution
- You know it’s time to invest in working differently and create the future you deserve in a new and fully empowered way.
Your Coach and Support Team
MARIE DEVEAUX, Founder and CEO, High Tides Consulting
Marie is the founder of High Tides, as well as a coach and small business consultant. She is an experienced and highly skilled training developer and facilitator, having assumed these roles for numerous organizations, leading trainings for groups of leaders as small as 6 to over 1500 people at a time and has lent her expertise both in the U.S. as well as abroad. Her passion for seeing emerging leaders grow and expand led to her founding of High Tides in 2016.
KERRY-ANN ELLIOTT-TOTTEN, Support Coach
Kerry-Ann has a Bachelor of Arts from SUNY Albany, and Masters of Arts in Teaching from Howard University. Being in the education field for almost two decades has helped Kerry-Ann become a client-focused leader with a strong dedication to women, while providing a safe, reflective, motivating and empowering environment for transformation.
CANDACE TAYLOR, Support Coach
Candace L. Taylor is an experienced and passionate performer, choreographer, researcher, leader and entrepreneur. In her professional life, post-grad and Fulbright, Candace has utilized creative thinking and expression, project management, effective communication and strategic development skills to increase operational efficiency in many industries and settings ranging from fashion, education, spiritual ministry, theater, and fitness.
Rotating Guest Consultants
The Build It B2B™ Program
The Build it B2B™ program covers 8 key modules to walk you through the 4 pillars of profitable purposeful business transformation (Pricing, People, Processes, Proprietary framework). The curriculum is structured in a spiral so you can start where you need the most help and revisit areas to deepen your understanding or improve upon your integration of systems as your business grows.
We start with
Welcome & Orientation
- Roadmap for the Program
- 6 Month Checklist of To-dos
- The ME FIRST™ Framework
- Designing your Schedule
Creating Your Offer
- Guide to Market Research
- Create your Customer Avatar
- Identify your Zone of Genius
- Write your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
- Craft your Elevator Pitch
And then we
Sales SOPs
- Create your Discovery Call Process
- Drafting Statements of Work (SOW)
- Creating your Proposal Templates
- Reading and Responding to Requests For Proposals (RFPs)
Contracts and Clients Onboarding
- Master Service Agreements (MSAs)
- Building your Vendor Kit
- Invoicing and Payment Best Practices
So you get to
Hiring
- Writing Job Descriptions
- Who to Hire When
- Conducting Interviews
- Onboarding Checklists
Pricing for Profit
- Hourly vs. Project Based Pricing
- Budgets for Proposals
- Your P&L
- CFO Masterclass
And have more
Time and Energy
- Your Ideal Schedule
- Miracle Morning Routines
- Systems for Projects, Communication and Content management
Growth Mindset
- When You’re Triggered
- Getting Honest about your Values
- Combating Resistance
- Conquering Fear
- Future Self Visualization
- Personal Pride Mantra
- Responding to Negative Self Talk
- Responding to Perfectionism with Grace
- Gratitude Practices
The Build It B2B™ Schedule and Commitments
In this 6 month program you receive:
- 18 Group Coaching calls
- 3 90-minute coaching calls each month hosted by Marie
- 6 1:1 Coaching Calls
- Monthly calls with Marie or a member of the coaching staff
- Online Portal for on-demand access to video lectures, templates, handouts, audio tools and practices to support building your business SOPs, and frameworks
- Slack community for accountability and between call support from coaching staff and community members
- Monthly featured guest “Ask Me Anything” sessions
- Alumni “Where are they now” Interviews and panel conversations
We serve an intimate group of intentional consultants in Build It B2B™ so you and each woman in the container get to voice their question and get poured into according to their need.
This experience is offered to you on a rolling basis and is a 6 month experience. Space is intentional and offered by application only.
Investment
$6500 Paid in Full
Or 5 Payments of $1469
We are creative, courageous, values aligned Black women and Women of Color who crave a new way of working, and space that allows us to explore what’s possible with entrepreneurship. If that’s you too, please join us.
A Note from Me to You:
Hey hey, I am so glad that you are here. I spend a lot of time thinking about work and thinking about Black women at work. And this program is an amalgamation of learnings, meditations, trials and do-overs as I have journeyed in and out of work spaces. It is my hope that this container will be a soft place to land, a friendly sandbox to play, and a reminder of what is possible when we choose to answer the call and create what we have been led to with our gifts.
I would be honored to hold this space for you as you reconnect to your purpose and create a business that fully nourishes you and who you will be.
I see you. I honor you. I am forever rooting for you.
-Marie
Come Play with Us
FAQs
How long is the program? What are the start and end dates?
The Build it B2B™ program is a 6-month commitment. We enroll on a rolling basis so you can start at any time during the year and will continue in the container for a full 6 months. We meet three times each month so you can anticipate participating in 18 group coaching calls. If you do not enroll in the BIB2B continuity program, your access to the container, Slack channel and course resources will end at the end of your 6 month enrollment period.
How much time do I need each week to work on this program and implement the modules?
Your personal study time may vary. Past participants reported spending 90 minutes to 2 hours implementing strategies each week, in addition to the approximate 2 hours per module, you might spend time watching video tutorials and using resources in the portal. Live time engaging with me and the team is 90 minutes per weekly group call (not including special guest lectures or interviews). For easy math, that’s about 5 hours a week minimum. Participation in the community Slack channel, at Ask Me Anything sessions, or in alumni interviews is at your own discretion and according to your need. We also make sure that in the 4th and potentially 5th weeks each month when we don’t have a group call, you have an opportunity to catch up (yay, integration) or use that time to meet with a coach for your monthly one-on-one calls.
How will I access the weekly group coaching calls and Q&A sessions?
You’ll be invited to the private group coaching calls via the email you used to register for the program. You should save the dates of the call to your calendar and put the login credentials in a safe place. There will also be an active link to join the call available inside the course members area which you will have access to for as long as you’re a participant in the program. Additional sessions with featured guest experts or interviews that we have with alumni will be added to the calendar as need arises. Those meeting credentials will be shared to the group directly in the community Slack channel.
Who is teaching this program and how are they qualified?
That’s me! Marie Deveaux is an inclusive leadership coach and the owner of High Tides Consulting, a DEI and leadership coaching consultancy that has been operating since 2016. Prior to Marie starting her practice, she worked in education and operations management for about 20 years and was also a licensed investment advisor for over a decade. Marie uses her experiences both working for corporations as well as running her own practice to inform the tools and techniques that are taught in this program. Marie is also a certified professional coach holding a Professional Certified Coach designation (PCC) from the International Coaching Federation (ICF). She received her Bachelor of Arts in English and creative writing from NYU, and she holds a Masters of Management from the University of Maryland Global Campus. You can read and learn more about our coaches and faculty by checking out their LinkedIn profiles and respective business websites. (see above)
What’s the refund policy?
I believe wholeheartedly in the Build It B2B™ program. It is crafted with intention and the knowledge gained from over 20 years of my own work experience, combined with my experience building a thriving multi-six figure consultancy. I know you will gain immense value from throwing yourself wholeheartedly into this container. That being said, we do not offer refunds or transfers once you commit to the program. For myself, the coaches and the faculty, this is an investment of our mutual time and energy. We will be putting in 150% and ask you to do the same. No take backs.
Is this a therapy group?
No. This is not therapy nor are the instructors and faculty of this program licensed or clinical therapists. Some of the themes that we discuss in the program explore prior relationships with work and Western corporate work cultures may be triggering/traumatic to some. We do recommend that if you find yourself in a heightened nervous system state, to seek out resources that support your own therapeutic healing. Therapy for Black Girls is a great resource for those who are seeking therapeutic support focused on Black women and women of color.
How much of this is coaching and how much of this is business training?
The Build it B2B™ program is a hybrid of business consultation and life coaching around the themes of work and your relationship to your labor. You will notice in the structure of the modules offered in our curriculum, we focus primarily on the steps you should take to build your business. We also recognize that in seeking to implement these changes in your business, limiting beliefs and old thought patterns will slow your progress if not stop you cold in your tracks. This is where coaching supports you to break through those mindsets and allow you to progress your business as you begin to own more and more of your entrepreneur identity. To answer your question, all of it is business training and all of it is coaching. We don’t underestimate how much of a mind game entrepreneurship is. We offer conditioning for both the business mind and the business Spirit in this work.
What do I get when I sign up?
When you sign up for the program, you will receive a welcome message from our team including your login credentials for the online portal, instructions for setting up laser calls with the coaching staff and a link to join our private Slack community. All of the course content (videos, templates, guides, exercises) are already available in the portal and so you can start reviewing those on-demand materials immediately, even before your first group coaching call. If there are any additional sessions planned for the month, including expert Ask Me Anythings (AMAs) or alumni interviews, you’ll be notified of those via our private Slack channel.
Are there payment plans?
Yes. We want to make sure that the program is accessible to as many women who desire and need this work as possible. To that end, we offer four different payment solutions. You can choose either paying in full, or in two, three or five payments over time. You will be informed more about these options during your interview once you’ve established that we are a good fit for you at this time.
What happens if I miss a session?
If you miss one of the regular group coaching calls, the session will be recorded and the link to the recording and password updated to Slack within 24 hours. Because we are enrolling women on a rolling basis, any recordings more than 90 days old will be made unavailable for access.
Ready to jump in and be different at work?
This program is by application only. Select a time to meet with our coaching staff and then select a time on the schedule for conversation where we can answer your questions and make sure this is the right program, at the right time for you.
This class is not all about money or budgeting. It has been a series of empowering and healing conversations around self worth, self love and self transformation. I have a lot of clarity about who I want to work with as a client. I’ve had my first live online class, and 24 people signed up and showed up! I’m actually in business now! I just want to tell anybody who’s struggling, “Oh my G-d! you need to get on this class.” THANK YOU MARIE!
Hell, what it took for you to get me to look at my money stuff, honey, you have now crossed thresholds in your coaching! It’s been 12 weeks, and I’ve gained a lot that I can’t even quantify. I’m so happy and excited about how life has been unfolding, I’m pleased to see progress within myself, and you’re part of that, so thank you! With the Side Hustle Intensive, I feel like I have grown. Now I need to get me some Vegan Ben & Jerry’s to celebrate!
What stood out to me about Marie’s program was Marie herself. She has an incredible wealth of knowledge and is such a clear communicator. An immeasurable result of doing this program is how much more confident I feel to progress my work, and also grow my entity, which is really exciting. I do feel that I have a very strong plan for the next year of my business and that was truly what I was seeking – to feel grounded, clear and confident in making the next big decisions for my business.