Networking Your Way to Business Growth

Many of today’s great business leaders credit at least some of their success to building a strong network of like-minded individuals they can leverage to find new business opportunities, share learned knowledge, and collaborate with on innovative ideas. The Black business community is vibrant, thriving, and ripe for opportunities to connect and share innovation—but it can be a challenge to build your network from zero. In this panel, learn how top leaders created their networks, and hear how they tap into them to build their businesses and advance their careers.

Nana: Networking your way to business growth. I want to invite our speakers onto the stage, invite our moderator too as well, Zanade, to the stage. Hey girl, welcome back. This next panel’s going to be awesome. When it comes to the black business community, we’re so vibrant, we’re thriving and we’re ripe for opportunities to connect and share and innovate. But I think one of the biggest challenge is how to build your network from zero, right? So we are going to be learning from leaders who created amazing networks and learn how to tap into the business industry and tap into getting advice for your career. So I’ll let you all take it from there.

Zanade: Thank you. Thank you so much. I am so excited to be here and yes, I was jamming. I was hoping that you played the entire song, but it’s all good. It’s all good. So I’m going to go into some introductions. I am Zanade, the founder of the Black Women’s Business Elective, and I am so happy to be in a community with these powerhouse women. I was calling them on LinkedIn, “queens of networking,” because I’m excited. I hope to get some gems. I know that you all are going to get some gems today. So let’s get right into it with some introductions. So our first panelist, Malyia McNaughton. She is the founder and jewelry designer, Made By Malyia. Malyia McNaughton is a self-taught designer based in Brooklyn, New York City. Growing up the youngest of five kids in the Bronx, Malyia was fashion-obsessed at a young age, and often reinvented her style.

Zanade: After graduating from Florida State University, she seized opportunities to work with New York City’s leading fashion brands. So welcome, Malyia, I’m so happy that you are here. Next up is Talisha Becavoc. She is the executive … Sorry. I pronounced that, I mispronounced that. Talisha Becavoc, executive vice president of the U.S. Black Chambers. So she leverages over 15 years of corporate and nonprofit experience in her role for the United States Black Chambers in her role, Talisha works with policy makers to promote legislation that expands small businesses and addresses the unique challenges facing the black business community. So welcome. And we’re happy to have you here.

Talisha: Thank you.

Zanade: And last but not least, we have the founder and chief executive officer of Mielle, Monique Rodriguez. Monique founded Mielle in 2014, after her healthy hair care regimen for tailbone length hair became somewhat of a craze among her social media followers. The company began on the back of one product, the advanced hair formula, a unique proprietary blend of herbs, amino acids, and minerals to support healthy hair, skin, nails and the immune system. She is also at this point, the company is the largest, and correct me if I’m wrong, the largest African American hair care brand in the country, and we are happy to have you here, Monique.

Zanade: All right. So we will get right into it as far as networking. Networking is something that we all need. And I know we, the women on this panel are at a level in their career, in their business where some may think they networking isn’t important. And we all know no matter what, whether you’re at the top to bottom, whatever level in school, alumni, wherever you are in life, networking is truly important. So I want to ask the panelists, and we’ll start with Monique, to think about a time when you were growing Mielle that networking helped your business get from one point to the next or open the door for you.

Monique: Yeah, no, that’s a great question. And so when I think about my journey over the past eight years that I’ve been in my company, the reason why we are the largest African American hair care company is because of networking. And just one example. So one of my investors is Richard Lou Dennis, who opened up New Voices Investment Fund, which funds 100 million towards black entrepreneurs. I met Richard Lou Dennis, when he was considered a competitor as because he was still the owner of Shea Moisture. But however, I never looked at him as a competitor. I looked at him as someone that was very inspiring. I admire what he had been able to build with Shea Moisture. And I remember going up to him and introducing myself to him and letting him know who I was. And listen, this is not a competitive thing. I just want to tell you, I admire what you’ve built.

Monique: And so that was just the initial first contact that we made that connection. And I always tell people like, you may not connect with someone right away, but as long as you continue to nourish that relationship and you continue to check in here and there, that’s how you nourish your relationship and a relationship can grow. So throughout, over the course of maybe three years, I continued to keep in contact with him and just check in on him to see how he was doing, sending a quick text message. It didn’t have to be a long conversation. And three years later he became one of the first investors at a time when I needed that investment the most. And I tell this story all the time, we had an investor that turned their back on us at the point where we were depending on that investment. And I remember reaching back out to Richard Lou Dennis, I want you to be an investor in the company.

Monique: And we connected back up from that relationship that happened three years prior to, and he became one of the first companies to invest in Mielle, which it was so meaningful for me, because again, it was a relationship that happened so long ago. So I always tell people like don’t despise small beginnings, you may not connect first round, but continue to nourish that because it has definitely paid off for me. And to even the investment that I currently have now, and it’s been very public, we took a nine figure investment deal where I still maintain majority ownership. That was because of the connection with Richard Lou Dennis. He connected me to those people to help me to get to where I’m at today. So literally the things I have accomplished has been networking from years ago.

Zanade: I have so many questions off of that, but we’ll save that for [inaudible 00:06:27]. That’s powerful, but Malyia, I’m interested in your story as well, as far as networking with your current business.

Malyia: Absolutely. And I share Monique’s sentiments that in similar fashion, my current mentor, I have a few mentors, but one of them I met a couple of years ago and she actually purchased a pair of my earrings. And I wasn’t fully aware of how connected she was in the jewelry space at the time, but it was such an authentic first interaction. She reached out to me, she purchased the earrings and she said simply “Google me.” And I was taking aback, but I’m like, I’m definitely going to Google you. And when I did, I thought that was so profound that she had accomplished all these things in the industry and that she found my jewelry, in all the jewelry that she’s seen in her career.

Malyia: And so that was about three, two and a half years ago. And then I ran into her at an event and she immediately recognized me because I was wearing the earrings, and nurtured that relationship and continued to stay in contact, checking quarterly, kind of let her know where the brand was and where I wanted to take it. And she’s been so instrumental in helping me get into one of my first retail locations and has just continue to make sure that anything that I need when it comes to building the brand, she’s there to support. So I think it’s so important, like Monique said, to, even if time has passed, still keep that connection there and build and allow that relationship to be nurtured.

Zanade: Love that. I love that. Talisha, you have such a wealth of knowledge and experience in throughout your career. So for you, what was that, you’ve been in a few companies and what has been that turning point for you where someone opened up the door or at least helped you get to where you are at now and how did you secure that?

Talisha: Sure. Well, I’ll be the LinkedIn champion here. I am big on LinkedIn. It’s been my secret to opening up so many doors for me, especially during COVID when we couldn’t get out and go to conferences and network. LinkedIn was really the only way. And for me in 2020, so many companies came out in chorus almost with these commitments to support black owned businesses in 2020. And it was really important for me to follow up with those companies and realize those commitments. Because so many times in our community folks show up to get the vote and we never hear from them again. And so there was a particular company, Pokemon Go, came out with a commitment and said, “Hey, we want to support black owned businesses. This is a part of our solidarity agreement.” Et cetera. And I said, wow, I don’t have a connection with Pokemon Go, but I need to find out a way to meet with them.

Talisha: So I couldn’t go to any conferences I went to LinkedIn and I just started to research and see who in DC would be connected to Pokemon Go. And I found out that I knew one of their government relations in public affairs firm, through just scrolling through LinkedIn, trying to see who are my two, three steps, connections from Pokemon Go. And so I met, I reached out to a colleague of mine and say, “Hey, I see you’re connected with the community impact manager at Pokemon Go, would you be open to doing an introduction for me? I saw that they made this big commitment on black entrepreneurship, would love to talk to them about who U.S. Black Chambers is and how we can be a vehicle to support their initiative.”

Talisha: And so she responded back, she said, sure. Don’t be selfish with your relationships. You never know when someone can open the door for you. And so long story short, that became a LinkedIn connection where she, and you can just do it through LinkedIn, just introduce people that way. And she did that for me and I had a phone conversation with the company. They were so ecstatic to find me because they said we had been Googling U.S. Black Chambers, and we had you on our radar. We really want to find a way to support. And literally in two months we got a million dollar donation.

Zanade: Wow.

Talisha: [inaudible 00:10:48] to support black entrepreneurship and our programs. And so think about the economic impact that that made for small black owned businesses in 2020, when folks were struggling to get the paycheck protection program. And there weren’t a lot of aid programs. The U.S. Black Chamber was able to take that funding from Pokemon Go, Niantic Labs, if you guys are watching thank you for your support. And we were able to dole out so many grants to black own businesses to keep them afloat. That’s my story.

Monique: That’s amazing.

Talisha: And how networking made a difference for me.

Zanade: Wow. Let me say, that is amazing. And it is a perfect segue for Monique and Malyia with this next question on how you, or how have you leveraged connecting with people online and me? So I want to preface that. I know that everyone on a call is very well accomplished, but think about how you’re still using it or if you’re still using it. And if not, you can answer that way as well. But I’m interested Malyia, if you want to answer, that’s cool.

Malyia: Sure. So a couple of months ago, or about a year ago, I had an article with CNBC get published and a gentleman reached out to me and he said that he was inspired by my story as a self-taught self-funded black owned jewelry designer. And he recognized some similarities in our story. And he wanted to know if he could help me better pitch my brand to possible investors in the future or what he could do. He said he was a coach in that way. And so we connected, we did a shark tank type setup and he had some of his fellow MBA colleagues get on the call with me. And they really helped elevate me as a brand and as an entrepreneur.

Malyia: And I was so grateful for that connection because he reached out to me, but I made sure that I kept in contact with him and told him that I was interested in that coaching, because he wanted to make sure that it was something he wasn’t overstepping and suggesting that I may not have wanted, but it just showed the power of connection and how someone can resonate with your story and want to see you grow and want to help you through that process. And so I was really grateful for that, because that was very instrumental in helping me elevate as an entrepreneur.

Zanade: That’s great. And Monique, I think you’re a rock star on Instagram. I actually caught one of your [inaudible 00:13:08]. So for the community that may not know, can you speak a little bit with your customers online and specifically with Instagram?

Monique: Okay. You broke up a little bit. You said, can you speak about my customers? I don’t know if … Are you the only one, is the only breaking up for me?

Malyia: No, it’s breaking up.

Monique: Yeah. So I kind of missed the last part.

Zanade: Oh, sorry about that. So my question was, can you speak a little bit about how you connect to your customers and your community on Instagram? ‘Cause you are quite active over there.

Monique: Oh yeah. So Instagram has been the platform of choice that I chose to build a brand on. And that was eight years ago. The algorithm, wasn’t what it is today. It really allowed you to connect with so many people across the world with just your phone and your fingertips. And I really leveraged Instagram to build trust and connection and engagement by being very transparent in my journey and sharing how I started the brand. I really didn’t hold back and I still don’t hold back today. And I engage with people. I answer questions. People send me DMs. I try to respond back to as many DMs as I can because the average CEO, when you think about it and we reach out to people on social media, they don’t respond to our DMs. And I said, I wanted to do something a little different. I want to be that CEO that people can relate to and trust and know that what I do, I’m really passionate about it.

Monique: And I really want to see you win in the hair care space. When you use our products, I want you to love the products and how do you love the products by being educated on the right product to use for your hair, the right technique. And so I really leveraged social media just to get my message across and to communicate and to overly communicate and to over-serve my community with my cell phone. And so that has worked really well for us because I came into this space, sawing … Seeing, not sawing. Seeing that there was a lack of relatability.

Monique: There was a lack of education with myself being a customer. No one was speaking to me and my language companies were talking at me. They were not talking to me. And so I talk to my customers like we’re girlfriends because I feel like we are. When we talk about hair, you remember those kitchen and salon conversations. You talk like you’re talking in the salon with your girlfriends. And that’s how I chose to really communicate with my consumers. And it has done really well for us and people are engaged and they love the brand. Not only just because of the products, but they feel like it’s something that resonates with them as a person and we’re engaging and talking to them.

Zanade: I love that. And you had mentioned a little bit about follow up and I think this is really important. So we hear it’s important to follow up. Can you all share some best practices or some things that you have done personally, to follow up with people or to connect and engage with people, using, whether it’s email or social media. Now this is regarding networking. So not necessarily responding to any clients or anything like that, but how do you really follow up in a way that is not overbearing, so you get ignored or whatever. What’s some tips that you can give us? Talisha, do you want to start first?

Talisha: Sure. So I have this mantra and I learned this early in my career that the fortune is in the follow up. I attend, I don’t even know how many conferences, lots of conferences. And everyone’s so quick to run up with a business card. So I walk away with all these business cards, especially if I’m speaking on a panel like this, but I have a rule to, one, intentionally attend conferences, both as a speaker and as a participant. You should be doing those as business owners at least once a month, just to grow your business and get awareness of your brand, but really follow up with people and be intentional in your follow up. Before you reach out to anyone with the follow up, go to their website, do a little bit of research. Everyone has a news or current events tab where they might have written their press release about, hey, Mielle is buying Made By Malyia.

Talisha: So what does that mean? They’re going to be looking to implement new technologies, new processes. And so you can learn that by doing a little bit of research. And if I had Malyia’s card from a conference, I would follow up and say, dear Malyia, nice to meet you at ABC conference, the Yelp business summit. I saw some great information about you buying a new company. And I imagine that’s going to bring on new challenges, new opportunities to partner. We’d love to follow up with you and see if we could talk about ways that I do A, B C, D and always use the which close. The which close means I’ve got some time available on Tuesday morning or Thursday afternoon, which is better for you? I leave every single email with a question. It gives people mentally, it’s like, oh, I need to respond to that. And that is a best practice that I have used for decades.

Talisha: And it has helped me close business deals, get jobs, help people make joint ventures, but really being intentional with your follow up and doing research beforehand. And I also want to remind people of the rule of seven. I get a lot of cold emails and I respond to them after the third one or second one. I never respond to the first follow up because I really want to see how tenacious you are and how big of a target I am. So just persistent follow up, thoughtful follow up with information that they’ve provided about their business. That will get you tons of dividends. I guarantee you your follow up rate, your close rate on your business deals will go up because people care not about who you are or what you know, they care when you connect with them in a really authentic way.

Zanade: Wow. Okay. Well, I hope y’all are taking notes because you could learn something new every day. So I didn’t know about what was it, the rule of seven that?

Talisha: The rule of seven.

Zanade: Wow. Do you all follow something similar to that? That’s interesting. That’s the first time I heard that, to see if someone is going to-

Monique: Love that.

Zanade: Yeah. That’s amazing. All right. Malyia, do you want to respond to that question as well?

Malyia: Absolutely. And Talisha, I hope if I reach out it doesn’t take three tries to get to you.

Talisha: Not you, Malyia.

Zanade: Me too, right?

Malyia: No, no. I love that. I believe in building your social capital and I believe in, and I take tips from what Talisha said as well, but I love to, as soon as I make an intentional connection, because for me, it’s not about connecting with 50 people, it’s connecting with that one or two people that I really want to make that connection with. Stepping away after our conversation and taking a quick note in my phone, that was an area that I didn’t realize how powerful that was until I started doing it. Partly because I have bad memory. The other reason is because if they point out their favorite animal is a flamingo, every time I send them a card in the mail it’s going to be a flamingo on the front. So just really being intentional about those connections and it really stands out. The industry I’m in, the jewelry industry is very small.

Malyia: And so when you make those intentional connections, someone will go out to dinner with someone else and then mention that they met you. And if you left an impression on that person that could by segue, open up a door for you because you left such a lasting impression. So for me, it’s about making sure that I’m intentional about those connections, taking notes. And then in those notes saying when I’m going to follow up, what I’m going to follow up about, what they liked about our interaction. It takes a little homework, like Talisha said, but it’s worth it because if you make a solid connection with three or four people and carry that throughout the years, you’ll be forever paid back for it. So it’s important.

Zanade: That’s great. And Monique, how do you follow up at this point in your business, in your career, your professional life?

Monique: Yeah. My whole goal is to make myself memorable to whoever I encounter in who I intentionally want to network with. So if I meet someone at an event or online, I immediately follow up soon as we exchange information. Hey, nice to meet you. Looking forward to connecting. Let’s hop on a Zoom. Let’s do lunch one day. I always want to make sure that I’m offering something so it’s a reciprocal relationship and I’m not the one that’s always taking from that person. I also want to know where do I add value in this relationship as well? So one of the things, and I know I’ve heard this, we’ve heard this word a lot throughout this is being intentional. After that initial follow up, I also want to get to know that person. So I try to take the time to get to know that person by sending a text message like, hey, how are you doing?

Monique: How’s your day going? And I’ve also set a calendar invite on my calendar to remind me every Monday morning to send out inspirational quotes or inspirational messages to whoever I’m trying to connect with or stay in contact with. Because if someone is going through a bad day or if they just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, if they get that inspirational quote that’s going to just change the whole trajectory of their day, that’s a memorable moment. And if you consistently do it, and that’s one thing, you have to be consistent in your efforts of reaching out to people and talking to people. So I just made a note to consistently just reach out to people. Every Monday, I send them an inspirational quote. So that way, if I do reach out to them for something else, it’s not like, hey, oh, she’s only reaching out to me because now she wants something. Like, no, I really want to get to know people.

Monique: I really want people to know that I’m a genuine person and that I care. And I care about your wellbeing. I care about your mental health, because I know that as high profile figures or people that are out here busy and building businesses and brands, you have a lot of people that’s always coming at them for take, take, take. And I never want to be that person that’s always taking. I want to genuinely get to know you. I want you to know that I care about you as a person and I want to be memorable. So you’ll always remember, oh, if I see Monique out somewhere, she made me feel great on that Monday morning when she sent that inspirational text or quote.

Monique: And then another thing that I like to do is I like to, I guess you can say stalk people, but I follow people’s social media. And I find out what events that they’ll be attending, what conferences, how can I connect with them in person so I can be present. So not only did you remember me from sending you those inspirational texts, but now you also remember me because you keep seeing me at different events. So my whole thing is to just make yourself memorable, so you won’t be forgettable.

Zanade: Wow. Yes. Love it. I’m over here, nodding my head. I hope everyone else is, but this is, you all are making this very easy because this is a great segue to talk about when is enough, enough? So when do you say, okay, this person really is just not responding. So we have this rule of seven, but what happens after the fifth email or maybe we’re not doing this strategy. And I love Monique, I love that Monique said about going out to an event, maybe a virtual event, in person, whatever it is, that’s a great strategy. But when do you just say, okay, they’re not interested or they’re not following up or maybe they’re just really busy. How do you get that? And what do you do? Do you keep on following up or do you just stop after the fifth time of reaching out? Talisha, do you want to start?

Talisha: Yeah, that’s a good question. Like I said, the rule of seven says that someone has to hear your message seven times, a prospect, before they will respond. So just keep in mind that people are busy. There’s a lot of marketing material coming at us, but if you’ve been persistent, you’ve changed up your outreach method. That’s another trick, like try to not just do email. My trick is to do a email and follow up with the phone call. Don’t leave a voicemail on the first phone call, follow up with another email and say, hey, I called you, did you see my missed call? Fourth time, call again, leave a voicemail. It’s just keeping it fresh. But after you’ve done that seven times and you haven’t gotten a response, I would say the last emails to just say, hey, I understand that you’re busy. And although I see a lot of mutual synergies, I want to be respectful of your time.

Talisha: And then maybe you want to just ask them, hey, is it possible that we can look at this later in the year or possibly next year, try to kick it way down the road. Just assuming that they’re busy. So that would be a suggestion, but also as business owners, you should be using some sort of customer relationship management system, some sort of CRM, and no matter what, put everybody in your CRM so that they get your mailer and so that there’s somebody who you built the relationship at some point in your career or within your business journey. So those are my two tips. The CRM is really important as you start to scale because you forget to follow up with people, and you think you’ve done the seven touches, and really you’ve only done three and you’ll know by checking in your CRM, whether you are at three or at seven.

Talisha: But if you’ve got a good value proposition, really hone in on that pitch and make sure you’re being intentional and making it about them, I think you’ll see your response rate go way up. But if it’s just that they’re not interested or they’ve been not responsive, on that seventh email, maybe just give them an option to kick it down the road to next year. And at the last step, make sure you enter their name, number, business, birthday, whether they like flamingos in your CRM so that you can passively market to them with your news and updates on your business.

Zanade: Yeah, that’s great. And as you grow your business, Malyia, what are your thoughts on what Talisha just said, as far as I follow up?

Malyia: She hit the nail on the head. Definitely CRMs have been super helpful and a game changer for me because you have to make sure that you are keeping track of those connections because there might be some follow up needed. They might need, for me, for example, they might need me to send them my line sheets or my brand book. And so I want to make sure that I’m keeping track of what our last interaction was and keeping track of those birthdays and when our next connection should be. So CRMs have been super impactful and I suggest anyone who’s trying, even if it’s just an Excel spreadsheet, if you keep track of those first names, last names and just the general contact information, it can really help you not get so overwhelmed with having to keep track of all that stuff in your mind.

Zanade: Awesome. So we just have, that was quick. We have a few minutes, probably like a minute or two. I’m going to stretch it maybe two minutes. I have one more question, but I want to make note that Mielle has a new product out. So go and support that and go follow Monique on Instagram. And then also Talisha and I were talking about the importance of the U.S Black Chamber. So if you’re not in a local chamber, a U.S. Black Chamber go Google, do what you need to do and join because it is very important. And then Malyia, I would love you to all go and support Made by Malyia and follow online. And my last question would be, what are you all reading right now? What are you listening to that you believe would help the entrepreneurs that are listening and viewing right now? Monique, we’ll start with you.

Monique: Okay. So right now I’m currently reading a book called CEO Excellence, and it really teaches about being a top CEO and doing it with excellence and really honing in on having great leadership skills. So my focus this quarter has really been how can I sharpen and be a better leader for my team, and help my team really understand the vision so they can continue executing the vision and continue feeling like they’re a part of something that’s really special and unique, which is Mielle. So I’ve really been focused on leadership books and also a book that I would recommend is TD Drake’s Soar. I love that book. It helped me in the beginning of my journey with entrepreneurship. And then also another book that I really love that helps you change your mindset is You Are A Badass, and I don’t curse, but that’s the name of the book.

Zanade: Thank you. Thank you for that. I love that. Malyia, do you have anything that you’re listening to, reading, to, reading about? All the gems, we want them all.

Malyia: Absolutely. You’re A Badass is the reason I became an entrepreneur. So definitely recommend, and then The Power of Habit to learn those consistency habits. That’s been very, very helpful as well.

Zanade: Awesome. Thank you so much and Talisha

Talisha: Sure. I get the last word. I’m reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. I’m that person that is up at three in the morning and can’t go back to sleep because I’m thinking about my next day and my next month. And sometimes I just have to get up and start working because I can’t sleep. So The Power of Now is a book that teaches us about mindfulness and just how to quiet the analytical mind. And I think as leaders, it’s important to meditate, to be mindful, to do yoga, whatever you enjoy to kind of just unplug from day to day.

Talisha: So I’d encourage folks to read that and again, have to thank Zanade for the plug. How can I not mention the Chamber of Commerce? It is one of the best, if not the best networking platform that you’re going to find right in your town. If you’re not a member of a black Chamber of Commerce in your city, please visit the usblackchambers.org. We’ve got 150 chapters all around the country. There’s one next door, you just don’t know it yet. So get involved, go to a meeting, go to a conference. It’s a network for us by us. And so hope to see you guys at a meeting soon. Thank you so much for having us.

Zanade: Yes. And you have a big conference coming up in October, if I’m correct? By Black.

Talisha: By Black is going to be coming up, best networking conference for black businesses, period. October the 19th at MGM, National Harbor in Washington DC. By Black Con. B-Y-B-L-A-C-K-C-O-N Come check us out. It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be celebration of black-owned businesses and we’ll have probably at least 60 corporations there that have publicly committed to supporting black-owned business. Come and get some of these business deals, y’all

Zanade: Love it. Monique, any parting words? Thank you. Thank you.

Monique: So first of all, thank you for having me. It was an honor to be here with some amazing other business woman, business leaders in the community. So I’m just truly honored and thankful. And I just want to tell all those that are tuning in the saying network to your net worth is so true. And my quote is relationships are currency. If you nurture those relationships, if you continue to keep in touch, if you continue to just be intentional about getting to know people and also making sure that you’re reciprocal, that will be your currency. So always remember that.

Zanade: Thank you. Thank you so much for your time. Malyia, any parting words?

Malyia: Yes. Thank you so much for having me. I hope that the attendees continue to build their social capital. You can currently visit my collection in partnership with Tierra Whack and Banter online and at 500 stores around the country. So super excited for that and just continue to build your network.

Zanade: Thank you all so much for your time. Thank you for everyone tuning in. This has been amazing. I have tons of notes. I cannot wait to put some of those into practice. Have a great afternoon. Thank you all for your time. Bye.

Monique: Thank you. Take care. Bye bye.

Nana: Thank you ladies so much for your time. That was absolutely amazing.

Malyia: Thank you.

Nana: Thank you so much to our moderators and Zanade and to all the phenomenal panelists as well. And once again, you know I got a quote I got to share with y’all. So one of my favorite quotes from that panel was make yourself memorable, so you will not be forgettable.