We recently connected with Kayla Carson and have shared our conversation below.
Kayla , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
In the summer of 2022 I was ready to date after taking a break to be single. During this time I wanted to try speed dating which seemed like a fun and unique way to meet other singles. I also knew I only wanted to date Black men. When I tried to find a speed dating service for Black singles I couldn’t find it – so I decided to create Black ATL Speed Dating. I wanted a welcoming, intentional, in person experience for Black singles to come mix and mingle and that’s exactly what this has become. Thanks to Instagram, my amazing team of friends, and the general entrepreneurial spirit of Atlanta creeping into me we’ve had 3 successful Black ATL Speed Dating events so far and are planning to at least double that number of events for 2023.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I moved to Atlanta in the summer of 2020, right in the thick of the pandemic. Even during that time I fell in love with Atlanta and how there’s always something to do here. Truly I never planned to become an entrepreneur or event planner but when I felt the initial love and acceptance of Black ATL Speed Dating I decided to keep with it. Our first three events all sold out and that gave me the confidence to continue. In my day job I’m a recruiter, so it’s kind of funny I now find myself using those skills to grow Black ATL speed dating – in a sense I’m always recruiting new singles to come and participate in the event (especially when my best participants keep getting boo’d up!) This event is unique because it’s not just another party, it’s an environment that’s really for making connections. While I always reinforce it’s NOT a matchmaking service, it is a great way to “put yourself out there” and meet new people. A huge plus for our female participants is the 1:1 male to female ratio we always strive for, as often in Atlanta it feels there are MANY more single women looking for relationships than men to occupy us.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
The most effective strategy for growing our clientele has been a strong social media presence, word of mouth, and setting clear expectations with people who engage with the brand. We keep a very active presence on social media from Twitter, to Instagram, Facebook, and even Youtube. I accept most requests to join podcasts, vlogs, etc to help further my brand reach and build credibility. At the events I try and spend a least 1-2 minutes with each participant, making sure they have a positive experience because they WILL tell their friends, whether they enjoyed the event or not. And lastly, I keep the process transparent and clear. You complete the interest form, then buy your ticket, attend the event, and get your matches after. People know what to expect and therefore they are eased and more likely to trust us. Also all participants receive a feedback survey after the event and we review EVERY response and try to implement the feedback when it’s constructive. We have a queue of over 260 people that want to attend Black ATL Speed Dating which was just started less than 6 months ago.
How did you build your audience on social media?
We have a very engaged and growing following on social media, mostly Instagram, that I am very proud of. We wanted the brand voice to be friendly, knowledgeable, and welcoming. We post consistently, a mix of photo and video content, and we engage with followers as well. We respond to messages quickly, the same with comments. Even on platforms where we have less engagement such as Facebook and Twitter we still post regularly. When you’re just starting to build a presence make sure you’re using tools that can make the workload easier, such as Canva or Metricool. Work smarter, not harder. Even on Instagram you can send automatic messages to new followers which can be helpful. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or look up a tutorial online if you run into issues. It’s also great to have people who will give you honest feedback. Some of my closest friends work in marketing and I almost always send them my posts to review, and they know they can tell me if my copy has errors or if the post is unprofessional or needs to be tweaked.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackatlspeeddating/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlackATLSpeedDating
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlkATLspeeddtng
Image Credits
Keisha Liburd, KenDrick Wright