We were lucky to catch up with Yasmine Anderson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Yasmine, appreciate you joining us today. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.
It is important to note that the word “scale” in a business context was not even actually part of my vocabulary until about 3 months ago, which marked the 2 year anniversary of our incorporation in 2020. I was on the phone having a venting session with one of my village moms and entrepreneurship mentors when she told me that I had to regain control over the reigns in the organization that was, quite literally, blowing up in every direction. It had gotten to the point where we were committing to 2 and 3 initiatives simultaneously across 4 different departments with only about 25 members, and staffing them on the backend, which made our internal and external scheduling structures tumultuous.
I had this intense, pressurized anxiety in the back of my mind that somehow we would never be able to find enough Black women to fulfill the actual physical involvement that comes with executing proficient human rights advocacy through Public Health and Legislative change on a national scale. We actually went through a period of intense examination just a few months ago about our membership intake practices, as the majority of our members returned back to school and we had simultaneously secured some of our largest corporate partnerships to date. I realized then how important not only scaling but also true accessibility was for Black women across the world who want to dedicate a piece of their lives to Black Women in Charge, Inc. but have to prioritize their education as young adults still. It is important to note also that all BWC, Inc. members are volunteers, so while that is a beautiful configuration for the purpose of absolving hierarchy, it also means that I as an executive am not entitled to their time consistently. This creates a consistent catalyst for feeling the need to “over”-scale with a “just in case” mentality, should any of our now, 45 members feel overwhelmed or need to take a leave of absence at a whim, which I contractually cannot prevent them from doing.
What has saved us though, as a Board, is knowing how truly important this work is to breathe and bleed transparency from the ground up. Especially as Black women, we tend to harp on the guise of hyper-independence in a way that actually hinders efficiency and collaborative programming, so I am endlessly grateful to create a space for Black women of diverse backgrounds to truly feel loved and intellectually respected as a unit. To increase viable productivity, our Administrative Efficiency Department is finding more smooth ways of communication both internally and externally, as well as refining our current system of task allocation, to better suit our general body member’s needs. Although sometimes I think we are behind initial trimester scheduling, we always end up ahead of the game if I take a step back to commit to proactivity as opposed to reactivity, and I suggest all other business owners do the same! Quality over quantity applies to so much more than materials! It is truly the makeup of who we surround ourselves with, and who we decide to embark on the journey of increasing autonomy over one’s wellness and education with every single day that we live.
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?
At Black Women in Charge, Inc. we democratize autonomy over one’s wellness and education from a human rights perspective. As young women between the ages of 17 and 25, we still facilitate full lives as individuals in our own corners of the world and come together to fill the void in our hearts for social justice and equity through Public Health and Legislation. Today, our membership, consultation, and advocacy initiatives are international, but a lot of people don’t know that this was not the actual goal from the very beginning. To say that we make plans and God laughs is an understatement, as I can tell you for a fact that I, our founding members, and our Board of Directors never saw this coming! I was a pre-med student, just home from COVID with my friends in March. I had planned on attending graduate school and had found a new passion for healthcare administration. While I am still on track to complete that goal, we as an organization have been living in a seemingly infinite snowball effect of both passion and purpose since our first 3 protests in the summer of 2020 following the horrendous murder of George Floyd, where we were able to break the record for the largest sit in for the Indianapolis community in 30 years.
As an officially incorporated nonprofit in the fall of 2020, we began revising 9 General Orders for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and after about a year, grew partnerships with an array of local, state, and federal agencies as well as participating in the White House Public Engagement Committee. Today we work to build more proficient DEI data analysis and programming in our Public Health & Research Department. Our community engagement began with our flagship Grocery Prescription Program which fed 70 Indianapolis residents for 4 months at local grocers via $80/ biweekly vouchers. We are presently reformatting the program to expand to 2 more cities suffering from USDA- designated food deserts. Our Lobbying and Legislation Department works to not only revise pieces of current policy but also write entirely new pieces of legislation for members of Congress, while simultaneously acting as a liaison between minority communities and political officials.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Through Black Women in Charge, Inc., I have learned the importance of branding away from an individual and into a movement that is both broad and explicit enough to connect with a myriad of audiences instantly. The earlier you get comfortable with discomfort, the better because truly, picking a side in many cases of social unrest actually provides fuel to the fires of separatism that festers among the African American community. In essence, by finding a middle ground we can provide constructive criticism of the way that both people and companies alike approach human rights violations in every facet of capitalism.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Within the last year alone Black Women in Charge, Inc. has taught me an immense amount about the true depth of the human experience here on Earth. Every day that I wake up is actually a consistent reminder of the ominous fact that not a single soul here, owes me anything. Not empathy, support, love, consistency, or reciprocity. A consistent reminder that I am the only one responsible for providing those for myself. In tandem with that, I also had to unlearn very early on the idea of hyper-independence, that too many young Black women are burdened with from such a young age.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.blackwomenincharge.us/
- Instagram: @blackwomenincharge
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackwomenincharge/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blackwomenincharge/