Pivoting With Purpose with Larvetta L. Loftin- Arnold

We kick off Season 11 by naming the changes we’re making across our agency and our show, and why pivoting can be a sign of strength. We unpack what sustainable growth really looks like for Black founders, from systems and tools to community support and long-term legacy. 

• Season reset and why pivoting yields profit 
• L3 Agency evolution, BBM Mag expansion, and advertising opportunities 
• Sustainability over scalability, founder control, and operational systems 
• Grief, leadership and how community keeps us moving 
• New CRM workflow, efficiency plus effectiveness, learning new tech 
• Practical AI use with Gemini and a clearer tech stack 
• Social media strategy, converting followers, auditing platforms, avoiding trend chasing 
• Energy efficiency and sustainability work as part of our next chapter 
• Why Black businesses matter, mentorship, jobs, and broader economic impact 
• Social  capital, patience and building relationships over time 
• community feedback, better hours for brick-and-mortar, and celebrating the positive 

I hope that you will rate us and that you will share this episode with a friend, with a colleague, that an ally. 
All I ask that you share it with someone who you think could find value in this.

Transcript

Welcome And Season 11

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to Black Businesses Matter, a podcast about why Black Businesses Matter and the benefits of collaborating and advocating for Black Business. Each episode of Legacy. Known as the brand made, a transformed organization with our storytelling power, we are better attention art, host of Black Businesses Matter, a podcast about why black businesses matter and the benefits of collaborating and advocating for black businesses to drive impact.

Pivoting And Agency Expansion

Sustainability, Systems, And Loss

Tech Stack: CRM And AI

Social Media Strategy Over Trends

New Office, New Newsletter, New Nerves

Energy Efficiency Vision And Team Growth

Guests, Love Stories, And Video Plans

Why Black Businesses Matter And Legacy

Community Feedback, Reviews, Closing

SPEAKER_02 0:54

Welcome, welcome back. Um, welcome back. This is the kickoff of a new season for Black Businesses Matter Podcast. I'm taking a breath. I'm taking a breath because we are at season 11. Um, and we were having a meeting about our different seasons. And while it is season 11 for many of you all, it's probably gonna be like my 126 episodes, something like that, 26, 27 episodes. So we have been, we've been busy. We've been busy building, we have been building busy with our storytelling, we have been building visibility, we have been doing a lot of great things. Um, I am your host, Larvetta Lofton Arnold. Uh, we announced that last year. So this is our kind of official new season in this new year. And I'm excited. I'm excited about um the evolution of entrepreneurship. I'm excited about just different digital platforms. And the one thing that I want to share with you guys is it's okay to pivot. It's okay. Like we are pivoting even at season 11 of our podcast, the L3 Agency is pivoting. We do a lot of work in energy efficiency. Most of you all don't know, but we are a full service marketing, communications, and multimedia agency, and multimedia means that we do podcasting, you know, we have our signature podcast, and we have our BBM Live. I'm sorry, our BBM Mag is also our BBM Live. And our BBM Mag is our um magazine that is an intersection of culture with creativity and long form content. And it is published by us, distributed by us, but we're looking to expand that. So many of our mags are in cafes around Chicago, and it's really beautiful. We did research on why people what they really wanted was they love the culture, and so we I think we do a great job of highlighting the culture. A mag is short for magnificent mile. If you have ever been to Chicago, one of the tourist attractions is the Magnificent Mile, and we feel like there is so much, so many more attractions outside of the Magnificent Mile. So we did it for short in being magnificent as a black business owner, as a minority business owner, as a woman-owned uh business owner. So we just feel like Mag was short for magazine, that it wasn't going to be your traditional mag. However, we are looking for advertisers who may want to advertise in this mag. For those that love to read and love to feel texture, it is certainly a beautiful mag. And so that is the expansion of our business. And um, and then just the shifts, like there's a lot going on right now. I think this episode is me really figuring out ways to be more sustainable as a business owner. We hear scalable, but really it's about being sustainable. Can your business live on without you? Do you have founders' control? Are you literally controlling everything of your business? Do you have systems in place in the event of loss? I experienced a loss some years ago. Um, actually, it was very to me, it seemed like it happened just yesterday with my mom. And so, did we have systems in place to ensure that we could still be impactful to the agency? We could still do our work. The biggest, I think the biggest hole was on the podcast. But what was crazy was the podcast is what gave me my fuel and my strength. Uh, being around my team and um my audio engineer, and just they just gave me that hope to keep going, even when those days I just didn't want to. I do think that that's the evolution is like, what's the tool that you use that really gives you more strength, more time? Um, you get to become the person that you want to become. Maybe it's a tool that really refines you. And so we have been really moving into some new tools. We have a new CRM tool that we're using that is helping to centralize our day-to-day activity, and it also is helping with the work that I want to do just as a founder. And so having it in one place was important because as an agency, we say, well, I say to the team, is it effective and efficient? We can't be effective and not be efficient. We can't be efficient and not be effective. So we need both of those to be able to work. Um and that new tech new technology takes it's still taking some time for us to use on a day-to-day basis, but it's it's working. We're we're able to put our surveys in there, we've been able to um, I think the other part is to have conversations, we can have it in one place. It certainly is somewhat my my most favorite tool right now, and so I like it for the the opportunity to grow. And then we're using AI in different ways. We use Gemini, Google Workspace is our platform. But I was meeting with a friend earlier today, a friend they work in real estate and just helping them, you know, uh build a strategy on how to effectively convert Instagram followers into clients. And I think most people, that's what they want to do. Like our business, we don't meet have clients on Instagram, right? But we use it for advocacy, we use it for brand um recognition, we use it for visibility, but some people use it to get customers, and you have to determine, you know, what um social media tool allows for you to do that. And I really helped her to really ask, what's the biggest, like, what's your biggest pain point? And she gave it to me. And so I walked her through like these tools that we know that we practice, that you know, I'm always, always trying to get my team to, you know, read more, uh, become more learners of different because every minute, I think I said every second, there's a new platform, a new technology tool that's being created. So we have to stay relevant and stay watching trends. The other thing that I'll share that there's a shift is we've moved, we're in a new office. Uh, we are we were in an incubator kind of co-working space. And we've moved into our own private office in the community, and I'm really excited about two things. One is being in a community, but if you live in Chicago or live in urban communities, we also have free parking, so that's a win. And so we have free parking. So I'm really excited about that part. We have that, and we have um full service kitchen in the building, and we have windows, and so that right there is finesse. So I've been really helping us and getting getting the space to be creative and collaborative, so that's been really cool. And then we also changed our newsletter. So we were had a newsletter called Marketing Monday, and we changed the name to the unfolding effect, and the unfolding effect is really we changed the name. So that's why I really say there's a lot of changes that's happening with the L3 agency. It's a lot of changes you're gonna see with a podcast. I've had to hire new people, so we've had to do that. So it's been, I if I can be 100 with you all, it has been challenging as well as um I've had a lot of anxiety, I am nervous, I've got all the feels wrapped up into a ball that makes me also hopeful. And hopefully because, as you all know, there are so many black women that have been laid off. I have so many friends of friends, I have church members, I have colleagues, I have people I admire so many people have lost their jobs. And I think that this is a space now that we I think we need to lean into gratitude. I lean into that and really making sure that we use gratitude as a form of currency because in these places of being laid off when property taxes are high, food costs are inflated, all the things that you could possibly think of are being impacted. I truly say that this is a space where we have to be grateful. And that sense of gratitude is something that you should carry out in your business. And um, you know, that's that's the space that I'm in. And because so many of my friends um have lost their jobs, we're also growing. Um, and we've been able to bring on, you know, people that may have you know have been impacted by that because of our political climate, those jobs are not relevant. And that's the space that I want us to be in is that as a firm, we have to be culturally relevant. And as a business, you also have to be culturally relevant. You have to take classes, you have to be a lifelong learner, you have to go into different rooms, you have to test your tools and make sure your tools, you know, really do work. You've got to audit your platforms. Um, I was just telling the team, like what worked 20 years ago, we've got to change it up. I'm not afraid to pivot. Like, I'm a firm believer that pivoting yields profit. And I believe that because where I started as an entrepreneur and where I'm as an owner, um, who now have shares in her company and all the things, that's not how I started. So we work in energy. You're gonna hear a lot more of that in energy efficiency and sustainability. We are in that space and we are here to revolutionize how you see marketers move in this place. And so I'm super excited about that. Um we are a an agency that also wants our team and champion our team and allow for them to grow and you know, and get masters and buy homes and buy cars. Like that's what that to us is is what impacts looks like is when we get to hire and bring on new people and and they can see their dreams um happen. So that's that's huge, right? So one of our one of our tools that we I'm so excited is called Padlet, and that's our new team. Uh that platform that we're using is really used for like teaching. I I again I believe the more you learn, the more you earn. And so whenever I am learning something, I want to bring it to the team, let's try this so that we can be collaborative. I am a lightweight technology nerd. I like to try new platforms, new technology. Uh, I don't want to be complacent. I'm content, but I don't want to be complacent. I don't want to be, I like to be uncomfortable. I know that sounds crazy, but I don't want to be comfortable because I do believe as a woman of faith that when you are comfortable, you can't see God's power work in your life. And so I think that's important. So, you know, it certainly comes with a lot of things, but even though I'm uncomfortable, there's still discomfort because you're used to doing certain things, and I try our best not to say, Well, we've been doing this, this is what we do, and it is true, right? And so, how could we be better? You know, how could we be better? And so, one of my other areas being intentional with how we adapt our tools, right? Why are we doing it? Is it effective? Is it you know, is it efficient? Um, and avoiding trends versus choosing what truly supports our business, right? So the trend is TikTok, right? Which everybody's there, and I get it. Um, and we're about to be on TikTok, but here's what we're doing: we're doing this because we want to have people to have access to our podcast, and we recognize that TikTok's audience is very similar to the audience that we had. And so we looked at the data and the analytics and we saw that there was a common thread. So you really have to dig in, you don't jump on trends just because they are the new things. We are, I'm on Substack. I'm trying to build on that as well, but really understanding what you can do over there or what could you offer that's value for your business to grow. And then just aligning these tools with gold. I purchased from a lot of small businesses. So they are local small businesses, you know, whether they're in Chicago or they're woman-owned or minority-owned, uh, you know, for various reasons. I try best not to go after the big box to try to go after smaller firms or smaller organizations. I'm big on that, um, that have a similar platform, that we are just not using them for names, just the way that we see our agency. There's so many large agencies that you can go through, but we are an agency that has a specialty of leash marketing, and we are here to make an impact. And that is what we do. We do that through storytelling, we do that through our ability to use, you know, voice and podcasting. We do that in ways where we can extract your story for good and makes people want to like follow you and everything you do. That is what we do. Um, we build strategy, so it's just a lot of things that we are doing. Um, our podcast is moving to video. I know you're listening and you're like, but you're not on video. And that's just because it's just me. And when it's just me, I don't think you guys need to see me on video. And so we're gonna do a lot of that and expanding. We're hoping to have content studios where professionals, executives, key stakeholders that you know are doing amazing work can come in and record their content. And that is something we want to we believe that there's wider audiences in this place of podcasting. I mean, podcasting is a billion dollar. Um I mean, they've said it's a billion people listening to podcasts. A billion, right? And so what would that look like if you had a podcast and you had one percent of that? So that's where we are with that. Um, I want to share something that I read, um, I started reading this book called Shovel and Shit. And I know you're like, oh my gosh, you're cursing because I'm not I'm not that kind of person. But I think it's important to say no one shuffles more shit than entrepreneurs. And we go through a lot, and um, and I really believe that there is a love story to it though. And this book really, you know, they share their love story, and I think that what I'm challenging is getting people to write their own love story with their business. And, you know, I say that we are love connectors in the way that we connect, you know, companies and brands to be able to their audience, and that creates a love connection. And so being able to understand your love story, your love story to your business, you know, as someone who doesn't didn't birth kids of their own, I have this love story to all of the folks that have worked for me, intern for me, they all mean the world to me and their their willingness and their loyalty to the vision, right? And then there's this love story that we want to tell. Like we want to tell the grimy stuff, we want to tell um the stuff, like so. I get to be able to do that. And so some of our guests that we have this season are people that I've either work alongside, or I've watched from afar, or I've been in the classroom with them, and I've watched them build their businesses into million-dollar empires, and these are my peers. So that part is like winning. Um, and so we've got some business owners and some founders that are hiring people that are un that are uncovering racism and and giving people a perspective on undoing racism. Like, I'm so excited about that. Um we have, you know, I'll be honest with you, we have a food translator. We look at food in the way that is to bring us together, and we see that to be in to be important. I mean, to be important. I mean, like it's going beyond a restaurant. It's what the rep restaurant represents and a culture that's being presented. And so that part is that we've got again, so many of my peers. So many of these people, I've you know, hung out, been in social, social worlds with them, and they are now building these million-dollar companies. And I'm just excited that I get to sit alongside of them and allow their stories to be told because I'm a storyteller and I'm also one that wants to shine light on good, on goodness and positivity. And so while the world is in a lot of Chaos, a lot of uncertainty here on our podcast is where you can be inspired. You can take an action, you can learn something from a technology standpoint. You can, you know, start to say, hey, I'm ready to be sustainable. I also want to get some guests that are kind of untraditional in the way that we see that these are people that you may have seen in the headlines. And so we're wanting to bring some of them too because we've always kind of went after these kind of under the radar um stories. And so I want to go after some of those and really dig a little bit deeper because I'm realizing that we are out here doing this business, but we're not hearing how to fly the plane or the kite. And you're gonna hear about that from one of our guests and share her story on how she's been able to do that. And then the question is, right, and our community is we always ask this question of why do black businesses matter, right? I asked that question to so many people, right? And so when I say why we matter, and I've said this, you know, oftentimes, is because we become the mentors for many people, and because we are the largest employers of black people, we see these people, we see the work they do, and we're willing to give them a chance, we're willing to see them grow. I don't know what segment of people, because I've only been black, right? That that happens. But that doesn't mean that we haven't had people that are not black, but the important part is that is giving an opportunity for you to see that black businesses matter is not just about um you know our products, but these are services that are funding people's um uh dreams, they are funding people's family um families, this that they are funding people to get up and and have to go into a job with purpose. Um it is an ecosystem that says that when you have a black business as part of your ecosystem, you get to tap in and learn different perspectives. And I think that that's the part that we all need to look at is perspective, and I think that's what our community needs to do is take an opportunity to have perspective. We have a quote on our website we are different, but never deficient. And so as an as a unit, we are very different, and some of our differences has also, I think, held us back. And so I think this is the power to use our differences to be able to see us soar and be daring, um, to be determined, to be unstoppable, and not let our difference for the way the world has seen it to be efficient. And that's what our purpose is here. So when you dial in, or I say you're not necessarily dialing because nobody's dialing in, but when you're logging on to listen to this podcast, what I hope that you get from our podcast is perspective. You get to hear from founders, um, business owners, entrepreneurs, impact leaders on how their story began. And oftentimes the way they started is not the way they are today. And I think we all have to give each other race in that space. How I started, I won't even begin to tell you. I was, girl, I was hustling and I was in experiential campaigns, and today, you know, I have a great team, and and you know, we work normal business hours. I used to work 10, you know, 15, 20 hours a day, literally. So there is, and so when I saw this book about shoveling shit, I said to myself that that is what we do. And then I also think that we also need to really think about what our legacy will be, it will be um in these coming years as business owners. Like, what do we want people to think of us? And I think that's important now more than ever because it is about building impact. And um I've got some real goals. And so one of them is I hope someday to land on the Mel Robbins podcast. So I'm just shout out the podcast that I follow. And um, and she has a book The Let Them Theory. And so that's something that I want to see happen. Um, I am a you know in the space of faith, so I look forward to the day that me and Miss Sarah Jake's Roberts will have, will be on her show. So I've got some some big goals on what I want to take um our agency and understand this idea that we don't have to just lock ourselves in to one thing while we're a marketing firm. We are mission-centric, we are heart-led, everything we do is that space. And so this is probably the most unconquerable episode because I don't talk about our agency. I really talk about you know, people, but I've realized that this is a stretch for me. And I hope that you will see this as a stretch and that you will rate us and that you will share this episode with a friend, with a colleague, that an ally, that you will begin to look at um black businesses as not just businesses that are producing products, but they are service-based businesses that have valuations well over 10 million, like see us more than just that, and that we are creating, you know, equal pay because we're we have a lot of women on our, you know, for a lot of businesses on their team. And so we are also helping to create equal pay for women and women's rights. And so I think you need to look at, you know, how black businesses show up in the fact that you can learn and be educated for what they offer and not shy away from wanting to build with someone that's like we really have to um gotta undo a lot of things. And as an agency where we're building impact, I want to, I would like to see that. That's my legacy. I would like to see. I used to say this too as a little girl. I said, you know, where would it, where would life be when you didn't have to look at race, that you can just look at lived-in experience as an opportunity to connect. And I think we have the ability to do that. And I think black businesses can do that, whether you're an accounting firm, marketing firm, engineering firm, technology firm, IT firm, whatever that you are, is that you are allowing for people you we work hard to pay. We have to use payroll services, we pay taxes, but people just do not see all of those facets of what takes a business company to grow. And that's where we are. We're in this place of growth, and we want to see other businesses grow. We want to help those get online and have a podcast. We want to do all those things. We really want to lean into this place of visibility. And using all the tech schools and AI, again, um, one of our guests, I love, she said this about some things we have to also stay curious and also be patient. A lot of these tools, we want it to happen when we just like the microwave generation, that we say, and we want it now, and I'm guilty of it too. I am my probably my super, my least favorite superpower. I still think it's a superpower, but my least favorite is I just don't have a lot of patience. I don't. And I think that it's it's helped me, but it's it's it's it's it's to build relationships, it takes time, and to build a company, it takes time. To build, you know, and and allow for a tech tool to really see the value, it takes time. But all this stuff is, you know, in 30 days, you're gonna see people convert. I I just I don't know about that. But what I do know is stay curious, um, and also know that your social capital matters. So whatever your social capital is, whether it's one follower or it's a hundred thousand followers, that's capital. And you deserve to be able to speak your mind and influence others, whether you're a content creator, you have capital in the world. And I think we, you know, we minimize that because we're basically shining light on people with a million followers, and we have to get past that. A good business today can have 40 followers and still build a million-dollar business. It's just maybe a whole lot of people don't know them, and that's okay, but maybe the service that they provide is a small group, a small industry, and that does happen. Um, in communities, in urban communities, uh, I live in obviously you all know in Chicago, but it was a community in Chicago, and they said that all of their small businesses, I can't remember the neighborhood, but many of them, you know, make great money. Um, they employ from the neighborhood, and the community keeps their doors open. And so their hours are based on what the neighbors and communities, and I think that that's what we have to understand is we've got to be curious, ask questions, receive feedback so that we can be better um providers of the communities that we serve. And I don't think that we do enough of that. So if you are brick and mortar, you might want to ask your customers, your neighbors, like what time would they you set typically we set times based on what we want to work, but we should maybe look at setting the times of what does the community say they need? What do they need? Uh, and I think that's important. And so in this community during COVID, nobody shut down because the community kept them open, but that means that they had to give feedback and giving good, we tend to celebrate the negative and we don't talk about the positive enough. So I do challenge everybody on Google Reviews. Google is a platform where you can write that there's a business and maybe they were great. Write a review form. It can really go a long way. So I thank y'all. My name is Larbetta L. Lufton Arno, and I am excited about this next season, this next phase, this next dimension of our agency and our podcast, and the expansion of allowing for you to come into the studio and we get to hear your story. So thank you. You can you know share this with a friend, you can text this to a friend, you can share this online, whatever your heart desires. All I ask that you share it with someone who you think could find value in this. Thank you for listening to another episode of Black Businesses Matter.

SPEAKER_00 34:43

The Black Businesses Matter podcast is produced by the L3 Agency, a culturally sensitive influencer, marketing, and communications firm in Chicago, where relationships are our currency.