Event Success, Branding Mastery, and Digital Strategy

Dr. Shadé Adu is a digital strategist and entrepreneur who knows the power of connection beyond the pixels of the internet. Although she's an influential presence online, her advocacy for live events is born out of a deep belief in their transformative power. With over a decade of experience in business, Dr. Adu attributes some of her earliest and most impactful client relationships to the magic that happens when people meet face-to-face.

Starting her business journey in crowded rooms filled with potential and opportunity, she quickly learned the art of networking and translating those connections into successful online engagements. Despite the ease with which one can craft an online persona, Dr. Adu values the authenticity and impact of real-world interactions—where a handshake, a conversation, and a hug can lead to lasting partnerships and growth.
Her dedication to the craft has made her a revered figure in the world of live events, championing physical spaces as essential catalysts for personal and professional development. 

Dr. Shadé Adu's story is a testament to the enduring power of connecting in real-time, even in an increasingly digital age.

Transcript

0:16

Hello, everyone. Welcome back. Hello. Hello. So excited that you all are here. We have yet another amazing guest. Oh, my gosh. I cannot wait until you all meet her. She is so amazing. And I'm going to go ahead and bring her up so I can share with you all who she is. Drum roll. Ta da. Hello, doctor Sade Adu. Welcome. Thank you so much for having me today. I'm super excited to be here. Super excited that you are here. Wow. It's been a long time coming. I have been watching you on social media and you are killing the game. So glad that you are here. Thank you so much. You're welcome. You're welcome. So why don't you introduce yourself to everyone, tell them who you are and what you do in this space. I am doctor Shadaya Du and I am a digital brand strategist and I help experts, coaches creatives and authors build profitable online brands and package their expertise because we believe on this side of the Internet that you should teach what you know and get paid well for it. So I'm super excited to be sharing a little bit more about that today. Love it, love it, love it. So, digital marketer, right? All right, so tell us a little bit about what do you have going on? What is it that you have going on right now? So our conversation is about live events. And one of the things that I love to do, even though I hang out and play on the Internet, one of the things that's so important and powerful to me is to get people in a room. There's power in a room, there's networking opportunities that happen in rooms. When I was first starting my business over ten years ago, one of the ways I got some of my first clients was being at events and being in the room. And then we took that conversation online. Because one of the things anybody can be whoever they want to be on the Internet, right? You just get a website, you get a landing page and boom, bam, you have a business. But when you get a chance to touch and talk and hug and connect with people in real time, it can transform you and it can transform your business. So I'm a huge advocate of live events and I'm glad I'm here on, we're talking about live event on event tv. So this is perfect, in alignment. We're in perfect alignment, absolutely. You know, I love events and I love experiences. So we're so honored to have you here. So tell us, doctor Sade, about your first event that you did. Tell us a little bit more about that. So I just saw the flyer today. I was looking at it. It popped up on my newsfeed or on my phone. My first event was like, in 2020, 2014. I had this mentor who had been hosting events in New Jersey, and I was like, wow, I want to speak and I want to host events. And she didn't think I was serious because we went to church together and I didn't really talk at church, but I was like, no, it's time. I want to speak. And I was at her home on Christmas, and she said, we're going to host an event in seven days. So my first event was seven days later on New Year's Eve, and we had, like, this empowerment event in her home, in her living room. We charged $25 per person, and we had some popeyes chicken. And I think I made like $25, right? And I was like, okay, we can do this, right? That 1st $25 was like, people paid to listen to me and five people showed up and I didn't know about speak to selling some of these things that we talk about now, but it got ball rolling. Like, okay, I can speak and people will pay to hear me. I want to do this again. So that is where it all started. In somebody's living room with just five people and launching that event in seven days. Awesome, awesome. And so since then, about how many events have you done. Over after ten years? I mean, we probably have done over 100 plus events at this point. Other clients speaking at events, hosting events, and if you incorporate virtual events, we are at multiple hundred events over these past ten years. When we're talking about event season, I'm on the road every week. Event season is about to start. For this part of the year, I have four or five events in the next couple of weeks. And from end of September to about Thanksgiving, I'm almost on the road every single week at an event because I love events and there's always something going on. So I would. I would say it's probably a couple of hundred events at this point. Nice, nice, nice, nice. So let's talk about who you are today. You are working in, you are working and walking inside of your purpose. What do you believe happened from 2014? Or maybe it's a culmination of things. Or maybe you could talk about one thing that help you to become doctor Sade Adu, who you are now in the marketplace. I will say number one. Prayer. Prayer. Having a praying mama really helps therapy, understanding. I need understand how I think I needed a way to process my feelings and my emotions and mentorship really changed the game. And then after almost being in business for ten years, I was like, any imposter syndrome that I had prior to that, I said, you've been doing this. The proof that the proof is in the pudding. Like, you can't ignore the impact that you've had on people. Like, there's people who are having million dollar events today. But when they came in my space, they was afraid to host their first event. Mmm. And they were, whether they want to admit it or not, they were inspired by me. I know what kind of, what kind of impact I have, and I just had to believe it and accept it. Right. You do have an inspirational spirit about yourself. Very, very sweet spirit. There are people, I can name, a couple of folks, they were inspired by me taking a leap of faith and putting myself out there. And they were like, we can do this, too. And they've been extremely successful. So I know that it took some time. It really took some time. Some self work and self reflection, and I'm still in that work. Listen, absolutely. It's a continuous process. But once I said, you know what? I'm gonna just be who God said I already was. It's about time. Start acting like it. And I'll tell you, life has gotten better because I said that. Because I was like, anything that happens, anything that comes my way, I can figure it out. I'm going to be able to overcome it. I'm going to be successful because that's who I am. Love it. And I just had to own it and accept it. But it took some time. It took a long time. But now, listen, ain't nobody got time for no self doubt. We got work to do. Right? Right. I love that. I love that perspective. Yes, yes. You know, you, you just gotta get in there and keep going. And there's probably some people out there right now that maybe feel like, hmm, maybe I should wait till next year, next season. What would you say to those individuals? Like one of my first mentors said, waiting is not a wealth building strategy. Love it. If there's an opportunity, you gotta seize the opportunity and seize the moment, because one of the things we think is that we're gonna get the opportunity again. I could have already had a multimillion dollar business. It's my fault that we're not there because I saw opportunities and I didn't seize them. I was acting small. I was acting like an ant instead of the giant that I was when things were falling into my lap, when people were coming to me. And I'm like, how was this person asking me for advice, they have this, they do this. And instead of just owning who I was, right and being okay with accepting who I am in that moment, I let opportunities pass me by. So please learn from my mistakes and seize the moment. If you see an opportunity, if you have a gift and you have a calling, if something is urging you to take action, take faster action and get the support that you need so that you can take faster action. Because what works today may not work tomorrow. Why? Opportunity to take action. So you want to make sure you're taking it. Love it. Love it. So as a digital marketer, you're. You're helping individuals in the coaching space build their business. Why did you choose that? Or did that choose you? I mean, yeah, tell me about that. What I. My backgrounds in education. I started my business in the Republic of Kazakhstan. I was teaching internationally. I have degrees in education. I don't have an MBA in business. It chose me. And I was like, why do I like this branding thing? Why am I so in love with this marketing? I was flabbergasted because it really, I had to really do some self reflection. And what I realized about myself even as a kid, I was the one that they were coming to when they were doing the student government campaigns. I would make the campaign slogans. I was making flyers and graphics and PowerPoint way before canva was even out. I was on the website club at high school. I was doing marketing as a kid. And then I had to really do some self reflection. So back in Irvington, New Jersey, where I was raised, my first jobs were working political, gubernatorial and municipal campaigns. We used to knock on doors. I would listen to politicians. I would go to campaign events. I've been to the Congressional Black Caucus. I did all of these things before I could even vote. And I learned so much from politicians. It was called, you know, instead of. It wasn't branding, it was reputation. I looked at how they questions, I looked at how they talked to their constituents. I was there on the election nights looking at the numbers coming in, because municipal, local elections is math. It's just simple. Like, can you get the right people to vote for you? And some of these things we're talking about live events is bad. We're talking about our sales goals is math. So I am my mentor growing up was a councilwoman. So when I went back to her to reflect on why I started this business and why I was doing this, she said, of course, you've been doing this as a kid. You learn marketing and you're as a teenager. So it. So ten years later, it wasn't a surprise. Now, 20 years later, it wasn't a surprise that I was doing. She was like, you've always been that person. Now it just makes sense. Now you have intertwined and you made it. You made a business out of it. You've been doing this. You just didn't realize you were doing it. So I had to do some deep self work and reflection to understand, like, why do I like this? And I realized I've been doing this for a long time. Right, that, yeah, love that. Love that. So branding, marketing and events, what do you believe is the common denominator there? So the first thing that we're seeing that I would like to say, like, for now, you know, after COVID, we lost, you know, during COVID we lost a lot of human connection. Yes. So people were very excited and adamant about getting back together and people who could create opportunities for people to get back together. It became extremely exciting and motivating to people. Now we're in a different marketplace and people are still looking for support. They're looking for events, but they're looking for events and mentors and. And things that can solve specific problems. So it's not about having the event with all the people and all the things. It really is about how can you solve a specific problem for a specific audience? I saw an event, it was for photographers who have drones, and it was like the drone conference. And you can come to the conference and learn how to become a six figure drone drone expert. And I was so excited. Even though I don't have no drone, I'm not a photographer. I just wanted to go. I want to see what they're going to learn. Like these more niche and specific events are celebrity based events. People are going to come because of a wow factor, because of celebrities, but these niche events where you can get your specific and right people in the room, that is, I mean, I would say moving forward, that's a powerful way to go. And you can always expand it and grow it from there. Awesome. Awesome. Love that. Yeah, you might. Yes. Specificity works with events all the way around. So how do you suggest if someone is looking to do their event, how would. What, let me say this. What pointers would you give them regarding the branding and the marketing with event? Okay. So when it comes to the branding, be clear about what the brand promises of that event and what's your goals? I have my. What is it for my four, five b's of live events. So number one, this gets us all the time, even me. The budget. The first b is budget. Everything you do, your marketing, your branding, the event experience, budget. How much do you, how much are you willing, let me put it this way. How much are you willing to lose? How much are you willing to put on the line to do this event that you want to do? That's where we start. That determines every, all the other questions. So I'm advocate, I'm always asking, what's your budget? A lot of times we go over budget, we don't know what the budget is. But if you are in this community, I'm going to talk about budget. The next thing you want to know is your butts and seats strategy going into the marketing, how the heck are you going to get people there? Because there have been events where there's more speakers than people, more vendors than people. You have to have a butts and see strategy. How are you going to get people there? And everything that worked last year. Then the next b is brand experience. Now, my ladies love looking at brand experience because we want the stage to look cute. We want the flowers, we want all the stuff. Right before we get to that, we got to make sure people are actually there to see the stuff that we got going on because we can go over budget with that. Then the next b is back of the room sales. I think I said four. I think it's four or five. I forgot. The fifth one is back at a room sales. You got to have a way to make money. So you make money on the front end with ticket sales. But some, your goal with ticket sales is you can be profitable with ticket sales or you can minimally break even, but your ticket sales are not the money from the event. If you're really doing event, you need to have a back of the room sales strategy. Absolutely. Working with a strategist like Shayna allows you to create this full strategy. It's not just, we just want to host an event, we got to make sure we have the time to host it. We have the budget to do it in the way that it needs to be done. And we have the strategy to get people in the room so we can have the results that we desire on the back end. Absolutely. That is so spot on. And I love that you shared the four b. So thank you. Because sometimes people, when they put together event or they're at an event and they go, oh, okay, I want to have an event. They are not thinking about those items. They think about all the pretty stuff. When actuality, when you assess the right strategy, you can walk away with a big bank, you can walk away with several thousands, if not millions of dollars when, and done correctly. And you have done this yourself, right? You've been doing it. We're going to do it again. Yes. Yes. Yes. So tell us about the conference that you have coming up. I just love the name. I just love the name and the jingle. Girl, your brain's a big deal. So it's an affirmation, it's a, it's a battle cry. It's a calling for women entrepreneurs, coaches, speakers and authors who, who are ready to be the big deal in their marketplace. They're tired of playing small. They're tired of being their industry's best kept secret. And they're tired of their bank account looking the way that it looks. And they're ready to create that six figure, multiple six figure and beyond business, sustainable business and brand. We will be live in charlotte, North Carolina, Queen city, June 6, 7th and 8th. And I'm bringing together a phenomenal group of these six and seven, even some eight figure experts to help you grow your business. And they're going to be teaching you what works today. What works. Now this is a branding and digital marketing conference for entrepreneurs and experts who want to learn how to better market themselves so that they can make more sales and make more impact in the marketplace. So we hope to see you at the big deal conference and you can go to thebigdealconference.com comma thebigdealconference.com and join us. Awesome. Awesome. Well, doctor sade, is there anything else that you want to share with us just in case someone hears this after the conference? How can they connect with you? Absolutely. You can still connect with me at hey, doctor shade across social media. Let me know that you found me here. You can still go to the bigdealconference.com and see when we're having our next event. We just want to make sure that you are feeling supported and we're encouraging you to step out on your gift and step into your calling, because somebody literally is praying for you. They want to exist. They want your programs, products and services, and they need to know that you are the difference maker that they've been praying for. So just, they just got to see you. One of our pals, Giselle Bonds, who is one of our speakers for our vip, I know she talks about they can't pay you if they can't see you, so they got to be able to see you. And that's what our girl, your brand's big deal conference is all about in our community. We want you to be a visible expert so that you can be paid like an expert. Love it. Love it. Well, thank you so much. And I look forward to, if I'm not at the conference, at least being able to support you in some way with it. Okay? And we'll talk about that soon. But, everyone, make sure that you follow Dr. Sade, attend her conference. And remember, your brand is a big deal. Thank you for being with us on event tv. Talk soon.