Main Sessions
Main Session One: 5 Benefits of Launching Into the Unknown & How To Do It
Calling all dreamers, entrepreneurs, and pioneers. If you have ever wanted to create something that does not exist, this session is for you. In this session, Kia will share 5 benefits she has discovered as an unexpected ministry leader and entrepreneur. She will also offer you practical tips to help you turn your dreams into a reality.
Main Session Two: Behind the Scene: What It Takes to Be a Communicator
Kia Stephens and Friends
Does it seem like all of your sheroes have it all together? Sis, don’t let the social media highlight reels fool you. Being a Christian communicator of color takes work. Join, Kia and a few friends for a glimpse of what it takes to be a communicator of color. In this roundtable discussion, you will gain nuggets of wisdom that will help you on your communicator journey!
Main Session Three: 7 Ways to Cultivate a Next Level Mindset
You know you are destined for more but you feel stuck and unable to go to the next level. Kia is no stranger to this “stuck” feeling. As a entrepreneur and ministry leader she has discoverd 7 ways to push past procrastination and cultivate a next level mindset. You will leave this session ready to conquer what’s holding you back and move to the next level.
Breakout Sessions
Writing
Pitch Like A Pro: Tips For Pitching Articles & Essays To Magazines & Newspapers
The proliferation of blogs and online news sites and magazines has created more opportunities for writers plus an influx of writers competing for bylines. The key to success as a writer in the new media age is to find a way to stand out in the sea of talented and experienced writers. Pitch Like A Pro will teach you the tips and tricks professional writers use to grab editors’ attention, pique their curiosity, and show them that you’re the perfect writer to contribute to their publication.
How to Write Devotionals With I.M.P.A.C.T
Do you want to write devotionals that touch the heart, heal the soul, or cause your reader to stop and think? Whether you’re writing for your blog, your women’s group, or for a devotional website, your stories are the key to the depth of insight, understanding, and life change needed for yourself as well as your reader. In this presentation, you’ll discover how to take a personal story, glean the godly lesson, and make it universally applicable to transmit that lesson to your reader for His glory. Your unique insight and the lessons God has given you could be exactly what someone else has been waiting to hear!
Vetting the House: Questions to Ask When Choosing a Publisher
It seems that everywhere you turn, people of color are getting their books published. As a writer of color, it’s tempting to jump into the fray and sign with whoever shows interest. But are there particular things that authors of color need to look for to make a wise choice? What are the questions you need to ask to ensure that you are choosing a house that will steward your voice and help you make the most of your publishing opportunity? Learn from a veteran publishing professional and discover how important it is not just for the book publisher to vet you, but for you to do your due diligence and vet the house.
Speaking
What You Need to Know Before Starting a Podcast for their Business
You’ve got topics. You’ve got themes. You’ve got ideas. You’ve got an itch to share your message. Starting a podcast is a great way to do just that. However, you shouldn’t simply dive into podcasting without thinking about a few important things ahead of time. After all, even if it will be only a hobby for you at first, odds are you want your show to have the best chance of being successful. A little planning before you launch can be the difference between a show that has no listeners and one that is on track to have a fanbase. Now let’s get down to the details of what you need to know before you start your podcast.
Booked, Blessed, and Stage Ready
Calling all female Christian communicators! If opportunity was to knock, could you be stage ready in under an hour? I want to share with you 7 tools every speakHer needs to have in her tool kit to be booked, blessed, and stage ready! We’re discussing pricing, contracts, tech, wardrobe, all the essentials you need to be an effective steward of your gift and calling to share your faith based message in-person, or on any virtual platform.
Going Pro: Everything You Need to Know To Become a Professional Speaker
How do you transition from speaking for free –or a “mug & a hug”– to establishing a scaleable speaking business/ministry? In this session, Diane will share best practices and lessons (mistakes) learned, navigating the bumpy road to going pro. Her session will include: Marketing: Key assets, tools & strategies for getting booked, speaking fees & monetization, content creation, presentation & delivery, event planning, book/product fulfillment and recommended resource. This session will take you from speaking novice to a pro!
Business
Starting & Growing a Sustainable Business
In today’s engaging culture, writing and speaking have become a commodity that we gravitate towards both spiritually and professionally. In this session, you will learn the business side of writing and speaking from the angle of content creation, the importance of consistency, hustle, promotion, audience retention, financial increase, and so much more! This session will give you the tools that you need to make your writing and speaking business crisis proof!
Do More With Less: Build a Professional Platform on a Solo-preneur Budget
Speakers, authors, and business owners know the importance of establishing a professional brand. If you’re just getting started however, you don’t want to empty your bank account to build a reputable platform and you don’t have to. In this workshop, speaker and entrepreneur Christina Patterson teaches the essential systems every business owner needs to know without breaking the bank.
How to Confidently Build Your Online Coaching Business
So you want to be a coach with a profitable business but you don’t have any clients or know where to begin. In this session, Belisa is going to teach you how to create and sustain a profitable coaching business that will help you build a purposeful addition to your current platform. After attending this session you will have the practical tools you need to create your coaching business.
Platform-Building
Vision to Impact. The Power Moves to Make Your Vision a Reality
It’s been on your heart for a while now. You’ve got this vision, you have a dream, but how do you make it a reality? How do you take your vision and create an impact in your community and the world? Join Chantal as she gives you the power moves you need to take your vision from a dream in your head to a reality in the world that impacts lives. Chantal will give you the tools and tips she used to build her non-profit organization from a vision to a high functioning organization that provides pandemic relief. You’re just a few power moves away from impacting the world.
How to Stop Waiting for Permission & Start Building Your “Table”
You sense God’s call to step up to the next level in your business or ministry. You’re afraid to use your voice, your influence in ways, maybe, you haven’t before. Yet, your platform size, your self-doubt, and not even the well-meaning (aka fearful-filled) advice from your aunts and cousins has weakened the volume on God’s call. How do you confidently and practically pursue this call, especially when it appears there are so many other people with bigger platforms and a seemingly larger reach than yours? In this session, you’ll start developing a plan to leverage your strengths and creativity to create a platform-building resource or experience for the message God has given you.
How to Finally Master Your Calendar and Batch Create like a Pro
Are you trying to build a platform, but you are feeling overwhelmed with finding the time to do everything? Are you struggling with showing up consistently in your blog, podcast, or on your social media channels? This may be especially true if you are a busy mom, career woman, and/or ministry leader juggling multiple things. In this session you will learn how to finally master your calendar so you can creatively and efficiently use the time you have. You will also learn the ins and outs of a huge time and energy saver: batch creation.
VIP Bonus Content
How To Authentically Grow a Facebook Group
In this platform focused world, how can we create genuine community? Whether you are looking to engage with your peers or respective target audience, a Facebook group is ideal for fostering authentic connection, marketing services and products, and launching a book. In this session, you will discover a systematic approach to creating and sustaining vital connection for a writer and a speaker.
Growing Your Audience By Focusing on a Niche Market
Main Session
When it comes to growing our audience we may be tempted to try and write for everyone. This is impossible to do. Although it is difficult to appeal to the masses, you can effectively grow your reach by narrowing your target audience. In this session, Kia will share some practical steps a writer can take to grow their audience by focusing on meeting the needs of a specific niche market.
VIP Bonus Interviews
Christin St.Vil – Building a Platform From the Ground Up
Jenny Kochert – Giving Yourself Permission To Do Ministry & Business
Dorena Williamson – Honoring the Value of Waiting While You Write
Karen Harmon – Making It All Work: Bridging the Worlds of Motherhood, Marriage, Ministry, & Career