Entrepreneurs exceed their revenue goals through Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever's Masterclass

Early in the 2020 pandemic that rocked the United States and the world, Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever launched an online masterclass, 'Perfect Media Pitch.' It was in April. The devastating toll of the pandemic had not yet reached its peak. Little did Dr. Avis know at the time that her masterclass would end up being a lifeline to countless entrepreneurs.

Dr. Avis is widely known for the media commentary she provides for national and international news outlets. She is well respected for her expertise regarding women's leadership issues and politics. Her political expertise seemingly includes having a crystal ball. Over two years before Kamala Harris's historic victory as Vice President of the United States, Dr. Avis predicated during a news appearance that Harris would be on the 2020 Democrat ticket. The media logos on this image are just a sampling of her portfolio of media hits.

In addition to being a high demand news contributor, Dr. Avis is the author of 'How Exceptional Black Women Lead: Unlocking the Secrets to Creating Phenomenal Success in Career and in Life' (2016). The book includes her findings from research and interviews she conducted with 70 exceptional Black women. She has a deep rooted passion for helping Black women overcome the challenges they face career and business wise.

Prior to the pandemic, Dr. Avis' business endeavors included traveling the country as a featured event speaker and hosting her own events. Many of her speaking engagements and signature events included teaching others how to master the media to advance their business brands. All of these activities were abruptly stopped last March. Instead of waiting until the crisis ended, she quickly developed her 'Perfect Media Pitch' masterclass in an effort to continue providing media and business coaching to women. The class was initially offered for free in April as a weeklong Live event in her private Facebook group. Thousands tuned in and the chat included hundreds of comments. Since then she has continued to offer the class every other month. Since then, approximately 4,500 have attended her classes and about one hundred have joined her paid year-long mentoring program for more direct hands-on guidance. The collective impact of her guidance is over a half million dollars in revenue for her clients. Yes, over a half million in business revenue during a pandemic!

The entrepreneurial journey is a very challenging one. According to data from Small Biz Trends, the start up failure rate for small businesses started in 2014 is: 

• 80 percent made it to the second year (2015);
• 70 percent made it to the third year (2016);
• 62 percent made it to the fourth year (2017);
• 56 percent made it to the fifth year (2018).

The outlook is more dire for Black entrepreneurs, especially Black women entrepreneurs. In fact, a recent article by Black Enterprise magazine stated the average annual revenue for Black women entrepreneurs is only $24,000. Consider the information in this graphic to put this disparity in perspective.

Normal circumstances make having a business extremely hard for Black women entrepreneurs. Adding the pandemic on top of their struggle to survive was comparable to their businesses being hit by a tsunami. Totally devastating with no hope of surviving. In Dr. Avis' mind, it was a state-of-emergency for Black female entrepreneurs. Her online masterclass was the much needed lifeline.

Dr. Avis believes media exposure is critically important for business owners. It is through the media exposure that countless consumers become aware of them and recognize them as experts. "It creates automatic credibility," states Dr. Avis, "Everyone can't get on the media. Guests are fully vetted in advance. So by mere fact that you are a featured guest on media allows your ideal customers/clients to value you over your competition."

To adjust to the online space, Dr. Avis adapted her 'Mastering the Media' program. Each night of the week long 'Perfect Media Pitch' program builds off of the previous night. A sample of the daily topics include:

• Navigating the Media Landscape Through the Pandemic & Beyond
• Finding the Best Media Opportunities for You Now
• The Secret to Selecting Topics the Media LOVES
• Craft Your Perfect Media Pitch
• Design Your Media Bio

Registered attendees receive a workbook for them to jot down notes and complete their daily homework. By the end of the class, attendees have a blueprint on how to successfully pitch to the media. For those wanting to work more directly with Dr. Avis, they are able to join her paid year-long mentoring program through which she provides more intensive business coaching.

Dr. Avis' masterclass and mentoring program is unmatched. She combines her twenty plus years of media expertise with her passion for helping businesses succeed. Dr. Avis believes entrepreneurs do themselves and their businesses a disservice when they think all they need is hope and hustle. Businesses need to go beyond just surviving, to thriving! Generating media attention is key as well as having solid business basics in place to convert the exposure into sales. Many female entrepreneurs devalue their expertise by charging rates that are a small fraction of their worth and/or allowing others to nickle-and-dime them. Additionally, the sales process is daunting to them. Dr. Avis empowers female entrepreneurs to charge their worth and trains them on how to have sales interactions that convert. Her clients learn how to master selling one-to-one and one-to-many. She believes that for businesses to thrive...

"Marketing has be to on all cylinders and sales have to be on all cylinders."

The access Dr. Avis' clients have to her is unparalleled! She provides weekly office hours via Zoom during which clients are able to receive direct guidance from her regarding their projects. She provides Facebook Live sessions multiple times a week and has a team of staff who are experts in media/business related area and serve as accountability coaches to her clients as well. Men are welcome to join her masterclass and program as well!

If you are an entrepreneur and you are ready to reach and exceed your revenue potential, learn more about the free 'Perfect Media Pitch' masterclass.

Clarene Mitchell is owner of TCM Communications, a PR firm specializing in empowering success driven professionals and businesses to effectively use LinkedIn to advance their online brands.

She helps her clients #ShineOnline and generate results.

You can learn more about TCM and stay updated with branding information by following the LinkedIn Company page and joining her private Facebook, 'LinkedIn Power Moves w/ Clarene.'

In September 2019 she self-published her book, 'Shine Online With LinkedIn: LinkedIn Isn't Just An Online Database Of Resumes.' Orders can be placed by sending $25 per book via PayPal ( Paypal.me/tcmcommunications ).