Diversity, Equity, Inclusion - Martine Kalaw Enterprises

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Martine Kalaw, Founder, and CEO of Martine Kalaw Enterprises, located in Washington, DC, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

We Train HR, Managers, and CEOs to Enable Them to Reinforce A Robust DEI Program Into The DNA of Their Organization DEI Strategy Development.

We will work closely with you to craft a custom DEI strategy that enables you to cultivate a productive and engaging workplace culture. With the help of this strategy, attract the right talent and build an environment that fosters employee trust, job satisfaction, and overall happiness.

Strategy Implementation

To ensure the desired effect of your DEI strategy, we help you create the action plan necessary to implement those strategies within your organization. With the help of standards and proven DEI practices, we implement your strategy while ensuring your DEI initiatives stay aligned with your organizational goals period.

Learning and Education

To enable you to create a learning culture that's deliberate. We also offer virtual or in-person training on critical DEI topics. You can leverage our learning experience backed by our certifications in Facilitation Skills, Train the Trainer, DiSC, and Strengths Finders.

Tell us about yourself

Having experienced life as a Black immigrant woman and a stateless, undocumented person, I understand first-hand the implications of being excluded and marginalized in society. But attending a private school and getting access to golden opportunities in life despite my disadvantages exposed me to both ends of the spectrum. It helped me develop empathy toward each person's perspective.

I have been able to navigate these different worlds, so now I'm on a mission to bridge the gap between these different worlds. I believe the topic of DEI shouldn't be limited to marginalized people only. It's time we invite everyone into this space and make it a safe and life-changing experience for all of us!

To date, we've served Fortune 500 companies, tech startups and partnered with clients like Bank of America, Howard Hughes Corporation, etc. Join us on this mission to create a bridge between corporate executives, and let's help create a sense of belonging that fosters monetary growth and advancement for employees and the organization.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My most significant accomplishment has been being able to stay afloat and increase my revenue throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Many women and minority-owned businesses suffered, and I was fortunate that I didn't have to endure that hardship. I learned to pivot my services and how I packaged them. I had to really adjust to the needs of the audience that I was serving during the pandemic.

I think that an important quality of all business owners is to stay attuned to the needs of their audience. A company that is nimble, understands how to adjust its business structure based on the market, and has a strong work ethic, can thrive. It's important to have a business plan, but we shouldn't be afraid to pivot if our plan isn't working.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

One of the hardest things that come with being a business owner is not getting into the weeds of everything and being comfortable with letting go. This means letting go of how you want things done. We have to be okay with the fact that other people are going to do things differently from us because they are not carbon copies of us. We'll bring other people onto our team and will eventually trust them; these individuals will have a different approach that will lead to the same favorable outcome as us. That should be enough.

As business owners, the key is to trust people on our teams and remove ourselves from the day-to-day weeds. Getting stuck in the weeds is equivalent to getting stuck in the details. The details are absolutely important, but the more we can automate the details and can get others to manage the details, the more beneficial it will be to give us time back. This is critical because when running a business, time is the most valuable resource.

Removing ourselves from the detail is one of the biggest challenges in running a business because if it's your business, you feel connected to it. Since it's your 'baby,' it's logical that you would want to be involved in every single aspect of it. But if you do that, then you are not on your way to becoming the CEO but, instead, an employee of your own business.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

The first tip is to narrow down your product or your service or keep it simple. We don't need a whole lot of products; we don't need a whole lot of services, just one. One that we're clear about and have a definitive target audience for. We can add more products, and we can add more audiences later, but if we have too many, it's hard to channel our focus.

Tip number 2 is really focusing on generating leads. Once we have defined your product and know our audience, our goal is to focus on getting in front of our audience to get them interested in our product or service. In my first few years of running my business, I was so focused on making my website look beautiful and making sure I was on every social media platform, but I wasn't spending enough time focusing on generating leads. All of the work that I was doing in terms of marketing, branding, and advertising was a huge waste of time because I didn't generate the right leads to target. Before everything else, ask yourself: "How am I going to find audiences that need my product or service? When I do find them, what am I going say to them to get them interested in my product and service?"

The third tip is to have an accountability partner or business coach. There are a lot of business coaches out there, and some of them are more effective than others. It really depends on what level you are with your business. Sometimes the cost of a good business coach is an investment, but you should get your money's worth shortly after working with them. In addition to a business coach, have an accountability partner. This is someone who is also running a business. Someone who can relate to your challenges as a business owner and can share resources or knowledge. Having weekly or bi-weekly check-ins with this person allows you to stay motivated, focus on goals, and learn. I prefer one-on-one partnerships rather than being part of a mastermind group because it's easy to get lost within a large group. You can find an accountability partner through a meet-up or maybe get a referral from your business coach.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://martinekalaw.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MartineKalawEnterprisesLLC
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martinekalaw/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/martinekalaw
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/martinekalawconsulting/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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