IAM2096 – Founder and Coach Specializes in Business Development Empowering Entrepreneurs

In this episode, we have, Latasha Brooks, founder of Coach Brooks Business Consulting.

Latasha Brooks is a trailblazer entrepreneur celebrated for her dynamic role in shaping the business landscape. She shares her knowledge and experience on the power and potential of government contracts.

The conversation highlights the importance of choosing the right mentors and being authentic in business and her beliefs in being a good leader and influencer.

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Full Interview:

Transcription:

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Intro 00:01

Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 00:28

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO Podcast, and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Latasha Brooks. Latasha, excited to have you on the show.

Latasha Brooks 00:36

Thank you so much for having me. I'm super excited to be here.

Gresham Harkless 00:40

Yes. I'm excited as well too. Latasha is doing so many awesome things, so super excited to dive a little bit in, hear a little bit more about some of those awesome things. But, of course, before we do that, let me read a little bit more about Latasha so you can hear hear about those awesome things. And Latasha Brooks, founder of Coach Brooks Business Consulting, is a trailblazer entrepreneur celebrated for her dynamic role in shaping the business landscape. As a visionary leader, Latasha spearheaded the first ever co-working space in Virginia, demonstrating her commitment to fostering collaborative environments. Specializing in Business Development, Latasha's consulting experience has empowered numerous entrepreneurs leaving an undeniable mark on the industry.

And she goes by Coach Brooks, and she's a wealth of knowledge and information. If you check her out on social and just print about anywhere, she's always dropping gems and knowledge. But one of the things that really stuck out with me, she said, “We often learn that life is the choices that we make”. And I was listening to her say that she didn't choose entrepreneurship, but entrepreneurship shows her at the age of 12. And I love everything she's doing, all the gyms and information she's dropping. So, Latasha, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO Community?

Latasha Brooks 01:45

I am. And I love that you did your research. I love that.

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Gresham Harkless 01:48

Yes. Absolutely. Well, you're doing awesome things. I there's just so much I wanted to to dive into. But I guess just to kick it off, let's rewind the clock a little bit, hear a little bit more on how you guys started what I call your CEO story.

Latasha Brooks 01:59

Oh, god. So you said it. I did not choose entrepreneurship. We didn't have entrepreneurs in our family. We didn't even know what the those were. But my sisters are very talented, and I am the baby girl. And so I'm the youngest sister, and my sisters were doing everything. They stepped. They cheered. They did everything you can think of. With them being in high school and me just entering middle school, they saw things in me that I didn't see in myself. And that's always been my life, that people around me saw the greatness in me, but I didn't see in myself.

And so I was auditioning for a darn I love to dance. If you follow me on TikTok, that's how I get people attention, by dancing with things that they can relate to. And so I was auditioning for our largest theater in Florida, and the day of my audition was the same day my sister needed me to do something with her groups and her businesses and stuff. And I had to pick, me and my best friend both, and she was crazy enough to pick what I picked, which was help my sister versus us going after our dreams.

And even to this day, I always think about how life would have been if I would have decided to do dance versus helping my sister. Because I tell everybody, if it was not for the people around me that saw that greatness in me, I would not have been instilled with the secret weapons that I'm instilled with now, because I just didn't know no better. I was young. I didn't understand how those things were gonna prepare me for life, and so I'm extremely thankful. But I do wanna know if I could have been Beyonce's dancer or Chris Brown dang it, background dancer. I just I still wanna know that could have been possible, but entrepreneurship has literally changed my life.

Gresham Harkless 03:39

Yeah. Absolutely love that. So can you take us through a little bit more on how you're serving your clients there, how you're working with them, and then a little bit about what you feel like makes you, unique in your secret sauce?

Latasha Brooks 03:48

Yeah. So I think it was mind blowing when I realized that the government is the number one customer in the world. Nobody ever told me that. I didn't learn that in school. I didn't learn that in college. None of my friends that I hung around even knew about this customer. And the more I studied this customer, the more it shocked me that they've been around for since the 1800s. And that's how these corporations are killing it. I literally took a screenshot, I'm a post today, of Lil Wayne telling the government that he's drug free so that he can continue to get government money. And I just thought if Lil Wayne can lie and say, do drugs and get government money, I think anybody can get a contract.

Gresham Harkless 04:25

Sure.

Latasha Brooks 04:26

And so it just blows my mind to know when you think about it, when you research the government, and they will tell you that they are the number one customer in the world. They are the most sustainable customer and the most reliable customer. Now I don't know why they be lying to them if they reliable, but I'm a use they words if they see me. They disappointed me yet. But they are the only customer that literally gets billions of dollars every twelve months. And the more I studied this customer and the more I said, I don't know nobody else. I literally do not know anyone else that I can guarantee count on, go pass the budget by law, and be able to spend a percentage of it with small businesses, minority owned businesses, veteran owned businesses, women owned, but there is no other customer that exists. And I'm thinking to myself, I know what the problem is. Nobody talks about it. That's the problem, right? Nobody in my community, nobody in my school. I went to business administration.

And now one thing I think the beginning part of that degree should have been, you should be working with the government, hey. This is how you're gonna change your life. And it wasn't. And it shocks me that people just don't know how powerful they are, but also how they can change your life. And so when I'm talking to people, I am always explaining to people that contracting with the government is game changing. It's life changing. However, it is not easy. If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. Everybody can't contract with them. And so it's very important for you to be careful who you learn government contracting from because not everybody contracts with the government. You got a lot of people teaching it, but not everybody contracts with the government.

Therefore, like I said earlier, it's hard for you to learn something from somebody that they're not doing themselves. And so a lot of people are getting sucked up into the, yes, I love this customer. Okay? I would brag about this customer. I don't agree with some of the stuff that they do, but I've also had to realize that they're a business. The United States is a business. And as a business owner, I recognize business when I see some of the decisions that they make that I necessarily don't agree with. I've also had to learn the rules. I've also had to learn who make what decisions. And the people that I was mad at, I was mad at all the wrong people because I didn't realize they did not hold the power that I thought they held.

Therefore, learning the rules of the game can help you become extremely powerful. Now what makes me different from everybody else is because I live this life. I actually contract with the government. I am getting down and dirty, and I am going through some of the same things the people that look like me go through and some of the same struggles that other people had to go through to even try to get to know this customer. And what also makes me different is that I'm very honest and authentic. And so I am not the one for you to come to and be like, hey. I wanna work with the government. I just wanna make a lot of money. I'm not your mentor. I'm not your coach.

Working with the government is not about you making a lot of money. Working with the government is about you solving a problem for them. And part of our problem is we tend to say the wrong things out of our mouths. If you come to me and you say, oh, they get seven hundred and ten billion dollars a year, I want at least a hundred billion of it. I'm not your mentor because I don't want you to think you gotta go after the whole pie. I want you to learn how to get a piece of the pie. If I get less than one percent of the seven billion budget, I'm my life is still changed.

And so, again, I think it's it's very important for us to be careful who we allow to help us get to that next level because some people can't help you actually get to the next level. Some people are helping you stay in stuck because, to be honest with you, in the entrepreneur world, we see everybody as competition. I don't see everybody as competition because I work with the number one customer in the world. Their money is unlimited. There is no competition. I'm gonna get paid regardless of if you're getting paid, I'm getting paid, or if a million other people was doing what I'm doing, we still gonna all get paid. And so I think it's a little bit different for me because I really understand this customer. I've really studied this customer.

My life has really changed by this customer, and I'm still struggling with this with working with this customer to this day. Because that's another thing. There's a misconcept out there that, oh, it's easy to work with them, or you can get whatever you want from them. Oh, go work with the federal government. I hate the federal government. Okay? I'm just gonna tell you that right now. Those are the big boys. I tell people they play nasty. Alright? And a lot of times people don't understand the government is a male dominated industry. When I go to places, when I go to the networking events, when I go to the opportunities that can give me another opportunity, I'm the only one that look like me. And most of the time, I'm the only woman.

And so I'm coming into these male dominated industries where I gotta get my stuff together real quick, or they're gonna run me up out of there. And so these are the real life struggles that I'm still dealing with even after a decade of working with the my favorite customer. I just had to learn the rules of the game. And and while everybody out there is trying to run out the federal, I'm playing in my local and state lane because that's where I feel safe, and that's where they know me, and that's where they love me, and that's where I can make the most impact. So again, what makes me different is just the way that I do things. I move differently. But you gotta remember, I was instilled in things when I was younger. My character, my integrity, the way that I treat people, those things was instilled to me when I was younger.

So it doesn't matter how much money the government have, I am not going to let them control me. I am not going to let them make me do things that I don't wanna do, and I am not gonna let anybody to persuade me or to change who I am. And so I don't have to chase money. Because when I think about the government, they tell you where it's going and who it's going to. I don't have to chase the money. I just have to realize that the people that I'm working with are actual people that I can solve a problem for. And that's just what makes me different.

Gresham Harkless 10:10

Nice. I absolutely love that. And so I wanted to switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call a CEO hack. This could be like an Apple book or even a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

Latasha Brooks 10:21

For me, it is being in a safe community. And so when I had to build my own communities, okay? And, unfortunately, even up until last year, I had this realization, and I had been investing a lot of money into a lot of people because I got sucked up into that social media marketing world or that lifestyle people were selling. And so I had all these people make me all these promises that they really could not keep. And so prior to that, I had already had my communities, but I didn't realize how safe my communities were. And I didn't realize how powerful the impact I was making on people because I didn't know what was already out there.

And so once you start I always tell people you appreciate the good once you go through the bad. And so once I started joining some of these other communities and I realized what was out there, I appreciated my community more, and they appreciated me more because they had to go through some things. But having that safe community, we learn so much from each other. Just knowing that you're not the only one going through some stuff, just knowing that somebody might have a resource that can help you and can save you time and save you money.

And just knowing that you got a place that you can show up and ask questions and go to networking events together or to help you prep or to get on a Zoom to make sure you're ready for an interview or to look at your resume or look at your capability statement. Just knowing you have a safe space that's not about the money, that's not about taking advantage of people, that's just a good space is game changing. Because I tell my mentees, although I'm the coach and I'm the mentor, I need them just as much as they need me. They help me be more consistent. I gotta show up even when I don't wanna show up. Because I got people relying on me. They help me be more transparent and honest and authentic because I'm like, these people are not gonna learn if they don't know it's happening to real humans. It's not just stuff you're seeing on television.

And then I help them in so many ways that I just didn't even realize how much I helped them. So for me, the CEO hack is having a safe space where I can just be me, and I can still change lives and keep my assignment going, but also still get paid for doing it. Because I am serving, but serving doesn't necessarily mean you gotta do it for free.

Gresham Harkless 12:45

Yes. I absolutely love that. And would you consider that to be what I like to call your CEO nugget? A little bit more word of wisdom or piece of advice. I like to say it might be something you would tell your favorite client, or if you happen to a time machine, you might tell your younger business self.

Latasha Brooks 12:57

Absolutely. Absolutely. If we just take the time to apply. Think about it. A lot of people during COVID time, we went and got a whole bunch of knowledge. You're just sitting on all of this knowledge, and you have yet to take time to actually implement the things that you learn. It's because you don't trust yourself that you can do it or you don't realize that you have the power to do it or you already have the skill set to do it, you just need to implement it. A lot of our problems is implementation. That holds us back, that self doubt. It holds us back so bad.

My husband cannot stand it when a package come in the mail, and I won't put it together. I already doubt myself that I ain't gonna understand the tools that I'm gonna need to put it together. I'm a put it together backwards, and all you told me is just try. Baby, if you try, now if you get stuck, reach out and ask for help. I got you. I ain't gonna let you fall. But you don't even try. I don't. I don't even try because I've already convinced myself that I can't do it. I'm not a handy girl. I know nothing about the tools. But when something comes in the mail, nine times out of ten, it comes with instructions. Nine times out of ten, it comes with pictures. It comes with words.

And now in 2024, it's coming with videos that you can scan the QR code, and it's gonna show you with the like, it life has changed. So you take some of those things that you've learned in the past and apply it to what's going on now, you're a little bit more powerful than what you think you are.

Gresham Harkless 14:27

Yeah. That ends up being a really powerful statement. So I wanna ask you now my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And our goal is to have different quote unquote CEOs on the show. So, Latasha, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Latasha Brooks 14:40

Oh my god. Being a CEO is hard, okay? And so for me, it is especially because I have many CEOs. I have little CEOs. I have a sixteen year old CEO, and I have a two year old CEO. I have a ten year old CEO. And so for me being a CEO, you have to be a good influencer and a good leader because there are people that is always watching you. And there is people that look up to you. There's people who wanna be like you. There's people who wanna hit the milestones that you hit.

And so you have to make good decisions, and you have to know you always got eyes on you. So you just have to be a good leader. And so for me, that it's just all about leadership. Being a CEO is just being a good leader. Coming with that title, CEO, that some of us give ourselves, what we earn, just know that it comes with a a large responsibility of leadership. And so but I take on the challenge.

Gresham Harkless 15:34

Yeah. Absolutely, Coach Brooks. Truly appreciate that. What I wanted to do now is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know and, of course, how best people can get a hold of you, find about all the other things that you're working on.

Latasha Brooks 15:46

So they can find me on any platform. Lord, hope they don't take our favorite TikTok from us. That's my favorite platform, right? But I am moneybaggs623 on every platform, and baggs is with two g's. And, yes, I am about my money. Okay? You can literally find me on YouTube. I don't do a lot on YouTube, but you can find me on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok. Moneybagg623.

Gresham Harkless 16:10

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. I appreciate you, Coach Brooks. Of course, we're gonna have the information in the show notes as well too so that everybody can click through, connect, and follow-up with you. So thank you so much for doing that. Of course, remind us of doing that as well too, and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of it.

Latasha Brooks 16:22

You as well. Thank you so much for having me.

Outro 16:25

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by CBNation and Blue16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co. I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Check out the latest and greatest apps, books, and habits to level up your business at CEOhacks.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless, Jr. Thank you for listening.

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