DEMYSTIFYING BRANDING WITH five key questionsBrand development along with the nuts-&-bolts of starting and running a business are critical knowledge any business owners should have under their tool belt. As part of a 12-week entrepreneurship academy organized by the OIC Business Academy (OIC-BA) funded by the OKC Black Justice Fund, two sessions starting March 12 will be devoted to demystifying the often misunderstood concept of branding. Branding is an expensive and tedious process and Vincent Lee, one of the facilitators at the OIC-BA, aims to empower start-up and small business owners with five key questions to get branding done right from the get-go. “I am looking forward to meeting the many aspiring Black/African American business leaders who want to do their part in making an impact in the society,” Vincent said.  The first cohort of the OIC-BA, which started on Feb 23, 2021 on the premise of OSU Discovery. CLICK FOR THE ARTICLE IN THE OKLAHOMAN "Black Oklahomans may apply for entrepreneurship academy in January" Vincent Lee. Author, Brand Strategist, and Coach For the past 20 years, Vincent has straddled life and work between Singapore and Oklahoma City. Along the way, he has shown clients on several continents how they can become the master of their brand and move their company into space traditionally taken by huge corporations. As an author of an upcoming book “One Game Changer to Boost Your Business. Use the B.R.A.N.D.™ System to Go Deeper so can you Go Further”, Vincent continues to be a brand evangelist and advocate for his clients, while also devoting his time towards inspiring young minds to uncover and define their brand in life. MEDIA CONTACT: Vincent Lee vincent@canyoubrand.me 405-596-3451  November 15, 2020: Karina Michel Feld of Authority Magazine interviewed me as part of a series called "How I Was Able to Pivot to a New Exciting Opportunity because of the Pandemic". The same interview was also featured on Thrive Global on December 3, 2020. CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW REAL-WORLD ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS IN AND OUT OF A CLASSROOMFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 15, 2020 While online shopping may have become more of a norm during this pandemic, young adults from F.A.C.T. (Family Awareness and Community Teamwork) of the Oklahoma City Police Department recently gathered at a mall as part of a 9-week long Entrepreneurship Program. This field trip was not for retail therapy but a challenge to study strategies adopted by retailers to reach their customers. The 18-20-year-olds were placed in an environment they are familiar with but asked to put on the lens of a business owner as they learn entrepreneurial skills. "We naturally think of and react to marketing and advertising like a consumer," Vincent Lee, one of the program's coaches explained. "But as future business owners, we hope to train these youths to think like an entrepreneur." The students were asked to observe all aspects of marketing and advertising; from colors to the logo, from store layout to sensory experience, and from signage to staff interaction. "It was fun to see the students apply their new knowledge of marketing and strategy as they analyzed stores they have been in dozens of times before." Taylor Wood, Volunteer Coordinator of the F.A.C.T Unit observed. "I strongly believe the skills and knowledge they have learned will be beneficial as many of them are transitioning from high school to college or directly to the full-time work force." Business leaders like CPA and Process Improvement Specialist are also invited to the class to help the students understand the resources needed for the health and growth of their own business. "The goal of the program is to paint a real-world picture of the business world for our students," Rob Miles, creator of the Thousand Paces Roadmap System and this Entrepreneurship Program said. "I'm very grateful to be a part of this program. I've taken in a lot of basic and important information that I wish I would've had the chance to learn in high school, like the type of bank accounts we're offered, taxes, investments, savings, budgeting, and taking risk." Abigail G., one of the students shared. The program will end in a few more weeks with the possibility of helping a handful of students apply the knowledge to actual business ideas these young future entrepreneurs have. Rob Miles. Founder of Thousand Paces Thousand Paces helps small businesses and entrepreneurs find and determine their next milestones using their “Roadmap” system. Through this system, they help business owners secure funding for their venture, launch a new company, or navigate the structure of an existing company to overcome the peaks and valleys. The founder, Rob Miles, realized a blind spot in the banking system and started Thousand Paces to help small businesses navigate the complexities of commercial lending. Rob created the roadmap system to ensure all commercial loans also “fit” in line with the clients’ purpose and budget. It proved to be such a useful tool that it is now used in college classes at USAO, high school level classes with F.A.C.T., and all of Thousand Paces’ clients. Vincent Lee. Author, Brand Strategist, and Coach For the past 20 years, Vincent has straddled life and work between Singapore and Oklahoma City. Along the way, he has shown clients on several continents how they can become the master of their brand and move their company into space traditionally taken by huge corporations. As an author of an upcoming book “One Game Changer to Boost Your Business. Use the B.R.A.N.D.™ System to Go Deeper so can you Go Further”, Vincent continues to be a brand evangelist and advocate for his clients, while also devoting his time towards inspiring young minds to uncover and define their brand in life. MEDIA CONTACT: Rob Miles rmiles@thousandpaces.com 405-702-2005 or Vincent Lee vincent@canyoubrand.me 405-596-3451 YOUTHS LEARNING ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS BEYOND THE COLLEGE CLASSROOM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 8, 2020 On his first day teaching at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, Rob Miles found very few of his students knew what they wanted to do when they graduate. And for the handful who did, they had unrealistic expectations of the real-world. Being an entrepreneur himself, Miles created a program that would give students real-world exposure to the reality of owning and operating a business. As the founder of Thousand Paces, Miles also believes in giving back to the community. When Miles was introduced to F.A.C.T. (Family Awareness and Community Teamwork), he developed an entrepreneurship program to fit the needs of the F.A.C.T. students. F.A.C.T. is a community outreach program of the Oklahoma City Police Department aiming to mentor at-risk youth. “My goal is for the students to come out of the class with the understanding and confidence to open their own business, but I would be just as happy if they find their passion focusing on a single aspect of a business, such as finance or marketing.” Miles shared. Miles has collaborated with Vincent Lee, a brand strategist and coach, to aid in the program. Lee, who like Miles, believes in inspiring and educating young minds. Together, Miles and Lee are bringing their real-world experiences in banking and branding respectively. Through dual efforts they are teaching the students how to:
“Teaching the how-tos of business development, branding, financing, and marketing is the easy part,” Lee explained. “Helping students see their potential, despite their circumstances, is the true driver to what we do.” Derrick Sier, the Program Coordinator of F.A.C.T. stated, “The entrepreneur program provided by Thousand Paces has not only introduced the concept of business ownership and product development but has provided classroom and field application. It takes an idea from concept to implementation; immediately applicable to whatever individual idea the participant may have.” Rob Miles. Founder of Thousand Paces Thousand Paces helps small businesses and entrepreneurs find and determine their next milestones using their “Roadmap” system. Through this system, they help business owners secure funding for their venture, launch a new company, or navigate the structure of an existing company to overcome the peaks and valleys. The founder, Rob Miles, realized a blind spot in the banking system and started Thousand Paces to help small businesses navigate the complexities of commercial lending. Rob created the roadmap system to ensure all commercial loans also “fit” in line with the clients’ purpose and budget. It proved to be such a useful tool that it is now used in college classes at USAO, high school level classes with F.A.C.T., and all of Thousand Paces’ clients. Vincent Lee. Author, Brand Strategist, and Coach For the past 20 years, Vincent has straddled life and work between Singapore and Oklahoma City. Along the way, he has shown clients on several continents how they can become the master of their brand and move their company into the space traditionally taken by huge corporations. As an author of an upcoming book “One Game Changer to Boost Your Business. Use the B.R.A.N.D.™ System to Go Deeper so can you Go Further”, Vincent continues to be a brand evangelist and advocate for his clients, while also devoting his time towards inspiring young minds to uncover and define their brand in life. MEDIA CONTACT: Rob Miles rmiles@thousandpaces.com 405-702-2005 or Vincent Lee vincent@canyoubrand.me 405-596-3451 |
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