Editors Note: Black Love Inc. proudly celebrates the 360 degrees of Black Love, which for us includes entrepreneurship. The businesses that we start rooted in our love for our people and community are a reflection of our hearts and drive. Today, as part of this series, we feature Chantel George, the founder of the largest global organization for women of color in sales.
Sistas In Sales (SIS) is the leading global organization serving women of color across the sales sector. This fall, they hosted their sixth annual Sistas In Sales Summit presented by Walmart Connect at The Glasshouse, New York City’s preeminent 75,000 square-foot venue with breathtaking views and cutting-edge technology. Emmy award-winning actor, director, producer, life-long advocate, and activist Kerry Washington delivered a keynote address as a source of inspiration and empowerment for attendees.
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The driving force behind Sistas In Sales Summit is Chantel George, the founder of Sistas In Sales. She took her experience within the sales industry and her desire for the community she was missing and created SIS. “I’ve been a career saleswoman, and in the majority of the teams I worked with, I was the only Black woman. It became very difficult for me to find my own way and be successful. So I hosted a dinner for other Black women and women of color, and it turns out they all felt the same way.” Six years later, Sistas In Sales is the largest global organization for women of color in sales. But George says that this wasn’t an overnight success. It took six years to get her business off the ground fully, and she shared with me that for many years, she was essentially a “sidepreneur” working for LinkedIn, Twitter, and start-up companies before she took a leap of faith and worked on SIS full-time.
“We have a community of women who are striving to be great at sales. And we have a whole ecosystem of partners that want to support us. This whole event was sponsored by Walmart Connect, which is the media company within Walmart’s business, in addition to partners like Google and Microsoft, TikTok, etc. so it feels like a winning solution, and I’m thankful to be here.”
“You have to get a sense of what’s going on with your community. And if they keep showing interest in a particular area of focus, then I have to take those signals and use them to build.”
Her advice for herself five years ago and to up-and-coming entrepreneurs who have a passion project?
“Do it now. I could have done this years ago, but I was nervous, it was scary. I’d never not had a cushy salary and great benefits and all the great things that come along with working in Tech, but there is something more fulfilling than money; it’s locking in with your purpose.”
The 2023 Sistas in Sales Summit was powered by Oracle, Motive, Workday, Braze, Dynatrace, Pinterest, Snapchat, Docusign, and TikTok. To learn more, please visit sistasinsales.com. Follow SIS on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
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