Our Last Day | Spring 2022 Mentorship

It’s here, our last day together. We are so proud of all that our mentees have accomplished throughout our 12 weeks together. It's sad to be at the end, but we are excited to see what our mentees do post-mentorship! On our last day, each mentee presented their brands to the rest of the group. Those who created websites showcased their finished sites explaining logos, color choices, photos, and when their websites will launch. Each person was then offered some advice and feedback to better their websites from our mentors and fellow mentees.

Once everyone presented their brands, we had mini graduation for our mentees. Each person was awarded a certificate of completion and the graduation song was sang via acapella from our staff and mentees. It was bitter-sweet to be here at this moment, but it was so much fun. We also recognized our staff that will be transitioning off. We want to thank Sandra, our Mentorship Coordinator, Mariah, our Mentorship Assistant, and Lu’Cretia, Our Creative Project Manager, for all that they have done for TFD.

Once everyone received their certificate, we stepped outside to hop into an Uber headed to Thai Time to celebrate an amazing cohort completion. Until next time friends!

Photo Credit: Mariah

Creating A Brand | Part 2

Photo Credit: Saffron

Today at the Firehouse, the mentees went through the building blocks of creating their brands. First, they picked Jasmine's brain by asking brand and business questions. The mentees asked questions about creating their pricing, how to build a business culture, and where to find different vendors for their products. Afterward, they began working on their logos and websites. Some of our mentees have business concepts and were partnered with other mentees to collaborate and brainstorm ideas for creating their business. Next week our Mentees will take their branding and begin building their websites!

Photo Credit: Saffron

Creating A Brand

Photo Credit: Mariah

On Saturday our mentees began with an ice breaker called “Guess that drawing”. It was hilarious to see all the shapes each person drew and to hear everyone’s guesses. We transitioned to the tables where our Mentorship Coordinator, Sandra, asked the mentees to visit her website and locate five words that helped them discover information about this brand. Each Mentee shared the words they found and what those words led them to believe was the the goal of Papelitos Lindos.

Our mentees then partnered up with one another to dream about how their brand will look and feel. We started with two groups. Group one developed the creative side of things when it comes to creating a brand such as: brand colors, fonts and styles. Group two started a conversation about the purpose of a mission statement and how to create one.

In the second set of groups, each mentee with a business idea was partnered up with another mentee who wanted to support their idea. The duo then designed a vision board for their brand. This board included: fonts, colors, brand names, and logos. Our mentees used iPads and Apple Pencils to sketch out their logos through Procreate, Adobe Illustrator, or hand drawing. We can’t wait to see all that our mentees design for their brands!

Photo Credit: Mariah

Intro To Marketing

Photo Credit: Mariah

Marketing is a big part of how brands and businesses take off. For the first day of week 6, Lu’Cretia, our Creative Project Manager and mentor to lead this workshop. Lu’Cretia went over all the basics of marketing. She engaged in a conversation with our mentees about what marketing is & what goes into it. She also taught them how to create ads for various businesses, all while staying on track with branding styles, colors, and fonts. It was fascinating to see our mentees work together as a team to create their ads for TFD.

Photo Credit: Mariah

Building A Brand

Everyone knows of someone who owns their own brand but have you ever thought about how they formed it? We just started our fifth week of mentorship that all about branding. Our board President Deon Bonaparte of Agency Evolve, led his 4th workshop with TFD on “How To Build A Brand".” Deon went over the steps on how to build your brand with three steps: build the foundation, brand strategy, and a business plan. The most important information that our mentees learned was to clearly articulate what they want their brand to be, look like, and feel. Deon left the mentees with a quote from Walt Disney. “Walt Disney was asked, “How do you feel on your deathbed knowing that you will not be able to see Disney world come to life?” Walt Disney replied “I already have”. You need to understand your brand before you start it.” We are so appreciative of our Board president and cannot wait to welcome him back during our Summer mentorship!

Photo Credit: Mariah