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Dozens of ambitious small business owners and entrepreneurs visited Coffee Uplifts People (CUP) at 329 Gates Avenue in Brooklyn on May 28th for a free in-person AI training on Google Gemini. The after-work event was held from 6 PM-9 PM with Host and Owner Angela Yee and Journalist Stacy Tisdale. The event provided an opportunity to educate the community and local businesses on incorporating AI programs to build their business and be more proficient in the business world.

Angela Yee and Stacy Tisdale at Wealth Wednesday at Coffee Uplifts People (CUP) at 329 Gates Avenue in Brooklyn

“The one thing about Wealth Wednesdays is the creation of a safe space where we can talk about some of the struggles we are uncomfortable talking about and teach people information to thrive in a safe place,” said Tisdale. “It is a difficult time for entrepreneurs. Over 13% of small businesses in this country fail in the 1st quarter,” she said.

The event had a special guest Google’s Angelina Darrisaw. She has been the CEO of C-Suite Coach and National Coach for Google for a decade. It is a company that provides organizational development and leadership coaching services to numerous organizations. Darrisaw was a guest speaker and visited CUP to help change the fears and concerns surrounding the use of technology in their business.

“We have to evolve and change with the times,” said Yee. “There is so way to avoid it. We want to stay in sync with everything and understand that times have changed and we have to grow. It is the only danger for us.” she said.

Host Angela Yee giving the introduction to Wealth Wednesday and Introduction to Google Gemini Presentation at Coffee Uplifts People (CUP) at 329 Gates Avenue in Brooklyn

Darrisaw came a gave an engaging presentation on how to use Google Gemini in a small business. Google Gemini is an AI program and app launched in 2023. The fast and efficient program is your AI personal assistant that can assist you with any dilemmas in your business. This may include writing a business letter or how to write a business pitch.

“Now we are trying to do more with less,” said Darrisaw. “We are all trying to get more efficient and reduce cost. When I started thinking about how to integrate A.I. into my business and leveraging on using Gemini as a toll was a no-brainer,” she said.

The session went into a detailed class on how to use Gemini to build a business. Darrisaw then showed a video on the Indigenous and women’s beauty brand Prados Beauty, LLC (IG@pradosbeauty).

Prados is a beauty brand founded by Cece Meadows in 2019 in New Mexico. She came up with the idea for her brand as she was overcoming cancer, and there was a need for high-quality make-up tools for people who were going through cancer treatment. The video is an example showing an actual business using AI tools to increase efficiency.

In the video, Meadows explained how Gemini helped her expand her business. She used Gemini to learn what SEO. There was an example of her taking photos for Prados’s social media and using Gemini to help her write the trendiest caption for her post.

“Things that used to take me two days to do, now I can do in an hour. This is so helpful for my business,” said Meadows.

The presentation went on with an agenda of breaking down the imitation and fear of using AI and learning the terms. AI, or Artificial Intelligence, describes computer programs that can do basic cognitive tasks. In a nutshell, AI is replacing how your brain works and completes tasks that are typically how humans think and do work. It detects patterns and learns and expands.

“AI should be that extra member of the team that is giving back more time, and more resources. You can accelerate your productivity,” said Darrisaw.

She spoke about how the evolution of smartphones and the rise of social media has helped us connect to people and information. 82% of business owners are already using AI. It has been reported that it has reduced costs increased productivity in their business, and improved the way they do business, and 64% of businesses are planning to use AI in their business in the next two years.

“If you don’t get on board now, you can potentially be left behind,” said Darrisaw. “We don’t want that and want everyone to be ahead of the curve,” she said.

She continued with introducing new terms like Machine learning(ML). Language model(LM), Large Language model (LLM), and Generative AI(GI), which are all different forms of AI that we use daily to perform pre-programmed tasks. Some examples of these AI tools are when streaming services that make recommendations for you based on your viewing activity, and voice assistants like Alexa.

Now understanding the terms, Darrisaw gave an introduction to Google Workspace, and how to use it for any small business. “CUP has a Google business profile on Google Workspace,” said. Darrisaw

“With Google Workspace, you can create a Google business profile, and is very helpful for businesses that operate locally. When you create the profile, is a free way for your business to be found on search and this is how people know when you are open, where you are, how to get in touch with you, read reviews, and social groups, and get customers to engage with your business,” she said.

Once this is set up, you can use Google Workspace’s Suggest Subscription feature to suggest captions and descriptions for social media posts or read menus to add to your profile and other useful resources that can help add more awareness of the business. “With this feature, you don’t have to start from scratch,” she said.

Darrisaw then gave a challenge to attendees using Google Gemini to create sales pitches for a potential or current business. The pitches would be a possible pitch on how to get people to buy your products or services. Attendees went around giving their business pitches, especially for a black-owned beauty brand and an idea for a Black Amazon.

“My favorite part was when people were pitching their sales plan they created with Gemini,” said Yee. “I thought it was amazing! People were so excited to see how much easier the process is when you can use Gemini,” she said.

After Darrisaw’s presentation, attendees network and are treated to complimentary coffee and cocktails. Tisdale took a moment to share her favorite part of today’s presentation. “My favorite part is being in community with everybody,” said Tisdale.

“I love seeing how everybody embraces and receives the knowledge. When we started this 10 years ago, we had Angelina as a guest, talking about how to build business plans, and just seeing how businesses have evolved and being able to provide these free tools and resources is what Wealth Wednesdays are all about. To see a full circle feels incredible.” she said.

Yee took a moment to speak to attendees and other local Black business owners in the neighborhood. She took pride in today’s event, saying “In this neighborhood in Brooklyn, there are so many businesses we love, that are closing unfortunately.” said Yee. “I had a business close down not too long ago, and is not easy. I wanted to give everyone here the tools that we need,” said Yee