Reader,

“Ugh.”

(Did I just say that out loud?)

That’s the sound of me in the audience of yet another business event where every speaker trotted out on the stage was… a no-surprise-here white guy.
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I have no problems with white guys. But I do have a problem with pretending like no other speakers exist.

Where were the women? Where were the people of color? Where were the queer people?

Well, later I asked the organizers these exact questions and the response was exasperation and even irritation.

They didn’t want to hear it. Apparently the task to diversify was too hard, non-white-guy speakers were too hard to find, or some other nonsense.
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So after years of giving my money to events where I was often the only Black woman or person of color; where the only seemingly available presenters shared the same background, education, and identity… I was so over it.
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I was done debating with event organizers, recommending amazing diverse speakers, and still not seeing any real change. I was also done complaining.

The time had come to ask myself, am I going to keep moaning about this or am I ready to do something about it?

(Side note: have you ever gotten tired of listening to yourself complain? Have you ever gotten tired of your own bullshit? Yeah? Well this was that moment for me.)

I decided it was time for me to stop complaining and actually solve the problem. I committed to invest my time and my personal money into creating an event where not only my identity – but all historically excluded people – were seen, celebrated, and given the opportunity to speak.

I went all in on an idea that I had been brewing for years: a conference focused on business growth where diversity wasn't an afterthought but the core of the experience.

I imagined a luxurious annual money focused event where successful women, people of color, queer folks, and entrepreneurs who've been historically excluded from the spotlight (or always the token) could be front and center.

That idea became ROI: The Millionaire Summit, our annual in-person conference that provides high-caliber business education and networking for entrepreneurs ready to scale.
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​But let me tell you—as enlightening as building this conference has been, it hasn't been all rainbows and profits. In fact, there’s been no profits.

My first time hosting ROI, I lost $700K. The event cost me almost $1.7 million—with zero sponsorships. We sold $1 million worth of tickets, which was outright BANANAS, but realized last-minute that we also needed to SELL something if we were going to generate any money to keep this going. That pitch went beautifully in the end, but we still ended up in the red.

Tons of people I respected told me not to host ROI again. It just cost too much. It makes no money. It’s a financial stress on the business. But I refused… my team and I doubled down. We learned, we adapted, and we kept going. Our second ROI was a hit, we took the budget a lot more seriously this time (goodbye LED stage!) but we still ended up losing a lot of money.

So why don’t I save the cash and cut this offer?

Because I have a vision. And I know ROI is needed. When you truly believe in your vision, you don’t cut and run at the first sign of hard. Some dreams take time.

Some dreams take loss.

Today, as we plan our third addition, I am as committed as ever to the mission of ROI: The Millionaire Summit, and proud that I’ve stuck it out even when it was hard. My goal for ROI over the next four years? Reach 5,000 attendees and go international. (Imagine… ROI West Africa or ROI Australia?!)
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​But that can’t happen unless you join me in this mission. Here are two ways you can help make ROI a success:

1. Make sure you grab your ticket for ROI 2025 in Orange County, CA while the 4-month payment plan is still available. This offer ends at the end of the month, so take advantage now and secure your spot in the room where real change is happening.
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2. If you can’t attend ROI, help me spread the word. Tell your friends, share it on social media or with your email list. If you attended in the past, write a review so others can see how this event has delivered an ROI for you.

Thank you. I’m so grateful for your support and excited to continue this work. ROI 3 is going to blow your mind.

xo,

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Rachel

PS. Want more details about why I started my own conference? Listen to the latest episode of The Hello Seven Podcast here and on YouTube for the tea on my successes and struggles on this journey.