Dr Tru Powell is the CEO of Black Business Magazine/Multicultural Inspire Awards. He's an award-winning entrepreneur who runs a coaching business and a magazine.
In short, what does your role involve? I am an award-winning entrepreneur, and run a coaching business as well as a magazine. I also recently launched an awards business. Essentially, my role is to use my platform to platform others, especially those from ethnically-marginalised communities. I help entrepreneurs build their personal brands.
How long have you been in your current job? Twelve months.
Please give a summary of your professional career to date. I started my career in event management. I’ve planned everything from corporate events to consumer/entertainment events. I spent seven years as CEO and business owner at the MBCC Awards, responsible for building it into a recognisable brand. I am also the CEO of Black Business Magazine, spotlighting and championing black talent and business owners in the UK.
Prior to these roles I ran my own event management agency, Alternative Events, planning and delivering events for corporate organisations across the UK.
I also run an online coaching business helping hundreds of people to build and monetise their personal brands. Primarily this is done through online group coaching programmes and/or digital products. Alongside the online coaching business and the magazine, I run the Multicultural Inspire Awards, celebrating and recognising inspirational people across the country. The inaugural event will take place next autumn.
Did further/higher education set you up well for your particular vocation? Yes. Attending higher education gave me the opportunity to be a critical thinker – this is one of the greatest gifts anyone can have. Not accepting everything at face value and objectively looking at how the world works is a massive superpower.
How is your job impacted by uncertainties in the economy? Like most jobs, the current economy and cost of living has impacted my businesses. In events, fluctuations in business spending have influenced budgets and attendance, making adaptability crucial. As a personal branding coach, economic trends often shift how clients prioritise personal development and marketing efforts. For my magazine, both digital and print, changes in advertising spending and consumer demand have required strategic shifts in content and monetisation to maintain readership and revenue.
What’s your view of artificial intelligence – an opportunity, threat, or bit of both? I see AI as a bit of an opportunity and a challenge. It offers incredible potential to enhance creativity, streamline processes and reach audiences in new ways, especially in my work with events, personal branding, and publishing. However, it also presents challenges, particularly in maintaining authenticity and the human touch, which are crucial in personal branding and meaningful content creation.
Social media platform of choice, and why? This is a tough one. Six months ago I would have said Instagram. However, in the last six months, I’ve taken more of a liking to LinkedIn. People think it is a place where you just talk about your professional experience. However, you can actually have a personality on LinkedIn and you can build a strong community. I am loving the community I am building on the platform and enjoying the content I am putting out.
How do you hope your colleagues would describe you? I think they will say I am extroverted. They will also say I am charismatic and a wannabe comedian. I am always making bad dad jokes in the office. They will also say I stand on morals and principles. I don’t deviate from what I believe in, and I will walk away from work if values don’t align with mine.
Highlights of your career so far? Wow. There are so many. I have received many awards throughout my career and even received an honorary doctorate. I’ve also worked with some incredible people and given awards to the likes of Sir Trevor McDonald and Baroness Floella Benjamin. However, above all of this, my highlights are seeing the people I provide platforms for advance their careers and lives. Seeing the young people in the academy increase their self-esteem and confidence. For me, people benefiting from the work I do will always be my highlights.
Any particular faux pas or embarrassing moments in your career you would prefer to forget? There aren’t. I am grateful for all my mistakes and embarrassing moments as they have shaped me to be the person I am.
Pet hates? When people compromise on their values.
If you could go back and give your younger self some wise advice, what would it be? I would tell myself to be unapologetically me sooner. I’ve spent a long time suppressing myself to centre others.
How do you relax away from work? This is easy. Gym, tennis and time with the family.
Tell us something about you that most people probably wouldn’t know. I met Nelson Mandela when I was nine years old.
You can take one book, one film and one CD onto a desert island – what would they be? Ooohh . . . so my book is Key Person of Influence by Daniel Priestly, my film will be Sister Act 2 as I love a sing song, and my CD The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Your five dream dinner party guests, dead or alive? Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Michael Jordan, Whitney Houston and Malcolm X.
What would you choose to eat for your last supper? Oxtail and rice, plantain, coleslaw and a glass of Guinness punch.
Picture credit: Tori Lens
