Meet Kwame Sarfo-Mensah | Educator, Consultant & Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kwame Sarfo-Mensah and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kwame, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?

I believe there have been many important factors behind the success of the Identity Talk brand but if I have to choose one, I would say my authenticity. When most of us begin our entrepreneurial journeys, we get so caught up with comparing ourselves to other successful entrepreneurs and mimicking their styles because we believe that’s our ticket to success. Behind all the glitz and glamor of their social media content, we fail to recognize that their personal story and unapologetic realness is what attracts clients to them. The teacher influencer space is crowded with so many dope creatives who specialize in different aspects of the education space. Some create content or start a business around the subject area they teach. Others allow their expertise in classroom management, curriculum development, lesson planning, or some other skill to be the focal point of their business.

In my case, I led with my personal story. I revealed to my followers what brought me into the education field, the trials and tribulations I endured, and the important lessons I’ve learned throughout my journey. My audience connects with me because they know that I’m someone who has been through the trenches as a classroom teacher and can relate to the struggles they’re going through. I have lived that life, which is why I can speak about it genuinely and authentically. The more I recognized that, the more I realized that I didn’t need to have a million social media followers or hold a Ph.D or graduate from an Ivy League university to validate my merit as an educator. Ultimately, that’s the message behind the Identity Talk brand, “Stay True to the Teacher in You”.

I am where I am today because I chose to bet on myself and allowed my story to do the talking for me.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

When I wrote my first book, Shaping the Teacher Identity, in January 2018, my main motivation was to unpack all my frustrations with the injustices of Black and Brown children within the public education system and channel them into a book that will support early career and aspiring educators committed to being unapologetic advocates for the most disadvantaged student populations. At the time, I didn’t have any aspirations of starting a business. All I knew was that I needed to write this book to salvage my mental health. The writing process that took place for the next eleven months served as a form of therapy and my sanctuary during my most troubled moments.

After a grueling year of editing, reformatting, and writing, I finally published the book in December 2018. To be able to start a project and follow it through to the point of completion was a personal triumph for me. For many years, I gave my self-doubt the unwarranted license to quell my dreams by creating barriers in my conscience. I allowed self-doubt to be the producer of unfinished projects, vision plans, and ideas that were taking up space in my Google Drive. Thanks to the unwavering support of my friends and family, I finally conquered my fears and gave myself permission to engage in the extraordinary.

As far as how Identity Talk Consulting was born, it all started when my good friend, who’s also an author, informed me that “the minute you published your book, you became a content expert”. Initially, I was resistant to embracing the “content expert” title because I didn’t view myself in that regard. In my mind, the term “content expert” implied that I was an originator of educational theory. After further conversation, my friend clarified her usage of the “content expert” term by pointing out that the content in my book could be the premise for a professional development workshop series that I design for early career educators.

So I ran with that idea and started facilitating free professional development workshops at neighboring school districts and universities within the Greater Boston area. After a few months, I had people asking me how much I charged for my workshops. Up until that point, I didn’t factor in the amount of time, money, research and energy I had put into writing my book, promoting it, and creating presentation slide decks for my workshops. I was giving away my intellectual property for free and not getting any monetary return for my labor. That revelation is what ultimately pushed me to start a consulting business. With a published book and a wealth of content to share with educators, I had the requisite parts to make it happen. All that was missing was a creative name for the business.

After going through an exhaustive list of potential business names, I finally settled on “Identity Talk Consulting”. It was the perfect name………simple, self-explanatory, and straight-to-the point! The term “Identity Talk” speaks to the need for teachers to be reflective practitioners and to prioritize knowledge of self in everything they do.  Over time, the name has evolved to include the commitment that we, as educators, must have to affirm and honor the intersectional identities of our students, especially our BIPOC ones.  Since 2019, the business has grown into a multimedia platform that creates content for teachers and other education professionals looking to redefine and reshape the way that we do education in our schools.

Throughout this journey, the greatest lessons I’ve learned are…….

1) To be my authentic self at all times.
2) My longevity as a classroom teacher alone doesn’t define my effectiveness as an educator.
3) Credentials don’t define or confine my power to inspire others.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

I have so many people to credit for my journey and I certainly won’t attempt to name them all. Instead, I want to extend my gratitude to the two most important women in my life:

First and foremost, I want to thank my mother, Dorothy A. Mensah, for being my first teacher and laying out the blueprint for what it means to be an empathetic human being and a dedicated family person.

And finally, I want to thank my wife, Natalie Gill-Mensah, for standing in my corner and always believing in me, especially during those moments where I felt lost and hopeless. Through thick and thin, she’s been there and I couldn’t be more thankful.

Website: https://www.identitytalk4educators.com/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kwam_the_identity_shaper

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwame-sarfo-mensah-76142482/

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/identityshaper

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8mP1u2wPVb4UAuct9cM_Yw

Other: Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/kwamesarfomensah