October 5, 2025 • 39 mins
Brand authority doesn’t start with a logo—it begins with a decision about how you want to show up. We sit down with Ann Marie Sorrell, president and CEO of the Mosaic Group, to unpack the strategy, grit, and heart behind a 20‑year journey from West Palm Beach to a growing Caribbean footprint. Ann Marie breaks down positioning that goes beyond aesthetics, showing how message, culture, and behavior align to create trust. Then she gets practical about content: why story matters, how to tailor for each platform, and what it takes to move people from scrolling to action.
The conversation turns personal and powerful as Ann Marie recounts surviving the recession, canceled contracts, and foreclosure by clinging to a single Plan A and a daily bias for execution. That resilience paved the way for a bold move during the pandemic—scaling a regional forum into the National Black Economic Conference with global voices and tangible resources for Black entrepreneurs. We talk about designing events around outcomes, not optics, and building communities that leave with pathways, not platitudes.
Ann Marie also opens the door to a complex, high‑growth space: cannabis. When rooms stayed closed, she built a new table through Cannabisiac to advance equity, access, and education in a highly regulated industry. We explore how to turn advocacy into credibility, translate policy into opportunity, and help underrepresented founders participate across the value chain. Finally, she unveils Mosaic Global Group, a unified structure that ties marketing, tech, coworking, philanthropy, and M&A into one platform built for scale and impact.
If you’re a founder, marketer, or leader hungry for clear positioning, smarter content, and resilient execution, this conversation is your playbook for turning vision into a movement. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs the push, and leave a review to tell us which insight you’ll act on first.
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Follow The Brand! We hope you enjoyed learning about the latest trends and strategies in Personal Branding, Business and Career Development, Financial Empowerment, Technology Innovation, and Executive Presence. To keep up with the latest insights and updates, visit 5starbdm.com
.
And don’t miss Grant McGaugh’s new book, First Light — a powerful guide to igniting your purpose and building a BRAVE brand that stands out in a changing world. - https://5starbdm.com/brave-masterclass/
See you next time on Follow The Brand!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:02):
Welcome everybody to the Fun Ran Podcast.
This is your host, Grant McGall,and I get to bring it all the
way back to West Palm Beach,Florida.
And I get to teach, I mean, talkto one of my favorite people.
I've been knowing her for solong.
We've been running in the samecircles.
We always see each other.
I mean, if it was a uh Nazievent, she was there.
(00:24):
If she's doing something at PalmBeach, I'm there.
And we're going back and forth.
And here it is.
You know, I lived in MiamiGardens for almost 30 years.
She is doing big, big things inthe city from a marketing
perspective.
I am so, so very, very proud ofyou.
So very proud to have you, theCEO and owner of the Mosaic
(00:49):
Group on the Follow the Brandshow.
So I want to thank you.
Please introduce yourself andthen we'll get into our
discussion.
SPEAKER_00 (00:56):
Oh, Grant, thank you so much for having me.
Um, you know, I've been a fan ofyou since my early days in Nasi,
which was like 200 maybe four orfive before I even started
Mosaic.
That's something.
So um, so I'm I'm I'm reallyhappy to be on the show.
(01:16):
Um, thank you for having me.
I'm Anne-Maurice Sorrell,president and CEO of the Mosaic
Group.
Uh, we're an award-winningmarketing, advertising, public
relations, and communityengagement agency.
We have been in business for 20years.
We just celebrated our 20thanniversary two weeks ago.
And um, you know, lookingforward and cheers to 20 more
(01:41):
and beyond.
Uh, so just super excited aboutthe work that we get to do and
honored about the communitiesthat we get to serve, um, not
just in South Florida, but werecently expanded to the
Caribbean as well.
So we're looking forward tobuilding our footprint through
the Caribbean with ourheadquarters in Jamaica and, you
know, hopefully beyondthroughout the CARICOM.
SPEAKER_01 (02:02):
Man, I am I'm loving that.
You know, I made my move to St.
Croix, you're in Jamaica, wetalked about that.
We really got to just createthat brotherhood that that that
is there.
And you've been doing, I'mtelling the mosaic group, people
don't know, you've deliveredmore than 500 campaigns.
500, that's a big number.
That includes some major worklike what we just talked about
(02:26):
with Miami Gardens.
You're doing some premier globalevents.
A lot of these are eventdestinations.
But my question for you is this,and we talk about brand
authority.
What have been your keys tobuilding brand authority, not
just for your clients, but foryourself as a leader?
SPEAKER_00 (02:46):
Yeah, I think it's first, first the key is
understanding and setting a goalof how you want to position your
brand.
Like, how do you want to show upfor people, your consumer, your
target audience, if it's thehealthcare industry, your
patient population, whateverthat audience, that constituency
is, like, how do you want to bepositioned for them?
(03:08):
How do you want to show up forthem?
Uh, branding is not just about alogo, it's it's the look, it's
the feel, it's the messaging,it's the attitude, um, it's the
culture, it's therepresentation, it's all of that
about the brand.
So when we're working with ourclients, we're really trying to
understand how do you want to bepositioned in the marketplace?
(03:30):
Um, and then it gets into moreof the how do you want to be
found, accessed, et cetera.
So the same thing with mosaic,you know, how do we want to be
positioned in the marketplace?
We've always been that companythat's about impact, right?
And how do we not only makeimpactful campaigns and
meaningful campaigns for ourclients, but how do we work on
(03:52):
issues that matter, causes thatmatter, um, things that are
gonna change lives, empowerlives, move, move the needle,
um, things that are movement,right?
Um, so that's our that's beenour brand positioning, our brand
focus.
And it makes us super proud ofthe work that we do, especially
when we know we're we're here,um, whether it's it's bringing
(04:17):
employment to a community oreducation to a doorstep or uh a
healthcare issue that some of usmay not be aware of, um, that
you should be, you know, checkedout for and tested for whatever.
So it's it's it's all of that.
It's it's the brand positioning.
So that's that's the the maintip is how do you want to show
(04:38):
up?
How do you want to bepositioned?
How do you go beyond just thelogo?
Um, what's your key messaging,what's your look and feel,
what's the culture um of yourbrand.
So that's those are just some ofthe key tips.
SPEAKER_01 (04:50):
No, those are great keys.
You know, I do a lot in thepersonal brand space, and I'm I
I just I just love how yougravitated to positioning
because it is so important.
And then how you back intoeverything that I always bring
to my clients.
And that is you have to have apoint of view, that's a point of
differentiation.
What is your point of view thatthen you know bolds into your
(05:14):
personal story, and then youhave to have some type of
platform, right?
Some kind of platform thatyou're gonna deliver that
particular message on, you know,and then you get into that
position.
You said it so so well.
Now, you often say content isking, but marketing is queen.
(05:35):
So I want to know from thatphilosophy, how does that
philosophy shape the way youhelp businesses and communities
stand out in a crowded market?
SPEAKER_00 (05:45):
Absolutely.
So storytelling, right?
Um, every person, every brand,every company has a story.
And the story continues toevolve, it continues to um
change whether on a daily basisor whatever time frame, um,
stories evolve.
But for a lot of companies, umno one knows their story.
(06:10):
And if no one knows your story,then how are you resonating?
How are you relating?
Um, so how how can you berelatable?
So um when it comes to content,it's first of all, do you have a
story to tell?
And then can you create contentaround that story?
Um, for some people, they thinkcontent is just, you know,
(06:33):
videos or photos um or uh a texthere.
It's all of that, right?
It's it's all of it before itwas called content, you know, we
called it copy.
Copywriting, you know, we calledit that.
But um content is a combinationof um various things.
(06:55):
But what it comes down to is isit relatable?
Does it connect, right?
And does it cause the thetargeted person or audience to
take action?
Right?
Is it actionable?
Um, because if your content isjust out there and there's no
action to it, then you're justkind of, you know.
So, so and it goes back to thatinitial comment, you know, what
(07:18):
we said in the beginning was um,what's the positioning?
How do you want to show up?
What's your goal?
What's your objective?
So developing a contentstrategy, and and this is the
very important part.
Yes, the strategy.
A lot of folks, so let's justtake social media, for example.
Oh, I have a social mediaaccount, I just put out whatever
(07:41):
on there.
And that's fine if you don'twant to have an intentional
purpose, if you don't want toconnect, if you don't want to
have action taken, then yeah,just put anything out there.
But you need from a businessperspective, you need a
(08:01):
strategy.
So what's your story?
What's your strategy?
And then how do you now developcontent that fits that story and
strategy and on the appropriateplatforms because all platforms
are not created equal.
So each platform has a specificaudience and they respond in a
(08:23):
specific way.
So your content also has tospeak to that audience and how
they respond.
So content in itself is such aum it's uh it's literally like
his own discipline withinmarketing, literally.
I agree.
SPEAKER_01 (08:38):
I totally agree with what you said there.
I mean, you just took usthrough, I would say a master
class, and when you're lookingat uh marketing for what it
really is, people don't, I thinkthey they overgeneralize what
you can do in the marketingcontext.
Meaning you just went like,yeah, you could do it yourself
and you can you know put somecontent out there.
(08:59):
They've made it so easy to putcontent out there, but if you
don't have the intentionalityand understanding, again,
understanding your own story.
What is important to youraudience, not just to yourself,
but what's important to youraudience as you're building that
out.
And if you don't think alongthose lines, you're just like on
Facebook.
Facebook really is a social uhmedia platform, right?
(09:22):
I mean, really social, family,friends.
They might be interested in whatyou did last night and
interested in you know gettingtogether with certain people and
you're celebrating this like wejust had, you know, some time in
the holidays and that kind ofthing.
Very, very good platform may notresonate as well like on a
LinkedIn platform.
That's more of a businessplatform.
So understanding platform isvery, very important in what
(09:46):
you're looking to do.
Now you also brought upsomething I love, and that's the
personal story.
You have a personal story, andyour personal story as I've gone
through it, to me, it resonateswith resilience.
You've spoken about your journeyfrom Jamaica to Paul King and
the resilience it took to growfrom those roots into a global
(10:08):
influencer that you are today.
My question is this what has toyou most?
And how did your faith help youkeep moving forward?
SPEAKER_00 (10:20):
Oh man, what moments tested me most, man.
Who um I would say the therecession, right?
Because that was a moment ofjust it was so much happening,
right?
There was um this this you knownew business within the first
(10:44):
three years, things are goinggreat, we're climbing, and then
all of a sudden the recessionhits, Bernie Madoff happens.
We had a lot of nonprofitorganizations, and we just got
contract canceled, canceled,canceled because these
nonprofits didn't know what theywere gonna do because their
money was tied up in thisscandal.
(11:04):
And then you had the recessionhit.
We had some government contractswho were just getting into
government contracting, andthose were paused.
Big initiatives like bigreservoir projects,
multi-million dollar projects,paused indefinitely.
Um, so going from income to noincome, having to get super
(11:26):
creative.
I had only been a homeowner forabout um two and a half years,
um, had gone through a horriblerelationship, just broke my
heart into pieces, not tomention also finances and
everything else.
And so during that time, it wasjust turmoil.
(11:48):
So business, like trying to keepthe doors open, trying to figure
out where I'm gonna live.
My house went into foreclosure,um, and then uh became an
overnight parent to my niece.
So during that time, it waslike, oh my God.
And mind you, I had just turned30.
(12:10):
I think I was like 29, 30,whatever, somewhere in that
phase.
Um, and so all of this washappening at the same time, and
I honestly did not know how Iwas gonna survive at all.
Um, I just knew that I had tohave a tremendous amount of
faith.
Um, I had to rely on somerelationships with my family and
close friends.
(12:30):
Um and I just I had to continueto believe in that this is gonna
work.
Um, I remember a couple of yearsbefore I had read Think and Grow
Rich, and it was a part in thereabout plan A and plan B.
And I was like, this is my planA.
There's no plan B.
I gotta make this work.
And that means if I have tocreate events, if I have to and
(12:52):
charge$5, if I have to do somepro bono work, I went and taught
as an adjunct professor at ourlocal college, whatever I needed
to do to make sure that Isurvived, the company survived,
my family survived.
I did every single thing that Ineeded to do.
Um, a penny pinch, I rememberlike living on$20 for like two
(13:15):
weeks.
Yes, yeah.
My friends like teased me, like,well, you just had curry
tilapia, baked tilapia, friedtilapia.
SPEAKER_01 (13:27):
I feel you.
Yeah, at least you had tilapia,that's good.
SPEAKER_00 (13:31):
You know, but that's that's real.
That was, you know, that's andand and to me, that was one of
the most resilient times.
And I had to learn from that togo from here to like rock bottom
and try to rebuild, you know,and thank God like I had so many
lessons in that experience, andI was able to rebuild to where
we are today.
(13:52):
Um, it's amazing.
It's an amazing testimony.
Um, and I I don't I have noregrets because had I not gone
through that, I wouldn't be ableto survive the pandemic and God
knows whatever we're going to doright now.
SPEAKER_01 (14:06):
Oh, I I I'm glad you brought that up.
I want people to really lean inwhat you just said, because
leaders are not trained.
I think leaders are forged.
That kind of experience forgedyou into the person that you are
right now.
And without it, you wouldn't beas uh diligent and resilient
(14:28):
that that you are in order toface so many different things.
Now, you also launched the thefirst national black economic
conference, I think it was in2020, that was during the
pandemic.
Uh, and you that took courage,right?
That took a lot of courage to dothat.
My question again is in thisresilience world, because
(14:49):
resilience is a part of my my mybrave framework.
And I I hit on that because somany people, when they start out
in business and they look sofun, you know, they they get
these this the messaging thatcomes out like, hey, if I just
do these three things, I'm gonnabe rich.
If I just do this, this is likedriving up to a fast food
restaurant.
Like you're gonna need someresilience.
So, what did resilience looklike for you in that moment as
(15:12):
far as the National BlackEconomic Conference?
And I think now you're in your11th year, how did that grow out
of a season of uncertainty?
SPEAKER_00 (15:21):
Oh man, so just to backtrack a bit, so in 20 um 10,
again, around this time, I don'teven know.
I was reading the BlackEnterprise magazine, and there
was an article in there aboutNational Black Business Month.
And I remember seeing that, Iwas like, well, I've never seen
anything happen for NationalBlack Business Month.
I never heard of this.
(15:42):
And so I remember reaching outto some colleagues and I said,
hey, we got to do something herein South Florida.
So I initially created the Stateof the Black Business Forum and
invited the founder of one ofthe founders of National Black
Business Month, flew him outfrom California, brought him
here, and he did, he was here tofacilitate our first um National
(16:03):
Black Business Month event.
And we did the state of theblack business for, I believe,
six or seven years.
Um, and then we turned it to theSouth Florida Black Economic
Forum.
So we changed it to that becauseI said, you know what?
We know what the state of theblack business is.
SPEAKER_01 (16:20):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (16:20):
How do we talk economics?
Because that's really what itcomes down to.
So we came the South FloridaEconomic Forum for about three
years, and then the pandemichappened, George Floyd's
situation happened, or murder,let's call it what it is,
happened.
And we were not going to be ableto do the conference that year.
(16:42):
And it was the year that we werelike, we're not launching this
nationally.
And so that was already thevision pre-pandemic to say,
okay, 2020, we're going to makeit the National Black Economic
Conference instead of the SouthFlorida, because we wanted to
bring in speakers from aroundthe country.
But it wasn't just aboutspeakers.
(17:02):
Again, we know what the problemsare.
What are the solutions?
What are the opportunities?
What are the economicopportunities?
How do we really create wealthin our community?
And so that was the vision andmission of the forum from the
start.
And so here it is, 2020.
Businesses are closing left andright, pandemic, people dying.
(17:24):
We got the murder of GeorgeFloyd that had just happened
that June.
And I told my team, I was like,we can't just sit back.
We can't.
I'm not a sit back type ofperson.
We got to do something.
Let's figure this thing out.
We'll make it happen virtually,right?
And so we found a platform thatwe could do the conference and
(17:44):
the expo and everythingvirtually.
And man, when I tell you, we hadsome of the most amazing talent
from around the country and eveninternationally.
We had the um His Excellencyfrom Ghana.
Um we had uh some ambassadorsand um ministers from the
Caribbean, we had South Floridaleaders, we had um uh what was
(18:10):
it, uh NBC's VP at the time, umHoneypot uh founder.
Just we had some heavy hittersin business, but more
importantly, we gave people theopportunity to learn about
emerging markets, to learn aboutwhat resources were available to
(18:31):
them, grants that were comingout from these corporations who,
you know, felt like, oh, wegotta do something.
Um it was it was probably one ofthe most phenomenal virtual or
even events as a whole that wehad put on.
Um and from we we didn't havesponsors, we didn't, this was
just like we're doing it becausewe gotta make it happen.
(18:53):
We gotta do some kosher.
unknown (18:55):
That's what it was.
SPEAKER_01 (18:56):
I'm glad you did.
I think that bodes well in whatyou just described, and in what
I call it, my blueprint strategyis around authenticity and being
authentic in your brand,authentic in what you're doing.
So you say, no, this is not justabout the money, this is about
my beliefs.
(19:17):
This is what I know that is theright thing to do.
And I I feel that from you, theauthenticity of it.
Now, you wrote a book called uhChronicles of a serial data,
which blended a bunch of humor.
It was, you know, you had somefun in it, but it showed your
vulnerability, a lot of livelessons.
My question for you is isaround, and I think this will
(19:40):
help people when it comes to theauthenticity and what they're
doing.
Some people have this um, youknow, what do you call it?
The uh uh uh imposter syndrometype thing.
You know, I want to know fromyou what makes embracing
authenticity in such a personalway teach you about leadership
(20:01):
and about influence.
SPEAKER_00 (20:04):
Um well, when I look at authenticity, and it's I'm
glad you asked this questionbecause I often get this from um
a lot of professionals,especially women, you know,
especially women in corporate.
You know, how do I how do I showup as my authentic self?
How do you how do you do it?
You just you you just seem soauthentic.
And so the first thing I say is,well, I I only know how to be
(20:26):
me.
I only know how to be myself,number one.
Um, and I think once you you tapinto yourself, like who are you?
Or when you ask yourself, who amI?
Who am I at my core?
What are my core values?
What does life mean to me?
What is my purpose?
Why am I here?
(20:46):
And and even in every decisionyou make, what's my why?
Right?
Um, so I I I do my best to showup as me, like all of me.
Um, and all of me may not gelwith everyone.
I get that, right?
Um, but I believe that when youshow up as your true self and
(21:10):
you're able to honor and walk inyour truth, whatever your truth
is, I just share some thingsthat some people know, some
people don't know, right?
But that's my truth.
When I wrote the book Chroniclesof a Serial Dater, it was my
truth.
It's not that I'm a serial dateron purpose.
No, it's just how life has kindof evolved about dating and
(21:31):
relationships.
And it's my truth.
And I I bared my soul in thatbook.
And there were so many people,men and women, who were able to
relate to it.
But I showed my vulnerability.
I said, well, hopefully there'sa lesson in every story, good,
bad, or indifferent, or funny,even, for for every woman who
(21:56):
reads it, or in every man whoreads it.
Because I I had a lesson formen, a lesson for women after
every story.
But it was my truth, and it waswhat I thought someone else
could gain from it that mayresonate with them.
So um, authenticity is reallyjust standing in your truth and
living your truth every singleday.
(22:18):
Don't hide from it, don't putthe mask on.
Everybody wants you to wear amask, right?
To send your representative.
No, I'm not sending myrepresentative.
This is Anne-Marie Sorrell.
This is who you get every singletime.
These are my beliefs.
And again, they may not be inalignment, and that's okay,
(22:41):
right?
Um, so I think that that's themain thing is if you're being
your authentic self, people willappreciate that.
I always tell girls that Imentor, don't try to be who you
saw on Instagram or TikToknowadays, or that celebrity you
(23:03):
admire.
Yes, you can be inspired by, butyou can't be them.
God created you uniquely.
That's right.
You got to be who you are andwho God creates you to be.
And sometimes you don't know whoyou are.
It develops.
We're all developing,discovering, and refining along
the way, but embrace who youare, both on the outside and the
(23:26):
inside.
And once you embrace it,everybody else will.
When I when I uh decided to weara bald head because of alopecia,
I could have done all types ofother things, wore a wig, except
maybe now and then I play aroundwith the wig.
But I didn't feel like I wasbeing me.
I remember wearing a wig forlike six months before I just
(23:47):
said, I'm done.
And I didn't feel it wassomething about it, just didn't
feel genuine.
It didn't feel like it was me.
It felt like I was just puttingon this mask every day.
And I couldn't go out into theworld with this mask on.
It just didn't feel like itdidn't feel right, Grant.
SPEAKER_01 (24:06):
I was whatever.
Oh man, I'm I'm hey, I'm here,the audience clapping right now,
being your authentic.
So it had to be freeing for youas well.
Look, it's who I am, I'm goodwith it.
I hope you're good with it.
SPEAKER_00 (24:19):
Right.
And if not, that's okay.
Okay, it might not be your cupof tea.
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (24:25):
That's nothing, it's but you have to get above that,
right?
That that's overcoming your owninner self, your own inner
fears, some of the hang ups thatyou have.
SPEAKER_00 (24:34):
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (24:36):
And it takes a bold, you don't have to be bold and
then step out on some faithabout that, but you being your
authentic self.
Now, one of the other thingsthat you're doing that I I think
you stand in that authenticityis around your, I think it's
Kenobiziak, right?
Kenna Biziak, yes.
(24:56):
Now you this this is cool.
People, you're gonna love thisbecause she you centered around
equity and access in theindustry that's often closed off
to minorities.
You know, we're talking aboutthe the health world, right?
Now, how do you use authenticityto advocate for inclusion while
(25:17):
also building credibility in ahighly, highly regulated market?
SPEAKER_00 (25:23):
Um well, let me let me backtrack because um I think
it's important to understand thethe birth of Cannabisiac.
The birth of it was that um as Iwas looking for information
myself, trying to be educated,trying to understand where the
economic opportunities were inthe industry, the doors were
closed or the circles were sotight that people that looked
(25:47):
like you and me was not there.
We weren't at the table.
unknown (25:51):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (25:52):
I'm talking about specifically here in Florida.
It was very few of us at thetable in the room.
Um, the rooms that I went inearly on.
And so I remember like reachingout to people after I'd go to an
event and didn't get a callback, didn't get an email back.
And I'm like, all right, cool.
No table.
What do we do?
We build one.
And so that was the birth ofCanabizia to say I can't be the
(26:15):
only one looking for thisinformation.
I can't be the only one that'sinterested in this industry, and
I definitely can't be the onlyone who wants to know how we can
build our community economicallyand address certain health
disparities because we gottalook at the health side of the
plant.
And so that's how Canabizia cameabout was creating something
(26:37):
that I knew was missing becauseI was looking for it.
Um, and so that's where where wecame about.
Um, and so again, to do thatauthentic authentically is this
is my truth, and I'm sure it'strue for others.
Let me create an opportunity,let me shed light on something
(27:02):
that's taboo.
Let me and let me informespecially our community of
where we may be potentiallymissing out because we're still
conditioned by what we weretaught about cannabis or
marijuana or ganja, whatever youwant to call it about it, and
the war on drugs that literallydestroyed our communities.
(27:27):
But others are benefiting andmaking millions of dollars from
this plant while our community,many people from our community
are still locked up and spendtime for the plant.
So I wanted to bring awarenessto the injustice.
I wanted to bring um awarenessto the benefits, health
(27:50):
benefits, medical benefits ofthe plant, or even just social
benefits.
And I wanted to bring awarenessto the economic opportunities
because I do believe that thecannabis industry can be the
great equalizer for brown andblack communities, especially
black communities.
But we gotta learn and beeducated about it.
SPEAKER_01 (28:11):
You got the the vision that you have is spot on
and said some we are usually theend user, let's say, of the
plant, but we're not theproducer or the distribution of
uh of the hemp and what you canbe used in so many different
ways, so many so many differentways.
(28:32):
So then if you then you begin tosee what traditionally has been
happened in our community, thatyou're just locked out of the
economics of how this ishappening, right?
And then you've got to open itup because you're about when you
look at MBEC, it's a signatureplatform for you, it's the black
economic empowerment.
And I'd say this in in lookingbeyond its origins, how do you
(28:58):
see your like now you've you'vegot all these different
platforms that you're workingon?
What is the long-term vision androle that you feel that you have
in reshaping opportunitiesnationwide from the Mosaic
Group?
SPEAKER_00 (29:14):
Yeah, I'm glad you said that.
Um, at our 20th anniversary twoweeks ago, we just launched
Mosaic Global Group.
Um, and what we're doing isstreamlining all of our various
brands, Mosaic Group, MosaicCo-work, Mosaic Wired, which is
our technology arm, uh, MosaicMarketing, which is our
Caribbean headquarters, andthen, of course, our different
initiatives, which includes theNational Black Economic
(29:36):
Conference, Mosaic Cares, whichis our philanthropic arm, um,
and eventually um Canabiziacplays a role in that as well.
Um we're streamlining um under aconsolidated brand, Mosaic
Global Group.
So you heard it here?
Second, because we announced itat our uh event, but we haven't
(29:59):
announced it publicly.
On our social platforms yet.
So Mosaic Global Group, which isalso an opportunity for us to
acquire and merge with otherbrands.
So we are looking forcollaborative opportunities.
We're looking for MAopportunities to grow our
talent, to grow our footprint,and more importantly, to grow
(30:20):
our impact across the US as wellas other countries.
So that's the that's the bigpicture.
You know, Grant, I come with abig picture.
That's an envision.
That's the big picture.
But, you know, we can't do itall alone.
I can't do it all alone.
It's going to take a lot ofstrategic partners, um, um a lot
(30:42):
of support from our community.
And I thank God for just thepeople like you, Grant, who, you
know, if I called and said, hey,Grant, I need you to just show
up to this event or promote thisor do whatever, you never said
no, right?
So I'm so grateful for peoplelike yourself, all those who
supported any effort initiativethat has been put in my spirit
(31:04):
to launch over these 20 years.
I support, I appreciate thatsupport.
And as we grow internationally,we're gonna need more of that.
We're gonna need a lot of that.
SPEAKER_01 (31:17):
All of us got to work together because this is so
important.
That's when you get into what Icall the execution role, right?
That that last part of the braidframework, execution.
You're executing now.
Now, you won more than 25 awardsfor your leadership, your
community service, you've got alot of execution strategies,
(31:41):
you're grounded in discipline,you've got daily practices, what
you need, and your faith.
How does that all come togetherfor you?
And more importantly, I want youto tie in women, immigrants,
minority entrepreneurs who'vebeen who are inspired, you've
inspired, and that are inspiredby your story.
(32:04):
What execution advice would yougive about turning a bold vision
that you had into a movementthat will last?
SPEAKER_00 (32:17):
Um first I'd say if you have vision, you're a
visionary, stand by your vision.
Because you will have you'regonna have both naysayers that
are just like thinking you'recrazy and don't do this and oh
that's too risky, or you know,why now?
(32:39):
Or you're gonna have a lot ofthat, right?
And some of it's valid, right?
For from from some people,right?
But then you're gonna have thosewho are like, I got you, no
matter what you're doing, I'm onboard, let's go.
Um, and you you kind of need abalance of both because some
people are gonna give you thatreality check for you to at
(32:59):
least think about and and ponderon.
But if it's your vision, and I Ifeel like everything I've done
has been spirit-led.
So, and and and that's why I'mable to move by faith and with
faith.
Um, so if you have a vision,move forward, stand by it, no
(33:21):
matter what.
Like just stand by it.
Um, I believe in plan A's.
Like if that's my plan A, that'swhat I'm moving on.
Because when you have those planB, C, D, E, F, you create this
level of doubt.
You create this level of, okay,well, if that don't work out,
let me just move over here.
And that's why some people neverreally move their projects or
their dreams forward becausethey got too many backup plans,
(33:43):
right?
So um I have an unwavering faithabout my plan A.
Um, even if I got to pivot,tweak it, pause, come back to
it, it's the plan A that Icontinue to work and my plan A
just evolves, as you can see,with different branches, but
they all come back to my corepurpose and mission.
(34:05):
So also know your mission.
What's your personal mission?
My personal mission is to makean impact, meaning that I make
the world, and that's my worldaround me.
I can't make the big world, butmaybe, maybe the big world, I
don't know.
But the people around me, myfamily, my friends, my
community, my employees andteam, are they better when they
(34:29):
left than when they before theymet me?
SPEAKER_01 (34:33):
Are they better off with or without you?
You cannot deny the result ofall the things that you've done.
When you look at the outcomes,they speak for themselves.
You put in the hard work, youstay with your plan B, and then
here you are mosaic group 20.
20 years later, here you are,you you're doing it big.
(34:54):
Now I only got one more questionto ask you.
Probably my most importantquestion today is now this is
your first interview on the FallAbrand podcast with me.
How did you feel?
SPEAKER_00 (35:06):
Oh, it feels great.
Like I'm I'm with you, Grant.
First of all, Grant, youyourself, let me give you your
flowers.
Um, you've been such atremendous leader in our
community, whether it's in thefield of healthcare, leadership,
IT, you are a tremendous leader.
(35:28):
Like I said, I got anopportunity to meet you years
ago.
Um, and you've been sosupportive.
Um, my my my baby girl, when shewas enrolling and looking to
enroll in the healthcareadministration program, I called
you.
You're the first person I waslike, hey, can I can I have a
reach out to you?
Can you give us some pointers,right?
So I know you've mentored youngpeople.
(35:51):
Um, so to be here and share astage with you, a spotlight with
you, for you to spotlight me,this is amazing.
Like, I'm honored.
I'm honored, I'm humbled, and Iappreciate you.
And I thank you for all you do,all your support over the years.
Even if we don't talk every day,every month, or every year, I
(36:11):
know that when I call you orwhen you call me, we're gonna
pick up the phone.
And I just I'm so grateful foryou.
So thank you for thisopportunity.
This feels great.
This is amazing, and I'mhonored.
SPEAKER_01 (36:22):
Oh man, back at you.
This is beautiful.
Thank you for those flowers.
You know, they're very colorful.
Yes, they're very nice.
So you gotta tell the artist howto contact you.
How do they get in touch withthe mosaic group?
How can they get on board?
Because you are more than amarketing agency, you are a
movement, and people that thatresonate with you, they they
want to say, hey, I need tobring my vision, what I'm doing,
(36:45):
and make it visible.
And you can do that with themosaic group.
SPEAKER_00 (36:49):
Absolutely.
So you can reach the mosaicgroup at mosaicgroup.co.
Um, if you want to learn moreabout our global initiative,
mosaicglobalgroup.co, um, ofcourse, you can call us at
561-651-9565 is our corporateheadquarters number.
Um, and of course, follow themosaic group on social media so
(37:12):
you can get all of our updates,all of our great content that
we're rolling out.
Um, and if you are in need of amarketing firm that's going to
take you to the next level, ofcourse, we're here to help you
do that.
But we are also looking forcollaborators, strategic
partners, investors.
Um, if you're a company oragency out there and you're
about to retire and you want towork with an agency or, you
(37:36):
know, transition with an agency,that's what Mosaic Global Group
is about.
If you're a new startup and youwant to be a part of a growing
global entity, we're looking foryou as well.
So many opportunities to partnerwith us.
And of course, come to um ourupcoming events that we have as
well.
SPEAKER_01 (37:53):
And you got your new show.
You said I was gonna invite meout to that show.
I can't wait.
SPEAKER_00 (37:58):
Yes.
So um, if you don't, uh, so twothings.
Uh you can follow me up with MIAMedia Group.
It's not my company, but I'm ashow host for Legacy Leaders,
where um we have great leaders.
Um, looking to have Grant on theshow soon.
But then Tea with Anne Marie isgonna be a relaunch.
And with that, we're launchingthe Live Audaciously segment,
(38:20):
which ties into a uh planner andjournal that I am currently
publishing that will be readyfor um the 2026 year.
So look out for LiveAudaciously, uh, which is like a
new uh branding campaign,personal branding campaign,
because I do believe in livingyour most audacious and
authentic life and launching theplanner and that segment on Tea
(38:44):
with Anne Marie, which Grantwill be a guest on.
So listen out for that coming upsoon as well.
And you can also go to annmariesorrel.com, which will be
updated with all thatinformation as well.
SPEAKER_01 (38:56):
Excellent, excellent.
Thank you again.
And your entire audience cantune in to all the episodes of
Follow Brand at Five Story BDM.
That is number five.
That is STAR, that is B forbrand, D for Development,
Informasters.com.
I want to thank you so much forbeing on the show.
SPEAKER_00 (39:12):
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_01 (39:13):
You're welcome.
Welcome everybody to the Fun Ran Podcast.
This is your host, Grant McGall,and I get to bring it all the
way back to West Palm Beach,Florida.
And I get to teach, I mean, talkto one of my favorite people.
I've been knowing her for solong.
We've been running in the samecircles.
We always see each other.
I mean, if it was a uh Nazievent, she was there.
(00:24):
If she's doing something at PalmBeach, I'm there.
And we're going back and forth.
And here it is.
You know, I lived in MiamiGardens for almost 30 years.
She is doing big, big things inthe city from a marketing
perspective.
I am so, so very, very proud ofyou.
So very proud to have you, theCEO and owner of the Mosaic
(00:49):
Group on the Follow the Brandshow.
So I want to thank you.
Please introduce yourself andthen we'll get into our
discussion.
SPEAKER_00 (00:56):
Oh, Grant, thank you so much for having me.
Um, you know, I've been a fan ofyou since my early days in Nasi,
which was like 200 maybe four orfive before I even started
Mosaic.
That's something.
So um, so I'm I'm I'm reallyhappy to be on the show.
(01:16):
Um, thank you for having me.
I'm Anne-Maurice Sorrell,president and CEO of the Mosaic
Group.
Uh, we're an award-winningmarketing, advertising, public
relations, and communityengagement agency.
We have been in business for 20years.
We just celebrated our 20thanniversary two weeks ago.
And um, you know, lookingforward and cheers to 20 more
(01:41):
and beyond.
Uh, so just super excited aboutthe work that we get to do and
honored about the communitiesthat we get to serve, um, not
just in South Florida, but werecently expanded to the
Caribbean as well.
So we're looking forward tobuilding our footprint through
the Caribbean with ourheadquarters in Jamaica and, you
know, hopefully beyondthroughout the CARICOM.
SPEAKER_01 (02:02):
Man, I am I'm loving that.
You know, I made my move to St.
Croix, you're in Jamaica, wetalked about that.
We really got to just createthat brotherhood that that that
is there.
And you've been doing, I'mtelling the mosaic group, people
don't know, you've deliveredmore than 500 campaigns.
500, that's a big number.
That includes some major worklike what we just talked about
(02:26):
with Miami Gardens.
You're doing some premier globalevents.
A lot of these are eventdestinations.
But my question for you is this,and we talk about brand
authority.
What have been your keys tobuilding brand authority, not
just for your clients, but foryourself as a leader?
SPEAKER_00 (02:46):
Yeah, I think it's first, first the key is
understanding and setting a goalof how you want to position your
brand.
Like, how do you want to show upfor people, your consumer, your
target audience, if it's thehealthcare industry, your
patient population, whateverthat audience, that constituency
is, like, how do you want to bepositioned for them?
(03:08):
How do you want to show up forthem?
Uh, branding is not just about alogo, it's it's the look, it's
the feel, it's the messaging,it's the attitude, um, it's the
culture, it's therepresentation, it's all of that
about the brand.
So when we're working with ourclients, we're really trying to
understand how do you want to bepositioned in the marketplace?
(03:30):
Um, and then it gets into moreof the how do you want to be
found, accessed, et cetera.
So the same thing with mosaic,you know, how do we want to be
positioned in the marketplace?
We've always been that companythat's about impact, right?
And how do we not only makeimpactful campaigns and
meaningful campaigns for ourclients, but how do we work on
(03:52):
issues that matter, causes thatmatter, um, things that are
gonna change lives, empowerlives, move, move the needle,
um, things that are movement,right?
Um, so that's our that's beenour brand positioning, our brand
focus.
And it makes us super proud ofthe work that we do, especially
when we know we're we're here,um, whether it's it's bringing
(04:17):
employment to a community oreducation to a doorstep or uh a
healthcare issue that some of usmay not be aware of, um, that
you should be, you know, checkedout for and tested for whatever.
So it's it's it's all of that.
It's it's the brand positioning.
So that's that's the the maintip is how do you want to show
(04:38):
up?
How do you want to bepositioned?
How do you go beyond just thelogo?
Um, what's your key messaging,what's your look and feel,
what's the culture um of yourbrand.
So that's those are just some ofthe key tips.
SPEAKER_01 (04:50):
No, those are great keys.
You know, I do a lot in thepersonal brand space, and I'm I
I just I just love how yougravitated to positioning
because it is so important.
And then how you back intoeverything that I always bring
to my clients.
And that is you have to have apoint of view, that's a point of
differentiation.
What is your point of view thatthen you know bolds into your
(05:14):
personal story, and then youhave to have some type of
platform, right?
Some kind of platform thatyou're gonna deliver that
particular message on, you know,and then you get into that
position.
You said it so so well.
Now, you often say content isking, but marketing is queen.
(05:35):
So I want to know from thatphilosophy, how does that
philosophy shape the way youhelp businesses and communities
stand out in a crowded market?
SPEAKER_00 (05:45):
Absolutely.
So storytelling, right?
Um, every person, every brand,every company has a story.
And the story continues toevolve, it continues to um
change whether on a daily basisor whatever time frame, um,
stories evolve.
But for a lot of companies, umno one knows their story.
(06:10):
And if no one knows your story,then how are you resonating?
How are you relating?
Um, so how how can you berelatable?
So um when it comes to content,it's first of all, do you have a
story to tell?
And then can you create contentaround that story?
Um, for some people, they thinkcontent is just, you know,
(06:33):
videos or photos um or uh a texthere.
It's all of that, right?
It's it's all of it before itwas called content, you know, we
called it copy.
Copywriting, you know, we calledit that.
But um content is a combinationof um various things.
(06:55):
But what it comes down to is isit relatable?
Does it connect, right?
And does it cause the thetargeted person or audience to
take action?
Right?
Is it actionable?
Um, because if your content isjust out there and there's no
action to it, then you're justkind of, you know.
So, so and it goes back to thatinitial comment, you know, what
(07:18):
we said in the beginning was um,what's the positioning?
How do you want to show up?
What's your goal?
What's your objective?
So developing a contentstrategy, and and this is the
very important part.
Yes, the strategy.
A lot of folks, so let's justtake social media, for example.
Oh, I have a social mediaaccount, I just put out whatever
(07:41):
on there.
And that's fine if you don'twant to have an intentional
purpose, if you don't want toconnect, if you don't want to
have action taken, then yeah,just put anything out there.
But you need from a businessperspective, you need a
(08:01):
strategy.
So what's your story?
What's your strategy?
And then how do you now developcontent that fits that story and
strategy and on the appropriateplatforms because all platforms
are not created equal.
So each platform has a specificaudience and they respond in a
(08:23):
specific way.
So your content also has tospeak to that audience and how
they respond.
So content in itself is such aum it's uh it's literally like
his own discipline withinmarketing, literally.
I agree.
SPEAKER_01 (08:38):
I totally agree with what you said there.
I mean, you just took usthrough, I would say a master
class, and when you're lookingat uh marketing for what it
really is, people don't, I thinkthey they overgeneralize what
you can do in the marketingcontext.
Meaning you just went like,yeah, you could do it yourself
and you can you know put somecontent out there.
(08:59):
They've made it so easy to putcontent out there, but if you
don't have the intentionalityand understanding, again,
understanding your own story.
What is important to youraudience, not just to yourself,
but what's important to youraudience as you're building that
out.
And if you don't think alongthose lines, you're just like on
Facebook.
Facebook really is a social uhmedia platform, right?
(09:22):
I mean, really social, family,friends.
They might be interested in whatyou did last night and
interested in you know gettingtogether with certain people and
you're celebrating this like wejust had, you know, some time in
the holidays and that kind ofthing.
Very, very good platform may notresonate as well like on a
LinkedIn platform.
That's more of a businessplatform.
So understanding platform isvery, very important in what
(09:46):
you're looking to do.
Now you also brought upsomething I love, and that's the
personal story.
You have a personal story, andyour personal story as I've gone
through it, to me, it resonateswith resilience.
You've spoken about your journeyfrom Jamaica to Paul King and
the resilience it took to growfrom those roots into a global
(10:08):
influencer that you are today.
My question is this what has toyou most?
And how did your faith help youkeep moving forward?
SPEAKER_00 (10:20):
Oh man, what moments tested me most, man.
Who um I would say the therecession, right?
Because that was a moment ofjust it was so much happening,
right?
There was um this this you knownew business within the first
(10:44):
three years, things are goinggreat, we're climbing, and then
all of a sudden the recessionhits, Bernie Madoff happens.
We had a lot of nonprofitorganizations, and we just got
contract canceled, canceled,canceled because these
nonprofits didn't know what theywere gonna do because their
money was tied up in thisscandal.
(11:04):
And then you had the recessionhit.
We had some government contractswho were just getting into
government contracting, andthose were paused.
Big initiatives like bigreservoir projects,
multi-million dollar projects,paused indefinitely.
Um, so going from income to noincome, having to get super
(11:26):
creative.
I had only been a homeowner forabout um two and a half years,
um, had gone through a horriblerelationship, just broke my
heart into pieces, not tomention also finances and
everything else.
And so during that time, it wasjust turmoil.
(11:48):
So business, like trying to keepthe doors open, trying to figure
out where I'm gonna live.
My house went into foreclosure,um, and then uh became an
overnight parent to my niece.
So during that time, it waslike, oh my God.
And mind you, I had just turned30.
(12:10):
I think I was like 29, 30,whatever, somewhere in that
phase.
Um, and so all of this washappening at the same time, and
I honestly did not know how Iwas gonna survive at all.
Um, I just knew that I had tohave a tremendous amount of
faith.
Um, I had to rely on somerelationships with my family and
close friends.
(12:30):
Um and I just I had to continueto believe in that this is gonna
work.
Um, I remember a couple of yearsbefore I had read Think and Grow
Rich, and it was a part in thereabout plan A and plan B.
And I was like, this is my planA.
There's no plan B.
I gotta make this work.
And that means if I have tocreate events, if I have to and
(12:52):
charge$5, if I have to do somepro bono work, I went and taught
as an adjunct professor at ourlocal college, whatever I needed
to do to make sure that Isurvived, the company survived,
my family survived.
I did every single thing that Ineeded to do.
Um, a penny pinch, I rememberlike living on$20 for like two
(13:15):
weeks.
Yes, yeah.
My friends like teased me, like,well, you just had curry
tilapia, baked tilapia, friedtilapia.
SPEAKER_01 (13:27):
I feel you.
Yeah, at least you had tilapia,that's good.
SPEAKER_00 (13:31):
You know, but that's that's real.
That was, you know, that's andand and to me, that was one of
the most resilient times.
And I had to learn from that togo from here to like rock bottom
and try to rebuild, you know,and thank God like I had so many
lessons in that experience, andI was able to rebuild to where
we are today.
(13:52):
Um, it's amazing.
It's an amazing testimony.
Um, and I I don't I have noregrets because had I not gone
through that, I wouldn't be ableto survive the pandemic and God
knows whatever we're going to doright now.
SPEAKER_01 (14:06):
Oh, I I I'm glad you brought that up.
I want people to really lean inwhat you just said, because
leaders are not trained.
I think leaders are forged.
That kind of experience forgedyou into the person that you are
right now.
And without it, you wouldn't beas uh diligent and resilient
(14:28):
that that you are in order toface so many different things.
Now, you also launched the thefirst national black economic
conference, I think it was in2020, that was during the
pandemic.
Uh, and you that took courage,right?
That took a lot of courage to dothat.
My question again is in thisresilience world, because
(14:49):
resilience is a part of my my mybrave framework.
And I I hit on that because somany people, when they start out
in business and they look sofun, you know, they they get
these this the messaging thatcomes out like, hey, if I just
do these three things, I'm gonnabe rich.
If I just do this, this is likedriving up to a fast food
restaurant.
Like you're gonna need someresilience.
So, what did resilience looklike for you in that moment as
(15:12):
far as the National BlackEconomic Conference?
And I think now you're in your11th year, how did that grow out
of a season of uncertainty?
SPEAKER_00 (15:21):
Oh man, so just to backtrack a bit, so in 20 um 10,
again, around this time, I don'teven know.
I was reading the BlackEnterprise magazine, and there
was an article in there aboutNational Black Business Month.
And I remember seeing that, Iwas like, well, I've never seen
anything happen for NationalBlack Business Month.
I never heard of this.
(15:42):
And so I remember reaching outto some colleagues and I said,
hey, we got to do something herein South Florida.
So I initially created the Stateof the Black Business Forum and
invited the founder of one ofthe founders of National Black
Business Month, flew him outfrom California, brought him
here, and he did, he was here tofacilitate our first um National
(16:03):
Black Business Month event.
And we did the state of theblack business for, I believe,
six or seven years.
Um, and then we turned it to theSouth Florida Black Economic
Forum.
So we changed it to that becauseI said, you know what?
We know what the state of theblack business is.
SPEAKER_01 (16:20):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (16:20):
How do we talk economics?
Because that's really what itcomes down to.
So we came the South FloridaEconomic Forum for about three
years, and then the pandemichappened, George Floyd's
situation happened, or murder,let's call it what it is,
happened.
And we were not going to be ableto do the conference that year.
(16:42):
And it was the year that we werelike, we're not launching this
nationally.
And so that was already thevision pre-pandemic to say,
okay, 2020, we're going to makeit the National Black Economic
Conference instead of the SouthFlorida, because we wanted to
bring in speakers from aroundthe country.
But it wasn't just aboutspeakers.
(17:02):
Again, we know what the problemsare.
What are the solutions?
What are the opportunities?
What are the economicopportunities?
How do we really create wealthin our community?
And so that was the vision andmission of the forum from the
start.
And so here it is, 2020.
Businesses are closing left andright, pandemic, people dying.
(17:24):
We got the murder of GeorgeFloyd that had just happened
that June.
And I told my team, I was like,we can't just sit back.
We can't.
I'm not a sit back type ofperson.
We got to do something.
Let's figure this thing out.
We'll make it happen virtually,right?
And so we found a platform thatwe could do the conference and
(17:44):
the expo and everythingvirtually.
And man, when I tell you, we hadsome of the most amazing talent
from around the country and eveninternationally.
We had the um His Excellencyfrom Ghana.
Um we had uh some ambassadorsand um ministers from the
Caribbean, we had South Floridaleaders, we had um uh what was
(18:10):
it, uh NBC's VP at the time, umHoneypot uh founder.
Just we had some heavy hittersin business, but more
importantly, we gave people theopportunity to learn about
emerging markets, to learn aboutwhat resources were available to
(18:31):
them, grants that were comingout from these corporations who,
you know, felt like, oh, wegotta do something.
Um it was it was probably one ofthe most phenomenal virtual or
even events as a whole that wehad put on.
Um and from we we didn't havesponsors, we didn't, this was
just like we're doing it becausewe gotta make it happen.
(18:53):
We gotta do some kosher.
unknown (18:55):
That's what it was.
SPEAKER_01 (18:56):
I'm glad you did.
I think that bodes well in whatyou just described, and in what
I call it, my blueprint strategyis around authenticity and being
authentic in your brand,authentic in what you're doing.
So you say, no, this is not justabout the money, this is about
my beliefs.
(19:17):
This is what I know that is theright thing to do.
And I I feel that from you, theauthenticity of it.
Now, you wrote a book called uhChronicles of a serial data,
which blended a bunch of humor.
It was, you know, you had somefun in it, but it showed your
vulnerability, a lot of livelessons.
My question for you is isaround, and I think this will
(19:40):
help people when it comes to theauthenticity and what they're
doing.
Some people have this um, youknow, what do you call it?
The uh uh uh imposter syndrometype thing.
You know, I want to know fromyou what makes embracing
authenticity in such a personalway teach you about leadership
(20:01):
and about influence.
SPEAKER_00 (20:04):
Um well, when I look at authenticity, and it's I'm
glad you asked this questionbecause I often get this from um
a lot of professionals,especially women, you know,
especially women in corporate.
You know, how do I how do I showup as my authentic self?
How do you how do you do it?
You just you you just seem soauthentic.
And so the first thing I say is,well, I I only know how to be
(20:26):
me.
I only know how to be myself,number one.
Um, and I think once you you tapinto yourself, like who are you?
Or when you ask yourself, who amI?
Who am I at my core?
What are my core values?
What does life mean to me?
What is my purpose?
Why am I here?
(20:46):
And and even in every decisionyou make, what's my why?
Right?
Um, so I I I do my best to showup as me, like all of me.
Um, and all of me may not gelwith everyone.
I get that, right?
Um, but I believe that when youshow up as your true self and
(21:10):
you're able to honor and walk inyour truth, whatever your truth
is, I just share some thingsthat some people know, some
people don't know, right?
But that's my truth.
When I wrote the book Chroniclesof a Serial Dater, it was my
truth.
It's not that I'm a serial dateron purpose.
No, it's just how life has kindof evolved about dating and
(21:31):
relationships.
And it's my truth.
And I I bared my soul in thatbook.
And there were so many people,men and women, who were able to
relate to it.
But I showed my vulnerability.
I said, well, hopefully there'sa lesson in every story, good,
bad, or indifferent, or funny,even, for for every woman who
(21:56):
reads it, or in every man whoreads it.
Because I I had a lesson formen, a lesson for women after
every story.
But it was my truth, and it waswhat I thought someone else
could gain from it that mayresonate with them.
So um, authenticity is reallyjust standing in your truth and
living your truth every singleday.
(22:18):
Don't hide from it, don't putthe mask on.
Everybody wants you to wear amask, right?
To send your representative.
No, I'm not sending myrepresentative.
This is Anne-Marie Sorrell.
This is who you get every singletime.
These are my beliefs.
And again, they may not be inalignment, and that's okay,
(22:41):
right?
Um, so I think that that's themain thing is if you're being
your authentic self, people willappreciate that.
I always tell girls that Imentor, don't try to be who you
saw on Instagram or TikToknowadays, or that celebrity you
(23:03):
admire.
Yes, you can be inspired by, butyou can't be them.
God created you uniquely.
That's right.
You got to be who you are andwho God creates you to be.
And sometimes you don't know whoyou are.
It develops.
We're all developing,discovering, and refining along
the way, but embrace who youare, both on the outside and the
(23:26):
inside.
And once you embrace it,everybody else will.
When I when I uh decided to weara bald head because of alopecia,
I could have done all types ofother things, wore a wig, except
maybe now and then I play aroundwith the wig.
But I didn't feel like I wasbeing me.
I remember wearing a wig forlike six months before I just
(23:47):
said, I'm done.
And I didn't feel it wassomething about it, just didn't
feel genuine.
It didn't feel like it was me.
It felt like I was just puttingon this mask every day.
And I couldn't go out into theworld with this mask on.
It just didn't feel like itdidn't feel right, Grant.
SPEAKER_01 (24:06):
I was whatever.
Oh man, I'm I'm hey, I'm here,the audience clapping right now,
being your authentic.
So it had to be freeing for youas well.
Look, it's who I am, I'm goodwith it.
I hope you're good with it.
SPEAKER_00 (24:19):
Right.
And if not, that's okay.
Okay, it might not be your cupof tea.
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (24:25):
That's nothing, it's but you have to get above that,
right?
That that's overcoming your owninner self, your own inner
fears, some of the hang ups thatyou have.
SPEAKER_00 (24:34):
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (24:36):
And it takes a bold, you don't have to be bold and
then step out on some faithabout that, but you being your
authentic self.
Now, one of the other thingsthat you're doing that I I think
you stand in that authenticityis around your, I think it's
Kenobiziak, right?
Kenna Biziak, yes.
(24:56):
Now you this this is cool.
People, you're gonna love thisbecause she you centered around
equity and access in theindustry that's often closed off
to minorities.
You know, we're talking aboutthe the health world, right?
Now, how do you use authenticityto advocate for inclusion while
(25:17):
also building credibility in ahighly, highly regulated market?
SPEAKER_00 (25:23):
Um well, let me let me backtrack because um I think
it's important to understand thethe birth of Cannabisiac.
The birth of it was that um as Iwas looking for information
myself, trying to be educated,trying to understand where the
economic opportunities were inthe industry, the doors were
closed or the circles were sotight that people that looked
(25:47):
like you and me was not there.
We weren't at the table.
unknown (25:51):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (25:52):
I'm talking about specifically here in Florida.
It was very few of us at thetable in the room.
Um, the rooms that I went inearly on.
And so I remember like reachingout to people after I'd go to an
event and didn't get a callback, didn't get an email back.
And I'm like, all right, cool.
No table.
What do we do?
We build one.
And so that was the birth ofCanabizia to say I can't be the
(26:15):
only one looking for thisinformation.
I can't be the only one that'sinterested in this industry, and
I definitely can't be the onlyone who wants to know how we can
build our community economicallyand address certain health
disparities because we gottalook at the health side of the
plant.
And so that's how Canabizia cameabout was creating something
(26:37):
that I knew was missing becauseI was looking for it.
Um, and so that's where where wecame about.
Um, and so again, to do thatauthentic authentically is this
is my truth, and I'm sure it'strue for others.
Let me create an opportunity,let me shed light on something
(27:02):
that's taboo.
Let me and let me informespecially our community of
where we may be potentiallymissing out because we're still
conditioned by what we weretaught about cannabis or
marijuana or ganja, whatever youwant to call it about it, and
the war on drugs that literallydestroyed our communities.
(27:27):
But others are benefiting andmaking millions of dollars from
this plant while our community,many people from our community
are still locked up and spendtime for the plant.
So I wanted to bring awarenessto the injustice.
I wanted to bring um awarenessto the benefits, health
(27:50):
benefits, medical benefits ofthe plant, or even just social
benefits.
And I wanted to bring awarenessto the economic opportunities
because I do believe that thecannabis industry can be the
great equalizer for brown andblack communities, especially
black communities.
But we gotta learn and beeducated about it.
SPEAKER_01 (28:11):
You got the the vision that you have is spot on
and said some we are usually theend user, let's say, of the
plant, but we're not theproducer or the distribution of
uh of the hemp and what you canbe used in so many different
ways, so many so many differentways.
(28:32):
So then if you then you begin tosee what traditionally has been
happened in our community, thatyou're just locked out of the
economics of how this ishappening, right?
And then you've got to open itup because you're about when you
look at MBEC, it's a signatureplatform for you, it's the black
economic empowerment.
And I'd say this in in lookingbeyond its origins, how do you
(28:58):
see your like now you've you'vegot all these different
platforms that you're workingon?
What is the long-term vision androle that you feel that you have
in reshaping opportunitiesnationwide from the Mosaic
Group?
SPEAKER_00 (29:14):
Yeah, I'm glad you said that.
Um, at our 20th anniversary twoweeks ago, we just launched
Mosaic Global Group.
Um, and what we're doing isstreamlining all of our various
brands, Mosaic Group, MosaicCo-work, Mosaic Wired, which is
our technology arm, uh, MosaicMarketing, which is our
Caribbean headquarters, andthen, of course, our different
initiatives, which includes theNational Black Economic
(29:36):
Conference, Mosaic Cares, whichis our philanthropic arm, um,
and eventually um Canabiziacplays a role in that as well.
Um we're streamlining um under aconsolidated brand, Mosaic
Global Group.
So you heard it here?
Second, because we announced itat our uh event, but we haven't
(29:59):
announced it publicly.
On our social platforms yet.
So Mosaic Global Group, which isalso an opportunity for us to
acquire and merge with otherbrands.
So we are looking forcollaborative opportunities.
We're looking for MAopportunities to grow our
talent, to grow our footprint,and more importantly, to grow
(30:20):
our impact across the US as wellas other countries.
So that's the that's the bigpicture.
You know, Grant, I come with abig picture.
That's an envision.
That's the big picture.
But, you know, we can't do itall alone.
I can't do it all alone.
It's going to take a lot ofstrategic partners, um, um a lot
(30:42):
of support from our community.
And I thank God for just thepeople like you, Grant, who, you
know, if I called and said, hey,Grant, I need you to just show
up to this event or promote thisor do whatever, you never said
no, right?
So I'm so grateful for peoplelike yourself, all those who
supported any effort initiativethat has been put in my spirit
(31:04):
to launch over these 20 years.
I support, I appreciate thatsupport.
And as we grow internationally,we're gonna need more of that.
We're gonna need a lot of that.
SPEAKER_01 (31:17):
All of us got to work together because this is so
important.
That's when you get into what Icall the execution role, right?
That that last part of the braidframework, execution.
You're executing now.
Now, you won more than 25 awardsfor your leadership, your
community service, you've got alot of execution strategies,
(31:41):
you're grounded in discipline,you've got daily practices, what
you need, and your faith.
How does that all come togetherfor you?
And more importantly, I want youto tie in women, immigrants,
minority entrepreneurs who'vebeen who are inspired, you've
inspired, and that are inspiredby your story.
(32:04):
What execution advice would yougive about turning a bold vision
that you had into a movementthat will last?
SPEAKER_00 (32:17):
Um first I'd say if you have vision, you're a
visionary, stand by your vision.
Because you will have you'regonna have both naysayers that
are just like thinking you'recrazy and don't do this and oh
that's too risky, or you know,why now?
(32:39):
Or you're gonna have a lot ofthat, right?
And some of it's valid, right?
For from from some people,right?
But then you're gonna have thosewho are like, I got you, no
matter what you're doing, I'm onboard, let's go.
Um, and you you kind of need abalance of both because some
people are gonna give you thatreality check for you to at
(32:59):
least think about and and ponderon.
But if it's your vision, and I Ifeel like everything I've done
has been spirit-led.
So, and and and that's why I'mable to move by faith and with
faith.
Um, so if you have a vision,move forward, stand by it, no
(33:21):
matter what.
Like just stand by it.
Um, I believe in plan A's.
Like if that's my plan A, that'swhat I'm moving on.
Because when you have those planB, C, D, E, F, you create this
level of doubt.
You create this level of, okay,well, if that don't work out,
let me just move over here.
And that's why some people neverreally move their projects or
their dreams forward becausethey got too many backup plans,
(33:43):
right?
So um I have an unwavering faithabout my plan A.
Um, even if I got to pivot,tweak it, pause, come back to
it, it's the plan A that Icontinue to work and my plan A
just evolves, as you can see,with different branches, but
they all come back to my corepurpose and mission.
(34:05):
So also know your mission.
What's your personal mission?
My personal mission is to makean impact, meaning that I make
the world, and that's my worldaround me.
I can't make the big world, butmaybe, maybe the big world, I
don't know.
But the people around me, myfamily, my friends, my
community, my employees andteam, are they better when they
(34:29):
left than when they before theymet me?
SPEAKER_01 (34:33):
Are they better off with or without you?
You cannot deny the result ofall the things that you've done.
When you look at the outcomes,they speak for themselves.
You put in the hard work, youstay with your plan B, and then
here you are mosaic group 20.
20 years later, here you are,you you're doing it big.
(34:54):
Now I only got one more questionto ask you.
Probably my most importantquestion today is now this is
your first interview on the FallAbrand podcast with me.
How did you feel?
SPEAKER_00 (35:06):
Oh, it feels great.
Like I'm I'm with you, Grant.
First of all, Grant, youyourself, let me give you your
flowers.
Um, you've been such atremendous leader in our
community, whether it's in thefield of healthcare, leadership,
IT, you are a tremendous leader.
(35:28):
Like I said, I got anopportunity to meet you years
ago.
Um, and you've been sosupportive.
Um, my my my baby girl, when shewas enrolling and looking to
enroll in the healthcareadministration program, I called
you.
You're the first person I waslike, hey, can I can I have a
reach out to you?
Can you give us some pointers,right?
So I know you've mentored youngpeople.
(35:51):
Um, so to be here and share astage with you, a spotlight with
you, for you to spotlight me,this is amazing.
Like, I'm honored.
I'm honored, I'm humbled, and Iappreciate you.
And I thank you for all you do,all your support over the years.
Even if we don't talk every day,every month, or every year, I
(36:11):
know that when I call you orwhen you call me, we're gonna
pick up the phone.
And I just I'm so grateful foryou.
So thank you for thisopportunity.
This feels great.
This is amazing, and I'mhonored.
SPEAKER_01 (36:22):
Oh man, back at you.
This is beautiful.
Thank you for those flowers.
You know, they're very colorful.
Yes, they're very nice.
So you gotta tell the artist howto contact you.
How do they get in touch withthe mosaic group?
How can they get on board?
Because you are more than amarketing agency, you are a
movement, and people that thatresonate with you, they they
want to say, hey, I need tobring my vision, what I'm doing,
(36:45):
and make it visible.
And you can do that with themosaic group.
SPEAKER_00 (36:49):
Absolutely.
So you can reach the mosaicgroup at mosaicgroup.co.
Um, if you want to learn moreabout our global initiative,
mosaicglobalgroup.co, um, ofcourse, you can call us at
561-651-9565 is our corporateheadquarters number.
Um, and of course, follow themosaic group on social media so
(37:12):
you can get all of our updates,all of our great content that
we're rolling out.
Um, and if you are in need of amarketing firm that's going to
take you to the next level, ofcourse, we're here to help you
do that.
But we are also looking forcollaborators, strategic
partners, investors.
Um, if you're a company oragency out there and you're
about to retire and you want towork with an agency or, you
(37:36):
know, transition with an agency,that's what Mosaic Global Group
is about.
If you're a new startup and youwant to be a part of a growing
global entity, we're looking foryou as well.
So many opportunities to partnerwith us.
And of course, come to um ourupcoming events that we have as
well.
SPEAKER_01 (37:53):
And you got your new show.
You said I was gonna invite meout to that show.
I can't wait.
SPEAKER_00 (37:58):
Yes.
So um, if you don't, uh, so twothings.
Uh you can follow me up with MIAMedia Group.
It's not my company, but I'm ashow host for Legacy Leaders,
where um we have great leaders.
Um, looking to have Grant on theshow soon.
But then Tea with Anne Marie isgonna be a relaunch.
And with that, we're launchingthe Live Audaciously segment,
(38:20):
which ties into a uh planner andjournal that I am currently
publishing that will be readyfor um the 2026 year.
So look out for LiveAudaciously, uh, which is like a
new uh branding campaign,personal branding campaign,
because I do believe in livingyour most audacious and
authentic life and launching theplanner and that segment on Tea
(38:44):
with Anne Marie, which Grantwill be a guest on.
So listen out for that coming upsoon as well.
And you can also go to annmariesorrel.com, which will be
updated with all thatinformation as well.
SPEAKER_01 (38:56):
Excellent, excellent.
Thank you again.
And your entire audience cantune in to all the episodes of
Follow Brand at Five Story BDM.
That is number five.
That is STAR, that is B forbrand, D for Development,
Informasters.com.
I want to thank you so much forbeing on the show.
SPEAKER_00 (39:12):
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_01 (39:13):
You're welcome.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.