Latest / Black Fridays: Business Growth for Entrepreneurs, Creators & Professionals / Why Your Story Matters As A Small Business Owner - Ep. 162 w/ Mark S. Lee

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Why Your Story Matters As A Small Business Owner - Ep. 162 w/ Mark S. Lee · Black Fridays: Business Growth for Entrepreneurs, Creators & Professionals

0:00
[SPEAKER_03]: And I see a sound, I know nothing about writing columns, I'm a marketer, I can communicate things, I've never written business columns, he says, look, people know who you are and this is what I'm willing to do for you.
0:13
[SPEAKER_03]: He says, I want you to write a story about any small business in Detroit.
0:18
[SPEAKER_03]: He says, I'm going to run it, that's a year kidding, he said, no, I said, Sam, I don't
0:30
[SPEAKER_03]: And that was my first start, you know, into creating that niche.
0:34
[SPEAKER_03]: And people would start saying, hey, we like this.
0:35
[SPEAKER_03]: You're talking about small business.
0:37
[SPEAKER_03]: I started focusing on small business.
0:40
[SPEAKER_03]: And literally, twice over 62,000 small businesses.
0:43
[SPEAKER_03]: And it was a need for getting information to them.
1:06
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2:07
[SPEAKER_00]: I look forward to seeing you at the Bamboo locations.
2:10
[SPEAKER_00]: With that being said, let's get into that episode.
2:13
[SPEAKER_00]: We don't build Black Friday's family.
2:14
[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome back to another installment of the Black Friday's podcast.
2:17
[SPEAKER_00]: Before we get into today's episode, I need you to make sure you hit that like button, comment, subscribe, send some videos to family friends and loved ones so that we can keep this thing going.
2:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Now that I got that out of the way, I have someone who may be a bit of a familiar face because you've probably seen them on either CBS Detroit, PBS, being a small business and marketing expert and their media personality, a marketing,
2:42
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm great thanks for having me.
2:44
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm so happy to be here with you.
2:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.
2:46
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for putting up the Black Friday.
2:48
[SPEAKER_00]: So grateful to have you on the show.
2:50
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm always excited and it does to be able to talk to another marketing professional, especially with someone who has so much experience and wisdom as far as the game goes, and someone who is doing it on a daily basis.
3:03
[SPEAKER_00]: So we'll love to first be able to
3:06
[SPEAKER_00]: level set by asking Mark, what is your understanding of or what would you say your definition of marketing is?
3:13
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, marketing is a lot of the time to think of marketing as advertising and promotions.
3:17
[SPEAKER_03]: Know what the role of marketing really is is identify target audiences and building relationships with those audiences.
3:26
[SPEAKER_03]: by using products and services to solidify the relationship.
3:31
[SPEAKER_03]: Whoa, okay, wait a minute, Mark, you're in very tentative.
3:33
[SPEAKER_03]: So the bottom line is you have people who want to consume a product.
3:37
[SPEAKER_03]: And the bottom line is they're not exactly sure what product to consume.
3:41
[SPEAKER_03]: And you as a marketer, or your responsibility is to identify the target markets.
3:46
[SPEAKER_03]: where you could take those products too.
3:49
[SPEAKER_03]: And then you build a relationship with them.
3:51
[SPEAKER_03]: And now this is where the famous 4P's come into place product price promotion and packaging.
3:57
[SPEAKER_03]: So you use those quivers in your toolbox, so to speak, to help build those relationships.
4:02
[SPEAKER_03]: So for example, if you have a product and you want to market it to a consumer, if they don't know anything about the product, they may not necessarily purchase it.
4:11
[SPEAKER_03]: So you want to build what awareness to promotion.
4:16
[SPEAKER_03]: The role of marketing is to identify specific attendees of consumers, or target audiences, and then taking your products and services to feel a specific voice.
4:27
[SPEAKER_03]: That's really what marketing is.
4:28
[SPEAKER_03]: Everything else is really an extension of it, of getting the message he out there to promote it, but the bottom line is building relationships with customers.
4:35
[SPEAKER_00]: love that.
4:36
[SPEAKER_00]: That's perfect explanation of what marketing is and I wanted to ask you for you what drew you to marketing because I see that you went to your Easter Michigan alumni and I saw you study business there but what drew you to marketing in particular?
4:51
[SPEAKER_03]: You know that's a great question so my little bit by my background won't raise in Detroit
4:55
[SPEAKER_03]: went to high school here and certainly would sue college at East Subskine University and one of the things that went to graduate school at Northwest University.
5:03
[SPEAKER_03]: So going back to my early days, one of the things I love was just, you know, watching commercials and at a very young age, I enjoy doing things like that.
5:14
[SPEAKER_03]: But to answer your question and I was the student at East Subskine University, you know, I had a general business degree.
5:19
[SPEAKER_03]: It wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do.
5:22
[SPEAKER_03]: and so I took a bunch of different classes and marketing always took out what to be.
5:26
[SPEAKER_03]: Once I started to understand the idea, what it was, what it stood for, I found out I gravitated towards that.
5:32
[SPEAKER_03]: I still wasn't exactly sure what I want to do and I graduated.
5:36
[SPEAKER_03]: So then I went to Northwestern University in Chicago.
5:39
[SPEAKER_03]: I got my master's degree and I started taking
5:45
[SPEAKER_03]: I have professors who just brought it to life.
5:48
[SPEAKER_03]: Everything that they talked about, for example, the marketing, the communications.
5:52
[SPEAKER_03]: I can relate to all that.
5:54
[SPEAKER_03]: And I found myself standing in front of classrooms in those days and pitching business ideas as part of class projects.
6:01
[SPEAKER_03]: And I absolutely loved it.
6:03
[SPEAKER_03]: And it's such a direct result of that.
6:05
[SPEAKER_03]: That's where my career.
6:05
[SPEAKER_03]: I graduated from Northwestern with a master's degree.
6:08
[SPEAKER_03]: And I worked in a marketing in the corporate space for over 20 years, for 25 years.
6:14
[SPEAKER_03]: and then I ultimately started my own business.
6:16
[SPEAKER_03]: So I was gravitated, gravitated towards marketing, based on my education experience, and it resonated with me.
6:23
[SPEAKER_00]: And in terms of that, I have a similar story because I undergraded at the communications.
6:27
[SPEAKER_00]: And so for me, once I got into my conf class, I thought I was gonna be sports marketing, but that didn't work out because me and the science class is a Michigan that necessarily get along well.
6:37
[SPEAKER_00]: So I really hate to let you in.
6:40
[SPEAKER_00]: But I'm grateful that it didn't because communication was my essentially my backup plan and once I got those classes, I loved it, loved all the understanding of being able to
6:51
[SPEAKER_00]: get a grasp on communications through media and like what sort of messages mean, why things are shot and produced the way that they are.
6:58
[SPEAKER_00]: It truly was like a unlocked passion for me once I got a chance to get to that point.
7:05
[SPEAKER_03]: You don't tell people especially young people watching the back because I know you want to get as you're going to college.
7:12
[SPEAKER_03]: You mean that necessarily knows what you want to do?
7:13
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
7:14
[SPEAKER_03]: You know, and that's the beauty of getting an education of going to college.
7:17
[SPEAKER_03]: You can dabble here.
7:18
[SPEAKER_03]: You can dabble there.
7:19
[SPEAKER_03]: You know, my dad was a, it was a legendary banker and he traded out people newly was.
7:24
[SPEAKER_03]: And, but, and people assumed they also go into financial services.
7:27
[SPEAKER_03]: And I didn't because I didn't want to follow, you know, long legacy.
7:30
[SPEAKER_03]: You know, I was trying to, you know, obviously carve all my own.
7:33
[SPEAKER_03]: So I tell people if you're in college, if you're a young person, you're not exactly sure.
7:37
[SPEAKER_03]: Hey, you're in your career.
7:38
[SPEAKER_03]: It's okay.
7:39
[SPEAKER_03]: It's still will come.
7:40
[SPEAKER_03]: The answer will always be filled with self.
7:43
[SPEAKER_03]: So I encourage people to get as much exposure, much experience, education away.
7:48
[SPEAKER_03]: And then what's going to happen with me?
7:50
[SPEAKER_03]: What happened?
7:50
[SPEAKER_03]: You just clicked.
7:51
[SPEAKER_03]: Thank you.
7:52
[SPEAKER_03]: I could not stand finance.
7:54
[SPEAKER_03]: You know, I used to take finance class.
7:56
[SPEAKER_03]: So my
7:56
[SPEAKER_03]: I knew I needed to have it, but I really got enthused and passionate when I took marketing classes.
8:02
[SPEAKER_03]: So at that point, and I said, I think this is what I want to do in my career moving forward.
8:09
[SPEAKER_03]: And finally, as well, I needed it, was a secondary, but not my primary major.
8:14
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, I want to introduce my favorite part of Black Friday, which is called Freestyle Friday.
8:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Hey listen, thank you all so much for listening to this episode and any episode of the Black Friday's podcast.
8:30
[SPEAKER_00]: But I got to be honest with you.
8:32
[SPEAKER_00]: I really think it's something missing and I hate to draw that and notice it.
8:35
[SPEAKER_00]: The thing that's missing is your podcast.
8:37
[SPEAKER_00]: Why am I not listening to your podcast?
8:40
[SPEAKER_00]: You talked about making one with your friends years ago.
8:43
[SPEAKER_00]: You know that you need one to better market and promote your business, but yet you still don't have one.
8:48
[SPEAKER_00]: This is why I created the pocket podcast and course to teach you how to be able to
8:55
[SPEAKER_00]: and tools that you have right into finger tips in order to create.
8:59
[SPEAKER_00]: And I created two different ways in order for you to do that.
9:02
[SPEAKER_00]: You could join my digital, do it yourself, on-demand video recorded pocket podcast and course.
9:07
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to go literally step by step from idea on how you upload.
9:11
[SPEAKER_00]: your very first podcast episode.
9:13
[SPEAKER_00]: For my people who would like to have something a little bit more tangible, I have created a digital e-book that walks you through my podcast and journey.
9:19
[SPEAKER_00]: The things I've learned along the way, the tools and equipment that I use in order to create and elevate my show.
9:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Now look, I don't want to keep you too long, but I'm going to make this as simplest possible.
9:29
[SPEAKER_00]: go ahead and head over to www.blackfrightax.com to learn more about the digital podcast course and also the podcast in ebook or you can hit the links in the show notes to take you directly to each of those resources.
9:43
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, enough of that time to get back into that episode.
9:46
[SPEAKER_00]: So Mark, I know that you are our business expert and our marketing expert, but I need to wrap you going to have to give us some some bars.
9:53
[SPEAKER_03]: You got the freestyle a little bit.
10:00
[SPEAKER_03]: That's the freeze that you're gonna help me out here, bro.
10:03
[SPEAKER_00]: No, it's all you, it's all you show.
10:05
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, freestyle.
10:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, actually, you don't have the freestyle.
10:09
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's just, yeah, it's just a bunch of rapid-fire questions, so we can learn a little bit more about you.
10:14
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, you got to go for it.
10:15
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm getting a lot of your words.
10:16
[SPEAKER_00]: So you say you love and enjoy commercials growing up, and is that still the case for you?
10:22
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, commercials have changed.
10:23
[SPEAKER_00]: OK.
10:24
[SPEAKER_00]: So I love communications.
10:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Got you.
10:26
[SPEAKER_00]: So I was going to ask you, what's the commercial that sticks out in memory for you, then?
10:30
[SPEAKER_00]: I would tell you, have it show away.
10:32
[SPEAKER_03]: Burger King way back in the day.
10:35
[SPEAKER_03]: Not many people going to know this but go to Vendros saying the jingles back in the mid 70s pull it up And it was called have it your way and that commercial has always stood out with me.
10:47
[SPEAKER_03]: Wow So the original way was he in the commercial and you could just tell he was in jingles.
10:51
[SPEAKER_03]: He was a background He that's how he got us.
10:53
[SPEAKER_03]: He actually would.
10:53
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh, yeah, he went to Western Michigan University.
10:55
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay
10:56
[SPEAKER_03]: And yeah, he dropped out and he dropped out and started singing and said that time Burger King obviously hired some jingles singers of which he was one, but he had that distinguished voice Yeah, and you knew even as a teenager as a young young person those days everybody was singing those songs Yeah, and who the vanjoes who the vanjoes had played a major part of that.
11:17
[SPEAKER_03]: So that was one of my favorite commercials That's that's the only I still know the jingle
11:21
[SPEAKER_03]: Are you a woman or free rabbit?
11:23
[SPEAKER_03]: Yep.
11:23
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, go ahead.
11:23
[SPEAKER_03]: Have it show way have it show way Burger King But I remember the average what but it was done in Luther's classic voice man's unbelievable Don't what is your do you have a favorite hidden gem in the city Detroit?
11:41
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh, man That's a Detroit or let's see the hidden gem
11:46
[SPEAKER_03]: Yes, it's not really hitting Jimmy everybody knows about it, but I love it.
11:52
[SPEAKER_03]: The Motown Museum.
11:53
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay, and I grew up at each way doing the Motown sound.
11:56
[SPEAKER_03]: Yes, so this is part of this is part of our freestyle, right?
12:00
[SPEAKER_01]: All right, all right.
12:01
[SPEAKER_03]: So here's part.
12:02
[SPEAKER_03]: So I'm a hobo, I was born raised in a city and I grew up in Detroit during a Motown Sound.
12:08
[SPEAKER_03]: So during a Motown Sound, I was actually a bit of Frankus paper boy.
12:13
[SPEAKER_03]: Wow.
12:14
[SPEAKER_03]: I dug over the Detroit News in those days, was the afternoon paper.
12:18
[SPEAKER_03]: My next door neighbor was the one who was painting of the four tops.
12:21
[SPEAKER_03]: Wow.
12:22
[SPEAKER_03]: His son is still in the group to this day.
12:23
[SPEAKER_03]: He passed a few years ago, right around the corner from me was Paul Williams.
12:28
[SPEAKER_03]: He's in the temptations.
12:29
[SPEAKER_03]: You made no of a song just by imagination.
12:32
[SPEAKER_03]: The guy that says, dear Lord, him, uh, please, that's Paul Williams.
12:36
[SPEAKER_03]: And you get right around the corner.
12:37
[SPEAKER_03]: You go further up on the bastard was a guy named Marvin Gaye.
12:42
[SPEAKER_03]: Marvin Gaye was my neighbor as well.
12:43
[SPEAKER_03]: And those days, those people were your neighbors, right?
12:46
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm going on and on smoking it into a two-far away.
12:48
[SPEAKER_03]: And so the reason I say,
12:50
[SPEAKER_03]: It's not a hidden jump, but I have a special affinity towards the Motel Museum, because every time I go there, it brings back memories of me growing up in Detroit during the Motel here, and I see those pictures up there and I say, wow, I knew some of those, you know, I didn't know them personally, right?
13:07
[SPEAKER_03]: But these were your neighbors, these were just Detroit, it's like you and me, man.
13:10
[SPEAKER_03]: So that's probably a, I love that place, man, they're both on the museum.
13:14
[SPEAKER_00]: So I got a question for you about that, because I feel like people who may have grew up in the same era as you, they don't go to the Motown Museum.
13:24
[SPEAKER_00]: At least from people I talked to and I'm wondering why, they're like, I've never been in an own this way to go and so I'm wondering if you have any perspective on that.
13:30
[SPEAKER_03]: I understand, I never went to it either and I think what happened is people here, again, when I was growing up, everybody worked in the auto plants and I was on high school, right, working in the auto plants.
13:40
[SPEAKER_03]: When I went to college, everybody went to New York, they worked in the auto-plants.
13:44
[SPEAKER_03]: And what's interesting is I used to be a tour guide at the Ford Rouge Plant without student at Eastern Michigan University.
13:51
[SPEAKER_03]: No, these choices would ever go through the plants, but those tours were sold out.
13:56
[SPEAKER_03]: because people from across the country were curious to find out how do you make a car?
14:00
[SPEAKER_03]: Why is that?
14:01
[SPEAKER_03]: Because these two are working the plants every day.
14:04
[SPEAKER_03]: They want to stay away from that.
14:06
[SPEAKER_03]: They didn't want to get into the plants.
14:07
[SPEAKER_03]: They worked in those hot July days.
14:10
[SPEAKER_03]: That's all they did.
14:10
[SPEAKER_03]: They want to get away from it.
14:12
[SPEAKER_03]: So my hypothesis for the Motown Museum.
14:15
[SPEAKER_03]: people my generation we saw it firsthand yeah you know we lived I could tell you man my parents used to go to Barry Gordi's house in a Boston Edison district every year of was his uh he's had the Christmas party here just December so the Christmas season my parents would go they will walk in and Barry Gordi put a danceful on top of the swimming pool so when you walked in my dad with children's stories TV wonder was playing a piano and
14:41
[SPEAKER_03]: and all the moatown artists will be in their performing.
14:44
[SPEAKER_03]: Can you imagine?
14:45
[SPEAKER_03]: And so my parents told me these stories.
14:47
[SPEAKER_03]: I was two young to go.
14:49
[SPEAKER_03]: But my dad was saying, yeah, I dance with my mom with Alff.
14:52
[SPEAKER_03]: So I dance with Martha Reeves tonight.
14:54
[SPEAKER_03]: That's what I'm about.
14:54
[SPEAKER_03]: Who's Martha Reeves?
14:55
[SPEAKER_03]: I was a young kid.
14:56
[SPEAKER_03]: But so to Detroit is my era, my age.
15:00
[SPEAKER_03]: We saw it firsthand.
15:02
[SPEAKER_03]: So when we go to Minnesota, I didn't want to have the memories already.
15:05
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, so the most time you know, if you notice they always get international visitors, sure, always get people from across the country to your point, you find very few Detroiters going to spend the day there unless they're bringing somebody in for a lot of time.
15:19
[SPEAKER_00]: We see it every day, we saw it every day.
15:22
[SPEAKER_00]: And I didn't grow up in part of that era, but obviously I got a lot of appreciation for because like my mother grandmother, like they had an opportunity to live in Detroit during that time frame.
15:33
[SPEAKER_00]: And so for me, I think I went in maybe like 20 years ago.
15:37
[SPEAKER_00]: 15, 2014 somewhere around there.
15:39
[SPEAKER_00]: It's been a long time like I need to go back because I know they made additions and stuff like that But I and fully I don't think I fully comprehend it like a lot of the the stuff that was in that museum But it's definitely a gem of the city and I adopted this philosophy of being able to explore your city like a tourist because there's so many things
15:57
[SPEAKER_00]: that we miss just by being here because you know it's it's almost I would like it to folks who live out in California who talk about how they never been to the beach whereas like it's one of those things you just kind of take for granted because like it's there but you don't necessarily take time to like explore your own space and and and where you live and take that step behind you know I will give you other hidden jumps that just loved you're not well-known places okay you know they are
16:23
[SPEAKER_03]: They're just neighborhoods.
16:25
[SPEAKER_03]: Hear me out when I say this.
16:26
[SPEAKER_03]: We have such a historical city.
16:28
[SPEAKER_03]: And I've lived there because of my corporate career.
16:30
[SPEAKER_03]: I've lived in nine different cities across the country.
16:32
[SPEAKER_03]: Detroit has always been my home.
16:34
[SPEAKER_03]: As you know, I do public speaking.
16:36
[SPEAKER_03]: And so when I introduce them, I make sure they say, hey, he's from Detroit.
16:39
[SPEAKER_03]: And the reason I say the neighborhoods, those are truly hidden gems.
16:43
[SPEAKER_03]: So I always visualize.
16:45
[SPEAKER_03]: My parents moved Detroit in 1957.
16:48
[SPEAKER_03]: They came up in front of the south, part of the Great Black Migration.
16:51
[SPEAKER_03]: And I always visualize what did this neighborhood look like?
16:55
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm back in the 50s.
16:56
[SPEAKER_03]: So I'll go to a certain neighborhood, I'll just sit there, man.
16:59
[SPEAKER_03]: And I'll visualize at the cars going up and down the street.
17:03
[SPEAKER_03]: And I try to visualize, you know, Detroit was a city of tree.
17:06
[SPEAKER_03]: Some neighborhood has so many trees.
17:08
[SPEAKER_03]: Now we go to a certain neighborhood, I would just sit there and just visualize what it looked like, right?
17:16
[SPEAKER_03]: But there's an area of a woodward near Wayne State University that's like one block, nothing but old homes.
17:23
[SPEAKER_03]: Yes, it's beautiful, and it's got the brick streets, and the homes still look like they're in the original homes.
17:31
[SPEAKER_03]: Yes, sometimes I just say it's not visualized.
17:34
[SPEAKER_03]: So to me, the hidden gems of our city, not the big grassy buildings, not in the Cold America parts, not the...
17:41
[SPEAKER_03]: you know, all the venues, all the people coming from forms.
17:44
[SPEAKER_03]: To me, a lot of it's just the hidden gems are the neighborhoods.
17:47
[SPEAKER_03]: And just take one day and just go and just sit and imagine what it used to be like.
17:52
[SPEAKER_00]: That's a gem to me.
17:53
[SPEAKER_00]: I agree.
17:54
[SPEAKER_00]: I agree.
17:55
[SPEAKER_00]: So I got two more questions for you.
17:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
17:56
[SPEAKER_00]: A favorite small business to go to, IndyTrade.
17:59
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh, oh, that's a great question.
18:02
[SPEAKER_03]: I love puzzles.
18:03
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay.
18:04
[SPEAKER_03]: I love, you know, the restaurant.
18:06
[SPEAKER_03]: I just love the chicken and waffles idea.
18:08
[SPEAKER_03]: I think that's awesome.
18:10
[SPEAKER_03]: Nandi, he has a moko, right?
18:13
[SPEAKER_03]: The museum of contemporary art.
18:15
[SPEAKER_03]: Mm-hmm.
18:15
[SPEAKER_03]: He's a brother.
18:16
[SPEAKER_03]: And right in your Wayne State University, I just love to go in here and check out the artwork and all the things in terms of the artistic abilities that represent our city.
18:26
[SPEAKER_03]: So those are certainly a couple.
18:27
[SPEAKER_03]: One is a restaurant.
18:31
[SPEAKER_03]: in one is not, but in two small businesses owned by brothers in the city, and they've been around for quite a while.
18:37
[SPEAKER_03]: Very dope.
18:38
[SPEAKER_00]: And what are you listening to right now?
18:40
[SPEAKER_00]: What does Mark have in Rotten?
18:42
[SPEAKER_03]: If you get in my car right now, smooth jazz, all right.
18:45
[SPEAKER_03]: So I've got radio a long time just town, but my brother,
18:49
[SPEAKER_03]: is a back story there.
18:50
[SPEAKER_03]: My brother worked on Detroit radio for 30 years.
18:52
[SPEAKER_03]: People don't do radio TV and all that.
18:55
[SPEAKER_03]: But he was probably much more well known.
18:58
[SPEAKER_03]: He started, he started radio at the University of Michigan.
19:01
[SPEAKER_03]: Nice.
19:02
[SPEAKER_03]: And then everybody went to work in a big city, so he got his experience.
19:06
[SPEAKER_03]: at U of L, and then he went down to WJOB, WJOB was on the AM side, not FM98.
19:13
[SPEAKER_03]: On the AM side, then it flipped over FM98.
19:16
[SPEAKER_03]: And then during the fiscal year, he went to a radio station W LBS, which is a sister station in New York, because WBL lasted, and they just focused on just going those days.
19:27
[SPEAKER_03]: Then he went over to mixed 92.3, from all time, he was on mixed 92.3.
19:32
[SPEAKER_03]: Please put any oldies in the classics in those days.
19:36
[SPEAKER_03]: But then he went to Spu Jazz, V98.7, which was in business in Detroit, and another major market is across the country for a long time.
19:44
[SPEAKER_03]: And then one day they closed them down across all the cities including Detroit.
19:49
[SPEAKER_03]: So I say that to say, so you got my car right now, Spu Jazz, that's what I'm listening to.
19:53
[SPEAKER_03]: That's my playlist, okay.
19:55
[SPEAKER_03]: But.
19:56
[SPEAKER_03]: my dad got me into jazz as a youngster and I would get in the car with him and his play listen those days was a radio station WJZZ 105.9 the jazz he wanted and that's a yeah well you listen to that stuff can we put on some like you know WJZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
20:11
[SPEAKER_03]: It's amazing how this has been passed on.
20:15
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I was going to say fast forward.
20:17
[SPEAKER_03]: So bottom line is on me.
20:19
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm listening to, I'm listening to jazz.
20:22
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm not listening to the latest stuff.
20:23
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't even know if the latest started started.
20:28
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
20:28
[SPEAKER_00]: And then bonus question.
20:29
[SPEAKER_00]: What is the S stands for in your name?
20:30
[SPEAKER_00]: Everybody ask me that.
20:31
[SPEAKER_03]: That's the problem I'm listening to.
20:33
[SPEAKER_00]: That's part of my mystery.
20:35
[SPEAKER_00]: You want me to tell you?
20:36
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, I'm gonna tell you.
20:37
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, can I guess I'm gonna do three guests three guests?
20:41
[SPEAKER_00]: Sam you.
20:42
[SPEAKER_03]: No Smith no Sir Superstar Not quite okay never stayed at public leave.
20:56
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay, but for you.
20:57
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm still never stayed at public
21:00
[SPEAKER_03]: So, well, let me tell you how I started why I started using my middle initial.
21:04
[SPEAKER_03]: Yep, so my name is Mark Me, seven letters.
21:09
[SPEAKER_03]: It's a very common name.
21:11
[SPEAKER_03]: I was living in Chicago and I remember those days,
21:15
[SPEAKER_03]: No, let's say I'm like, this thing called Google came around.
21:19
[SPEAKER_03]: And that started Googling, markedly, and all these things came up.
21:24
[SPEAKER_03]: Just one guy, he was, he was one of the tax evasion.
21:28
[SPEAKER_03]: Another guy I was running for running from the government.
21:31
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa.
21:32
[SPEAKER_03]: So then I put in my middle initial.
21:34
[SPEAKER_03]: Yes.
21:35
[SPEAKER_03]: and then I popped up.
21:37
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay, and that's how I started using it.
21:39
[SPEAKER_03]: It was to distinguish myself from the other Mark who he's out there.
21:42
[SPEAKER_03]: So then when you Google me, you know you're talking to me and that's the other guy who's broken along.
21:47
[SPEAKER_03]: You'll just respect to that.
21:48
[SPEAKER_03]: Gotcha.
21:49
[SPEAKER_03]: So just stuck with me as the part of my brand for a long time.
21:53
[SPEAKER_03]: And people kind of chuckle.
21:55
[SPEAKER_03]: But that's the number one question I give.
21:56
[SPEAKER_03]: What is the SN4?
21:57
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay.
21:57
[SPEAKER_00]: So you got to clean the algorithm to make sure that people can find you.
22:01
[SPEAKER_00]: You got that right.
22:02
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
22:02
[SPEAKER_03]: And by the way, I will say this to you.
22:05
[SPEAKER_03]: If you haven't done so, I tell my students, I'm also a college professor at three different universities, but I'll always tell my students, Google yourself, and Google yourself weekly, monthly, just make sure that, you know, everything's legit, it was coming up on you.
22:19
[SPEAKER_03]: It could be an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an idea of an
22:29
[SPEAKER_03]: Mark, who are you?
22:30
[SPEAKER_03]: Mark, I never heard of Mark.
22:32
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh, you're Mark.
22:32
[SPEAKER_03]: Is it?
22:32
[SPEAKER_03]: Is it?
22:33
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah.
22:33
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah.
22:36
[SPEAKER_00]: Very nice.
22:37
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, thank you for protecting the freestyle for our days.
22:39
[SPEAKER_00]: Definitely appreciate it.
22:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.
22:40
[SPEAKER_00]: And so the question I was going to ask you previously is that given your 20 years experience and corporate marketing, and also your own marketing venture for approximately the same amount of time, for you, what was it?
22:55
[SPEAKER_00]: Where did the aspect of media come in for you?
22:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Because I know that you mentioned that you had gotten to radio.
23:00
[SPEAKER_00]: Your brother was doing radio and also television as you do currently.
23:05
[SPEAKER_00]: And you're also a fellow potcaster as well.
23:07
[SPEAKER_00]: So when did that start for you?
23:08
[SPEAKER_00]: When did you have find that neck for wanting to be a media person on me?
23:13
[SPEAKER_03]: Actually started back in a corporate space.
23:15
[SPEAKER_03]: And what I mean by the amd I worked with a corporate I was the highest ranking black in different organizations.
23:21
[SPEAKER_03]: as a chief marketing officer, so that role means something to you as a marketing person.
23:27
[SPEAKER_03]: So in that role, in that capacity, I would be responsible to become in the face and the voice of the company.
23:33
[SPEAKER_03]: So there was a major marketing initiative.
23:35
[SPEAKER_03]: Hey, it's good talk to Mark.
23:37
[SPEAKER_03]: Let's talk to Mark.
23:38
[SPEAKER_03]: If you went down, I negotiated deals in those days where if you went down to, I was living for,
23:44
[SPEAKER_03]: As to example, but if you went down to with a jacks of your Jaguars, we'll play in a home games, those might face you walked in, those might face the voice up on the screen.
23:52
[SPEAKER_03]: I could welcome you just this weekend's game between the jacks of your Jaguars and the Detroit Lions, sit back and enjoy this game as much as you buy.
23:59
[SPEAKER_03]: I didn't exact same thing for the Miami heat.
24:02
[SPEAKER_03]: So whenever you walk into it in Arena, there was my face of my voice.
24:05
[SPEAKER_03]: I was doing it on behalf of the company.
24:07
[SPEAKER_03]: And so then I was doing all these interviews.
24:09
[SPEAKER_03]: That started to enjoy it.
24:11
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm like, hey, I'll get all this, you know, spy light, people are interested in what I'm saying.
24:16
[SPEAKER_03]: And that was probably the first stuff.
24:17
[SPEAKER_03]: So it was actually in the corporate space, okay.
24:21
[SPEAKER_03]: And then I realized I was giving all these marketing opportunities to everybody else working for the company.
24:26
[SPEAKER_03]: But I was responsible for all that.
24:28
[SPEAKER_03]: So when I started my own business, it became clear to me, I have a neck for this.
24:34
[SPEAKER_03]: I enjoy, you know, microphone, I enjoy the camera, I enjoy sharing my knowledge with people.
24:39
[SPEAKER_03]: So I actually walked into a local radio station.
24:42
[SPEAKER_03]: This is a true story.
24:43
[SPEAKER_03]: I walked into a local radio station.
24:45
[SPEAKER_03]: It used to call on me when I was working in corporate.
24:49
[SPEAKER_03]: And so I had a left corporate and I looked at the guy who was running station.
24:51
[SPEAKER_03]: So I said, you know what, he said, what's that?
24:54
[SPEAKER_03]: That said, you owe me a radio show.
24:56
[SPEAKER_03]: He said, we were just talking about that.
24:58
[SPEAKER_03]: He said, what do you want to do?
25:00
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know, gosh.
25:01
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm very honest about 30-minute radio broadcast, weekly, I want to highlight Detroit-based businesses.
25:07
[SPEAKER_03]: That he said, you got it.
25:09
[SPEAKER_03]: So I got it.
25:09
[SPEAKER_03]: He said, yes, it's yours.
25:11
[SPEAKER_03]: So now, how about my big mouth?
25:14
[SPEAKER_03]: I get the radio show in those days.
25:16
[SPEAKER_03]: He had roller dacces, had to go through a roller dacces.
25:19
[SPEAKER_03]: What are you doing?
25:20
[SPEAKER_03]: Can you join me?
25:21
[SPEAKER_03]: Can you join me?
25:21
[SPEAKER_03]: Then we're a sergeant spread in a sergeant growl.
25:24
[SPEAKER_03]: And then that led me to write a business column.
25:28
[SPEAKER_03]: So the radio certainly opened a lot of doors for me.
25:32
[SPEAKER_03]: And then I wrote a business conference to trade business for 10 years.
25:35
[SPEAKER_03]: I was the most popular blogger they had.
25:37
[SPEAKER_03]: I was the only black blogger that they had at the time.
25:40
[SPEAKER_03]: And people gravitated towards me.
25:42
[SPEAKER_03]: Every time I wrote a story over 200,000 people read it.
25:45
[SPEAKER_03]: So now my brand starts to really be elevated between the radio and then my blogging.
25:51
[SPEAKER_03]: I wrote for the Michigan Chronicle.
25:52
[SPEAKER_03]: I was very first business conference for the Michigan Chronicle.
25:57
[SPEAKER_03]: The grant continues to my exposure level continues to increase.
26:00
[SPEAKER_03]: Then eventually I got to TV and so people started calling me and saying, hey, this is between a radio, we listen to your articles, we reach your articles, okay, you give us your opinion.
26:12
[SPEAKER_03]: What do you think about this particular issue from a business perspective and so I started doing that?
26:18
[SPEAKER_03]: And then I started getting more and more phone calls.
26:20
[SPEAKER_03]: And that's kind of, that's kind of hard all came to get.
26:23
[SPEAKER_03]: So I actually started in the corporate space, but then when I loved to start my own business, I realized I can do this.
26:30
[SPEAKER_03]: And I've been called the trusted face voice of the small business community.
26:34
[SPEAKER_03]: And I had two mentors who really helped me to get into this field in terms of media.
26:39
[SPEAKER_03]: One, you probably know both of them.
26:41
[SPEAKER_03]: Chuck Stokes.
26:41
[SPEAKER_03]: Yep.
26:42
[SPEAKER_03]: And Chuck called me up one day and I would do Spark.
26:45
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know the news of them.
26:46
[SPEAKER_03]: on a oingling basis, he gave you a great shot on a childhood and another person you might know of for fuel perkins.
26:52
[SPEAKER_03]: Yep.
26:53
[SPEAKER_03]: Two legends.
26:54
[SPEAKER_03]: Yep.
26:54
[SPEAKER_03]: And Hugh and I just have conversations.
26:56
[SPEAKER_03]: He says, I want to come on that it's a real.
26:58
[SPEAKER_03]: So I did a letter with, he has a guess, I said, you can do it for about then.
27:02
[SPEAKER_03]: He's 10 years to the day he retired.
27:04
[SPEAKER_03]: And so those two guys were instrumental and supporting me give me the exposure and saying great thing.
27:11
[SPEAKER_03]: So that's the long story of saying it started in corporate space.
27:15
[SPEAKER_03]: I continue on my own and I love every minute of it.
27:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Hmm.
27:18
[SPEAKER_00]: I love how you guys started being able to seize the opportunity from the corporate standpoint and then also
27:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Carbon Nelson Lane with the radio station that looked, this what I want to do, and then being able to tackle that opportunity over the years, what does it been like for you to be able to carve out that space to be that trust to expert when it comes to business, small business, Detroit business, marketing, what does that been like for you to be able to develop that brand, that personal brand for you?
27:45
[SPEAKER_03]: It's awesome.
27:47
[SPEAKER_03]: You know, I'm not gonna lie.
27:48
[SPEAKER_03]: I've been mistakes along the way, because the bottom line is that you've got to know the right people, right?
27:53
[SPEAKER_03]: You've got to latch on or build relationships with people.
27:56
[SPEAKER_03]: Businesses about relationships.
27:58
[SPEAKER_03]: So what's the big lack for me?
27:59
[SPEAKER_03]: It's been an awesome experience.
28:01
[SPEAKER_03]: When I first started, I wasn't exactly sure of what I wanted to focus on.
28:06
[SPEAKER_03]: But those are legendary person.
28:08
[SPEAKER_03]: You may know of him as well.
28:09
[SPEAKER_03]: Name a Sam Logan.
28:11
[SPEAKER_03]: Sam was a long time publisher of the Michigan Chronicle.
28:15
[SPEAKER_03]: I would do everything, it's a true story.
28:17
[SPEAKER_03]: And then he'd been at the DA's, he's a Detroit article of downtown.
28:20
[SPEAKER_03]: And he comes up to me and he says, I've been tracking you for the last few years.
28:25
[SPEAKER_03]: He says, I want you to write a business company, a Michigan Chronicle.
28:29
[SPEAKER_03]: And I see at Sam, I know nothing of writing columns, I'm a marketer.
28:34
[SPEAKER_03]: I can communicate things, I've never written business columns.
28:37
[SPEAKER_03]: He says, look.
28:39
[SPEAKER_03]: People know who you are, and this is what I'm willing to do for you.
28:42
[SPEAKER_03]: He says, just pick them, think about it, think about it, which wouldn't.
28:46
[SPEAKER_03]: I said, okay, maybe small business.
28:48
[SPEAKER_03]: He said, okay, that's it.
28:49
[SPEAKER_03]: So what do I do?
28:50
[SPEAKER_03]: He says, I want you to write a story about any small business in Detroit.
28:55
[SPEAKER_03]: He says, I'm going to run it.
28:57
[SPEAKER_03]: That's what you're kidding.
28:58
[SPEAKER_03]: He said, no.
28:59
[SPEAKER_03]: I said, Sam, I don't know nothing about this.
29:02
[SPEAKER_03]: So I wrote a story.
29:04
[SPEAKER_03]: It was above the fold.
29:06
[SPEAKER_03]: They passed it out at the Macanol policy conference.
29:10
[SPEAKER_03]: And that was my first start, you know, into creating that niche.
29:14
[SPEAKER_03]: And people would start saying, hey, we like this.
29:16
[SPEAKER_03]: You're talking about small business.
29:18
[SPEAKER_03]: And so that's how it became my niche, if you will.
29:21
[SPEAKER_03]: I started focusing on small business.
29:24
[SPEAKER_03]: And nobody chose over 62,000 small businesses.
29:27
[SPEAKER_03]: And it was a need for getting information to them.
29:31
[SPEAKER_00]: And speaking of which, that's part of the reason why I started Black Friday is I wanted to be able to have a platform that spotlight at people who are community and business leaders who were leveraging whatever business that they did, whether a professional out for Newark, creative, et cetera, and doing good in our community or trying to do their best to elevate their community and promote.
29:51
[SPEAKER_00]: that wellness and well being so I'm interested to know from a state of small business standpoint could you kind of paint the picture of what small business in Detroit looks like and then if you if you want to go historical you know you can kind of talk about over time but really more so like what what is the landscape of small business in 2020 small businesses now the the U.S.
30:18
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay, all right, so I want to make something a long time to the long time, but that's up to the government of data.
30:22
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
30:22
[SPEAKER_03]: All right, so my suspicious numbers do us.
30:25
[SPEAKER_03]: But regardless, this used that data point of 62,000.
30:28
[SPEAKER_03]: At the time, we had a fourth largest in terms of the number of small businesses.
30:34
[SPEAKER_03]: And when did they look like?
30:35
[SPEAKER_03]: Two thirds, forty percent of them, forty to forty five percent.
30:39
[SPEAKER_03]: Actually, 60 percent of them are women and minority-owned businesses, women and minority-owned.
30:46
[SPEAKER_03]: And women owned businesses actually are larger than men owned in the city of Detroit.
30:51
[SPEAKER_03]: So you're talking about predominantly African-American, women, and male.
30:58
[SPEAKER_03]: A lot of those businesses have been in business for less than three years.
31:02
[SPEAKER_03]: So the range is the majority probably 60 to 30 percent have been for less than three years.
31:08
[SPEAKER_03]: The remainder have been in business for over three years.
31:11
[SPEAKER_03]: So still relatively young.
31:14
[SPEAKER_03]: financially, they have money to bank.
31:17
[SPEAKER_03]: The average small business owner, now this is a national number so you probably extrapolate for the choice.
31:23
[SPEAKER_03]: The average black business owner, small business, has less than $15,000 a capital in the bank.
31:30
[SPEAKER_03]: And then put that,
31:31
[SPEAKER_03]: in your bank.
31:32
[SPEAKER_03]: And that's for everything.
31:33
[SPEAKER_03]: That's not like saved.
31:34
[SPEAKER_03]: That's five operations.
31:35
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
31:36
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay.
31:36
[SPEAKER_03]: So put that in perspective for you.
31:38
[SPEAKER_03]: 15,000 dollars would get you through two weeks of operating.
31:42
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
31:42
[SPEAKER_03]: Paying your bills.
31:43
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
31:44
[SPEAKER_03]: So again, so that you asked before the picture of the small business owners.
31:48
[SPEAKER_03]: So it's still capitalized.
31:50
[SPEAKER_03]: So it's still access to capital challenges.
31:53
[SPEAKER_03]: The other part is the
31:58
[SPEAKER_03]: As a national staff, 80% of small businesses will fail within 12 months of opening your doors regardless of industry regardless of industry.
32:08
[SPEAKER_03]: And you're looking at upwards of your lucky if you make it to a year and a half.
32:13
[SPEAKER_03]: So that number, the success rates dropped to like 50% of those who try to get to a year and a half.
32:21
[SPEAKER_03]: In terms of the industry,
32:23
[SPEAKER_03]: Now what we're seeing with black businesses in the city tray, which is business in general Detroit, technology.
32:29
[SPEAKER_03]: So technology's gotten hot.
32:31
[SPEAKER_03]: Years ago was primarily service industry.
32:34
[SPEAKER_03]: Those people are trying to service the automotive industry, right, to brick and mortar shops.
32:40
[SPEAKER_03]: in flower stores, restaurants.
32:42
[SPEAKER_03]: Now today what we're seeing is diversification.
32:45
[SPEAKER_03]: It's a technology.
32:46
[SPEAKER_03]: Everybody's reading about AI.
32:48
[SPEAKER_03]: Everybody's hearing about technology.
32:51
[SPEAKER_03]: And we're also that that area is beginning to explode for the small business community.
32:55
[SPEAKER_03]: And all by the way, why is that happening?
32:57
[SPEAKER_03]: Because Ford has opened up that the whole area in Corchau.
33:00
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I too far from here.
33:02
[SPEAKER_03]: And so they're moving a lot of them poised down there.
33:05
[SPEAKER_03]: I think you open to $5,000.
33:07
[SPEAKER_03]: So there's an opportunity for Detroit small businesses to leverage those business opportunities, if you will.
33:13
[SPEAKER_03]: So bottom line.
33:15
[SPEAKER_03]: We have a lot of small businesses here, a lot of them are still struggling with in terms of access to capital, some are still struggling when it regates to grow, and sustainability long term.
33:25
[SPEAKER_03]: And quite frankly, we're starting to see a transition to the technology space and the majority are black and women-owned businesses.
33:34
[SPEAKER_00]: And from your years of experience and actually being the small business owner yourself, what are some of the things, the key things that those
33:42
[SPEAKER_00]: Business owners can do in order to make sure that they can make it past that 12 months threshold and or get over that hump past three years and then become a long standard business or staple.
33:52
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not rocket science until people if you have an idea write it down.
33:58
[SPEAKER_03]: So if you're a small business, you want to focus on growth.
34:01
[SPEAKER_03]: have a plan, have a plan, and we're in challenging times right now, right?
34:06
[SPEAKER_03]: We know the resources drying up and all that, this started political conversation, we haven't been going on a path, but we know there was a shutdown not to go and go, and some of the funding dried up for that short period of time.
34:17
[SPEAKER_03]: So I tell people, make sure that you have a plan.
34:22
[SPEAKER_03]: and make sure that you have more than one plan.
34:24
[SPEAKER_03]: Still have that aggressive plan, a realistic plan, and maybe a pessimistic plan.
34:29
[SPEAKER_03]: Because you want to be able to plan for the economic downturns, economic uncertainty.
34:34
[SPEAKER_03]: So number one is heavy plan.
34:36
[SPEAKER_03]: Number two is make sure that you have a reliable board of advisors.
34:41
[SPEAKER_03]: You just have to be formalized.
34:43
[SPEAKER_03]: You don't have to pay anybody.
34:45
[SPEAKER_03]: Don't necessarily do a family in France.
34:47
[SPEAKER_03]: But you use somebody,
34:49
[SPEAKER_03]: Who's an expert in the area?
34:51
[SPEAKER_03]: Someone that you can trust and you just pick up the phone and say, hey, this is what I'm grappling with.
34:56
[SPEAKER_03]: What do you think?
34:57
[SPEAKER_03]: What should I do?
34:58
[SPEAKER_03]: Have it in a formal board of advisors?
35:00
[SPEAKER_03]: You know, people see me and say, we know all this stuff about all these other stuff.
35:03
[SPEAKER_03]: I say, yeah, but I also have a network of people that I reach out to, which leads me to my next point, network.
35:11
[SPEAKER_03]: network network.
35:13
[SPEAKER_03]: And we become so focused on using Zoom, right?
35:16
[SPEAKER_03]: We become so focused on why don't follow me with my house?
35:22
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm still a face-to-face person.
35:24
[SPEAKER_03]: I still wouldn't see how you're going to react, I still wouldn't see how we're going to communicate.
35:28
[SPEAKER_03]: So get out as much as possible and network.
35:31
[SPEAKER_03]: We are blessed in this city.
35:33
[SPEAKER_03]: where we have so many successful business people, and we have a lot of successful black businesses and business in general.
35:41
[SPEAKER_03]: And not all those people will in the help you.
35:43
[SPEAKER_03]: So bottom line is go out and never work with those individuals.
35:47
[SPEAKER_03]: Lastly, take chances.
35:50
[SPEAKER_03]: Whoa, now why would I say that?
35:53
[SPEAKER_03]: Mark, I don't know if I want to take a chance.
35:55
[SPEAKER_03]: Life is about chances, but you want to be able to minimize to risk.
35:59
[SPEAKER_03]: Don't take crazy chances, but understand what can you afford, understand what's to put the best option is for your business as you mitigate risk.
36:07
[SPEAKER_03]: Right now, as I mentioned, we are in challenging times.
36:11
[SPEAKER_03]: No one knows what the economy's going to hold with what's going to happen with tariffs.
36:15
[SPEAKER_03]: with inflation.
36:17
[SPEAKER_03]: We know that small businesses are being squeezed financially.
36:20
[SPEAKER_03]: Some of them are not going to make it.
36:22
[SPEAKER_03]: The other part I would suggest to us is fine partners.
36:26
[SPEAKER_03]: If you have a like-minded business, or a like-minded partner, you may want to think about partnering with them.
36:33
[SPEAKER_03]: in CPU leverage each other's strengths as well.
36:36
[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.
36:37
[SPEAKER_00]: And we've been talking about small businesses in general and I forgot to ask you about the league group.
36:44
[SPEAKER_00]: So could you tell us about the league group?
36:46
[SPEAKER_00]: We just talked to us about when you started it, but we'd love to know more about the services that you provide, the folks that you have worked with over the years, and yeah, could you give us the, could you open the doors for us to the league group?
36:57
[SPEAKER_03]: So the league group is 2007.
36:59
[SPEAKER_03]: We started 2007.
37:01
[SPEAKER_03]: Can't believe it's been at home.
37:03
[SPEAKER_03]: And we focus, we are a business consulting organization.
37:08
[SPEAKER_03]: We provide business consultation to spot a medium-sized businesses in the areas of strategic planning, branding, rebranding, communications, and we also offer training and development.
37:21
[SPEAKER_03]: In the last year, so I've we've expanded into the consulting, into the coaching business.
37:26
[SPEAKER_03]: And so coaching, we're talking about,
37:31
[SPEAKER_03]: personal coaching or business coaching right and so we've been very fortunate and blessed to start the business in the height of the recession in 2008 where people were coding doors and so in my situation I was working in corporate America and I was asked to move again to move and that's it on back home we give the nine different cities my family's here and my connections and my contacts are here side of side to wall
37:58
[SPEAKER_03]: I took me a package, they offered me, I was on a contract, I got to cash, be out, they cash, be out, and that's how I started to lead group.
38:06
[SPEAKER_03]: And so for the last 17 or 18 years that we've been focused on helping small businesses to achieve their dreams.
38:12
[SPEAKER_03]: And that's a critical part of it.
38:14
[SPEAKER_03]: The other part of the group is we do public speaking.
38:17
[SPEAKER_03]: So we're always invited to share our perspective, right?
38:21
[SPEAKER_03]: One business issues.
38:22
[SPEAKER_03]: And we try to leverage that information so that you can figure out how to use it.
38:27
[SPEAKER_03]: So we give it the information.
38:28
[SPEAKER_03]: But my goal is for businesses to be able to have practical advice and counsel.
38:33
[SPEAKER_03]: So they walk away from a conversation with me or from a workshop.
38:36
[SPEAKER_03]: They can walk away with something that's actually usable.
38:39
[SPEAKER_03]: And so that's kind of the overview of the League Group, I love it, type of clients that we have, we have for-profit and non-profit organizations.
38:49
[SPEAKER_03]: We have large businesses and we have a lot of small businesses and they're primarily in Metro Detroit.
38:55
[SPEAKER_03]: I have been asked to expand across the country but my business bottle is very simple.
39:01
[SPEAKER_03]: The League Group is me.
39:02
[SPEAKER_03]: And what I do is I $10.99 based on the amount of work that's coming in.
39:07
[SPEAKER_03]: So I don't have the ban with right now to expand into other cities.
39:11
[SPEAKER_03]: And all by the way, Detroit is my home.
39:13
[SPEAKER_03]: And I want to make sure that really trade centric does the mission of our organization is to focus on Detroit entrepreneurs and help them grow and prosper moving forward.
39:23
[SPEAKER_00]: And how have you been able to stand the test of time in terms of adapting to what these businesses need and what they may be facing in terms of the environment industry spaces that they're in?
39:35
[SPEAKER_03]: So that's why I take the knowledge that I have.
39:37
[SPEAKER_03]: And one of the things that we do have, we have an annual small business of our shop.
39:42
[SPEAKER_03]: And this year we'll be our 12th annual will be in May.
39:44
[SPEAKER_03]: We do it May of the year because a small business small.
39:47
[SPEAKER_03]: And what we do is, we identify a theme that ties into what's going on with the economy, and it's focused on helping small businesses, right, get information that helps them to continue growing thrive in these challenging times.
40:01
[SPEAKER_03]: So to ask you a question, our goal is to work with small businesses, give them the information, give them the tools, helped it understand the gaps.
40:12
[SPEAKER_03]: and having them fill those gaps with plans that are affordable, that are practical, that helps them to achieve their long-term mission or growth goal, whatever that might be.
40:22
[SPEAKER_03]: So, it's not rocket science being my philosophy's very simple.
40:27
[SPEAKER_03]: Let's sit down.
40:28
[SPEAKER_03]: It's have a conversation.
40:30
[SPEAKER_03]: Let me understand what your challenges are.
40:31
[SPEAKER_03]: And we're going to help navigate through those challenges so that you come up with the plan that's best suited for you.
40:37
[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.
40:39
[SPEAKER_00]: And what do you see on the horizon for the city of Detroit in terms of our small business landscape for, let's say, let's do out look at 2026 from Mark's perspective.
40:49
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I'm partially optimistic.
40:52
[SPEAKER_03]: And reason I say, why am I that totally optimistic?
40:55
[SPEAKER_03]: Because you still have those uncertain factors, right, the National Economy, the policy is coming out of Washington, D.C. Detroit is in a much better place than we were 10 years ago.
41:07
[SPEAKER_03]: Even in terms of small businesses, there's a more city mass program at the current administration, putting the play, to celebrate 200 businesses.
41:15
[SPEAKER_03]: So those types of programs have very beneficial.
41:18
[SPEAKER_03]: The concern under the current administration, I think he's done a good job, the Doug and the administration, trying to reach out to talk to and engage small businesses.
41:29
[SPEAKER_03]: So looking ahead, under a mirror like Sheffield, I think she's going to, she sees to value.
41:35
[SPEAKER_03]: I understand it's important as a small business, so I would anticipate she's going to continue to try to put resources rather for the current administration and maybe try to change it a little bit.
41:45
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't think she's going to invest as a small business.
41:49
[SPEAKER_03]: So I think looking ahead of 26, we have a lot of good things to look forward to, but I'm cautiously optimistic.
41:55
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm still cautiously optimistic because of tariffs.
41:58
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, that's putting price pressure.
42:01
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, it's squeezing small businesses.
42:03
[SPEAKER_03]: That's going to be a challenge.
42:05
[SPEAKER_03]: Inflation, while it's coming down, it still bounces back and forth.
42:10
[SPEAKER_03]: That impacts small businesses.
42:12
[SPEAKER_03]: The most critical part will be, is whether or not the city maintains a irrigation ship with Washington DC.
42:20
[SPEAKER_03]: Anyway, you may say, why is that important?
42:21
[SPEAKER_03]: Well, it used to got federal dollars coming in the play.
42:24
[SPEAKER_03]: The other challenge is the trade gets almost $900 million.
42:30
[SPEAKER_03]: in ARPA funds, the ARPA funds are dollars coming from the federal government that have been allocated different cities for different usage, usage is, including supporting small businesses.
42:42
[SPEAKER_03]: Well, later this year, in 2006, those dollars dry up, you're done.
42:47
[SPEAKER_03]: That came in under the Biden administration, so those dollars would no longer be here.
42:52
[SPEAKER_03]: So my question becomes, since what that caution comes into play, how do we replace those
42:58
[SPEAKER_03]: Small businesses rely on those resources, you know, gotta figure out how do you work with banks, how do you integrate grants for the after-pee.
43:07
[SPEAKER_03]: So those are challenges that I see in 26 is why we'll be funding to maintain a momentum that the city has and thoroughly making sure that these small businesses have the tools for the administration standpoint and beyond for the government, we got a good bit of toilet race.
43:24
[SPEAKER_03]: So these are all factors that
43:25
[SPEAKER_00]: that kind of tempers my enthusiasm.
43:29
[SPEAKER_00]: And how can some of our small business owners tap into some of the resources that you use in order to stay the most informed?
43:35
[SPEAKER_00]: Because I know as far as the work that you do, you have to be on top of these things.
43:39
[SPEAKER_00]: But I'm wondering if we could still a little bit of your recipes as to how we can make sure that we are, and it's close to informed as possible as these changes come.
43:47
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm a voracious reader.
43:49
[SPEAKER_03]: And I know that we've gotten a story gauge with technology, but I tell people you need to stay up this date on the trends.
43:56
[SPEAKER_03]: Understand what's going on.
43:58
[SPEAKER_03]: Don't just take a blind eye to it.
44:00
[SPEAKER_03]: Number two, you know, take, you know, it's okay to go to additional education.
44:06
[SPEAKER_03]: We have many incubator programs.
44:08
[SPEAKER_03]: You're here in Bamboo, Detroit, right?
44:10
[SPEAKER_03]: You have many programs that are being offered here.
44:13
[SPEAKER_03]: You have other programs out there, in fact, mentioned Tech Town.
44:17
[SPEAKER_03]: We work, I think, still around that, sure, but there are many universities, all for entrepreneurial programs.
44:24
[SPEAKER_03]: And by the way, these programs are generally free.
44:28
[SPEAKER_03]: And then it will work, shout out to one that I offer on an annualized basis, which is free.
44:33
[SPEAKER_03]: Reach out and start to attend some of these functions and talk to as many people as possible.
44:39
[SPEAKER_03]: And that's been an earlier network.
44:41
[SPEAKER_03]: And so if you get kind of integrate all those concepts, those ideas I just talked about, you'd be amazed in terms of education what's going to happen to you.
44:51
[SPEAKER_03]: And so one of the things with me is, I guess I said, man, I'm a courageous reader.
44:56
[SPEAKER_03]: I love the read.
44:57
[SPEAKER_03]: I talked to people I ask a lot of questions, and I'm always trying to make myself more knowledgeable.
45:01
[SPEAKER_03]: And what you're reading right now, out of curiosity?
45:04
[SPEAKER_03]: I read newspapers.
45:05
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay.
45:06
[SPEAKER_03]: Online.
45:07
[SPEAKER_03]: I read four newspapers a day.
45:08
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't.
45:09
[SPEAKER_03]: You know what I'm saying?
45:09
[SPEAKER_03]: Online.
45:10
[SPEAKER_03]: So, locally, I read the free press.
45:13
[SPEAKER_03]: The trade news.
45:14
[SPEAKER_03]: Read it in New York Times.
45:16
[SPEAKER_03]: Standard.
45:17
[SPEAKER_03]: This is not a newspaper, but it's a publication.
45:19
[SPEAKER_03]: Crancy, trade business.
45:20
[SPEAKER_03]: Yep.
45:20
[SPEAKER_03]: And then I scan.
45:21
[SPEAKER_03]: Sometimes I'll put down newspapers across the country.
45:23
[SPEAKER_03]: So I can know what they're doing in those cities as well.
45:26
[SPEAKER_03]: So in terms of a book, I'm not a huge book reader.
45:30
[SPEAKER_03]: But I'm a huge, I guess, here periocos and newspapers.
45:33
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
45:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Make sure it's all still written news, news is very real, thank you.
45:38
[SPEAKER_03]: So, don't walk away from that, man.
45:40
[SPEAKER_03]: And when it comes to, you know, I was second-tuned to various news programs as well.
45:46
[SPEAKER_03]: So, yes, still watch the news, and I know that, uh,
45:49
[SPEAKER_03]: consumer behavioral patterns of the change, but now you have three mean services, right?
45:54
[SPEAKER_03]: And now you have a, listen to this podcast?
45:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
45:57
[SPEAKER_03]: This is to this podcast.
45:58
[SPEAKER_03]: Podcasts, things the way that people are going, because people, as you know, they want to listen to one demand.
46:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
46:04
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't want to necessarily have to sit at a certain time.
46:06
[SPEAKER_03]: When I was growing up, everybody watched the six of quantum news.
46:09
[SPEAKER_03]: Right?
46:10
[SPEAKER_03]: Everybody is, if you go old enough, say them and watch, they'll go to Clark News.
46:14
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
46:15
[SPEAKER_03]: But there was nothing in between.
46:17
[SPEAKER_03]: Right.
46:17
[SPEAKER_03]: So now with all the podcast and these types of programs, you can watch it anytime, anywhere.
46:23
[SPEAKER_03]: You don't have any excuses, not to stay informed.
46:25
[SPEAKER_00]: very true.
46:26
[SPEAKER_00]: I just want people to stop watching news on Instagram.
46:28
[SPEAKER_00]: That is not the news on there.
46:30
[SPEAKER_00]: That is a tip of what it actually is.
46:33
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not, I want to say not credible because you do have credible news sources that report on social media.
46:38
[SPEAKER_00]: That shouldn't be the only source of being able to get the news.
46:41
[SPEAKER_00]: Actually, news people watch news like Mark said, and Google is a real thing.
46:46
[SPEAKER_00]: And then you even get AI that can help you out with some of that stuff as well.
46:48
[SPEAKER_00]: But you
46:52
[SPEAKER_00]: But before I forget as we land a plane here, how we got a chance to be able to connect through our connection and through first independence bank.
46:59
[SPEAKER_00]: So me being a part of the first gym board or next gym board, and then you actually have ties to first independence bank prior to you being able to be able to work with them.
47:09
[SPEAKER_00]: So I just wanted to know if you could share a little bit about your connection to that historical
47:18
[SPEAKER_03]: 7th of the largest black bank in the country, a quarter right here in Detroit, and things between 55 or 60 years.
47:26
[SPEAKER_03]: And so it rolls from the ashes of the 67 disturbance, some people say, riot.
47:31
[SPEAKER_03]: And Don Davis, certainly was the founder of the bank.
47:36
[SPEAKER_03]: And so the personal connection, my dad was a legendary banker here in Detroit.
47:40
[SPEAKER_03]: And at one time, he passed 10 years ago, but at one time he was the highest ranking black banker
47:48
[SPEAKER_03]: in across the country.
47:50
[SPEAKER_03]: And so, Deb brought in many of the legendary bankers here in Detroit, are here because of him.
47:56
[SPEAKER_03]: So, those bankers now may be the next generation, but their parents came here who were to the financial services industry because of him.
48:03
[SPEAKER_03]: So, my father, my father, my father, my father, my father, my father, my father, my father, my
48:05
[SPEAKER_03]: And then Davis developed a very good relationship.
48:07
[SPEAKER_03]: Now, Dad was not involved in the creation of First and Deep in the Spain.
48:11
[SPEAKER_03]: So it was more so they friendship a personal relationship.
48:15
[SPEAKER_03]: And so they forced that friendship.
48:17
[SPEAKER_03]: But they had two bankers, they would kick the tires together, and they would go to each other's houses, and just kind of say, hey, what can we do for the city?
48:25
[SPEAKER_03]: Especially coming out of the riots.
48:27
[SPEAKER_03]: The city was dust before.
48:29
[SPEAKER_03]: And that's been trying to get people to come here and live and work.
48:32
[SPEAKER_03]: And so, that's where my relationship goes back with first independence bankers actually through my dad and through his connection with Don Davis.
48:40
[SPEAKER_03]: Over the years, they cannot tell me who's a current chairman and CEO and to meet your such a citizen, who's a current president, and by the way, I will say, you know,
48:50
[SPEAKER_03]: Jeremy Kelly and I also have the same fraternity and and and the beaches I'm an alpha and the beaches of the capital man And so kidnoth and I will it we would just connect over the years at different alpha events At again, there's that networking yeah, and he we started chatting He started telling me about his plans with a bank when he was named CEO at the time and And we just continue to forge a relationship and as a result first hit he pinned his bank is now a sponsor of my small business workshop
49:20
[SPEAKER_03]: And then Dimitris and I came out a small world.
49:24
[SPEAKER_03]: My dad was actually Dimitris's, he was a smootzler.
49:28
[SPEAKER_03]: Wow.
49:28
[SPEAKER_03]: Dimitris is a more house man.
49:30
[SPEAKER_03]: My dad went to more house.
49:32
[SPEAKER_03]: But when Dimitris got into the financial services industry, I think he could tell you story better.
49:37
[SPEAKER_03]: I didn't believe he reached out and fortunate relationship with my dad.
49:40
[SPEAKER_03]: So there's that whole interconnectivity.
49:42
[SPEAKER_03]: I have nothing but great things to say about person he penned his bank.
49:46
[SPEAKER_03]: Obviously focused on the city, in the communities.
49:48
[SPEAKER_03]: Black businesses, the residents here, and I think under the early leadership, the Meachers' leadership and Chairman Kelly's, you're doing for now in the work.
49:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I agree.
49:57
[SPEAKER_00]: And you really get that sense of community and then wanted to be able to continue to upscale our folks just in terms of education and then also better serve them from services to financial services standpoint.
50:08
[SPEAKER_00]: So,
50:09
[SPEAKER_00]: That's the really cool aspect of it, and then the something that is also I feel like another thing that's unique to the city of Detroit in terms of it being like on financial institution and then like you said the 7th largest in the world, right?
50:21
[SPEAKER_00]: Or in the country, in the country.
50:23
[SPEAKER_00]: So 7th largest in the country and just one of those unique factors that is very much of the essence of Detroit and then them being able to have that community aspect I love that as well.
50:33
[SPEAKER_03]: And I just had a conversation with Chairman Kelly right before our conversation today.
50:38
[SPEAKER_03]: And we talked about financial heat.
50:41
[SPEAKER_03]: Some people say financial literacy.
50:43
[SPEAKER_03]: I love his choice of words.
50:45
[SPEAKER_03]: This is financial wellness.
50:47
[SPEAKER_03]: I love that.
50:48
[SPEAKER_03]: And what he was saying is we were talking about asking a question about the gap.
50:52
[SPEAKER_03]: Right.
50:52
[SPEAKER_03]: And he was saying, and so what first anti-pinners bank is trying to do is educating residents, those with money, the importance of understanding your financials, closing that literacy gap or improving your financial wellness.
51:08
[SPEAKER_03]: I never heard it in that context before.
51:11
[SPEAKER_03]: We have, we have, we have, we have all of our businesses, we don't want to alienate anybody,
51:20
[SPEAKER_03]: Equipped.
51:21
[SPEAKER_03]: Again, what he's saying is, we want as many people as possible, understand the value of home ownership, understanding the value of savings, understanding the value of besting your resources.
51:35
[SPEAKER_03]: So in other words, they're personalizing the messages, and they're getting into the community.
51:40
[SPEAKER_03]: Not many banks would say that.
51:42
[SPEAKER_03]: So they know what their market is, and they know what their niche is, and it's developing
51:49
[SPEAKER_03]: on what they're trying to do from a financial standpoint.
51:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Most definitely.
51:53
[SPEAKER_00]: And so what's next from Mark?
51:54
[SPEAKER_00]: What's next for you in terms of this upcoming year?
51:58
[SPEAKER_00]: What do you have on horizon that you can share with us?
52:00
[SPEAKER_00]: What you got going on?
52:01
[SPEAKER_00]: I got it not going on.
52:02
[SPEAKER_00]: Sorry.
52:02
[SPEAKER_03]: I said, we just expanded Sabin talking all day.
52:05
[SPEAKER_03]: It's not going to be my throw.
52:07
[SPEAKER_03]: We just expanded the league group as expanded into the coaching business.
52:11
[SPEAKER_03]: So what I say coaching, again, is we talk about professional development, personal development, so we do professional coaching in terms of your career development, business coaching as well.
52:22
[SPEAKER_03]: So I want to thank you myself and our group, continue to explore and invest and grow in that area.
52:28
[SPEAKER_03]: And why is that?
52:29
[SPEAKER_03]: We know that a lot of people are continuing to get across roles.
52:35
[SPEAKER_03]: Do I continue doing what I'm doing?
52:37
[SPEAKER_03]: So people might be getting laid off here just the end of the year, and you're not exactly sure what the next step might be, so I think there's a huge opportunity to do that.
52:45
[SPEAKER_03]: I also continue to, I'm not walking away from supporting small businesses.
52:49
[SPEAKER_03]: In one of the ways we need to continue to do that is we have programs throughout the course of the year.
52:53
[SPEAKER_03]: I also need a ton of panel discussions across each wave focused on entrepreneurship, but in May, on May 13th, say the date, May 13th, say the date, will be the 12th annual.
53:03
[SPEAKER_03]: small business workshop.
53:05
[SPEAKER_03]: And when we have a theme, we have guest speakers, we have keynote speakers, we have workshops where people can certainly listen to the challenges that might be confronting them for going to 26, 2022, 26.
53:18
[SPEAKER_03]: So that will be held at the Troy Powell.
53:20
[SPEAKER_03]: a court of also knows the corner ball park at 1680 Michigan Avenue and right now say today May 13 from 8 to noon is a free of that and great sponsors and we will bring each one information as we begin to flesh it out very dope and Mark working to people find you if they want to tap in they want to follow the journey your expertise see what you got going on how can they find you go to league group that's Lee group innovation.com so Lee my last
53:50
[SPEAKER_03]: innovation.com.
53:53
[SPEAKER_03]: And if you want, you can also follow me on X to say Twitter, whatever you're gonna say.
53:59
[SPEAKER_03]: My Twitter handle, X handle is the League Group as well, Instagram, MSL60.
54:06
[SPEAKER_03]: And so if you want to email me, feel free to email me as well.
54:08
[SPEAKER_03]: That's Mark at LeagueRoupInnovation.com.
54:12
[SPEAKER_00]: Perfect.
54:13
[SPEAKER_00]: Well Mark, this has been another may-than conversation in a great way to be able to wrap up 2025 and then be able to have a outlook for all of our entrepreneurs, small business owners for 2026, and appreciate all the work that you do for our business small businesses and the community being a representative of them and now also being able to always share your expertise and wisdom that you've been able to gather over the years.
54:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Let me say it's about you, Denzel.
54:37
[SPEAKER_03]: We are at a critical stage and I just had this conversation with the other day that was somebody else with other people.
54:44
[SPEAKER_03]: It's awesome to see you doing your thing and I think it's important to get the next generation continue to stand up.
54:51
[SPEAKER_03]: take control, provide opportunities, besides the platforms, until the story.
54:57
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm only going to be around for so long.
54:59
[SPEAKER_03]: Other people in my generation, I'm my age group or whatever.
55:03
[SPEAKER_03]: Some people, yes, we want them to do dinner.
55:06
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm enjoying everything I'm doing.
55:08
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm a good team doing I'm doing.
55:09
[SPEAKER_03]: But I challenge, I challenge the next generation to do what you're doing.
55:13
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, keep that fire blazer, keep telling the story, and keep on keeping on.
55:18
[SPEAKER_03]: Absolutely, absolutely.
55:19
[SPEAKER_03]: I appreciate that.
55:20
[SPEAKER_03]: Absolutely.
55:21
[SPEAKER_00]: What up, though?
55:21
[SPEAKER_00]: What up, though?
55:23
[SPEAKER_00]: There by watching, listen, we're going to tap it with y'all soon.
55:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Peace.