Latest / WOC and Allies: Business and Career Realtalk with Elaine Lou Cartas / 16. Accessible Money & Advice for Your BIPOC Business with Accion Opportunity Fund

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16. Accessible Money & Advice for Your BIPOC Business with Accion Opportunity Fund · WOC and Allies: Business and Career Realtalk with Elaine Lou Cartas

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Did you know there's free money available to you?
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: Funding, grants, and even loans for BIPOC business owners and allies like you and me.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're like, what there is, and I'm gonna call you in.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: As a fellow person of color and ally, we need to change our mindset from let me just figure this out on my own, to how can I grow my business and leverage capital, relationships, and resources so I can contribute and give back to my own community.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: Because guess what, Legacymaker?
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: This is what big corporations and Fortune 500 companies do all the time.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: And in this podcast, I've partnered up with Luis Ramos and Daisha Elliott of the Axiom Opportunity Fund, a nonprofit that provides financial support to help advance racial, gender, and economic justice for all.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: So we're gonna share with you some resources and tips to grow your mission-driven business.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: All right, let's drop the beat.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: So you most likely have a successful career you've built, right?
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: A great career or business, but what you've built may no longer feel aligned.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: And in the Color Your Dreams podcast, I'm here, as well as my guest, to support women of color and allies like you to purposely pivot their business and career while collectively creating a sustainable and equitable future.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: We'll have real talk on the deep inner work to create lasting transformation and the tactical strategies to create a sustainable business and career while truly enjoying your life.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: We both know you have a vision, roots you're proud of, and a legacy to create.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: Now it's time to do things your own way, on your own terms.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: So let's get started.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: Go grab your coffee, tea, andor boba, and let's call your dreams to create your legacy.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: So I got double the trouble.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: I got two guests.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: I have both Luis Ramos and Daisha Elliott of the Axion Opportunity Fund.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're listening to this episode, it just dropped how I am partnering with this incredible nonprofit.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: And their focus is on the importance of receiving financial support to help advance racial, gender, and economic justice for all.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, how could I not partner up with them?
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: And the intention of this interview is to really learn as the BIPOC community the importance of asking for help and educating ourselves when it comes to funding and business.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: So, Luis, I would love for you to introduce yourself, what you've done, not just with Axion, but what you've done before and then Daisha.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: So go ahead, Luis, introduce yourself.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_03: Of course.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no, thanks for having us as well.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_03: So my name is Luis Ramos.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_03: I am the director of Business Advising for Action Opportunity Fund.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_03: So I have been working in this in the CDFI field, and we'll expand what that is coming up, right?
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but I've been working in the nonprofit lending sector as an advisor or in an advising capacity for about 10 years at this point.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_03: I am currently based out of Austin, Texas.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_03: But before this, um I had a stint working uh with businesses in the Bay Area for another organization over there.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_03: And before that, I was in New York as well.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_03: So I had another stint over there.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_03: Um I've worked coast to coast.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm very familiar with a lot of businesses.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_03: A lot of the work that I do primarily encompasses like working with entrepreneurs, like the one that we're reaching out today in this podcast as well, ensuring that all entrepreneurs, regardless of size, have access, have equal access to resources, mentorship opportunities, networks, and really kind of like all of the tools that they really need in order for them to survive, thrive, scale, right?
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_03: So that's been my mission in life is to just to really work with a lot of these entrepreneurs, right?
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_03: Happy to help, um, happy to work with anyone, right?
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_03: And more importantly, I think the big thing is providing making sure that they're that these programs are visible just because of uh how invisible they are, unfortunately, due to marketing.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_03: But we'll talk all about that within the podcast as well.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_03: But yeah, thanks for having me.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: I'm laughing because both Luis and I were just talking about that before we hit record about how it's the marketing to help the BIPOC community is just really difficult to see.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: Daisha, you're here as well.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I would love for you to introduce yourself.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: So again, my name is Daisha Elliott.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm based in Atlanta, Georgia, and I'm one of the awesome business advisors that work under Luis.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's so amazing what we have the ability to do at my background.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I was a consultant for small businesses that were franchising, nonprofits, and tech startups as well.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so being able to go from like idea to pre-revenue revenue and then figure out, you know, what the exit strategy is, we have those same capabilities at Axiom Opportunity Fund.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: So just being, you know, so kind of boots on the ground in terms of how we connect with different business owners, how we help them with different programming, and then bring in great amazing partners such as yourself, Elaine, into you know, the process as we help, as Louise said, scale and thrive and educate and bring a sense of community and social capital, um, in addition to financial resources as well.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's just every day is a different day.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: I definitely love what I do.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: And two of the big things that Axiom Opportunity Fund does is one, give funding, I know up to 100K.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: And two, also provide coaching and advising, especially within the BIPOC community.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, if you can't see us, we're all shades of brown.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: I said this earlier.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we're so diverse coming from the West Coast, the Midwest, the East Coast, so even geographic location.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: And we all have lived experiences, right?
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: Being born and raised as a person of color, and also all three of us helping and supporting fellow entrepreneurs.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: Why do you think the BIPOC community has such a hard time asking for help when it comes to funding or even coaching?
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I'll give a situation.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: I connect with a couple of people sometimes.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: They tell me that they have credit card debt in all transparency.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: I had credit card debt when I first started.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: It was$55,000.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: And if you look at your interest rate and you realize, oh, I am not even touching the balance because it's all going to interest.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: And thankfully, I have an amazing boyfriend who called me in and said, Hey, like you should see if you should get a loan.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: And it got a low interest loan to pay that and then pay off that loan.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: Like it was just so much easier, but no one educated me until it became quote unquote too late.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what happens with a lot of the BIPOC community.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: So I would love for both of you to share your insight why you think it's hard for the BIPOC community to ask for help.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_03: Honestly, such that is such an honest statement, to be honest with you.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_03: I feel that that is such a it is something that I see unfortunately such a common trope with like the communities that we serve, right?
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_03: And there are a lot of reasons for that, right?
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_03: That one, lack of information, right, with being one of them.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_03: Lack of trust is also one of them as well, right?
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_03: A lot of the populations that we work with in many times as well, um, may not have the like, I don't want to say like the education for it, right?
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_03: That like we work with like a lot of times we work with very simple communities that they have an idea, right?
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_03: They know how to do a certain thing, right?
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_03: And they do it very well, right?
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_03: Whether it be food, uh providing a service, whatever it may be, right?
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_03: They do it very well, right?
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_03: But in regards to like the formalization aspects, and especially when it comes to resources like capital, right?
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_03: There isn't a lot of information to really like get a better understanding of like, this is where I go to get this, right?
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_03: Or this is why it's important for me to not have so much debt or to utilize debt, right?
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_03: And what ends up happening is because the communities that we work with are so self-reliant that they take a lot of that onus, a lot of that burden on themselves, right?
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_03: And especially when we're working with communities that don't have a lot of like intergenerational wealth, right?
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_03: There isn't a lot of wealth there, right?
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_03: So a lot of the times they're just like, hey, you're on my life savings.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna put it into my business and I'm gonna pray that it works well, right?
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_03: And they they put all of their efforts into it.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_03: But what ends up happening a lot of times in it takes money to grow a business, right?
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_03: It takes money to make money.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_03: And a lot of times, whether it's starting a business or even scaling a business, there's only so much you can do on your own, right?
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_03: And unfortunately, what I end up seeing time and time again, especially working with the clients that I have the pleasure of working with, is that they sink everything that they have into their own business without leveraging it, right?
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_03: And that's kind of like one of the biggest issues that I see time and time again is that they're not a lot of the clients that we work with aren't leveraging their own dollars to get more dollars, right?
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_03: And it puts them in a in a position, unfortunately, where whenever they get to this point where it gets it's too late, right?
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_03: Where I'm already in so much debt, right?
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_03: I've already borrowed money, right?
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_03: Whether it be from like my credit card or a lien on my house or I sold my car, right?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_03: I have nothing left to my name.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_03: So whenever they finally get this information somewhere, right, it's it's unfortunately too late.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_03: And I hate seeing that, right?
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_03: So time and time again, it's it's definitely making sure that a lot of these entrepreneurs have these resources and have that information to really make them understand that it's not it's not all on you, right?
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_03: There are resources out there that you can leverage, right?
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_03: You don't have to put all your eggs in one basket and hope that it that it works, right?
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_03: Because at the end of the day, life does happen and and things do happen that will put you behind sometimes, right?
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_03: And that's why these resources are so important, right?
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_03: And and I'm a huge advocate for that.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_03: But yeah, I that definitely big issue, right?
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_03: And just something that we definitely want to like demystify here.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: This is why we're doing this episode.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I hope you feel represented here because we just have such a diverse group here talking about it.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I had such a hard time to learn it.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: I had to like take my ego out and humble myself.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Daisha, what else did you want to add to what Luis was sharing?
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: Capital is, you know, it's financial, it's relationships, it's knowledge, right?
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, to Luis's point, if you didn't come from a group of family or friends that already had a wealth or abundance in those three areas, of course you wouldn't know, you know, how to start a business or how is it that you leverage your relationships and your resources to even understand, okay, is this business viable?
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: How is it going to scale?
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: What are the next steps?
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, we of course have to be mindful too of the term underserved.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: And oftentimes, you know, whether it's a community or um certain groups of people, it's because maybe the resource was there at one time and then, you know, systemically it went away, or maybe it was never there at all in terms of, again, you know, information, funding, or, you know, those relationships.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so a lot of times, especially when business owners come to us, we're having to kind of unpack those, that fear or lack of trust.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: And then we've got to help kind of bridge that gap and start and form new habits to help establish and be on that right path so that capital and those different resources can can come their way and do it slowly for their business.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's unfortunate where we too live in our country where it is uneven.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if both of you watched the daily show with Trevor Noah, but my boyfriend and I watched a clip.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: It was like a behind the scenes, and an audience member asked, What's the difference between racism in South Africa and here in America?
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: In South Africa, they just are clear and blatant and direct.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: They're like, Well, you can't live here because you're black and brown.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: You have to be white.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: Like they will say that.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: But then here in America, it's like, I want to live here.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: And they're like, oh no, you can't because you don't have the money.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so, like, racism actually shows up as classicism, like your socioeconomic status.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: So it's like we actually have to prove why we don't get certain things, so it's not as direct.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: I just wanted to share that.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: It was just really interesting for him to share that.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: And we see it in our own lived experiences and our own clients' lived experiences.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: So, what we're hearing is why the BIPOC community has a hard time asking for help is because we don't see it, we haven't experienced it.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: What advice and tips do you have to change that perspective?
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: Why is it important for the BIPOC community to ask for help?
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: Like, for example, I learned I'm like, wait, Fortune 500 companies always ask for money.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: Like when the PPP loans came out, like back in the day when it was Staples Center before it became the crypto center.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: I'm still gonna call it the cable center, the stay staples and I'm just saying, but like they got the PPP loan, right?
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like there, there's all these huge companies and corporations that get help from the government as well as grants and also ask for help from the banks.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_01: So, what advice and tips do you have for our community where, hey, you should ask for help too?
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: And this is why.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think it is again making it cool to ask for help and resources and then understanding, especially that the society that we live in gives special privileges to big business and business owners in general.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: And we can kind of trace this back a hundred years within our country, like especially when it came to the Great Depression.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: Those who were, you know, first introduced to kind of that relief system were those agriculture farmers who owned their land, not sharecrappers, but like actually owned the land, which meant that you were a business owner.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: And then the goal was to have um that money from the farms to go into those who own the equipment.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: So again, the ownership is the key, the relationship is the key.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then, as Louise mentioned earlier, that formalization that helps your business be legit and become recognized in society, all of that is key as well.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_03: 100% what Daisha said.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_03: I think a lot of it just really comes to it's kind of like a blessing and a curse, right?
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_03: Because like our communities, they're so self-reliant.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_03: It's like, I can do it, right?
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_03: I can do it, I can definitely do it.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna push forward.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_03: Like no one else is gonna help me except for myself, right?
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_03: And it's this, it's a wonderful thing to have, right?
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_03: In order to persevere and get ahead, but it double-edged sword at the same time, right?
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_03: It's just like you're so afraid of looking for resources or looking for help because of fear of being in debt, of getting assistance from someone else, right?
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_03: Just because there's this experience of just being so self-reliant that it's like you know almost even like pride will kick in, say, like, I was like, I don't want to ask someone to help me, right?
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_03: But then at the same time, you go to big business and it's just like, oh, if there's a program that exists, why wouldn't I use it?
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_03: Right, it's gonna make my life easier, right?
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_03: So there's this like this dichotomy of these like two different things that exist, right?
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_03: Of like big businesses and especially business owners with like intergenerational wealth, they're be like, of course I'm gonna leverage these resources.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_03: They exist for a reason.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_03: And then you have like the communities that we serve and that we work with that are all like, well, I don't know if I want to work with that.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know if I don't know if I want to get into debt, I don't know if I want to rely on someone else to help me when my experiences growing up culturally, socially, whatever it may be, have always been to be self-reliant, right?
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_03: And it's like it's one of those things that we have to like break a little bit.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I will share.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: I I have a therapist, I have a coach, guys.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: I got a whole village because I got big dreams and they're crazy.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_01: And with that being said, it's just I actually have always asked for help.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_01: I'm the first first generation immigrant and the first one in my family, born and raised here in the States.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: And it was really hard because my parents didn't go to college, so I had to ask other people how to do that.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: One, and then two, I have no family members who had a business.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: I had to ask for help on it to do it.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: And here's the thing you can do it on your own.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: You absolutely can.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: But how long is it gonna take you until you get to that point?
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't know about you.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I don't know if you can see me.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: I am Asian, I'll probably live until 100, but I want to try to do as much as I can in a small amount of time.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: And because I've asked for help, I feel like I have been successful.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: I don't believe in self-made.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like this is like community, like a huge millions of people behind me, including generations before me.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: Another question I have is what are resources?
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: How can people find help when it comes to one both funding and then and also just like financial management and too, also getting mentorship?
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_03: Honestly, great question.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_03: I think if anyone that's listening to this can get anything out of this, I think the biggest thing is that being able to get mentorship very accessible, regardless of where you live, right?
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_03: Whether whether it's connecting to the coaching resources that we have at X-N Opportunity Fund, or like honestly, like what I always tell a lot of clients is that even if there isn't a partner there, like a nonprofit that can help with that, there are also like federal, city, state like agencies that can help with that as well, right?
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_03: Reach out to your local city, right?
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_03: Reach out to your state.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_03: Every city at the very minimum has an office of economic development, and they will have the resources to say, like, hey, if you're looking for free coaching resources, free anything regarding your small business, formalization, whatever it may be, you could reach to them and they can redirect you, right?
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_03: There are so many resources out there that you can leverage as a small business owner that are completely free, and you should leverage them, right?
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_03: And especially kind of like what we were mentioning earlier.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_03: One of the biggest limiting factors that the individuals that we work with our communities have is that is the lack of networks, right?
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_03: It's that they only know themselves, right?
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_03: Um, they're they're building it out on their own.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_03: And because of that, it's gonna take longer to build it up.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_03: It's gonna take money that you may not have to build it up, right?
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_03: And it's good to get exposed earlier rather than later, right?
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_03: Because there are so many resources that you may not know exist, grant opportunities, capital opportunities, mentorship opportunities, or even networks that you can join where other entrepreneurs can help support you as well, right?
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_03: So there's a lot of stuff out there.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_03: Best way to do it, check out your city's website, would be like one of the big ones.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_03: Um, check out your local SBDC as well, another great form of information.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_03: Uh SBDC stands for Small Business Development Centers, right?
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_03: And these are all funded by the federal government, already paid by your taxes.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_03: So take advantage of them since you're already paying for them, right?
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_03: And um there's even an organization as well funded by the federal government called like SCORE.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know, I don't remember that acronym right now, right?
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_03: But it's a lot of like formally retired executives that, you know, like they're already in the retirement, they want to help, they want to contribute and give back, and they offer their times for free, right?
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_03: So that any entrepreneur can connect with them and get connected to resources, networks.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_03: And then we have like nonprofit partners like ourselves, other CDFIs throughout the country that offer similar services as well, all completely free.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_03: So take advantage of them.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_03: That's yeah, that's my plug.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: You know, your community local bank, again, if you think about individual to business and then business to community, we all play a part in making sure that those resources flow, right?
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: So if you become a business owner and then business owner means taxes, oh, that funds the city.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: So there's there's actually a lot of interest in the success of your business that goes, you know, even beyond you personally, your family.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so for that, You know, that's kind of keeping our our local city, state, and federal folks accountable for our success, especially during these times.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: I'm being selfish, but I just want to let you know how much both of you have educated me on this.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: And like I have said earlier in this episode, like I'm always asking for help.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like, wait, hold on.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't even know about score with just, you know, retired folks.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: And also I do want to highlight the SBDC, the small business development center.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: I used to work at Pasanese City College, which is which is a community college in the LA area.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: So they have one here.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: I've even met with them.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_01: But just like because it is federal funding, Luis and I shared, I know you're like, wait, how come I haven't heard about this?
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_01: Because their marketing budget is so low.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, Luis, do you want to share about this?
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: Because I'm pretty sure it's like, well, if there's all these resources, how come I didn't know about it?
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: So can you let people why they probably don't know about it until probably listening to this episode?
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_03: Of course.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_03: So, like, unfortunately, like any like anything related to like government or like any kind of like nonprofit assistance, it's like the saying is that it's like the best kept secret, right?
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_03: It's just because due to funding, especially like on the nonprofit side, there isn't like a big marketing budget.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_03: Like, we can't do what like big corporations do and be like blast it everywhere, put it on social media, put it everywhere.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, we there we don't have the dollars to do that, right?
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_03: And the same thing with like the federal government as well, right?
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_03: They have a set budget for like keeping and supporting a lot of these centers, but like their marketing isn't robust, right?
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_03: They're not they're on they're not on TV, right?
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_03: And and most of the time you'll you'll hear about them through like networks, right?
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_03: Uh chambers of commerce, things like that, right?
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_03: But it's one of those few best kept secrets that it's best, like once you hear about them, it opens up an entire like world of possibilities because you get so connected, right?
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_03: But for a small business owner that doesn't know where to go, like they'll never know to check the SBA's website to get at that kind of like information, right?
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_03: And it makes it really challenging just because there is in the marketing budget.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_03: So it's a great kept secret that we definitely want to like advertise more and and and help open up a little bit more, just because entrepreneurs should take advantage of that.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_03: It's free, you're already paying for it.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_03: So take advantage.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there are definitely programs too, um, either incubators or accelerators that depending on the stage of your business, they have a really cool anywhere from eight to 12-week program that would take your business idea or, you know, maybe your pre-revenue or early stage business, and literally like, okay, now we're gonna focus on the marketing.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: Now we're, you know, so on and so forth.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I highly recommend for all entrepreneurs to take advantage of those resources as well, because now you're gonna be put into a situation to where it's like you, um maybe 10 other entrepreneurs, and you all are building a community within each other, but also learning this new information and getting that mentorship.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and some of them even come with you know some funding as well.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: At the end of it, that kind of varies, but you know, for the most part, you want to make sure that you have the knowledge, the fundamental, and the basics, and that'll take you far no matter, you know, if your business does well or if you have to pivot and change.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: Taysha, I also loved earlier you just educated us that it actually benefits the city or the county or the state for your business to thrive.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: Can you explain that a little more?
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so if you kind of take it step by step.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: So you as a business owner, you're going to pay for your business license and pay for your business taxes and the supplies that you buy, like all of that also puts money into a revenue cycle for another business or another city and county.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, for instance, you have things like the new market tax credit, which is, you know, something else that AOF is heavily involved with and has impacted several, several businesses, but that whole tax credit was dedicated to getting investment and businesses back into underserved communities.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: So again, you can generate that financial flow.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, okay, well, why does my community you know care about the dollars from a business owner or you know, any of the other individuals?
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: Well, those same dollars, that's what you use to benefit your streets, your hospitals, your libraries, your resources that the city is able to produce.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: Or if you're wondering, you know, hey, what's happening with the housing or what's happening with the schools, again, you know, you can't pull zero from zero.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: So all the money that comes from businesses within a city go back and benefit.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, again, that's kind of like the the government big incentive.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_01: Luis, anything you want to add to that?
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and like even with like what to add a little bit more to it as well, especially working with like a lot of cities uh throughout my career, even kind of like the job creation aspect of small businesses is very important as well, right?
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_03: Like every economy, especially like every small local economy, like little city, little town, wherever you may be, right?
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_03: It's incredibly important, right?
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_03: Just because small businesses keep keep like Main Street alive, right?
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_03: And um the one, they help create jobs, they help create opportunities, and they help create like revenue for the actual city itself, that without it, like they would there wouldn't be like a bright future, or like you would lead to situations where you would have like like worse conditions overall for everyone else, right?
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_03: Whether it'd be like lack of budget for like education, lack of budget for like maintenance, stuff like that, right?
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_03: So it's so important just because small businesses do keep do keep cities alive, right?
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_03: They're like the biggest mechanism too for job creation, for example, right?
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_03: And more importantly, like unfortunately, like right, is like small businesses pay more in taxes than big corporations do.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_03: And that's a fact, unfortunately.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, that's a whole other big conversation for later, right?
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_03: But they they keep small businesses and they keep the city alive, right?
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_03: So they're super important for that.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_01: I really love that explanation.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: It just creates our whole economy.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: And also, I'm spiritual.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if both of you are.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_01: So if there's any spiritual folks who are listening, I like this explanation of money, where money is like water.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_01: It comes from the word current, currency.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's meant to move at all times.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_01: It's like water.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_01: If it's gonna sit still, it's gonna go ugly, brown, and murky.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: So money is always supposed to be moving and circulating.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what small businesses do.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_01: They help move it around and give it to other people.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: Like, and when I think about my team, I'm like, I'm not just making money for me, I'm making money for their livelihood.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_01: And what's interesting is as soon as I added team members, I actually took my business even quote unquote more serious because I got to pay these people, not just for myself.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I wanted to highlight also a small business development center, which we did earlier, but like I was asking them, like, hey, I want to seek for more funding, and they educated me.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, go get a line of credit.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: You have an amazing relationship with your bank.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, what is a line of credit?
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's like a credit card, but a lower interest rate.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, but you don't have to use it all.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, what?
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_01: No one educated me on this.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_01: Daisha, I see you nodding your head.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_01: What do you want to share with people what that is?
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_01: And that's where I want to go to next about more funding.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_01: But Daisha, if you could educate people what a line of credit is and how it can help folks.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: So a line of credit is amazing in the sense of number one, first off, you have to establish that relationship with your bank, right?
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: So what I often tell folks to do, um, you know, your your federal, Navy federals or your community banks, you know, walk in.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, I'm, you know, so and so.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: I have this hair salon, build that relationship with that business banker and say, okay, I want you to watch.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: And every time, I'd say, like maybe every couple of weeks or so, make that deposit and make sure you say hi to that business banker.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: Learn about whatever you can about them.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: And then I'd say, you know, based on your deposits and sales, say, hey, I'm growing in my business.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: Let's look, can you take a look at things and figure out, okay, how much credit, how much of a line, or or how much of this amount of money that you can lend to me at one time.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_00: And you can use it for anything regarding your business, you know, marketing, supplies, payroll, um, and you know, proper, you know, responsibility and usage of that line.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, you know, that's how you you keep it, but let's just say you get a line of credit for$2,500.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, you know, you're gonna take it out, make sure you pay as much as you can within five days, and and always keep that credit line, you know, like never um keep it more than 30% out.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: Because again, they want to show that you're responsible with it.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: And you'll notice that as you, you know, kind of go back and forth with that line of credit, pay it off, pay it on time, then you get more of a line of credit and more of a line of credit.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: And eventually you'll become unlimited with this line of credit.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: And it's gonna help build your business credit.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna help have that emergency and that reserve for when you need it, if you ever need it, right?
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: But it's there and it's there for you to use for your business.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: And again, it all started because you built that relationship, you used your deposits and your sales, and you proved that you were, you know, just financially responsible for the bank to keep extending this credit.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_01: And let me just share, it works because I have a relationship with Chase and I've been in business for almost five years, hitting multi-six in revenue.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_01: So when I met with an advisor at SBDC, you should consider doing a line of credit through Chase, and I contacted them.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_01: I got a$50,000 line of credit for 3.55% interest rate, which is ridiculous.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_01: How could I not say no to that?
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_01: But what you're hearing is like understanding to leverage debt.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_01: So with that being said, people hear this all the time, but we know our folks don't know what the hell that means.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_01: They just heard the word debt and they go running, right?
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_01: So what does leverage your debt mean?
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_01: One, and then two, what are other funding opportunities available?
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_01: Like how can people find more grants or loads?
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_01: And feel free to also share about Axion.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_01: So, Louise, I see you nodding your head profusely.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_01: So go ahead and share first.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_03: So leveraging your debt.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so it's kind of like um what I what I term like the golden rule of lending, right?
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_03: And for small business owners to like always observe this rule, right?
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_03: And that is, I always tell someone use someone else's money before you have to use your own, right?
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_03: Um, that's like the biggest, like if there's anything you that you learn from here, that's the main thing.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_03: Use someone else's money first rather than your own, just because it'll take you farther and you'll be able to scale farther, you'll be able to grow more, use other people's money, right?
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_03: And like I always tell a lot of entrepreneurs, it's like, hey, at the end of the day, even if the business doesn't work, even if you have to go into like bankruptcy and close your business down, use someone else's money, not your own.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_03: So you get to keep your own money, right?
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_03: So, like, super important to do that as well, right?
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_03: And especially if you have like a business structure, like an LLC or a corporate structure, you can protect your own personal assets as well, right?
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_01: You create that up.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_01: That is important.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry, I need to emphasize that.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like, keep it separate and get that LLC, but continue, Luis.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: Didn't it mean to cut you off past the city?
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no, no, no, it's super important, right?
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_03: So protect what's yours, right?
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_03: Protect your personal assets, super important to do, right?
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_03: And especially if you have a structure like an LLC, a C Corp, S Corp, whatever it may be, right?
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_03: It is a great way to formalize your business where it protects everything that you've worked so hard in your life to earn personally, right?
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_03: And then you can use someone else's money and you can work hard and grow your business from that.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_03: But at the end of the day, everything that you've built up for yourself that you've leveraged, right, by using someone else's money, that's still yours, right?
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_03: You're you're not beholden to anyone on that, which is great.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_03: So uh be very careful with how you choose your your structures for your business.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_03: Soul props are good to start out with, but if you can, if you have the ability to change and if you can afford to be an LLC, if you can afford to be a corporation, change it as soon as you can, right?
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_03: Because it's it's only gonna help your life and it's only gonna help improve your life as you move forward.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_03: Um, little plug-in.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_03: But yeah, basically, big thing here, use someone else's money, right?
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_03: There will always be someone that will want to lend you money, whether it be a bank, um credit union, a nonprofit organization like a CDFI.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_03: There are a lot of resources out there for you to leverage what you've built up and what you're trying to build up and scale up.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_03: So use someone else's money, right?
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_03: You'll be surprised at how many programs exist out there, right?
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_03: Whether it's SBA funding, um CDFI funding, there are a lot of grants out there, right?
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_03: There's a lot of different programs that you can take advantage of, and especially right now, like post-pandemic world that we're in right now as well, is that there are so many programs that exist, right?
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_03: That still exist that you can take advantage of, right?
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_03: PvP being one of them, that I mean, it's already gone, but maybe it'll come back, hopefully.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, we'll see, right?
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_03: But there are so many programs that you can definitely leverage.
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_03: So use someone else's money, you know, like you're not gonna lose anything from that.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_03: Like, will you be in debt?
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_03: Sure, right?
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_03: But will that will that put you personally in peril?
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_03: No.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_03: It's a great instrument to help grow your business, and especially with like all of the entrepreneurs that we that I've worked with, that I've had the pleasure of working with, they know what they're doing, right?
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_03: They know how to do a certain thing, they know how to cook something, they know how to provide a service, right?
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_03: So a lot of times all I keep hearing is like, if I only had this, then I could do so much more, right?
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_03: And that's a way to do that, right?
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_03: So don't be afraid of debt, right?
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_03: Um, debt can be a great tool if you're prepared for it.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_03: And that's kind of like the big thing.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_03: Be prepared.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_03: Like, if you know how you're gonna utilize that money moving forward, right?
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_03: At least for like a year's time, then you're ready for debt, right?
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_03: The only reason that people are afraid of borrowing money is because they don't know what they're gonna do with it, right?
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_03: But once you really start thinking and sitting down and saying, you know what, if I can borrow 10, 50, 100, I'm gonna use it this, this, and this way, then you're almost like preparing yourself in a way where like these are the goals that I have to do in order for me to be successful, right?
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_03: So it really, as a small business owner, it really helps prop you up and really understand exactly like this is what I need to do in order to get to work, in order for me to like make my money, pay this loan back, right?
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_03: And it's only gonna help you scale your business a lot faster than doing it by yourself, right?
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_03: So that's my little plug.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_03: Daisha, I'll defer to you too because I know you definitely have more to add.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it it kind of reminds me of uh, you know, they say good fat and bad fat.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, well, you have some stuff that you really should only eat if once a day, and then you know, the other stuff that you have to utilize more often than not.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_00: I have a great relationship with food, just like folks should have a great relationship with money.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_00: So that's kind of why I brought that up.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_00: But definitely for small businesses, I always mention that you're at your best and your most advantaged when you understand your sales and when you're able to understand it and bring in regular revenue.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, that may take some coaching, some kind of niching, some kind of testing within your customers.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_00: But in addition to that, it's like, okay, you have the ability to get a loan.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_00: And again, you want to be able to have that loan available to you.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_00: And the best time to do it is when you don't actually need the money, right?
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_00: But even if you have to take, you know, baby steps to get there, your bank, your CDFI, they're going to help you understand what's necessary.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_00: So it goes back to asking for that help.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_00: And then also, you know, of course, you have things like investors and grants.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'll touch on grants.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_00: Normally, you know, pre-pandemic, sometimes grants can be oftentimes a little slow.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, you have to give a lot of information and kind of resources and research to justify why you would need that grant.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, you know, pandemic coming, you know, things were a little bit easier.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_00: But even now, you know, you have to take into consideration that sometimes it's like a lottery, right?
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to be mindful that if you heard about the grant, 10,000 other people.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_00: And so, yes, by all means, definitely go after anything that is free money.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_00: Just be mindful that there's also a pool of other people that are going to be picked for that as well.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_00: When it comes to investing, or you know, those who are investing in your business, I would just say be very mindful of what that investor brings to the table beyond money, like is their work, is their knowledge, and also be mindful of what is required of that investment.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_00: If your business is still relatively new, that investor is coming in almost like a bandit because they're gonna give you a little bit of money or something that has a really big, you know, picture internal, all things go well.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_00: So just kind of really be responsible with that relationship.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, that investor should also be like your ally within the business as well.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, that investor also, depending on you know what the arrangement may be, they may be the one helping you make decisions within your business or having the final say.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_00: So again, you have your free money with grants, you have your loans that you know allow you to kind of have money at your disposal and pay it back responsibly.
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_00: And then you have investors who, again, depending on the type of business that you have, of course, they can scale it really quickly with their funds, but you just have to be mindful that's you know almost like a like a marriage within a marriage of sorts.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, just make sure that you kind of understand what resources that are at your disposal.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_00: And what we usually are able to help people do at ALF, you know, we prepare them for access to capital.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_00: So for instance, right now we have uh like the SOAR loan, right?
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_00: 4% interest up to$100,000.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_00: And it's in most southern states as well as a few northeastern ones.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_00: And with that one, it's like, okay, have you been in business for the last couple of years?
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then generate at least$20,000 in revenue.
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so something else to also be mindful of is how are you keeping track of, you know, what's coming in on a daily basis, monthly basis.
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, Excel sheets, profit and loss statements, QuickBooks, what are you doing to also kind of show and keep track that you are responsible with the money that cycles and flows through the business as well?
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_01: For those that are listening, you're probably feeling really overwhelmed, right?
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_01: We're like, oh my gosh, I have to do all this stuff.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_01: And I always give this comparison, you've probably heard it from other episodes, but having a business like a car, you know, you might be driving the dream car or the car against that ocean mountain, wonderful view, right?
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_01: You get the car for the driving.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_01: But in order for that car to stay alive, you got to put gas, you gotta change to oil.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_01: You got into an accident, you gotta go repair that, right?
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_01: Like there is also the maintenance of it.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_01: So, what I want you to hear, you might have an amazing service and product.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_01: That is great.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_01: But if you're not managing and maintaining it well, just like you are with a car, like I don't know about all of you, but I want to have like a Toyota or Honda because that lasts forever, as opposed to like all those like luxury cars that like last for two years or not that long.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's actually important.
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_01: And you touch both of you touched upon this is people don't want to ask for a loan or grant because you don't know what you're using your money on.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_01: Rather than asking what you're using your money, what are you doing now?
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_01: Just like what what Daisha was sharing?
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_01: How are you getting sales?
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_01: So, where are you actually getting higher ROI so that when you ask for more funding, you could actually share, okay, I want 50K, X amount's gonna go to this, X amount of this because it brings us more revenue that I'll be able to pay this.
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_01: That's what banks want to know.
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_01: They want to know you get you're gonna pay that fast and give them even more money because they just supported you.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_01: Anything both of you want to add to what I just shared there?
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so like it's exactly that, right?
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_03: So at the end of the day, what a bank wants to know, what any lender will want to know is that can you pay me back?
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_03: Right?
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_03: How risky are you?
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_03: And it's kind of like this preparation aspect as well, right?
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_03: Anyone can get capital, like anyone can apply for funding, anyone can get that funding.
• 43:25
  SPEAKER_03: But the big thing that a bank wants to know, that any lender wants to know, is like, are you gonna pay me back?
• 43:29
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_03: And for a business that is relatively new and that they're still growing and they're, you know, you're you're still trying to figure things out, right?
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_03: That's okay, right?
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_03: Just because it's what I tell a lot of clients, it's it's a lot easier to get capital when you don't need it, right?
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_03: So like you're fairly new, you don't have a lot of debt, right?
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_03: You're you're working things out and you're and you're seeing, like, hey, you know what?
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_03: This product that is making me the most amount of money.
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I should I should focus on this a little bit more, right?
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_03: You have like your direction, right?
• 43:56
  SPEAKER_03: It's a lot easier to get money at that point in time whenever it's like this.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_03: Be my only debt, it'll be like maybe it's 10k, maybe it's 20k, right?
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_03: Like a month again it could be like 400 bucks.
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_03: Can I make 400 bucks in a month?
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_03: Probably as a small business, right?
• 44:09
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's a lot doable.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_03: But once you get to a point where unfortunately I see a lot of entrepreneurs get to, is that they get to a point where, like, Luis, I'm reaching out to you.
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_03: I I heard about you from X person, whatever, right?
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_03: I'm 50K in debt already.
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_03: My business is failing.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not doing so hot.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_03: How can I turn around or how can I get more money, right?
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_03: And that's usually when it's a little bit too late, right?
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_03: It's like a lot of individuals will like shoestring their own business, like they'll they'll grow, they'll try to like just organically grow, right?
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_03: And eventually you hit this like point where you can't self, you can't push that growth any further with like your own capabilities, right?
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_03: So once you get to a point where like you can't even support the business, then a lot of banks will say, like, well, am I giving you am I giving you funding that's just gonna be a band-aid for like a that isn't gonna really like solve like the issues that the underlying issues within a business, right?
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_03: So a lot of it just is preparedness, right?
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_03: If you can prepare yourself, right?
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_03: If you know exactly where your money's coming from, if you can plan for it, getting money is really simple, right?
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_03: It's only once you get to this like unmanageable state, which unfortunately does happen, that it gets a little bit harder to do.
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's also important to note just really quickly, that banks are also kind of looking to see your past history.
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, they want to know have you ever been late on any of your payments?
• 45:32
  SPEAKER_00: How many of them have you missed?
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_00: And so you have to have that honest assessment, like, okay, when I bought that car or when I had that credit card to Macy's, what happened?
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_00: Did I let it lapse?
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think it's also an opportunity for entrepreneurs to go back and look at where they are personally, because you can go back to that credit card and say, oh my goodness, um, how can we get back on this payment plan?
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like you yourself have the power to do that.
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think when you look at your business and then when you look at where you are personally, understand that credit exists on both sides.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's it's on us as individuals to take those steps to prepare and kind of fix and develop those proper spending habits as well.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_01: A big theme that I'm hearing here is just changing that mentality if I could figure this out on my own to asking for help.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_01: I know we're talking about funding and I'm kind of changing the topic completely left field.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_01: But for example, I go to my own therapist and I have an out-of-network therapist, right?
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_01: And after I was like, oh, well, she's she's the one and I have to pay it out of pocket.
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_01: And then I'm like, wait, hold on, I got an insurance company.
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_01: Let me go call them and just ask, right?
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_01: But like, I don't want to be there for like an hour waiting.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_01: So I called and they are willing to pay 70% of my therapy sessions.
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_01: Now, if I didn't call that, I would have been like wasting hundreds of dollars.
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_01: So, what I want you to hear, it's like calling and asking, and also be okay of rejection too.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_01: So I said earlier that I'm partnering up with Axiom Opportunity Fund as one of their coaches.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I actually manifested this because I wanted to partner up with a nonprofit.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_01: And what was so easy is they approached me, which is great.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like, this is my way to give back to the community and offer some complimentary sessions.
• 47:32
  SPEAKER_01: And what I love about it is because I came from the nonprofit sector.
• 47:37
  SPEAKER_01: I gave back to my own community as a fundraiser.
• 47:41
  SPEAKER_01: Now I give back again as a coach.
• 47:43
  SPEAKER_01: So, can both of you share like what are opportunities that they can find with Axiom Opportunity Fund?
• 47:51
  SPEAKER_01: And how can they go look for it?
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_00: Of course.
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, again, we have our business resource library as well as our one-on-one coaching.
• 48:02
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, Elaine's gonna be a part of our one-on-one coaching through this coaching hub.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_00: We also have different programs and webinars, so aofun.org.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then you can go to that website and you'll learn more about us as a company, as well as different programs and resources.
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I know Luis will have some tips for how folks can also further utilize our website.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no, what Daisha mentioned, completely true.
• 48:31
  SPEAKER_03: Check out our website.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_03: I think that has like the best source of information for everything that we do.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_03: We also help host like grant opportunities.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_03: So there's that as well.
• 48:38
  SPEAKER_03: Those are on a revolving day basis.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_03: So depending on when you listen to this, uh, there may be something, there may not be, just depends.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_03: But at the same time, uh the business resource library, as Daisha mentioned, has like a repository of knowledge regarding different topics, whether you want to learn about X, Y, or Z, investment capital, formalization, whatever it may be.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_03: It exists.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_03: And I think maybe like the biggest takeaway is our free advising that we offer through the website as well.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_03: Anyone that is interested in connecting with a coach at no cost to you, uh, they can go to our advising profile under our resources page, right?
• 49:11
  SPEAKER_03: And from there you can sign up for a free coaching session.
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_03: You can get connected to like a mentor, whether it's myself, Daisha, or even Elaine in this case as well.
• 49:19
  SPEAKER_03: We're here to help you guys out, um, help you grow.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_03: But I think the biggest thing is what a coach will, I think maybe like the biggest thing that a coach will do for you is really help you connect you and really plug you into a network, right?
• 49:29
  SPEAKER_03: Just because that's where most of the growth will happen, being just exposed to everything that exists out there, right?
• 49:35
  SPEAKER_03: Wherever you are in wherever you are in in time or with your business, there's always an opportunity to grow.
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_03: And I would say it exists, it's free, take advantage of it.
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, it's free, everybody.
• 49:46
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know about you, but I remember back in college there was those pizza parties, and I went, okay, because free pizza.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_01: And this is about funding and knowledge and opportunities.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_01: So be sure to go to aofund.org.
• 50:02
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a o f un dotorg.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_01: And for both of you, what makes Axion Opportunity Fund different?
• 50:11
  SPEAKER_01: Why do both of you work for Axion?
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_00: I know for me, you know, working with this organization and being able to be so creative and kind of flexible with how you work with businesses and especially businesses of color, I think that's super important.
• 50:29
  SPEAKER_00: One of the things that I think definitely also makes us very unique is how much advocacy we do for small business owners.
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_00: So we've been very like in the forefront of policy and things like um, you know, the business bill of rights.
• 50:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so that you kind of understand what you should know when you walk into a situation where you're getting a loan, what kind of questions you should ask.
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so again, it goes back to not only are we educating business owners on their actual business themselves, but what does that look like when you are getting a loan and how to have that proper relationship and proper knowledge?
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_03: And I guess as like a plug for AOF as well.
• 51:13
  SPEAKER_03: So we're like the largest like CDFI lender in the country as well.
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_03: But even outside of that, um, from speaking from like at least like the advising program side, like we love startups, we love working with new businesses, we love working with communities of color.
• 51:26
  SPEAKER_03: I I mean, I think last last last time we pulled a report, like 65% of the individuals that we worked with were like uh women of color, right?
• 51:34
  SPEAKER_03: So it's like it's a huge chunk of the individual that we work with.
• 51:37
  SPEAKER_03: And it's it's fantastic.
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_03: Like there was a stint where I worked as like an investment banker in New York.
• 51:43
  SPEAKER_03: Hated it.
• 51:43
  SPEAKER_03: I absolutely hated it just because it's like so so like lifeless and soulless.
• 51:48
  SPEAKER_03: I hated it so much.
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_03: But working with small business owners and especially the communities that we serve, it's very fulfilling just because you feel like you're opening doors for a lot of individuals.
• 51:57
  SPEAKER_03: So allow us to do that for you as well, right?
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_03: And whether it's just information or you want to get connected to something, like that's what we're there for, right?
• 52:05
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, we love giving back and it's like we love, we love helping.
• 52:09
  SPEAKER_03: But that's kind of like the big thing.
• 52:10
  SPEAKER_03: I love helping people.
• 52:12
  SPEAKER_01: I think you forgot to mention their loans go to 100K too.
• 52:15
  SPEAKER_01: So that is huge, like huge support, and especially focusing on the BIPOC community.
• 52:21
  SPEAKER_01: So I always like concluding and ending the Color Jeans podcast episodes with what is one takeaway and one action?
• 52:30
  SPEAKER_01: So both of you could have your own.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have to obviously we can't do like a little meeting for you guys to decide.
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_01: So whoever's ready first, what is one takeaway and then one action from this episode?
• 52:42
  SPEAKER_03: I guess big takeaway for anyone that's listening.
• 52:46
  SPEAKER_03: If there was one thing that I want you to do is get connected like immediately, right?
• 52:51
  SPEAKER_03: At the end of this, find out exactly like what is the closest SBDC center toward, like in your area, right?
• 52:58
  SPEAKER_03: What are the resources that exist?
• 53:00
  SPEAKER_03: Find out like Google, like just go to your city's webpage and go to the Office of Economic Development and start from there, right?
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_03: A lot of resources are gonna be there and they'll there will be at least some direction to kind of at least get you started, right?
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_03: That would be kind of like the biggest thing.
• 53:12
  SPEAKER_03: And I guess as far as like something to learn from this as well, is that don't be afraid of debt, right?
• 53:18
  SPEAKER_03: So use someone else's money before you use your own.
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_03: It's gonna, like, I promise you, it's gonna help you grow so much faster and um you're gonna put yourself at less risk personally.
• 53:27
  SPEAKER_03: Anything you can get from this, please do that, right?
• 53:30
  SPEAKER_03: Because it's gonna it's gonna take you so far.
• 53:32
  SPEAKER_03: And I guess that's like my big two things.
• 53:34
  SPEAKER_01: Daisha, before you go, I just want to emphasize on that.
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_01: If I had to do it all over again, because I did, I used my own money.
• 53:41
  SPEAKER_01: And actually, every single time I grew, it's when I borrowed it.
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_01: Like the first time I borrowed money, that's when I hit the multi-six.
• 53:50
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I got a line of credit because I've changed my business model where I'm only doing one service, working with more established entrepreneurs.
• 53:58
  SPEAKER_01: And like I just see it coming like tenfold.
• 54:01
  SPEAKER_01: But I was just egotistic school, like probably all of you.
• 54:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like, no, I can figure this on my own.
• 54:06
  SPEAKER_01: I don't need help.
• 54:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, no, I'm now 34.
• 54:10
  SPEAKER_01: I got one life to live.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_01: Like, come on, let's go.
• 54:13
  SPEAKER_01: This needs to go faster and quicker.
• 54:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like, let I know I can't avoid challenges and pain.
• 54:18
  SPEAKER_01: Let me just lessen it a little, you know.
• 54:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Daisha, what is one takeaway and action you would have for our audience?
• 54:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm actually very thankful you went before me.
• 54:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think the takeaway is to lean in and learn, right?
• 54:33
  SPEAKER_00: So lean in to the fact that you have this strength, this talent, this skill, and there's a community and a set of resources that is waiting for you to utilize it, but then you have to be open and able to receive the learning that is going to be a part of this journey.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_00: So you, you know, want to be able to utilize other folks' money, that's fine.
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna have to learn how to use it responsibly.
• 55:06
  SPEAKER_00: You wanna be able to, you know, have your sales and hit six, seven, eight figures.
• 55:11
  SPEAKER_00: You got to learn what that means to understand your sales and how to build a team and what that structure looks like.
• 55:20
  SPEAKER_00: So again, I just ask for everybody to lean in and learn.
• 55:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I promise you'll come out on the other side so much more thankful, and you'll have plenty of resources, network, and funding at your disposal.
• 55:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm also mindful that you're probably listening to this whole episode and you're probably feeling it on your chest, you're feeling anxious, like, oh, I don't know.
• 55:45
  SPEAKER_01: Let's just reframe it.
• 55:47
  SPEAKER_01: Why are you doing your business in the first place?
• 55:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like, who are you there to serve?
• 55:52
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't matter whether you're making cookies, whether you do have a consulting service, like why are you doing it?
• 55:58
  SPEAKER_01: One, and then two, what's also helped me a lot wow, how privileged are we?
• 56:05
  SPEAKER_01: Like, how privileged are we to have the resources and even to make a choice that we want to make our own business?
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_01: Because I know the generations before me did not have that.
• 56:14
  SPEAKER_01: Not saying everyone has to be a business owner, right?
• 56:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just saying I do.
• 56:18
  SPEAKER_01: I know you want to as well because you're listening to it.
• 56:22
  SPEAKER_01: So remember your why one and two.
• 56:26
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we are privileged to have this opportunity.
• 56:29
  SPEAKER_01: So, Luis, Daisha, thank you so much for your time.
• 56:34
  SPEAKER_01: Anywhere else you want to point them besides aofund.org.
• 56:38
  SPEAKER_01: Anywhere else?
• 56:39
  SPEAKER_03: I would say, as I mentioned earlier, time and time again, check your SVDC, check your local SBA website as well, uh, check out score as well.
• 56:47
  SPEAKER_03: Tons of free resources that exist out there to kind of get connected.
• 56:50
  SPEAKER_03: Biggest thing here, just get connected, right?
• 56:53
  SPEAKER_03: Find someone that's gonna help you get connected.
• 56:57
  SPEAKER_00: And check out LinkedIn as well.
• 56:59
  SPEAKER_00: That is your social media with a suit and tie and a lot of business resources, a lot of business affiliated and networking things are on LinkedIn.
• 57:10
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, again, you can join that for free.
• 57:13
  SPEAKER_00: You can be online and kind of browse into your leisure.
• 57:17
  SPEAKER_01: How are you feeling, Legacymaker?
• 57:20
  SPEAKER_01: I know that was a lot talking about asking for help with funding and coaching, but remember how privileged we are in comparison to all the generations before us that didn't have these resources.
• 57:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I share this with my own personal experience.
• 57:37
  SPEAKER_01: So my grandmother passed away about last year in March 2021.
• 57:44
  SPEAKER_01: And she was basically a third parent to me.
• 57:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I didn't know this until after she passed, was that she had her own business in the Philippines.
• 57:53
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, she never shared this with me.
• 57:55
  SPEAKER_01: She raised both me and my brothers while my parents were at work, but she couldn't continue on with her business doing hair because her husband, my grandpa, died.
• 58:07
  SPEAKER_01: And she had six kids to raise on her own as a single mother in Philippines.
• 58:13
  SPEAKER_01: So she didn't continue on.
• 58:15
  SPEAKER_01: And when I think about my own business, I think about wow, her.
• 58:20
  SPEAKER_01: Like how I have these resources and opportunities.
• 58:25
  SPEAKER_01: So I want you to ask yourself, why did you create your business in the first place?
• 58:31
  SPEAKER_01: What are your top values?
• 58:35
  SPEAKER_01: One of my top values is contribution.
• 58:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I see that this call your dreams community that we've co-created together values a legacy that goes beyond ourselves, which is why I'm happy to announce that I have partnered up with Axiom Opportunity Fund to be one of their coaches to give back complimentary 30-minute coaching sessions with limited spaces per month.
• 59:07
  SPEAKER_01: So to check out their coaching services and funding opportunities, go to aofund.org.
• 59:17
  SPEAKER_01: That's ao fall.org.
• 59:23
  SPEAKER_01: Legacymaker, if you love this call your dreams episode, we would love it if you can leave a rating and review on Apple.
• 59:33
  SPEAKER_01: So more women of color and allies can benefit too.
• 59:38
  SPEAKER_01: And if you have one or two friends that would get so much from this particular episode, please share.
• 59:46
  SPEAKER_01: The intention behind the Color Your Dreams podcast was to contribute and give back to our people.
• 59:52
  SPEAKER_01: All right, we'll see you next Thursday for our newest Color Your Dreams episode.
• 59:58
  SPEAKER_01: And don't forget to color your dreams too.
• 1:00:02
  SPEAKER_01: Create your legacy.