Latest / The Commercial Builders’ Network (TCBN) / HOUSE MEETING: The New TCBN | Careers, Contracts, Construction & Wealth
Transcript
- TaNeshia: If you're a small business trying to figure out how to get contracts, if you're trying to get into construction or the skilled trades, if you're trying to understand how development actually works, or you're simply trying to figure out how to create more opportunity and build wealth for yourself and your family. I want the Commercial Builders Network to help you figure out your next steps. And that's why I'm changing the way we do this podcast. Not the mission. format because I've realized something through all of the conversations I've had on this platform. Information is great, inspiration is great, people's stories are great, but at some point we need instructions. So today I want to tell you exactly where the Commercial Builders Network is going and what we're going to be able to get from this platform moving forward. This is the Commercial Builders Network where trust is restored, power is reclaimed, and legacy is built. Let's get to work. Welcome back to the Commercial Builders Network. I'm your host, Tanisha Reid, and today we're going to touch on the movement of TCBN. And if you've been here from the beginning, you've watched this platform evolve. We've sat down with architects, contractors, developers, lenders, government leaders, workforce professionals, attorneys, people working throughout commercial real estate and construction. And I've learned something from doing these interviews. I've learned that some people are incredible. I love hearing their stories. I love understanding how they got to where they are. But I started asking myself, when somebody finished watching one of my episodes in one of these interviews, what are they actually going to do with what they heard? That's where the shift has started. Moving forward, I want every TCBN episode to accomplish three things. Clarity, comprehension, and credibility. Clarity means that you should know almost immediately. Why does this episode matter to me? What problems are we solving? What opportunity are we talking about? And why should I keep watching? Comprehension means we're going to break down the information. I don't want somebody using industry terminology for 30 minutes and you're lost. And you finish the episode knowing just a little bit more than what you knew when you started. If we're talking about pre-qualification, we're explaining pre-qualification. If we're talking about bonding, we're explaining bonding. If we're talking about capital stacking, we're breaking down what that means. And credibility means that I want people talking about what they actually are in their specialty. Whether it's a procurement, I want a procurement person. Whether we're talking about financing, I want to talk to a lender. If we're talking about workforce, I want people actually connecting workers and employers. And if we're talking about how to do business with major general contractors, I want the person who can tell what that contractor is actually looking for. That's why usually there's a minimum of 15 years of experience from anybody who isn't just giving an opportunity but just telling their story. So because sometimes understanding where somebody came from helps to understand why they're committed to what they're doing, I still want to know what happened when things got hard. How did you persevere? What did you learn? How open doors helped you? And who are you opening doors for now? But we're going to get there faster because guest isn't necessarily the destination anymore. They're the guide. I want to use their expertise to help you get somewhere. You're going to start seeing TCBN YouTube channel organize much more intentionally around the information you're looking for. So What you'll do is we'll have like one of our major areas is one to do business with, and whether it's gonna be a government aid, decision or contractor, developers, some major institutions, and other organizations that have opportunities for small businesses. Instead of just telling you that that organization has contracts available, I wanna I'm going to basically sit down with those people inside those organizations or organizations and ask them what those opportunities for are. How do you register for them? Are there any certifications that are needed? What is their pre-qualification process? What are they looking for? What type of small businesses are they looking to partner with? How are people falling short? And what is actually going to make them more attractive to the small business? Are there any upcoming projects? Are there any meet the prom events? Is there a technical assistance program, supplier development programs? Or who should businesses be building relationships with? I want somebody to be able to search how do I do business with this organization and find a conversation with TCB and to walk them through it. That's useful. The second major area is workforce. We have workforce shortage, the route construction, and the skill trades. At the same time, we have people looking for careers that can actually change their financial situation. Those two people Two groups need to meet each other. Those people need to meet each other. And we're going to ask what jobs are available? What do they pay? What training do they need? Do they need a college degree? Can I earn and learn? Can I start without experience? Are there opportunities for women? Returning citizens? People rebuilding their lives? Because there's a lot of people pivoting right now. And young people who don't know what they want to do yet. Where can somebody actually go today to start the process? Because you can't just choose a career you've never been exposed to. And closing the workforce gap isn't just an industry problem, it's an opportunity to change people's lives. Then we're going to continue talking about the actual process of building and development. Because a lot of people want to own commercial real estate. A lot of people want to develop. A lot of people Have an idea of a business that requires physical space, but there's a huge knowledge gap between I have an idea and we're over. And how do you evaluate the property? When do you bring the architect in? What does due diligence actually involve? How much money do you need? What happens during permitting? How do you select a contractor? How do you avoid expensive mistakes? We're going to bring the professionals who touch these projects to at different stages and then help them to explain their part of the process. Because eventually somebody has to pay for all of it. And we don't need it to cost more than it actually does. And this is another place where the information, there's a lot of misinformation, and we're going to be talking about commercial lending, SBA financing, private capital, debt, equity, investors, underwriting, business financing, and what lenders actually look for. We don't just want you to open up an LLC on Monday and get fifty thousand dollars on Friday. It's just not how it works. And we're not doing that. I want credible professionals explaining what actually makes someone financeable and what you need to work on to get there if you aren't already there. And we're expanding the conversation around housing because I don't believe we can seriously talk about generational wealth without talking about where people live. For many families, their first major asset isn't a commercial building, it's their home. So we're going to talk about affordable and attainable housing, home ownership programs, financial readiness, housing development, and the connection between housing, income, ownership, and eventually investing. And there's another side to the conversation. When these communities need more housing, somebody has to build it. That means architects, engineers, developers. General contractors, subcontractors, tradespeople, suppliers. So even our housing conversation connects back to workforce and small business opportunities. And that's what I've started to realize. None of these conversations exist exist separately. Think about it. Exposure creates opportunity. Opportunity creates careers. A career creates income. Income creates stability. Stability can create home ownership. Skills can create entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship can create ownership. Ownership can create investment. And investment can create wealth. And if we learn how to protect it, transfer it, and teach the next generation how to build on it, that becomes legacy. That's the ecosystem I wanted TCBN to help people to understand. There's one thing from the original mission of this platform that I'm not willing to lose, and that's the conversation around trust. How do we rebuild trust in our communities? Because access without trust doesn't work. You can create a program, but if the community doesn't trust the institution behind it, people may never participate. You can say opportunities exist, but if businesses have applied ten times and never understood why they weren't selected, eventually they stop applying. You can tell somebody to invest, but if they've been burned before, they're going to be skeptical. And so we're going to keep this uncomfortable conversation going to how do we rebuild trust? And I believe part of the answer is transparency. Tell people how the process works. Tell them what you're looking for. Tell them why they're not ready. Tell them what they need to fix. And then give them a real pathway to come back stronger. That's how we start rebuilding trust. Now, near the end of these conversations, you're going to hear me ask our guests, do you have an ask? The reason why is because this is called the Commercial Builders Network. And I want us to actually function like a network. Are you hiring? Do you need subcontractors? Are you looking for partners? Do you need developers? Are you looking for schools or workforce organizations to partner with? Is there an upcoming opportunity people should know about? What do you need? Because somebody watching may be exactly what you're looking for. Ultimately, I don't want TCBN to just be a collection of podcast episodes. I want it to become a library of opportunity. If you're trying to start a construction company, we want you to start here. Trying to work with a major contractor, we want you to start here. Trying to figure out how to do business with your county. We want you to start here. Trying to get into the trades. We want you to start here. Want to become a developer? We want you to start here. Trying to understand financing. We want you to start here. Trying to move toward home ownership. We want you to start here. And I don't have to pretend that I know everything. My job is to find people who know their piece of the puzzle. Ask them the questions that are needed to be answered. And put that information somewhere you can find it. So no. The mission of the Commercial Builders Network isn't changing. It's getting clearer. We're going to provide clarity. We're going to make sure there's comprehension. And we're going to bring you credibility. We're going to expose you to opportunities. We're going to show you where to find them. We're going to ask what it actually takes to get access to them. And we're going to keep asking, how do we rebuild trust while we build stronger communities? Because I don't want you just to watch these conversations. I want you to use them. I'm Tanisha Reed and this is the Commercial Builders Network, where we restore trust, reclaim power, and build with purpose. Something else I like to say now is construction can change your life and it's starting to look a lot like you. Be sure to like, subscribe, follow, and I pray that this platform is a blessing to you.