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Start, Run, Grow panel sponsored by Advancing Black Entrepreneurs Chase Business
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00:00Entrepreneurship is a French word which stems from the Latin verb pronde which means to grab
00:11a hold and to take control. Entrepreneurship to me is the present and the future and very
00:17importantly we all thrive for what I call true financial freedom. Entrepreneurship for me
00:23is financial freedom. It is truly being in control of your destiny. Entrepreneurship to me
00:33is how we do business. Entrepreneurship to me is writing your own narrative building your own
00:42opportunities and creating your own legacy. Ladies welcome to our panel discussion the power of
00:51capital to start, run and grow your business. Thank you for being here with us today and thank you to
00:58our wonderful partners at the Essence Entrepreneurs Summit. My name is Tosh Ernest. I'm the head of
01:04welfare JPMorgan Chase's Advancing Black Pathways, a bold initiative aimed at helping the black community
01:10close historical gaps in wealth creation, educational achievement and long-term career success.
01:17specifically we want to talk to you about the power of capital through your business life cycle
01:23including thinking strategically about cash flow, credit options, business banking and more. Joining us for
01:30today's discussion are Managing Director Raquel Oden, Head of National Sales and Support for Chase
01:37Consumer Bank. Liana Barber, Middle Markets Banking Executive Director. We also have Lavonda Davis,
01:46Chase for Business Relationship Manager. And Renee Bullitt, creator and executive producer of She Did That,
01:55a documentary chronicling the pioneering lives of black female entrepreneurs which is streaming on Netflix
02:02now. So check it out. Let's meet our panelists. Let's start with you Raquel. Please tell us a little bit
02:09more about yourself than black women in ownership. My name is Raquel Oden and as you shared I lead national
02:15sales for JPMorgan Chase for both our consumer business which also includes our wealth management
02:20business and very importantly we service over 40,000 employees who are there for millions of clients
02:29every day and very importantly want to be there for as many business owners as we can. So thanks for
02:34having me today. I'm Liana Barber. I'm an executive director within the commercial bank here at JPMorgan
02:40and specifically I sit within our technology and disruptive commerce group banking companies across
02:44technology, digital media and emerging growth. Helping them to think through their banking infrastructure
02:50and setting them up from beginning to exit IPO or whatever that end event is for their company.
02:57My name is Lavonda and I am a business relationship manager at JPMorgan Chase for over 25 years.
03:04My role specifically is to help small businesses with their business to make their banking easier and we do this by providing solutions to help them collect faster, providing alternatives and partnering with other areas within our bank where there's other areas of need and just being their advocate and the navigator for them.
03:26My name is Renee Blewett. My name is Renee Blewett. I am the creator and executive producer of She Did That, which is the very first documentary journaling the rise of Black women entrepreneurs, now streaming on Netflix.
03:41My entire career has been centered around the Black community and specifically Black women.
03:47For years I did PR for beauty brands that were either created by Black women or targeting Black women.
03:56I've been managing a blog for 11 years now titled In Her Shoes, which is like my personal love letter to Black women entrepreneurs.
04:05And my most recent project is the documentary, which was inspired by, you know, all of the wonderful women that I've met on the journey and also inspired by the blog content.
04:16I would love to hear from you ladies why you care so much about Black female entrepreneurship and seeing Black women succeed and prosper.
04:28So, I mean, Renee, I know you shared a little bit, but why don't you just kick us off?
04:32Elevating and centering Black women entrepreneurs is critical because they are the backbone of our community.
04:39There is a sweatshirt that I purchased recently from a brand that says, when Black women do well, we all do well.
04:46And I kind of remixed that to say that when Black women's businesses do well, we all do well.
04:52And so it's important that we're supporting and celebrating these businesses.
04:58A space that we're in now, which is, it's really popular to support Black-owned businesses.
05:03I want this to be a lifestyle and a movement, not just a moment.
05:08So I think my why would have to be just personal.
05:12My mother is my why.
05:15I've been on Wall Street for over 20 years, and I know it's because I had an entrepreneur in my household my entire life.
05:21My mother, you know, had her own clothing store.
05:25She actually had her own hairdressing salon.
05:27She also sold Mary Kay.
05:29So when I think about, when we talk about women being Black women, in particular, being CEOs of their household, I had the honor, pleasure to see that in my household every day.
05:40And I understood the power of, more importantly, ensuring that you had more Black women in that space with you, because it can be very lonely.
05:49I'm a Black woman.
05:50So it's just, it's innate in me to be passionate about seeing other Black women win.
05:56I think Black Girl Magic is real.
05:58And I have girlfriends whom I'm very close to who are entrepreneurs and seeing their success, along with their struggle, just kind of informed me that I could be doing more to help them.
06:14I could be doing more to help the broader community of Black female founders in terms of utilizing the resources that we have within J.P. Morgan and making sure that that is accessible to them.
06:24It's just in me to help Black business owners, Black women business owners specifically.
06:29Exactly. Someone that has grown up in Harlem, and I've been surrounded by business owners.
06:35I have a cousin. I have a best friend that's a business owner.
06:39And I see how hard they work.
06:41I see when you share information that can be helpful for them, they're like go-getters.
06:45They take the information and they go with it.
06:48And not only do they do that, they team up together to share and help one another.
06:52So, Liana, can you share with us some of your thoughts about what having capital means, and in particular, for Black women entrepreneur owners?
07:01Yeah. So, I think that when you think about the power of capital, what it means for any business, I don't care if you're Black, white, or blue, it's survival.
07:10Without capital for your business, your business will not survive.
07:14For Black women in particular, what it means is the ability to build generational wealth for your family.
07:22That is what you need capital for.
07:24You need capital to continue your business so that your business survives, so that you then have a legacy to pass down to your children and your children's children or someone else within your family.
07:33Oftentimes, as we know, and as this pandemic has showcased, right, the obstacles that face Black business owners, let alone Black women, have grown even higher.
07:47Access to capital, you know, continues to be out of reach for women of color entrepreneurs, especially with investors.
07:54We've seen that in the venture capital space specifically, where there tends, especially during this COVID period, where people invest in their close-knit friends and family within that inner network.
08:07And if you don't have a network that consists of Harvard and Stanford grads, you don't have a network that consists of those with million-plus trust funds, right, you can oftentimes be left in the cold.
08:19As a bank, it is really important to us to help Black women understand that the quality and depth and length of their relationship with any lending institution will significantly impact their chances of getting a business loan or credit.
08:36We're in the midst of an economic downturn because of COVID-19, and the outlook is still really uncertain.
08:44What are some of the biggest challenges that Black female entrepreneurs are facing during this crisis?
08:50And what can business owners do to address some of those challenges?
08:55I just talked about my mother's personal story.
08:57You know, she's had different businesses at different times for different reasons.
09:00As an entrepreneur, the one thing I will tell you, don't be a one-trick pony.
09:04You've got to read the industry and what's happening.
09:06If you had a digital strategy you didn't before, I think this is one where we all have to figure out a digital strategy pretty quickly.
09:12The idea that people coming in for individual or walking into a space has absolutely changed.
09:17The question is, are you able to accept electronic payments?
09:20Were you set up for that pre-COVID?
09:22Are you set up for that now and post-COVID?
09:25Secondly, how do you deal with your mail order?
09:27Because that is definitely a change that's taken place, right?
09:30We've seen what's happened with Amazon in place of that, but our small business owners have had to do that same level of response.
09:35So I think the opportunity now when we think about this crisis is still capital and paying and surviving your bills today.
09:42I think focusing on the grants, focusing on the PPP availability, if you had the opportunity to take advantage of that.
09:49And then thirdly, rethinking your business plan, because the reality is all businesses have to rethink, reshape.
09:55And just as important, you want to go to your lenders and providers that were there for you pre-COVID.
10:01The idea that we should be there for you now is just as important, and that's going to be important for you to assess the partners that you keep in your business and in your personal sphere when this is all set up.
10:10So, Renee, what were some of your early funding challenges and how did you know you were capital ready?
10:17And what were some of the sources of capital that you were able to raise as you went about with this wonderful startup company, this documentary making endeavor?
10:27One thing that a lot of people who have met me kind of in this chapter of my journey don't know is that I started off as a PR consultant.
10:37I had a boutique PR agency here in New York City.
10:41And so because my business was more of a service-driven business with not a lot of overhead, I didn't really find myself needing financing.
10:49But it wasn't until I made the transition from PR to filmmaking that I was in situations where I needed financial support to bring my vision to life and to bring my dreams to life.
11:04J.P. Morgan Chase, for example, has been a wonderful partner on my journey, which she did that.
11:09We started working together a couple of years ago doing screenings and branches and screenings at HBCU.
11:16So one thing that I would advise for especially creative entrepreneurs, right, if you're creating something that you think a brand would benefit from, you know, or if you have an audience that a brand would benefit from, look into partnerships.
11:31You know, they are powerful ways to finance your work and your vision and also a really great way to build awareness of what you're doing because that partner is also going to talk about,
11:43you know, whatever the wonderful work is that you're creating together.
11:47Lavonda, who is our cash flow expert, this next question is for you because, as Liana said earlier, like cash is the lifeblood of any business.
11:58And we know that poor cash flow management, even in good times, is the leading cause of business failures.
12:04And now it's even more critical that business owners learn cash flow best practices.
12:13So what are the things that business owners should be focusing on right now when it comes to that cash flow?
12:20Whether you're just starting out or whether you've been in business for a while, write it down.
12:26Know what's coming in your business and know what's going out.
12:29That is the beginning to cash flow.
12:32That is the beginning to preparing your profit and loss statement.
12:36If you understand the money that's coming in, you can assess and see where's this money coming from?
12:43How soon am I getting it?
12:45Is there a way that I can invoice these clients sooner to get paid faster so that that income can come into my business sooner so that I can continue to invest in my business?
12:58Look at your expenses.
13:00What are some areas that I can cut?
13:03How can I use someone else's capital as opposed to my own?
13:08That way, to your point, Renee, when you're ready to pivot your business into the next level, you have your own cash or your own capital that you can use for that purpose.
13:20Liana, in your role, you advise high-growth companies from seed through to IPO or exit.
13:28Often, startups ask about funding options.
13:32What are some of the financing available to them?
13:36When you start your business, I think, and you think about financing broadly, there are three main options.
13:41There's equity, meaning an owner of the company.
13:45Typically, if you are using your own cash, you probably are the sole owner of the business and you own 100% of the equity.
13:52As your business grows, as you decide, I want to pivot the business, I want to do something different, you may not have more money to put into the business.
14:00At that point, you may consider, do I do equity or do I do debt, meaning do I sell some of my company to get a little bit of cash so I can put into the business, even though I'll still retain the majority ownership, hopefully, of the company, or do I borrow the money?
14:17Starting off, given if you're at the very early stages of your business, where maybe you've only been in business a year or two or even less, then the business in and of itself may not have enough of a credit history to allow you to be able to borrow from the finances of the business.
14:35You'll need to do more personal borrowing.
14:37Now, the third way, and Raquel kind of brought this up, that many entrepreneurs, and I don't think enough entrepreneurs take advantage of, is looking for grant and other program options.
14:48I think that is a key resource in terms of you don't have to give up any ownership of your company.
14:55You do have to follow whatever the grant or the program guidelines are, but that is free money.
15:00You don't have to pay it back traditionally, and so I think that that's one way to raise the money for your business without having to put undue burden on you from a debt perspective or selling the ownership of your company.
15:14And so the flip side of equity is debt or credit.
15:18Lavonda, a big part of your role as a business banker here at Chase is to provide credit solutions to your clients.
15:25Can you talk to us about some of the questions or considerations that business owners need to think about before taking on this debt and borrowing?
15:35One, cash flow.
15:36As we talked about money coming in and money going out, understand how your business is performing.
15:43Based on how much you're looking to borrow, do you have the net profit that's after your expenses to cover the cost of the loan request that you're asking for?
15:57The other thing is credit history.
16:00Remember, you are your business.
16:03And what that means is, as the business owner that have a business, we want to see how have you paid your present or prior or previous obligations in the past collateral.
16:17If you're in a service business and you have receivables, we like to look at that because that can help with your rate or if you have perhaps equipment.
16:26And that's why it's important to have a balance sheet to show what your assets are compared to your current debt or your liabilities.
16:35Also, if you apply for a loan with a bank and you're declined, stay in relationship.
16:42You know that relationships matter.
16:45And I think that a lot of back entrepreneurs get dejected when they are declined and they fall out of relationship.
16:51Raquel, you have this wonderful new role as head of national sales and support for JPMorgan Chase.
16:59And I know that part of your role and one of your priorities is helping Chase clients understand what it means to be financially healthy.
17:09So can you share with us a little bit about the importance of personal financial health?
17:13And I'm always shocked and amazed that this is something that's not taught in our schools, which is why it's important that you really do build a relationship with a banker who can give you some expertise, advice, because that's the key to this, providing you advice.
17:28I think there's a couple of things that I would say, and you guys have summarized it in a lot more detail, but at a very high level.
17:33I think we think about we've got to make sure and remember what we're bringing in is enough to cover overall expenses.
17:40We kind of covered that in a high level way.
17:43Our credit, you know, we say keeping it 700, keep it higher than that, but keeping it 700, what does that mean?
17:49Right.
17:49In these moments, you know, credit can take years to come out of and it could take one event to take it away from us.
17:57And so the importance of understanding, if you've got to know on that credit, I love that you said, you know, ask the question as to why, because I've got to protect it and make sure that I have the opportunity to clean it up and also think about how I pay certain things down.
18:13Always remind yourself that you can't lose sight of your overall goals, because I can understand in these moments, it can be actually deflating, you know, as we're going through these periods and it takes you off the track, off your path.
18:25I think you heard very importantly, the focus on grants, because that is something where you have people believing in your ideas and you're not having to give up any of your ownership or equity that comes with it.
18:37Additionally, which I think is just as important as part of this is really friends and family.
18:41I mean, that's one thing I could tell you from my personal growing up life.
18:44You know, I think about my mom being an entrepreneur, you know, partnerships go beyond, you know, one, you want a banking institution.
18:50Yes, you want potentially, like you said, private equity, small, what you call venture capital, which is not for everybody, right?
18:58The ability to do small family offices, but you've got your own circle, which is your family and your friends.
19:03And I always say sometimes you can start there depending on the level of access of capital that you need with a very strong understanding of how you're going to return that actual equity back to your family member.
19:14And I think just as critical to this is you can't forget everything that we said here, which is you've got to have that clear business plan.
19:21And Renee, we have you here as a black female entrepreneur right in the middle of this 2020 with your personal finances and your business finances, even while you're working on your next documentary that is going to continue to chronicle the stories of black women entrepreneurs.
19:41And so we would love to just understand how you have been pivoting and any of the narratives that you are discovering as you look towards your next documentary.
19:50This space that we're in now, you know, when March did and it just seems like the world was crumbling in front of us, I could personally say that I was a little frustrated.
20:02You know, I was literally in early pre-production stages for the next project.
20:07And it just felt like, when will we ever be able to continue to tell these stories?
20:13But what has actually been happening in the last, you know, nine, 10 months, I'm losing track of how long it's been, is just watching how black women are evolving in this time.
20:25We are pivoting beautifully and we are, like I said, shining in the darkest situation.
20:30So what I'm actually getting is more inspiration for the next project.
20:35I actually just published a holiday gift guide on my blog that features 75 black women-owned brands to shop for the holidays and beyond.
20:46Everyone feel free to check it out, you know, and I'm just really proud of the work that we're doing and I'm looking forward to continuing to tell those stories.
20:54Any final thoughts, ladies, for the black female founders watching this episode?
21:01Why don't we kick off with you, LaVonda?
21:03Whether we're moms, wives, aunts, god moms, leaders in the financial industry, business owners, we always figure it out.
21:15And it's very important to know during this time, whether your business is thriving or whether you're having challenges, be the answer to the question, be the solution to the problem and know that you have resources there available at JPMorgan Chase to help you get there.
21:36So keep going.
22:06What's driving your brand forward and also don't be afraid to ask for help and just know that if you are experiencing financial hardships, you are not alone.
22:16You know, I'm going to be specific to the audience here, which is black female entrepreneurs.
22:21You are the present and you are the future.
22:22And so as we go into this next phase of the journey of this crisis that we've been in, there are a lot of things that have come to light.
22:30And I think black female entrepreneurship is one that I'm excited about to support.
22:34Ladies, thank you so much for your insightful thoughts and just sharing your passion with us.
22:40Ladies who are watching, I hope you can feel the passion through the screen.
22:45We care about you.
22:46If you want to know any more about the programs we have at JPMorgan Chase to help you succeed, you can reach us at jpmorganchase.com backslash ABP.
23:01That's Advancing Black Pathways.
23:03So again, it's jpmorganchase.com backslash ABP.
23:08Thank you and take care.
23:10Thank you, ladies.
23:10Please.
23:39Peace.
23:40Peace.
23:40Peace.
23:40Peace.
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