00:00Hello, and welcome to the Ford sponsored the current state of black entrepreneurs panel.
00:13I'm Deborah Owens, founder and CEO of Wealthy U, where we teach black women how to turn their
00:21income into wealth. These are challenging times, as we all know, the COVID-19 and the
00:29racial unrest has many black businesses being challenged. Part of that reason is because black
00:38women out of all ethnic groups are starting businesses at a faster rate. And many of those
00:46same businesses are not what is considered essential. And so on this panel today, we put
00:54together a group of amazing panelists who are going to share how they're faring in these
01:00economic challenging times. And I'm excited because Ford has put together an opportunity
01:07for us to have a really enlightening conversation. And so joining us on the panel today is Shelley
01:17Bell of Black Girl Ventures. Say hello, Shelley. Hi. Excellent. Also, Arian Simone of Fearless Ventures.
01:27Hello. Hello. And Chef Aki, our celebrity chef. Say hello, Chef Aki. How you doing? Excellent. And
01:39Beatrice Dixon, founder of The Honey Pot. Hello. Excellent. So let's get started and get ready for
01:48a conversation to help our audience know what they need to do to survive in these challenging times.
01:55So I want to start with Shelley. You're being awarded a donation of $25,000 and you help black women
02:07start businesses. So my question to you is, is this a good time to be starting a business in this
02:13pandemic? I think so. I mean, if you have a product or a service that can scale or pivot to helping
02:24people virtually, you know, we've seen a lot of event planners move toward being consultants and
02:31naturally creating digital experiences. We're seeing makeup artists turn into consultants
02:37for groups of people at a distance. We're seeing people just get really creative right now. I think
02:43the level of access, I mean, on one hand, you had to be somewhat propped up in a position where you
02:49could do that. So, you know, being sensitive to the fact that this is a hard time to start a business.
02:54At the same time, there could be an entirely new market that opens up for you because now more
03:00than ever, the world is your customer and the majority of the world is sitting at home
03:05and virtual right now for the last two or three months and will be to a certain extent for the
03:11rest of the year. And so that brings me to you, Beatrice Distin, the founder of Honeypot. You've got to
03:19actually produce and manufacture your goods. So how are you faring in this environment?
03:24We're doing the best we can. We're over communicating with our retailers. You know,
03:30we were, you know, with our, with our business, we were hit the hardest within our supply chain.
03:36So we're focusing on the things that we can control, making sure that like 98% of our inventory
03:44is going to our retailers because, you know, sales continue to improve. And with that, you know,
03:53obviously we have to supply more demand. I mean, that's really what you've had to do. And that
03:58brings me to you, Arianne Simone, we're in venture capital. We're hearing that a lot of companies are
04:06going out and they're saying that we're going to start giving money to black businesses. How does that,
04:11from your perspective, how did that, how are things playing out from where you sit?
04:19From where I sit, things are definitely looking, I would say a little bit more advantageous than usual.
04:25Typically just to raise about 5 million may take 300 meetings for somebody who's black and right out
04:31here raising. That's just the reality. And somebody who's Caucasian, they may take 20 meetings and raise
04:3630 million just that quick. And with a lot of attention on the black lives matters movement
04:42currently, I would definitely say that a lot more meetings have been happening in the past few
04:47weeks. Corporations have reached out. They've been taking meetings, head of diversity. They're like,
04:52oh, we need to figure this out, which is, which is wonderful because at the end of the day,
04:56black women are the most founded and the least funded.
04:59So in some cases, this racial injustice and everything that we're all experiencing,
05:06there is a silver lining in it. Let's just see, you know, if they, what people are talking about
05:14that they're being about. And so, Chef Aki, here you are, you're teaching people how to eat healthy.
05:21Is it different from you? How are you faring in this kind of COVID social distancing? How are you
05:31connecting with your customers and clients? Well, my business is e-commerce mostly. And
05:39the wellness space has just boomed in the last four months for me. It's been better than ever
05:46because everyone wants to figure out how to be well, how to make sure that they're safe,
05:51that children are healthy. It's interesting. Health is wealth. And for many people,
05:57and we've got more time and time to practice what we preach as opposed to, you know, running and
06:05picking up whatever is convenient. And so to that end, what advice would you, and I want to pose this
06:15to Beatrice? Because I'm sure there are a lot of our businesses are in e-commerce. What advice would
06:23you give to founders who are having issues with supply chain on the top thing they need to do to
06:32make sure that they can survive and come out of this after COVID?
06:37So supply chain is everything that has to happen from the time that your product is made, right? Really
06:45from the time that it's planned, right? So supply chain happens with forecasts and projections and really
06:54looking at overall all that you're going to need for the next week, month, year, right? And it's everything
07:01that happens from the time it's made to the time that it's put into a box, where it's put into a
07:07truck, where it's put into a container, where it's put onto a boat, you know, or however that shakes out
07:15with you. If your stuff is being made in America, you know, everything that it takes for that product
07:21to get to the end destination, even if it's direct to consumer and that end destination is the customer,
07:27right? Um, so if, if you're having issues with your current product line and you really don't see
07:37any kind of changes in sight, or maybe you're like with us, our lead times increased, um, I, as long as
07:45your business is nimble and you're able to, and you have the resources, it might be smart to bring on a
07:52product that, um, like work with your manufacturers or, you know, if you're making your own products,
07:57it might be smart to kind of make up a new product that may not be so hard to get, right? Or so hard
08:04to make. And, and, and Arian, the question I have for you just about black women entrepreneurs out here
08:12trying to raise, get access to capital in this environment, uh, you're actually going out and,
08:20um, getting that capital to invest in these businesses. How does some, how does a business
08:27need to position themselves so that they're able to get access to that capital?
08:32That is a very good question. Um, when it refers to, when you're referring to like the venture
08:38industry to be attractive to an investor, you want to make sure that you have a clear exit
08:43venture capital, the life cycle of a fund is typically around 10 years. So we're looking for
08:49companies that can scale and grow at a very rapid rate that they're going to have an acquisition
08:53somewhere in that timeframe in order for us to get a return for our investors. So that's on the
08:58venture end. There are other funding options. Some people don't need venture capital. Some people just
09:03may need a loan. You know, you just may need help with cashflow management. And right now due to COVID
09:08happening, there are a lot more opportunities as far as low interest loans, grants, different things
09:15that are out there as far as, and on that end. So there are a lot of opportunities I would say even
09:20right now. And so that gives me a great transition to Shelly at black girl ventures, because as I
09:29understand your business, you're looking at earlier stage, as opposed to those businesses that are
09:36position, position to get venture capital. What, what advice would you give to women around getting
09:43some startup and, uh, uh, capital because you are early stage and maybe pre revenue or, or just a
09:51little revenue and wouldn't be attractive to, to like a venture capitalist? Well, it's important
09:57that entrepreneurs focus on making money. And I don't think we tell enough women, uh, or black women
10:02entrepreneurs in general, Hey, focus on making money. Exit is not a dirty word. And if you have that cashflow
10:08going and you can invest that capital into your business and make more money because making money
10:13will bring you more money in the long run. Cashflow solves all problems, right? No, no matter where you
10:19are. And so chef, chef, I key, I come, come back to you. You've pivoted. You've really seen your
10:25business. Uh, you created more opportunities in this environment. What's next for you? Where do you
10:33think this next opportunity, this environment will, will take you to grow? So there's a few things on
10:39the horizon. Um, I really enjoyed being a motivational speaker for the past four years. Um, and now that
10:49that's kind of turned into just a virtual chats with different companies. Um, I'm now kind of pivoting
10:56into just hosting a podcast, um, as well as doing, um, more virtual courses. So I'm starting an electric
11:05masterclass Academy where people can sign up and become a part of the course. So Beatrice, I'd love
11:13for you to just share too, uh, with entrepreneurs, some encouraging words, perhaps you are, we're thinking
11:20about starting a business and then COVID happened and you're wondering, okay, is entrepreneurship
11:26for, for me? I think one of the most important things to understand about business is it doesn't
11:32really matter what's happening in the world, right? Um, if you have a business, consumer packaged
11:41goods businesses can be hard to start, but they can also be very easy to start. Um, and you
11:49know, one of the main things that you have to pay attention to is you don't have to necessarily
11:53recreate a, or excuse me, you don't have to create a wheel. You can recreate a wheel and just put your
12:00own spin on it. You know, um, starting, starting up a business on Amazon, you know, um, is, is pretty
12:08simple. You know, there's a, what there's ways that you can buy things, you know, buy clothes, um, and
12:15then resell them, right? There's, there's ways that you can like make up your own shea butter, um, and put
12:21them up online and, you know, start to start to build a community around it. You know, it can be
12:26things as simple as that. Um, you know, so just be willing and open to try, but at the same time,
12:33make sure that you're starting a business, doing something that you know, and that you know very
12:39well and that you do very well. And then Arian, when you look at the stats about, uh, the number of
12:49black businesses who, in some cases are, our average revenue is like $25,000. And so from your
12:58perspective, what advice would you give our, um, sisters just around growth and being able to scale
13:07and position yourself to, uh, you know, I'm not saying be a unicorn or anything, but just position
13:14yourself so that you're skilled and you can create more jobs and get access to capital.
13:20That is true. And everybody doesn't have to be focused on being a unicorn company.
13:24There are so many successful companies out there that could just be making seven figures every year
13:29and just still be profitable, you know, or eight figures. You don't have to go for this unicorn
13:34aspiration. Now don't get me wrong. Everybody knows desire something like that, but it's okay to
13:39just have a healthy business to those who are averaging around the $25,000, um, annual revenue
13:46mark. I would just say definitely get in a community of entrepreneurs and acts and just, I will say
13:51network. Um, we do have a program coming up called get venture ready and in the program. Yes. B is
13:58actually one of the teachers that B I hope Linda told you, but yes, get venture ready. And our investment
14:05criteria is that you have reached a hundred thousand annually. But if you haven't, we get so
14:10many DMS and emails and comments from people like, Hey, can you help us out so we can get to this place?
14:15So we're running a program for 12 months just to pretty much help people get venture ready that are
14:20looking to one day be able to present to a venture capital capitalists for an investment. So I would say
14:27get involved in those programs, get involved in incubators, accelerators, get involved in a community
14:32that can support you and help you grow your business. Excellent. Excellent advice. Well,
14:36I just want to thank all of you. I mean, I think you, I, I would agree that you've all given some
14:43insightful answers. And if you're a woman who's looking to start a business or you're in business
14:50trying to figure out how to scale it, this was the session for you. So I just want to thank everybody
14:56and a big shout out to Ford for providing this forum on entrepreneurship during the essence festival.
15:03And also a big shout out for donating, donating that $25,000 to black girl ventures for educational
15:11entrepreneurship, because that's what this panel was all about. So again, ladies, thank you so much
15:18for giving your time, your advice and your insight, because that's always money in the bank. So again,
15:24I'm Deborah Owens, founder and CEO of Wealthy U. And thanks again, Ford, for sponsoring this wonderful
15:31conversation.
Comments