- How did that feel to have someone in your court?
- Oh my gosh, I was just like, "Thank you, Lord."
- America has always been associated with making it,
but is this opportunity accessible to all?
I'm Scott Shigeoka, GoDaddy's entrepreneur-in-residence,
and I'm on a journey across the country
meeting the people who are building it.
They're defying the odds
and their stories show us what it means
to be made in America.
(fast-paced piano music)
The first step can be the scariest
and the hardest step for a lot of people.
I know it was for me.
But if we take that leap of faith
and we actually step in
to making our businesses come to life,
there is so much that can happen for us.
That's what I'm really excited about is both Consuelo,
Sequoia are taking their ideas
and they are putting it into action and they are nervous.
It can be scary to step into the role of being a boss
and growing your company.
It can be scary to pivot your business
and go mobile with a store that
had always been brick and mortar.
We are gonna check in on Sequoia
because she has been doing a lot of work
getting her truck ready.
We'll go to Memphis Pride and open up the doors of the truck
so that she can see what this looks like
to bring her shop on the road.
- Hi, Sequoia! - Hi!
- Oh my gosh, how's it going?
- I'm very nervous but also excited at the same time.
- [Scott] What are you feeling nervous about?
- Making sure I got everything.
Making sure I checked everything off.
Making sure I didn't forget anything.
- [Scott] It's gonna be such a great time.
- Yes.
All right.
Woo!
- [Scott] Sequoia is fierce, she has grit.
- I feel like a big man.
Hey!
- And she finds her way through her own resourcefulness
to make things happen.
(engine roaring)
- This is the official launch today
of That's So You Boutique.
- I'm actually really impressed
that she's stepping into new space.
Pride, it's an event she's never been to,
and I think that's what we have to do as entrepreneurs.
We need to step out of our comfort zones with an open mind.
- We are going to 2019 Memphis Pride
and I have until 10 o'clock to set up,
so I'm super excited so let's go!
- [Scott] Wait so you got the flag?
- I got the flag, yes.
- We had talked about putting the pride flag
up on her truck when she brings her boutique
to Memphis Pride, showing the community that she is open,
inclusive, and excited to be there.
And if we're all doing that,
if we're all stepping into new environments,
meeting new kinds of people,
we're gonna weave together the social fabric
that we need as a community.
Hey! - Hey!
- How's it going?
Long time no see.
- Nice to see you again. - Nice to see you.
Good to see you.
- Guess what, I have a very good news.
- Yeah?
- Yes, we already have the website
and I have three news customers and one new worker.
- Dang, okay.
She was at a point when we last saw her
where she wanted to build a stronger client base
so that she could start building her business,
bringing on more employees
and moving from cleaning into supervising
and managing the people you work with
and the business you run.
- [Consuelo] Some of my employees don't drive
and I have to go and pick her up and take her to the jobs,
but I encourage them to drive.
It's important for them and for their families, too.
- [Scott] Driving gives people independence.
- [Consuelo] Oh yes, yes.
- Now you're moving into becoming an employer.
You have these amazing employees
that are working alongside of you.
What are you doing here with Maria?
- Maria, she just has three days with us.
I'm supervise her and tell her how she can do it.
Soon as she get it I can let her work by herself.
- [Scott] I love this purple, by the way.
- Thank you. - This is nice.
- [Consuelo] Thank you.
- Is there a significance around purple
and is there something about the shirt?
- We wear the purple color because this means to me
stop the domestic violence.
- Oh, beautiful.
It's like a way for you to not just show up
and look unified as a company,
but it's also for you to have a message.
I think those are details that a lot of business owners
might not think about.
But it's actually really important.
- I hope I can do more than provide work for them.
I hope I can provide something that helps them inside.
This is what I told one of the ladies
that help me in cleaning.
If I did it with three kids by myself with no money,
no house, no husband, heartbroken, life broken,
and I was thinking that I'm not good for nothing,
you can do it, too.
I think everybody can do a business if they want.
- I think that also changes the way
customers might feel about your business.
By sharing that on your website,
showing the cleaners who are a part of this business
how to build business skills, how to become entrepreneurs,
how to take control of their own lives.
For me, as a customer, I would be more interested
in working with an organization like that.
(slow hip-hop music)
- Nice to meet you! - I'm Sequoia.
- Hi, Sequoia.
Okay, so there's gonna be a little bit of a game change.
We're gonna move your location, okay?
- How am I gonna pull it up in there?
This is crazy, crazy, crazy.
(slow hip-hop music)
Oh my gosh, we got a long day, but we gotta get this.
Hey, I need some help, Dad.
Get over here.
- She's a go-getter. Coming from a storefront
to a boutique on wheels, it's very exciting.
I'm just very grateful to be in her life right now.
- Help him put the tent up.
Oh my gosh, have there been complications?
Yes, it's hot.
I was unorganized with stuff.
- Getting loaded up, trying to get parked.
We couldn't find our slot.
- Our tent broke.
(metal screeching)
We forgot the tent cover and it's in the garage
on the steps to the left in the corner over there.
It's a blue one.
Thank you, Karenton, love you.
- We had a very tough time with the tent.
- I thought that was gonna be the end.
No. (laughs)
- [Carl] Anytime you're in business,
everything is not gonna be ironed down,
it's not gonna be laid out in variables,
but you just gotta go over the obstacles
and make things happen
and that's what we do with the team effort.
- Hi!
- [Sequoia] Hi, how are you doing?
- I'm so excited.
- I am, too.
It's my first event.
How ya been?
- Usually, businesses, when they're struggling,
they think the fix is a little more money
and part of our process for anyone that approaches us
for a loan is really to really try to understand
their business model.
I'm trained as an attorney so I tend to problem solve
and ask a lot of questions anyway
and I love the challenge of trying to find these solutions
for these small businesses.
It takes a village sometimes.
- Hi, Cynthia. - Hi, how are you?
- Good to see you. - Good to see you.
So we're gonna take a look at your website?
- [Scott] Oh my gosh, I love it.
- Me, too, this is great.
How many clients do you have now?
- Five commerical ones and 10 residentials.
- That's phenomenal.
And then one employee that you just hired.
- Hired, yes.
- That's phenomenal.
- It's really cool to see your ideas from last time
actually become reality.
What do you think about your mom's journey
building her business and trying to grow it?
- It's been a great transformation for her to change
and take care of us kids too along with it.
- That's beautiful.
- I'm going to cry.
(Consuelo laughs)
- Have an entrepreneur as a parent is really, really big
because you get to see what commitment looks like,
you get to see what consistency looks like,
and most of all you get to see resiliency.
Being knocked down, but getting back up.
That really is the internal strength of any entrepreneur.
- I want to have the kids established in their own house.
- She is renting this home that we're in right now
and because of the success of her business,
she is now two months away from actually buying this house.
From owning this house, that's a huge deal
because that was the whole purpose of this journey
was to create more stability,
more security for herself and her family.
And I think that's such a milestone for Consuelo.
- Did we make sales today?
- We did have sales today.
We didn't do what we projected, but it was sales.
We had sales. - That's good!
We had a start.
- Yes!
No, they really look cute on you!
- Oh! - Your style!
- Interacting with people, showing her love,
showing her ability to communicate
and just her joy within herself.
It's exciting for me to watch.
- This is the first event, so we're not all together.
- It's great. - Thank you, thank you.
I'm gonna show you our new website
and how it looks when you go to it.
- [Customer] This is the greatest boutique ever.
- [Both] That's so you!
(laughing)
- This is the website.
So clean and cute. - This looks good.
- That's the mobile version.
- When I look at her fashion boutique, it screams Sequoia.
When I saw her and I met her, I was like,
"Yeah, this is you, this is you embodied in your business."
And I think it's a reminder that
when we go into making our own way,
when we go into starting our own businesses,
it doesn't have to feel like
we're creating a new version of ourself.
No, we can just be ourselves.
- I'm proud of my set-up.
I'm proud of my truck.
I learned how I can make the boutique better.
I was like, "Yes, this is really happening."
And I'm ready to do this again and again and again.
(gentle upbeat music)
- [Scott] Building a business doesn't happen in a day
and it requires continued perseverance and grit
and these are two qualities that Sequoia
and Consuelo both have.
- A lot of folks are realizing that
what is really important to them,
the new measure of success, is not defined by income.
It's defined by time, flexibility,
and choice of what you want to do when you want to do it.
- I think the American dream is really about this idea that
you're able to access opportunity,
you're able to take care of yourself
and take care of your family financially,
and that's what I think it's about.
- Providing resources to those
who don't have the same access
can actually combat some of these systems
that are oppressing people
and I think that's really powerful.
- We should care that we have local entrepreneurs
who look like us, live by us, that are helping to keep
this entire economy moving forward.
- I'll be right there beside her.
Never behind her, never in front of her,
but always beside her.
- We can all seem so different as people,
but there are these moments where we share so much.
- At some point, you make these connections in life
and people come in your life for a reason
and I think you need to use those resources.
(triumphant music)
"Made In America" is about supporting each other.
It's about persevering.
It's about continuing even when your tent breaks.
It's about giving your employees access
to the transportation they need.
It's about all of these things that Consuelo
and Sequoia have done in the past two months
and I know there are so many more unique
and inspiring stories out there.
(fast-paced piano music)
Tune in for the next series where I'm gonna continue
to go across the country meeting the people
who are making moves against the status quo.
Every situation is different and it's nuanced
and we have to do what we can to empower everyone
because everyone deserves the right to make their own way.