What does it really mean to invest in the Black community?
It means empowering the Black financial institution behind that dollar.
This is Banking On Us.
Let's talk about the challenges of starting a Black business.
My name is Ronda. I am an insurance agent.
I consult with individuals about their benefits.
When the pandemic initially hit and we kept seeing and hearing
that there is relief coming to small businesses like myself.
I was banking with another institution.
As the pandemic wore on, my frustration grew.
I couldn't contact anyone either by phone.
There is no response to my emails.
It’s a misconception out there
that we are not professional or knowledgeable or even capable.
Of course, that's not true.
Given the opportunity, we can outperform
our competitors or others that are in the same field.
I'm Shanille and I'm a doula and the founder of Naturally Nurtured Birth Services.
A doula provides emotional, educational and physical support to a birthing person.
So a lot of times we see those commercials that come on, you've been
pre-approved for this or, you know, we value you as a customer.
Our customers mean this to us and that to us.
When you see these things and you think, OK, with this, this could apply to me.
But when you go, it's kind of like every door is kind of closed in your face.
You have to already have a certain amount
in the bank with them in order to move forward in a different process.
But on the other hand, it's like, well, how do you get to that point
if you don't even get a chance to start?
My name is Colby and I am the lead floral designer for Premiere Flowers.
Some of the biggest challenges that Black businesses face is access to capital.
Access to capital and funding is, you know, really important.
There are more payday lenders than McDonald's in Mississippi.
And again, you don't see banks and traditional credit unions
in the communities that need it most.
Cash advance is not the bank.
You know, payday loan, that's not a bank.
I was banking with another institution that really didn't offer anything back,
even though I had been thinking with them for quite a long time,
just jumping through a lot of hoops, expecting a lot for someone,
just starting out, you know, making it difficult to access those funds.
The fact that many of these businesses
benefit from a banking relationship, typically bankers will help
you understand how to build a balance sheet, how to how to leverage
different sources of capital, et cetera.
And these relationships have been absent from many businesses in Black communities.
If you listen to LLC Twitter,
you may think that those coins you're putting towards
that one takeout meal of the week you deserve
should be put toward your newest LLC.
We can sit here and discuss the hypothetical all day.
But in this episode, we're going to discuss the facts.
In 2012, it seemed like new businesses were being launched by the hour,
which is essentially a beautiful thing.
There are more than two million Black owned businesses
in the United States, and that number is growing daily.
But then the pandemic hit.
And by April 2020, our nation lost close to 450,000 Black businesses.
A devastating 41 percent drop, while white businesses only
experienced a 17 percent decrease from the same pandemic.
So you're saying in the middle
of a pandemic that seemingly leveled everyone who put us all in the same boat,
Black people were still catching the short end of the stick. Yes.
And unfortunately, it doesn't start or end there.
Where it really begins is with the laws and policies in place
and the lack of education around certain business methods and practices
that other communities are leaning
into, methods like investing in entities to split the profit or returns
crowd and equity funding
and so many more that we as a community are just not leaning into
for a number of reasons.
Black business owners receive
less business financing less often, and at way higher rates in other races.
Only one percent of Black business owners obtain business loans in the first year.
So what is really going on with the gap
between Black owned businesses and the others?
And what are the things
we need to know to bridge the gap or just close it altogether?
HOPE shifted to PPP to the paycheck protection program to get loans out.
And we were able to help over 5,000 businesses.
I found out about a HOPE credit union
from one of the bank employees at another lending institution.
The process with HOPE was a lot simpler, getting that access to capital
and not having to use my own funds,
having an institution that will lend funds
in order for me to reach the goals I'm trying to get to.
The experience getting connected to HOPE
Credit Union was phenomenal during a very dark time, because,
you know, at one point we were closed due to Covid, due to the pandemic
and HOPE helped us to stay in business.
You know, business ownership is not easy.
You've got to have that support.
And so what Netflix deposit has done,
it has been a game changer in our ability to close the wealth gap.
Black woman entrepreneurship, it means freedom.
And so I'm really proud that I'm able to continue with my
family legacy, not only because I'm Black, but because I'm a woman as well.
You want to invest and put your money into a bank that pours back into you.
We have to invest in Black businesses in order for us to continue to thrive.
And strive and be afforded
some of the things that are promised to the American dreamer.
We want our apple pie.
I want my house with the picket fence and two cars the whole bit.
These relationships have been absent
from many businesses in Black communities. Enter Black banks.
Many of them do this as a first principle.
And that's why they're better leveraged at helping to empower
these communities than many of the better capitalized major banks.