Hello, my name is Baron J. Damon. I'm your certified
philanthropic coach. We support individuals and
businesses in crafting strategic plans for their
charitable giving. Confused about where you want
to start? Join me for a complimentary session
today to explore your passions and craft a plan
for meaningful impact. Let's make a difference
together. Go to www .businessoflifecc .com. Hello,
and welcome back to Questions You Didn't Ask.
I'm your host, Nyesha Frey. This is episode three
of No Health, No Wealth, featuring more insights
from Dr. Keisha Bentley Edwards and Farhad Ali.
Let's continue the conversation. Thank you. Thank
you for saying that because, you know, as you
guys were talking, it was making me think about
my experience starting as an entrepreneur, starting
Nyesha Frey Consulting LLC. never taken a business
class in my life, been a part of a lot of different
conversations and maybe some conferences and
things like that, encouraging Black people to
become entrepreneurs, exposing me to kind of
what are the benefits of being an entrepreneur,
even from like a tax perspective, things like
that. What I wasn't prepared for, and I'm going
to get to the question, but I just kind of want
to frame this a little bit. What I wasn't prepared
for was the fact that wealth is a major factor
to your success as an entrepreneur, right? Access
to having a cushion, a big fat cushy cushion,
right? Because what I wasn't expecting was that
after I got the award or after I got the contract
from what fill in the blank, large organization,
institution, what have you, was that it was going
to take me. six months to a year to get paid
and that when I spoke up about it you know you
talked about how you get the job based on who
you know or you don't get when I spoke up about
it and advocated for myself you know trying to
dress it up with my black girl magic as best
I could they looked at me like I was crazy like
this is normal right so I was shocked because
I don't have that type of cushion that type of
wealth i had a cushion but it wasn't that kind
of cushion right just for your parents right
where i could just blow a whole company you know
you asking me to float you and you a whole company
like multi i'm one person starting a business
and you know that and you sought me out because
you know that i'm a black woman and it looks
good to partner with a black woman And then you
expect for me to be able to be okay with waiting
an extra month, three months, six months. And
then I talked to people who were in a similar
position as me, Latino, Native, Black men, fill
in the blank, right? And they said the same thing
and I was shocked. So Farah, I want you to share
with this. What are your thoughts on some of
the biggest challenges facing specifically Black
entrepreneurs, but especially those without that
capital wealth type of thing? Like you might
have the Soaps Connects, you know, you might
know the people, you get the contract, you get
the grant, you get the whatever. And that's really
creating some problems in terms of longevity,
sustainability. You get what I'm saying. Can
you respond to some of that and fill in some
of the blanks for me? I'm going to try to make
this simple, right? And not pontificate on it,
right? But I'm going to call it the M &Ms. I
make it easy for your listening audience as well
as for answering your questions. No business
can make it without money, markets, and management.
No business. You can have two of the three. or
one of the three, but you won't make it. You've
got to have all of the three. You have to have
good management, which means people need to know
how to run a business. Stop trying to do stuff
you don't know. I'm not trying to be no doctor,
right? I'm not putting in the time, the years,
the process. I can't read the chart, the chemistry
chart, NA. I don't know. To me, NA is nah, not
salt. You know what I'm saying? Like K, you know
what I mean? K is a thousand. Not potassium,
right? Like I don't have that capacity. So recognizing
your strength and going into businesses where
you have the real management to understand it
and to know the things about it. Right. Like
so sometimes people want to go into business
because of the the shiny object of it or they
think they are creative. Well, because you're
creative doesn't mean that you can sing or you
can draw or you could perform. I mean, you can
manage money. Right. So let's be clear on a clear
understanding of. management of a business. There
is a management component of business that you
got to cover. And if you can't cover it, you
need to get some help or partner or somebody
else to cover you there. The second part of it
is you got to have market opportunity. Like if
no one is buying your stuff, I mean, you could
be a singer, but if nobody likes what you singing,
then you can get paid for being the singer. So
you can just sing in the shower and be happy.
It's a hobby. It's a hobby, right? So let's just
be clear on that. If there's no market for your
service or your talent, then it's not marketable.
That's a business decision. And the last thing
is, do you have access to capital or access to
money? it doesn't mean it's got to be your money
i was in business it's really the key is can
you get access to money it's easy to get access
to money when you're a talent and there's a market
demand y 'all following me like if if i know
this thousand people in downtown durham and there's
no coffee shops and i'm a barista And there's
a thousand people downtown and I can get a hundred
of them to pay me five hours a day. That's all
I need. I can raise the money because people
would want to be a part of that because they
would say you'd have a talent. So I think in
business, sometimes we don't go through the self
-evaluation market. And then we get caught up
with the conditions of the market. Because the
market will tell you that corporations are paying
people in 30, 60, 90 days. And so I always tell
people, like, I don't appreciate it because I'm
of the opinion that's two to four payrolls. And
can y 'all do that? It's your big business. Tell
the truth. I mean, that's how I lay it down.
I say, if you're going to pay me in 90 days,
that means that's six payrolls. Can you manage
six payrolls with no money? I say, come on, let's
talk through this. So being able to read contracts
and to manage through them and to understand
that, that's a part of management. And so your
ability to get paid in a timely way to make sure
your business is effective, particularly if they
want you, you work that out. They figure it out.
So I think in business, we need to be mindful
of the M &Ms and make sure that we have a clear.
non rosy glass eye on how that works you know
i used to be a banker for physicians and i remember
how many physicians and doctors and dentists
i helped that did not have any training in managing
money i mean from buying a house buying a car
doing a checking account all that stuff investments
because Throughout their process of learning
or education, they were so focused on the science
of life. Yeah, 100%. The only thing they knew
about money is that they were borrowing it. Yes.
Paid back at some point in the future. And then
they were going to get a bunch of money on the
other side, which was called salary. And that
based on their. if it was an anesthesiologist
internal medicine pediatrician that it was a
range that if they made that they could pay these
loans back in five years 10 years or 30. and
so i was like along the way they should i believe
where we have wealth issues is that not teaching
people the right way to do this and not just
debt putting them in total debt to live because
then they do that they still never get a chance
to have wealth they become income providers So
in your work as an entrepreneur or in your work
as an intrapreneur, right, which is a physician
or an engineer, the ability to understand how
to become wealthy is critical and a plan to do
that. And you're working, it's not just for the
income, it's for something else. If you're working
just for the income, then you need to say, I'm
working just for the income. But I always tell
people, go make that money. Don't let that money
make you. If you're enjoying the show as much
as we love creating it, consider showing your
support by buying us a cup of coffee. Visit buymeacoffee
.com slash Nyesha Frey O. That's buymeacoffee
.com forward slash Nyesha Frey O. All one word.
Each cup is just $5 and every single one helps
us continue to produce, develop, and sustain
the high quality content you've come to expect
from questions you didn't ask. Thank you for
your continued support and let's keep the conversation
going. So I wanted, I'm glad that you talked
about the three M's in entrepreneurship because
getting to the mental health and Black women.
You know, right now, people are talking about
Black women exiting the workforce and all that
that means. Now, they're not talking about Black
women being fired, and especially as more and
more layoffs are happening in our present economy.
But even if we were to talk about Black women
voluntarily leaving the workforce, this is a
trend that was happening pre -pandemic. And I,
you know, wrote a book chapter where I talked
about Black women in their 30s and 40s deciding
that toxic work environments were no longer tolerable
and that becoming an entrepreneur was the way
to go. However, we know that venture capitalism
does not always invest in Black women. So leaving
a toxic work environment Or a work environment
that does not work for you may be good for your
mental health, but we have to make sure that
you understand that even though most small businesses
are solo businesses, you should not really be
doing it alone. If you figure out if you need
a team around you to support your business or
else, that's not going to help your mental health
or your physical health or economic health either.
So that was something I wanted to say. Yeah,
I think that that's really important in that
we have to, you know, first plan ahead, think
that thing through, get whatever additional education
and information that you need in order to better
understand the money, the market, the management
and your mental health. Absolutely. And be in
a better position to link up with other people
that have the skills. that you may be deficient
in. And when I say deficient, I don't mean, I
mean it in the sense of we all have talents.
We all have things that we do well, that we like
to do. And then there are other people that do
totally different things that are complimentary,
that can be really helpful in terms of moving
a whole business forward. Because a business,
and especially just a little bit of experience
that I've had and listening to Pariah, it's a
whole ecosystem, right? It's not just, the thing
that you're trying to sell is everything that
goes around that. And especially if you're trying
to build a sustainable business and a business
that can build generational wealth. And I'm not
sure that every entrepreneur is really trying
to build a sustainable business or generational
wealth, or if they're just, you know, trying
to like create a stop gap, you know, there's
so many different reasons why people choose to
be entrepreneurs. And some folks are doing it
just for the tax break. I mean, there's all types
of reasons why people go into business. And one
of the things that this brings up is this idea
that Black people don't support Black businesses.
This idea has kind of gotten to me on multiple
levels because I know in some cases it is very
true, a harsh reality. But in other cases...
I know that it's not really all that true. And
so I just wanted to know, how do you respond
to the perception that Black people don't support
Black businesses? And if you can, speak to some
of the structural realities at play, not just
the individual instances and things like that,
but why is it that we have a hard time supporting
Black businesses and having that kind of self
- sufficiency or even accountability for our
own community's economic well -being? What are
some of the structural realities? And do you
think it's true that Black people don't support
Black businesses? And that's not a, you know,
a judgment. It's just a reality, like a real
question. I think that Black businesses are supported
by Black dollars in general. I think, like, just
to flip it, is that somebody the black businesses
that are going are being supported by black people
more often than not but with the caveat that
most people want to get the most bang from their
buck and small businesses whether they're black
or any other tend to have to charge more because
they can't buy they don't get the same type of
manufacturing deals or wholesale deals as like
a big box retailer would. So if I've got $10
and I've got to decide if, or even $20, if I
could get two t -shirts from say Amazon or whatever,
whatever other type of retailer that they may
be a little sketchy, but it's two t -shirts versus
a black business where I can't quite get one,
folks will go and get their sketchy. you know,
shirts from that big box. So sometimes it's not,
some people don't trust Black businesses, but
oftentimes economically, it's not always feasible
or they just expect to get a hookup. But I feel
like more people have gotten educated. Look,
I had to educate myself, like, okay, you should
stop asking for the family discount, even if
we're family. You know, I... You know, unless
it's a sale for everybody, I need to go ahead
and pay my way. Anyway, I digress. I think that
most Black businesses are, in fact, supported
by Black people, but we can all do better about
educating about cost and investment. And also
making sure that we treat each other well in
that process from both the seller and the buyer
perspective. Yeah, you know, I agree. Like, I
was sitting here writing these notes when she
was saying the questions. Like, most people of
color go to people of color to get their hair
did. Most people of color know about the Black
restaurants, right? We just know, right? Because
we've all tried them. And I experience with that
restaurant. If it's great, it repeats. I was
sad to see that the Black Restaurant in Washington,
D .C. closed after 30 years. I just forgot the
name of it. But y 'all know I'm talking around
downtown. You're not talking about Ben or nothing
crazy like that, are you? There you go. Okay.
You're talking about, is it Georgia? Yeah, Georgia
Browns. Georgia Browns, yeah. Three years, right?
Because of the layoffs that are happening in
D .C. But if you go into Georgia Browns, it's
a Black restaurant. White and Black people are
there. I do believe that when we talk around
Black businesses, there are Black businesses
that are positioned to support the Black community.
If it's hair care. maybe childcare, maybe food.
I think the opportunity is to make the business
open for all because the dollar is green. And
so most business to consumer products that have
a wider audience get a better economic outcome.
But you can still have a Black focus. You know,
I think of, you know, books and poets that is
in D .C. Busboys and poets. Right. That's it's
for Black people, but it's not solely for Black
people. Everyone can get going and go in there
and hang out and get food and get breakfast.
So I think presenting a good quality product
for whatever they're doing. can provide you with
not a sheltered market, but an open market. Well,
that gets back to your three M's, right? Is that
it gets back to that marketing management, what
was that last one? Right? And so there was a
certain amount of investment that had to go into
it, right? So you can't expect people to pay
white cloth prices when you're selling out your
front yard, right? Things have to balance so
that people know. Look, there are plenty of bougie
Black folks who will spend that extra money to
go to the Salamander Hotel. I'm not one of them
because I'm not quite that bougie yet. But I
have aspirations. I have aspirations. Me too.
And I appreciate it. I applaud it. I like the
post. That's my support. I'm going to give you
that like on the post. But it's aspirational.
I can see the quality of it. I see why you would
go and spend that money on it. And there are
plenty of bourgeois folks that are out there
spending that money. But I also like getting
my Hilton points, right? So there's this balance,
right? There's a balance that comes into play.
I like supporting. And when I can, you know,
I will support. I will go out of my way. I don't
mind spending a little bit of extra to make sure
it stays in my community. But I also need you
to be like, there's a balance. Like you have
to also do some self -reflection on why wouldn't
someone support me, whoever they are, Black or
whoever. Like, am I following the three M's?
Like, sometimes even if you do everything right,
it's not the right time and it doesn't work.
But, you know, these are all the things that
we can't always just put it from a perspective.
that Black people are self -defeating. We like
to see each other win. That wraps episode three
of No Health, No Wealth. I'm Nyesha Frey. Thank
you for being part of this journey. We've got
one final episode in this series, so make sure
you follow or subscribe to Questions You Didn't
Ask and join us for the conclusion.