Conscious Investing & Social Change w/ Jeremiah Robinson - Part 2

Ever thought about investing in people to change our world? In a captivating conversation with Jeremiah Robinson, an ardent advocate for marginalized entrepreneurs, we delve into this very concept on the Mindful Marketplace. Jeremiah, who is an entrepreneur himself and a member of Neighborhood Economics, unfolds the work he does with Mountain Bizworks and the CDFI in empowering individuals with limited resources to kick-start their own ventures. More importantly, we shine a light on the disparities that black-owned businesses face and Jeremiah's vision for a world where these entrepreneurs not only survive but thrive.

Switching gears to local business empowerment, we dig deep into the profound impact of investing in marginalized communities. Initiatives like the Star West in San Antonio and the American Indians of Texas are leading the charge in fostering entrepreneurship within low-income communities. And guess what? Western North Carolina is gaining momentum too with efforts like the Catalyst Fund. Wrapping up our discussion, we reflect on our first video experiment, inviting you to join us on this journey on BizRadio.US. By investing in each other, we can create a just economy. So, tune in and discover how your investment can become a catalyst for change!

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Transcript

Joel: 0:33

What if investing in each other could change the world? I'm Joel Skeen with bizradious, and this is the Mindful Marketplace. Welcome back to the Mindful Marketplace here on BizradioUS. I am your host, joel Skeen, very excited to get to dive back in to my conversation with Jeremiah Robinson, who is the entrepreneur in residence for Mountain Bizworks and he also works with a fantastic organization called Neighborhood Economics. If this is your first time with us, just so you know, on this program we talk to entrepreneurs, advisors, industry leaders, investors, economic experts all of whom are not only solving a market problem to make a profit, but they're also solving a social problem to make an impact, and it's where we learn to connect our money and our businesses to our values, our community and ourselves.

Joel: 1:29

This is part two of a conversation that we had with Jeremiah, so if you had not listened to the first part, I highly encourage you to go back and do that.

Joel: 1:36

He got to share with us his journey, his story, some of his work with Mountain Bizworks and how he's really giving back to the entrepreneur community, specifically by working with the CDFI. We talk about what a CDFI is, the role that it plays in the solidarity economy and how it helps people of not only of color, but people of really of any marginalized group, or including people who just do not have the resources and access to resources to start the business that they have otherwise would be able to. They've got the idea, they've got the work ethic, they've got everything that it takes to start a business that are lacking the fundamental, either education or capital resources to do so. So I'm excited to get to dive back in here with Jeremiah. Jeremiah, welcome back to the show. Really really excited and glad to have you on here. It's been a long time coming. I feel like we've been talking about having you on for like a year now, so I'm glad we finally were able to make this work.

Jeremiah: 2:34

Sure glad we got a chance to.

Joel: 2:37

Yeah. So I wanna point to a I wanna point everyone out there to a blog post that you wrote on Neighborhood Economics and I wanna dig in here with that. But first could you shed a little light on what Neighborhood Economics is. I know it's an organization we had on Kevin Jones and he talked a bit about it here, but could you kind of zoom out a little bit here for us and tell us about what is Neighborhood Economics?

Jeremiah: 3:01

Yeah, of course. So Neighborhood Economics really focuses on convening local leaders, impact investors, catalytic foundations and marginalized entrepreneurs, as well as people of faith who are really working on building a just economy. So, and they're doing it in several different ways, but there's a lot of intersections in that work. So, neighborhood Economics, every year we host an annual conference of convening to bring all those groups together to help connect those dots and to help make foster opportunities for collaboration amongst all of those stakeholders and to really give them an opportunity to understand where their work intersects with other folks that they likely may not have intersected with if they had not had a chance to do so at our convenings.

Joel: 4:00

So, really wanting to focus on convening that the folks that are doing the meaningful work to build stronger economies- yeah, you mentioned a sounds like an interesting mix and key partnerships there you mentioned I want to make sure I get them all right you mentioned impact investors. You mentioned entrepreneurs. You also mentioned people of faith. Could you tell me a little bit about kind of that, that partnership, and how that coalition has developed?

Jeremiah: 4:32

Yeah, so across the country, a lot, of, a lot of faith based institutions are doing what's called assets and transitions.

Jeremiah: 4:40

So really understanding that you know faith based institutions have a lot of physical assets that can be used for economic development, as they should be. So you know, being able to use a church's kitchen to lease out that space to an organization that provides food services for modern lives, communities. Being able to use the office space and a church or faith based institution that goes unused for six out of seven days of the week to support nonprofit organizations. Being able to use church space to support homelessness or programs that support folks that are unhoused. So really helping those faith based institutions understand how they can use those assets in ways to build a better economy and then connecting them with those impact investors and foundations that want to support those types of initiatives but don't necessarily have that connection to those faith based institutions that are doing that kind of work, because they normally work, you know, with other nonprofits or organizations that are focused on those key areas where, as you know, over here the churches are already doing those things.

Jeremiah: 6:05

So neighborhood agonist tries to connect those dots between those two assets.

Joel: 6:10

Yeah, I love that there is so much common ground between groups that oftentimes don't ever end up working together on projects for whatever reason and I love any. You know I often say that we all need each other and we are each other really at the end of the day, and so I love seeing that kind of collaboration towards those goals. And that leads me to talk about you know kind of one of those goals that you wrote about here. You said that you wrote an article here on neighborhood economics law called catalyzing the growth of black owned businesses, and I want to just kind of start with the intro here. You said imagine a world where every black entrepreneur doesn't just survive, they thrive. Tell me a little bit about you know kind of the like I said let's zoom out a little bit and get a little kind of picture here on black entrepreneurship, on where it's been and what made you decide to write this article and put your focus here with these conferences on that issue.

Jeremiah: 7:13

Yeah, well, you know, just kind of touch it on a couple of the key points in that article where, you know I talk about how 95% of, or over 95% of, black owned businesses are entrepreneurs and how you know, oftentimes, when a black entrepreneur is looking for capital, you know we, on average, only get about $35,000 for startup capital, whereas our white counterparts get, over, you know, $106,000 to start with. So there's, you know, a significant gap in terms of the amount of startup capital that black entrepreneurs are often able to access in order to start a business, which means that a lot, there's a lot of talent just sitting on the sidelines that goes untapped or unused because of, you know, we don't have collateral, because we don't have the correct credit scores, right, Because oftentimes we might take out a loan, a predatory loan, in order to try to start a business, which you know really worsens our credit scores. You know even more because now we've got, you know, this high interest loan that makes it impossible to pay back.

Joel: 8:22

So, you know, I just feel like there's something that's risky already inherently risky and starting a business but then you're adding on this crazy high interest rate loan on top of it, so you just put you just like, compounded the whole risk factor for someone who probably doesn't have as much to fall back on if things don't work out Exactly.

Jeremiah: 8:41

Exactly, and a lot of times you know we, we are in a position where one mistake will cripple the business or end the business completely, right, so we don't have don't really have an opportunity to make mistakes where somebody that is able to get a larger loan because they have a home that they can put up as collateral, they have wiggle room right to be able to make mistakes as startup should Right, but when you're talking, you know $35,000 to start up and you're trying to use that to cover your personal finances as well as the startup capital needs.

Jeremiah: 9:11

There's not there's really not any wiggle room there. So it really makes it almost impossible to grow the business from assault prior to ship to being able to be to have employees. Right, and that's where you know you really start to see opportunities for scale is when you can get to a place where you're able to hire people to do more of the work that needs to be done. But if we're never able to get to that point, then we will continue to be in a space of being so low for doors.

Joel: 9:41

Yeah you, you mentioned kind of one of that collateral piece really being, you know, kind of central to to that issue. Could you unpack that a little bit?

Jeremiah: 9:53

Yeah, so you know the existing wealth and home ownership gap you know really further intensifies that that divide of you know, from where black entrepreneurs only have access to $35,000 and start up capital. You know, white entrepreneurs often, often have over 100. And a part of that is because black home ownership rates are around 40 to 45% compared to white home ownership rates which are closer to like 70 or 75%. So when you don't have, you know, that kind of collateral to put up against the loan, it really leads to those diminished loan amounts, highest interest rates, higher interest rates or, you know, just being denied completely for being able to access.

Joel: 10:41

Yeah, and I'm interested into how the the conferences that you're doing at Neighborhood Economics. I know you guys did one last year in Jackson Mississippi and you're doing another one coming up here in the winter, in February, is it? I'm San Antonio? Yeah, and the February 26. Yeah, because you know I was having some conversations with specifically I'm thinking of my episode I did with Angela Barbash, who she owns a investment firm that's helping ordinary folks. So we're not talking about you know big time, you know wealthy investors. We're just talking about average people who are trying to save for their retirement. She helps them move their move their money off of Wall Street and start investing into their local community.

Joel: 11:29

And there's been some barriers to doing that. She's had to actually fight for some statewide policy changes and there's been. You know it's an evolving process, but I guess how important is it and what have you seen come out of bringing in the impact investors and then bringing in the entrepreneurs? And are you guys focusing on a specific area like where? Like is the specific focus on San Antonio when you meet in San Antonio? I just kind of want to understand how that connection happens between the investors who want to invest in local black owned businesses and the people who are starting those businesses and how that, how that collaboration happens.

Jeremiah: 12:12

Yeah. So to answer your question around the San Antonio piece, yes, so wherever we host a conference, we focus on the issues and that local area first. So understanding what kind of initiatives are taking place in San Antonio to support economic development, entrepreneurship, just communities in general. What kind of community development and work is already taking place here? So in San Antonio, you know, as you might know, the population is, I think, maybe 65 to 70% Latino.

Jeremiah: 12:49

So there are a lot of initiatives to support redevelopment and initiatives in particular areas around San Antonio.

Jeremiah: 12:59

So creating those business corridors in the local communities where, you know, folks can actually see entrepreneurship happening right inside of their communities, next to their homes, where they live, and not somewhere over there, but it's like right here as an opportunity to see that development.

Jeremiah: 13:19

So that's what we kind of want to focus on in San Antonio is, you know, just highlighting those initiatives that are already taking place there, but also understanding their initiatives that are taking place, that can be replicated and there are things that will happen there that other folks can look at and go. You know what that will work in my neighborhood, that'll work in this city, because it's so similar to the area and there's so much opportunity, it's the same. Let's figure out how we can replicate that model somewhere else. So that's what we want to focus on and highlight is those opportunities that can really be replicated, to scale and to really go in other areas that need that kind of development. And to see, you know, here's what San Antonio has done that's successful, and to be able to say, all right, here's how we can change that or tweak that a little bit in our area to make it successful.

Joel: 14:13

Yeah, is there any particular example that you've seen that actually seemed especially duplicatable, that wasn't so tied to that place, but that you're like, yeah, this could work in other places? And I'm curious like how, if there's been examples of that and what's come out of it?

Jeremiah: 14:30

Yeah, so there's an initiative called Star West ESTAR West which focuses on economic development specifically on the west side of San Antonio, which I believe has one of the the lowest incomes across the country in that particular area code or zip code itself. So they are really focused on understanding how creating co-working, shared co-working spaces within the community so taking old rundown businesses or old rundown buildings, converting them into entrepreneurial hubs which also have living space, and being able to just foster and develop entrepreneurship right within the community, so rounded by the people that live in those communities, is one model. So being able to get funding from local governments, private institutions or private investors to really help to foster that growth is one thing, and then also just being able to connect with I think it's an organization called the American Indians of Texas who have created a program that really supports urban Indians living in the Texas area, working with CDFIs to help create spaces for them to really be able to grow and achieve success through entrepreneurship as well.

Joel: 16:09

Yeah, and I kind of don't want to take for granted why this is important. You know, like for a lot of these communities, it seems, to me at least, that a lot of times when you have communities that are lower income, regardless of their ethnic or race makeup, but like when there are low income communities, a lot of times like I remember being in Detroit area and always seeing the businesses that came into those places and that were successful, there were a lot of times businesses that were not actually really good for the community. They were businesses that were selling things that were made overseas as cheap as possible. They were dollar stores, these kinds of things where there wasn't really access to quality services, quality goods and the jobs that they provided were about as low paying as you could get. And so I guess why is it important from your perspective to invest into business, into businesses that are created within those communities, regardless of what their specific challenges are? What does it do for those communities when the businesses are created and developed and grown from within the community?

Jeremiah: 17:22

Well, I think the biggest thing is that it really helps to create a more equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem. So it really helps to create that space where all of the resources that people need in order to have economic success in order to create generational wealth.

Jeremiah: 17:44

Opportunities are all kind of right there and they're accessible. So it really creates an opportunity for economic empowerment by helping entrepreneurs find that self-sufficiency. It creates a space for relationship building by having those really inclusive support structures. So it really again just goes back to the ecosystem building piece and making sure that everything that is needed in order to create that ecosystem is right there, kind of contained in one central area where it's accessible to the people that need it. The most.

Joel: 18:27

Yeah, it seems to me like it's. You know, if I could paint broad strokes it seems like it's a much more regenerative way to use money than an extractive way to use money. And I'm also curious your thoughts, too, and your perspective on what's been happening here more locally. You know we're talking about San Antonio, we're talking about Jackson, Mississippi, but I also know that you said that you came back here to Western North Carolina as an entrepreneur and you saw a lot of barriers for these communities that we're talking about here locally, and we've also seen some pretty cool stuff honestly happening in the last few years. We had Bruce Waller here on the show to talk about his work with Black Wall Street and the community building that they're doing. I'm curious what you're seeing that you're either excited by and we can get into what you think the work that still needs to be done is. But I'm first curious, like what are you most excited by right now?

Jeremiah: 19:24

Well, so just kind of going back to the Mountain Bizwork side of things, you know I oversee and manage a fund there called the Catalyst Fund, and that fund really focuses on disrupting those traditional lending practices that have prevented marginalizing communities from being able to access capital.

Jeremiah: 19:42

So the Catalyst Fund, you know, we don't require any kind of collateral, personal collateral we don't require any kind of credit score minimums, but instead, you know, we'll offer folks a 0% interest personal loan In addition to a business loan that they can use to, you know, kind of repair their credit or to consolidate credit or to get rid of those, you know, high interest creditory loans they may have had to take out to start their business.

Jeremiah: 20:05

And then, you know, again, we just have that full wraparound services at least, providing subsidized access to all of our classes, as well as grant opportunities for microgrants to, you know, focus in the startup space to get that first-in capital if they don't have those rich relatives that can give them funding. And then, you know, just having those social capital opportunities for people to get connected to the individuals that they need to to understand, you know what the opportunity is for their business. So, you know, I'm really excited about the work you know we've been able to do in the last three years since we launched the Catalyst Program, so providing over 70 entrepreneurs with over $3 million in capital, and a lot of those folks likely would not have been able to get access to capital otherwise to either start or grow the businesses that they already had.

Jeremiah: 20:54

So, you know, kind of going forward, you know our focus is helping you know those businesses, now that they've gotten started, understand how to scale those businesses and how to really grow from having a one employee or being sold proprietors to actually, you know, breaking down those solopreneur silos, to understanding what does it look like for you to go on now to hire your first employee and to really create jobs in the local economy. So our focus, you know, now that we've got some additional grant funding, that we you know we just received a huge opportunity from the federal government to support the Catalyst Program as well as our Scale Up Program that really focus on those scaling opportunities. You know we can really expand our reach across the region even further to continue to develop those rules and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals to grow their businesses. So, again, just to really help build the rural community even more.

Joel: 21:59

Yeah, man, I love it. I love the work that you're doing. I love that you have the perspective of an entrepreneur as well, as someone who's working so closely in this world and in helping really change our economy to be one that's more democratic, that's more inclusive, that's more regenerative, that's really more for the people and that's really, at the end of the day, I think what it's really about is about how can our economy better help regular working people and regular working entrepreneurs, like you said, those people that are out there running their own business, not the ones that are acquiring everyone else's business and monopolizing it for themselves. We're going to have to call it there. Really, really glad to have you on here today. Thank you so much, and thank you for being our inaugural video experiment here.

Joel: 22:55

I know we've had a few tech hiccups as we're figuring this all out, but I appreciate you and appreciate your time and to everyone else listening out there subscribe to us on all of the different platforms and make sure to tune in on bizradious, to not just this show but all of the other fantastic guests and programs that we have on there. Bizradious is all entrepreneurs all the time, and until next time, make sure to take care of yourself and take care of someone else.