WEBVTT - What's the Biz 0:00:02.160 --> 0:00:04.960 Y'all are listening to Waiting on Reparations the production of 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:13.680 iHeart Radio. Yeah, yeah, Yo, I'm waiting a reparations record, 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:15.600 as we said it straight to did I say we 0:00:15.640 --> 0:00:18.480 was waiting funk that we never patient. Knife has been 0:00:18.520 --> 0:00:21.239 in the fight since the days of the segregation, Roller 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:24.280 Blunt and I lighted im blazing. I'm meditating, well, ling 0:00:24.280 --> 0:00:27.080 were faking demonstrate and we're just taking names, y'all. Just 0:00:27.120 --> 0:00:30.480 stay in lane. We're just taking aim. Weren't playing games. 0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:32.680 We just take the system and we shake the frame, 0:00:32.760 --> 0:00:35.040 trying to bend that ship and maybe make a change. 0:00:35.240 --> 0:00:37.280 And I don't even know when it will be fall. 0:00:37.520 --> 0:00:39.800 I'm not gathering new somebod. I don't need a total 0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:43.240 recall from right wingers whoill be on the mic singing yeeha, 0:00:43.840 --> 0:00:46.440 the COVID cases going up and down like se sauce. 0:00:46.600 --> 0:00:49.120 All I got is me, y'all, let me get it started. 0:00:49.200 --> 0:00:51.960 Go ahead and just speak. I'm gonna get my co 0:00:52.200 --> 0:00:58.560 host back next week. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yet yeah, alright, Okay, 0:00:58.600 --> 0:01:01.760 my name is Dope Knife, and y'all are listening to 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:07.880 Waiting on Reparations. Hurry up. I am so glad that 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:09.840 this is about to be the last time that I 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:13.000 have to do that by myself, because next week, y'all, 0:01:13.920 --> 0:01:16.679 the homegirl Lingua Franca is coming off of her much 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:20.160 needed and deserved maternity leave and she's going to be 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:24.040 rejoining me for some all new episodes and all that jazz. 0:01:24.440 --> 0:01:26.080 But we got one more day of it just being 0:01:26.120 --> 0:01:30.120 the Dope Knife Show. I do have somewhat of a 0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:37.520 little announcement to make. I have fallen in love with 0:01:37.600 --> 0:01:40.560 a new album. What would'all think, get your get your 0:01:40.560 --> 0:01:43.200 mind out the gutter? No, I have been listening to 0:01:43.280 --> 0:01:47.680 that new West Side Gun album, Hitler Wears Hermes eight. 0:01:48.400 --> 0:01:50.640 I guess that's because it's the eighth one, and all honesty, 0:01:50.920 --> 0:01:53.400 out of all the Griselda guys, west Side Gun is 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:59.040 probably my least favorite. But um, I just I haven't 0:01:59.080 --> 0:02:01.360 stopped listening to the joints since I got that ship. 0:02:01.480 --> 0:02:05.360 It is super dope. I mean, obviously you have all 0:02:05.400 --> 0:02:09.120 of the usual features from the Griselda Cats, but the 0:02:09.160 --> 0:02:13.840 beats on this ship, I mean, it's nuts. It's nuts. 0:02:14.240 --> 0:02:16.240 I think it's fair to say West Side Gun is 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:18.640 kind of an acquired taste, you know what I'm saying. 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:22.360 But if you have the ear for it, then that 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:25.720 is going to get awaiting on reparations, dope knife stamp 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:29.040 of approval. You need to check that ship out. So 0:02:29.160 --> 0:02:32.480 what do we have in the news today? Oh, I'm 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:36.799 an airhead. So as I'm recording this, the results are 0:02:36.880 --> 0:02:40.919 kind of coming in for that California recall election, and 0:02:40.960 --> 0:02:44.280 it appears that Gavin Newsome is going to survive and 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:47.320 he's going to serve out the rest of his two 0:02:47.400 --> 0:02:51.680 years as the governor of California. Um. Yeah, I didn't 0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:54.960 even make the actual recall stage. Is you know everybody 0:02:55.040 --> 0:02:58.399 voted no or enough people voted no. I think if 0:02:58.480 --> 0:03:01.840 it had gone through, then his main runner up was 0:03:01.880 --> 0:03:04.799 gonna be Larry Elder. Now, for those of you who 0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:07.920 don't know who Larry Elder is, he is, Um, how 0:03:08.040 --> 0:03:11.520 do you best describe Larry Elder? He is a one 0:03:11.560 --> 0:03:16.120 of those right wing black token Republican hacks, you know 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:19.440 what I'm saying. He's been around for like decades, but 0:03:19.800 --> 0:03:22.239 you know he's now he's part of that whole Trump 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:25.440 He ship. So they were they were making a planet. 0:03:26.120 --> 0:03:30.600 Luckily they lost, but he's already him and Trump are 0:03:30.639 --> 0:03:34.120 already claiming Electron fraud and it was rigged or whatever. 0:03:34.400 --> 0:03:37.600 They were doing that before a vote even came in. 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:39.400 To be honest with you, a couple of days before, 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:42.600 they were on news Max and ship and and talking 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:45.720 that up. I think that's about to be the new normal, 0:03:45.800 --> 0:03:49.240 to be honest with you, everybody listening right now. I 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:53.000 think from now until the day that we all die, 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:58.560 there's not gonna be an election that Republicans lose and 0:03:58.600 --> 0:04:02.040 they don't say we were they were cheated, you know 0:04:02.040 --> 0:04:05.280 what I mean. I think that's just the that's just 0:04:05.360 --> 0:04:08.200 the new standard operating procedure with those cats. I don't 0:04:08.240 --> 0:04:12.440 think that is going anywhere anytime soon. But good for Kellie, 0:04:12.520 --> 0:04:16.960 you know what I'm saying, way way to uh delay 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:21.880 the apocalypse. What else is going on? Oh, A couple 0:04:21.920 --> 0:04:25.760 of days ago, Joe Biden issued out a federal mandate 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:29.880 on vaccines for federal workers. I think all in all, 0:04:29.920 --> 0:04:31.440 at the end of the day, it's supposed to affect 0:04:31.480 --> 0:04:35.640 a hundred million Americans. The anti factors and you know, 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:40.520 the usual coons and goblins are losing their mind about 0:04:40.600 --> 0:04:44.039 the same people who what just like six months ago, 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:51.400 were watching Donald Trump order unmarked troops to snatch people 0:04:51.440 --> 0:04:53.240 off the streets. They were looking at it and they 0:04:53.240 --> 0:04:55.760 were like, oh no, that's dope. And then to take 0:04:55.800 --> 0:04:58.720 a vaccine for a deadly disease, let's killed millions of 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:04.839 people around the world. Just nah, this is the authoritarianism. 0:05:04.920 --> 0:05:07.720 For a hot second. On the day that Biden gave 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:11.839 that speech, do not comply or don't comply, some ship 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:14.640 like that was trending on Twitter and it was I 0:05:14.720 --> 0:05:16.400 checked it out. It was a bunch of right wingers 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:20.360 talking about don't comply's elected officials saying it. It was 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:24.839 talk radio hosts, bloggers, like they were all kind of 0:05:24.880 --> 0:05:29.120 in lockstep. Do not comply, don't comply with the tyranny. 0:05:30.200 --> 0:05:33.240 In all honesty, it's kind of a soft mandate. I mean, 0:05:33.680 --> 0:05:35.919 if you don't want to get the vaccine, then you 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:38.320 can still just choose to like get tested like all 0:05:38.320 --> 0:05:40.400 the time or more frequently or something like that. So 0:05:40.440 --> 0:05:44.239 it's not even like a strong arm, Hey, we're gonna 0:05:44.240 --> 0:05:46.839 hold you down and jab this in your butt type 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:50.320 of thing. But being in Georgia and as well as 0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:52.760 you know, I'm sure people can relate who are in 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:56.599 other Southern states. You know, we've got these governors and 0:05:56.800 --> 0:06:00.640 senators and stuff who are pretty much at this point 0:06:00.680 --> 0:06:05.400 pro COVID, I guess is the best way to describe 0:06:05.440 --> 0:06:09.600 their ideology on the topic. So they're gonna be fighting 0:06:09.640 --> 0:06:12.400 against all of that tooth and nail as much as 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:15.880 they can. So I don't, you know, I'm not smart 0:06:15.960 --> 0:06:19.240 enough to know how they're gonna enforce that ship realistically. 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:23.160 But the whole thing got me thinking, like, obviously this 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:25.800 is going to affect business, and it's just got me 0:06:25.880 --> 0:06:30.520 wondering how are business is going to adapt and how 0:06:30.560 --> 0:06:33.240 are they adapting? Like well, like, really, what's it like 0:06:33.480 --> 0:06:37.200 to open up to start a new business at this 0:06:37.240 --> 0:06:42.320 point in the game and have to abide by the 0:06:42.560 --> 0:06:46.400 changing in COVID policy. You know, sometimes it's ratcheted up 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:48.440 like it was a few months ago with Delta, then 0:06:48.440 --> 0:06:50.520 it kind of dies down. Then we're not sure if 0:06:50.560 --> 0:06:53.160 it's going to come back, and then people aren't getting vaccined, 0:06:53.680 --> 0:06:56.359 and then they're gonna do a mandate. So how is 0:06:56.360 --> 0:06:59.760 it that business owners, particularly black business owners, are dealing 0:06:59.800 --> 0:07:02.720 with us? You know, that's a question in and of itself. 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:04.200 But then if you take it down to the South 0:07:04.240 --> 0:07:08.000 where we have local governments that are you know, vehemently 0:07:08.000 --> 0:07:11.800 opposed to any sort of regulation or anything that's gonna 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:14.440 help with the whole COVID situation to begin with, How 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:19.440 are black business owners and entrepreneurs navigating this new landscape 0:07:19.440 --> 0:07:21.680 that we find in the South. So that's what I'm 0:07:21.720 --> 0:07:24.360 gonna be talking about today. I'm also gonna be having 0:07:24.400 --> 0:07:26.960 a little chat with a new black business owner and 0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:30.160 creative down here in Savannah by the name of lb 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:33.239 Elms mean her. Are going to have a conversation about 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:37.040 that topic, and I will be back after we go 0:07:37.160 --> 0:07:47.040 pay some bills. So, for a lot of people, the 0:07:47.200 --> 0:07:50.880 idea of owning your own business and working for yourself, 0:07:51.000 --> 0:07:55.200 it's still very much like the epitome of the American dream, 0:07:55.240 --> 0:07:57.240 you know what I mean. It's like it's kind of 0:07:57.240 --> 0:08:01.840 what everybody's low key working towards. I'm an independent musician. 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:05.480 It's been my hustle since i was eighteen, you know, 0:08:05.600 --> 0:08:08.280 So it's I've always looked at that kind of with 0:08:08.360 --> 0:08:12.840 that small business mindset. But I've had tons of friends, 0:08:12.960 --> 0:08:16.080 especially being in this town like Savannah, where there's a 0:08:16.120 --> 0:08:18.120 lot of creatives, a lot of artists, a lot of 0:08:18.120 --> 0:08:21.520 people who are trying to get something started. I've seen 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:24.640 how difficult it can be to, you know, to make 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:28.640 that decision and take that leap, and you know, for 0:08:29.200 --> 0:08:32.600 for go those safety nets and conveniences to be like, hey, 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:36.640 I'm going to start my own business. To go out 0:08:36.679 --> 0:08:39.600 and say that I'm gonna build something from the ground up, 0:08:39.679 --> 0:08:42.280 with all of the hurdles and obstacles that are going 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:44.400 to be in the way, it can be a lot, 0:08:44.640 --> 0:08:47.439 you know, and it definitely doesn't have a guarantee of 0:08:47.480 --> 0:08:51.360 any kind whatsoever. There's over thirty million small businesses in 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:54.200 this country, and the number of those that survive is 0:08:54.240 --> 0:08:58.920 just a fraction. So like of small businesses failed after 0:08:58.960 --> 0:09:02.680 the first year, thirty percent of small businesses fail after 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:05.920 the second year. Then you get fifty percent of them 0:09:05.920 --> 0:09:09.199 fail after five years, and by the time you get 0:09:09.240 --> 0:09:12.679 to year ten, seventy percent of them are called the quits. 0:09:13.120 --> 0:09:15.880 All that ship is just generally though, and you know, 0:09:16.200 --> 0:09:20.160 anything that affects the country is gonna affect black people 0:09:20.480 --> 0:09:24.360 double fold. So for minorities, it's even more of a 0:09:24.440 --> 0:09:27.040 daunting task to start a small business. Eight percent of 0:09:27.080 --> 0:09:30.840 black owned businesses fail within the first two years eighty percent, 0:09:31.360 --> 0:09:35.160 and COVID's only exacerbated all that. Now, according to CNBC, 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:38.640 African American entrepreneurs have had to close their doors at 0:09:38.679 --> 0:09:41.880 more than twice the rate of their white counterparts. Black 0:09:41.920 --> 0:09:46.520 owned businesses declined by forty one percent between February and April, 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:51.200 and that's compared to a seventeen percent decline amongst white 0:09:51.200 --> 0:09:56.200 owned businesses. There was a little boom in terms of 0:09:56.200 --> 0:10:00.080 the revenue earned by black owned businesses after the Jeor 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:03.120 Floyd protests, just in the midst of all of the 0:10:03.120 --> 0:10:05.640 Black Lives Matter stuff. You know, a lot of people 0:10:05.640 --> 0:10:07.600 were donating, a lot of people were reaching out, and 0:10:07.640 --> 0:10:10.120 I guess there was little boom, but that did not 0:10:10.440 --> 0:10:13.880 last for long at all. Now, there's a number of 0:10:13.960 --> 0:10:17.480 factors as to why this happens, and you know, there's 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:20.880 people way smarter than me that I'm sure have already 0:10:20.920 --> 0:10:25.880 broken it down. But pretty much the key key amongst 0:10:25.880 --> 0:10:29.600 all of the different reasons for why African American businesses 0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:34.440 struggle is the access to finances. Many startups rely on 0:10:34.520 --> 0:10:37.720 support financially from friends and family. So it's just like 0:10:37.760 --> 0:10:40.480 a matter of simple math. If your social network doesn't 0:10:40.520 --> 0:10:43.520 have that much money, then that will translate into how 0:10:43.559 --> 0:10:46.240 they're able to help you, if they're able to help you, 0:10:47.160 --> 0:10:50.640 and with that all of the basic trial and error 0:10:50.880 --> 0:10:54.079 that usually goes in with starting a small business, especially 0:10:54.120 --> 0:10:56.480 in the early days, it ends up being something that's 0:10:56.520 --> 0:10:59.520 fatally costly and you when you don't have access to 0:10:59.559 --> 0:11:02.280 the capital like that. In real talk, if we live 0:11:02.320 --> 0:11:06.600 in a country where a black sounding name on a 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:09.520 job application is going to stop a motherfucker from hiring you, 0:11:10.080 --> 0:11:13.520 then I'm pretty sure the same thing goes along with 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:16.679 whether they'll shop with you or not. Uh, just a 0:11:18.000 --> 0:11:22.719 drive that home before COVID, Black owned businesses nationally average 0:11:22.920 --> 0:11:29.160 fifty eight thousand dollars annually, and that's compared to over 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:32.640 half a million dollars for white owned businesses. In a 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:36.400 report conducted in three Southern states by Prosperity Now that 0:11:36.520 --> 0:11:44.680 was Mississippi, Georgia, and I believe North Carolina, UM. The 0:11:44.720 --> 0:11:48.559 report was titled Stuck from the Start the Financial Challenges 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:52.680 of Low and moderate income African American Entrepreneurs in the South. 0:11:53.160 --> 0:11:56.960 So for this they interviewed thirty African American business owners 0:11:57.960 --> 0:12:02.680 in eastern North Carolina, South Eastern Georgia, and Jackson and 0:12:02.760 --> 0:12:08.319 Delta regions of Mississippi. Many stated limited managerial and industry 0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:12.960 experience and launching businesses and lower revenue service industries and 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:16.640 black communities. Also noted was the lack of a robust 0:12:16.679 --> 0:12:21.640 network of supportive institutions, including ones that could provide managerial training, 0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:26.800 technical assistance, and strategic advice, and an inability to establish 0:12:26.880 --> 0:12:30.160 lines of credit that could support expansion plans or covering 0:12:30.200 --> 0:12:34.600 operating expresses. Many of the major obstacles facing African American 0:12:34.720 --> 0:12:37.840 entrepreneurs flows from the challenge of starting a business with 0:12:37.920 --> 0:12:42.960 little to no savings or family wealth. The researchers found 0:12:42.960 --> 0:12:46.000 the black entrepreneurs simply don't have the savings or the 0:12:46.000 --> 0:12:48.760 wealth that white families do to leverage either on their 0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:52.920 own or through their family networks. As one North Carolina 0:12:53.080 --> 0:12:56.960 entrepreneurs stated, we didn't inherit. Nothing, nothing was passed down. 0:12:57.240 --> 0:12:59.520 Our parents do all they can for us, but it 0:12:59.600 --> 0:13:02.760 was all on us from the beginning. However, even with 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:06.240 all the hardships, there has been a bit of a 0:13:06.400 --> 0:13:09.480 kind of a migration over the last decade or so 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:13.400 black entrepreneurs coming down South and bringing their ideas down here. 0:13:15.160 --> 0:13:18.000 Report by Black tech Week stated that the top three 0:13:18.040 --> 0:13:22.760 cities where black owned businesses found success were Memphis, Montgomery, 0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:26.280 and Atlanta, all in the South. Now, the factors contributing 0:13:26.320 --> 0:13:29.400 to this where low cost of living compared to places 0:13:29.440 --> 0:13:33.440 like New York and San Francisco. I can attest to that. 0:13:33.600 --> 0:13:35.760 It's one of the reasons that are brothers down here. 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:39.160 There's also been an increase in business incubators in southern 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:42.680 metro cities, so destinations like Atlanta have had a surge 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:46.240 of tech incubators to foster rising black owned businesses that 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:49.240 are all in the same field. In the South still 0:13:49.320 --> 0:13:52.760 has one of the largest pockets of African American population 0:13:52.800 --> 0:13:55.520 in the country, so and they also have a long 0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:58.679 history of supporting black owned businesses. So it's just more 0:13:58.720 --> 0:14:01.280 of an inviting situation. And I guess and with that, 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:03.200 I'm going to be bringing down our guests for the day, 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:06.480 who herself is a black small business owner who has 0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:09.520 migrated to the South to get her business popping. You know, 0:14:09.640 --> 0:14:13.200 before we even started rolling, she she said she's going 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:17.840 to handle the introduction duties because it's quite avouthful to 0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:21.320 to say the whole title. Absolutely, thank you for having me. 0:14:21.640 --> 0:14:24.400 Um again, I'm LB LM, and I'm the owner and 0:14:24.440 --> 0:14:27.200 founder of the Culturist Union, which is the first of 0:14:27.240 --> 0:14:30.280 its kind and only black owned coffee house and artists 0:14:30.280 --> 0:14:34.040 in marketplace in Savannah, Georgia. That's what's up. So how 0:14:34.920 --> 0:14:37.680 when did you go about, you know, moving to Savannah 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:41.440 to open it? So this is my second time around 0:14:41.440 --> 0:14:45.280 in Savannah. The first time I was a SCAT student UM, 0:14:45.440 --> 0:14:49.440 and I wasn't performing arts. And then I transferred to 0:14:49.480 --> 0:14:51.760 Howard h U you know, okay, how I used to 0:14:51.640 --> 0:14:58.320 go toward. I used to go to Howard and so 0:14:58.360 --> 0:15:01.080 I was up in Irah Audredge, you know, hanging out 0:15:01.080 --> 0:15:03.120 of the theater doing the thing. I was in theater 0:15:03.160 --> 0:15:06.000 management and then I did some d I work and 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:08.760 traveled around and then I got this idea to create 0:15:08.760 --> 0:15:11.720 a gathering space. UM. But I didn't want it to 0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:13.720 be kind of like a coworking space. I wanted it 0:15:13.760 --> 0:15:17.520 to be a place that was a little bit more relaxed. UM. 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:20.520 I remember being a student at scared and feeling like 0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:24.600 there was nowhere to go UM as a black artist, 0:15:24.760 --> 0:15:26.920 as a black creative, there wasn't a space for me 0:15:27.000 --> 0:15:30.440 to go on a Tuesday and just really be centered 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:33.240 and feel, you know, like I have full autonomy over 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:36.800 myself and all of these things. And so I decided 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:39.360 that I was gonna come here and create that space. 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:43.320 And so about two and a half years ago I 0:15:43.440 --> 0:15:47.960 quit UH a job that was very lucrative and and 0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:54.080 in Minnesota and and UM started on this journey. And 0:15:54.080 --> 0:15:56.560 here we are today. So where are you from? Originally? 0:15:56.800 --> 0:15:58.520 I know you said that you were RB brat, But 0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:01.000 do you have like kind of a central lies place. 0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:06.440 So I'm from Pantiac, Michigan. Um. Right, my granny's house 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:08.800 is right behind the Silver Doll, so I'm right there. 0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:11.680 And then UM, when I was six years old, my 0:16:11.720 --> 0:16:16.160 mother married UM, an army man, and he adopted me, 0:16:16.280 --> 0:16:18.720 and so that's my stepdad. And when we traveled all around. 0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:20.640 And when I was seventeen, I joined the Air Force 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:23.760 and did that for almost ten years. So then what 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:27.200 made you pick Savannah to open up your business? Time? 0:16:27.320 --> 0:16:29.280 Like I said, just the connection from going to scab 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:31.280 then you being in town, you know. So I didn't 0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:36.040 even know Scott existed. My parents UM retired in Richmond Hill, 0:16:36.120 --> 0:16:39.160 which is a little town right outside of Savannah. And 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:42.240 when I was getting out of the Air Force, I 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:45.240 wanted to be closer to family. So I moved to Savannah, 0:16:45.320 --> 0:16:47.440 and I didn't have a plan. I was just out 0:16:47.480 --> 0:16:51.280 here just trying to figure it out and going to 0:16:51.280 --> 0:16:53.840 coffee shops. I love coffee shops. I'm going to coffee shops, 0:16:53.880 --> 0:16:57.760 just kind of doodling, drawing, just wasting my day. We're 0:16:57.760 --> 0:16:59.560 trying to figure out what's next in my life. And 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:04.000 there was a SCAT tour and one of the you know, 0:17:04.359 --> 0:17:06.680 tour guds just like you can just hop on. It's easy. 0:17:06.720 --> 0:17:08.440 You know, this is pre COVID, you know, and you 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:12.879 just dish it. So hopped on the tour, Go to 0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:15.480 the Performing Arts, go to Cride Hall, which is where 0:17:15.480 --> 0:17:17.600 the performing arts department is, and I didn't even know 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:20.680 they had a performing arts department. Go to Pride's Hall, 0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:24.840 audition on the spot, and then I got in. And 0:17:24.880 --> 0:17:27.879 so I went to SCAT because I got in. And 0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:30.080 then that was kind of like falling in love with 0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:34.040 Savannah at that point, or yeah, it was, and it 0:17:34.160 --> 0:17:37.160 was it was this, It was this thing because SCAT 0:17:37.200 --> 0:17:40.040 opened me up to all these possibilities, all of these 0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:43.439 things that I had no idea even existed or was 0:17:43.520 --> 0:17:46.679 even possible in my life. And meeting all these people, 0:17:46.840 --> 0:17:50.800 but I still didn't feel like there was a space 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:54.480 for me. I still didn't feel like I was connected. 0:17:54.600 --> 0:17:57.520 And when I went to Howard, I felt like I 0:17:57.600 --> 0:18:00.679 was at home. I felt like I was like I 0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:02.879 felt like I got both of those things. So Scab 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:06.480 was the catalyst. But Howard, Howard pulled it all in 0:18:06.720 --> 0:18:08.920 it and it made it possible, and it made me think. 0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:13.919 It gave me an example of other black people, black women, 0:18:14.280 --> 0:18:18.040 particularly who is doing the thing. And I said, okay, 0:18:18.080 --> 0:18:19.720 well these people can do the thing that I can 0:18:19.920 --> 0:18:21.719 think too. So then just to get to the bottom 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:24.480 of it. So then what made Savannah that spot on 0:18:24.520 --> 0:18:28.400 the map that you wanted to start this adventure in. Well, 0:18:28.480 --> 0:18:31.760 so I read this book called The Purple Cow um 0:18:32.040 --> 0:18:35.080 years ago, like when I'm still in the military, so 0:18:35.560 --> 0:18:38.280 this has to be six and eight years ago. And 0:18:38.320 --> 0:18:41.520 in that book it says that you always need to 0:18:41.560 --> 0:18:48.399 be first or um the only. And I recognized that. 0:18:48.480 --> 0:18:53.080 In d C. You know, there's multiple black owned establishments, 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:56.679 gathering places, coffee houses where you could go. You know, 0:18:56.760 --> 0:18:59.639 it's called Chocolate City. I mean it's gentrified now, but 0:19:00.000 --> 0:19:02.960 it's called Tropic City. In Minneapolis where I was at, 0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:06.080 where I was working, Excuse me, it was the same thing. 0:19:06.280 --> 0:19:10.000 And so Savannah just felt like a space for me 0:19:10.080 --> 0:19:11.440 to start. And I knew that it was going to 0:19:11.560 --> 0:19:13.919 take a while to start, and I knew that I 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:17.440 had to cultivate change in the South. But I also 0:19:17.560 --> 0:19:19.560 knew that if I was able to pull it off 0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:23.280 here where there where there is no example, then the 0:19:23.359 --> 0:19:25.760 sky is the living. So it was kind of like 0:19:25.800 --> 0:19:28.720 a personal challenge for it. Well, I mean, since you've 0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:31.440 taken up that challenge, what has it been like so far? 0:19:31.560 --> 0:19:34.160 Because you know, I've had several I've had several friends 0:19:34.600 --> 0:19:37.840 who have tried to open up businesses in this town 0:19:37.960 --> 0:19:40.399 who were white and had difficulty doing it. You know 0:19:40.400 --> 0:19:41.960 what I mean that, I've had friends who have been 0:19:42.040 --> 0:19:44.560 black who have had difficulty doing it. So what is 0:19:44.560 --> 0:19:48.480 it like in a post COVID world trying to do that? 0:19:48.720 --> 0:19:52.520 So so before COVID, when I was first starting, it 0:19:52.600 --> 0:19:54.320 was it was it was a tough It was a 0:19:54.320 --> 0:19:57.679 tough heal. Right, it was a tough heal because not 0:19:57.840 --> 0:20:00.840 only am I saying that I'm hoping up a creative 0:20:00.880 --> 0:20:05.399 space for creatives, people get that. People didn't understand coworking 0:20:05.680 --> 0:20:09.880 spaces at the time. People didn't understand social enterprises at 0:20:09.880 --> 0:20:12.600 the time down here, because these weren't conversations that we 0:20:12.640 --> 0:20:15.439 were having in the South. No one's talking about taking 0:20:15.520 --> 0:20:19.520 up space and diversity and equity in the South yet. Right, 0:20:19.600 --> 0:20:22.960 So I'm you know, are you a separatist? Are you? 0:20:23.080 --> 0:20:26.640 Why are you? Why are you doing reverse racism things? What? 0:20:26.640 --> 0:20:28.680 What is a coworking space? What are you doing? I 0:20:28.720 --> 0:20:33.720 don't understand the concept. But then, um, there was a 0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:38.560 shift when George Floyd, when when we went to COVID, 0:20:38.920 --> 0:20:43.640 George Floyd happened. All of these things kind of created 0:20:43.800 --> 0:20:49.560 this opportunity for conversation. And so I started having information 0:20:49.640 --> 0:20:54.879 sessions where I started giving Diversity Equity UM a platform, 0:20:54.960 --> 0:20:58.240 and I started creating these things called roundtable discussions, and 0:20:58.240 --> 0:21:00.639 I started gathering people and they and it was funny 0:21:00.640 --> 0:21:03.680 because I wasn't doing anything different than what I was 0:21:03.720 --> 0:21:08.680 doing the year before for some reason before listening, right, 0:21:09.560 --> 0:21:12.880 and then, UM, I just kept doing I just kept 0:21:12.920 --> 0:21:15.359 doing this. You know, I knew that I didn't have 0:21:15.480 --> 0:21:18.720 a lot of capital. I knew that I didn't have UM, 0:21:18.760 --> 0:21:22.760 you know, a lot of financial backing or cloud or 0:21:22.800 --> 0:21:25.520 you know, the network connections. But I also knew that 0:21:25.760 --> 0:21:29.359 I just needed to make sure that everybody knew of 0:21:29.440 --> 0:21:32.840 my idea and that it was mine and that eventually 0:21:33.680 --> 0:21:37.119 something I was gonna network my way into my net worth, 0:21:37.560 --> 0:21:40.800 something was gonna click. So I was proud funding. I'm 0:21:40.840 --> 0:21:43.680 hosting these pop ups, I'm hosting these events, I'm giving 0:21:43.720 --> 0:21:47.120 these information sessions, I'm connecting to people, and I'm just 0:21:47.240 --> 0:21:49.600 honing in on my message, honing it on my message, 0:21:49.760 --> 0:21:52.640 you know, a space for black creative space for black creators. 0:21:53.320 --> 0:21:55.920 And then it just kind of took on a life 0:21:55.920 --> 0:21:58.440 of its own. And then I got a phone call 0:21:58.680 --> 0:22:04.080 from uh, the American Express reps to UM to back 0:22:04.440 --> 0:22:06.520 you know, my idea, that I got a phone call 0:22:06.560 --> 0:22:08.840 from T Mobile to back my idea, that I got 0:22:08.880 --> 0:22:11.880 a phone call from Essence to do a spread on 0:22:12.000 --> 0:22:15.400 this concept. Then America, you know, then Savannah Morning News. 0:22:15.400 --> 0:22:17.399 So all of these things just started to happen, and 0:22:17.440 --> 0:22:20.040 I think it's just because I was just kind of 0:22:20.600 --> 0:22:22.320 putting in the work and just putting one foot in 0:22:22.320 --> 0:22:26.320 front of another. And so UM we were able to 0:22:26.359 --> 0:22:28.320 get the funding. We were able to work with Carver 0:22:28.400 --> 0:22:30.800 State Bank, which is a black owned bank, to help 0:22:30.920 --> 0:22:34.920 with UM with the small business loan funding and and 0:22:34.960 --> 0:22:37.760 now we're in construction. So just for our listeners, can 0:22:37.800 --> 0:22:42.520 you uh kind of go into detail explaining what is 0:22:42.560 --> 0:22:49.320 a coworkerspect? So a coworking space UM is a space 0:22:49.560 --> 0:22:53.080 where you can work from home. So think of it 0:22:53.200 --> 0:22:57.600 as UM a you know, a private space kind of 0:22:57.640 --> 0:23:00.639 similar to a coffeehouse or kind of similar to you know, 0:23:00.840 --> 0:23:05.280 your regular office space where other people who may work 0:23:05.280 --> 0:23:08.680 from home or who may have small businesses can kind 0:23:08.720 --> 0:23:12.679 of gather and and work and create UM. And so 0:23:12.760 --> 0:23:16.159 what we're doing is we're taking the coworking space concept 0:23:16.760 --> 0:23:21.760 and we're taking the coffeehouse concept and the marketplace concept 0:23:22.200 --> 0:23:26.280 and fusing them together. So TC was more than a coffeehouse. 0:23:26.359 --> 0:23:29.080