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Speaker 1: Welcome to Money Making Conversations. It's the show that she

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Speaker 1: has the secrets of success experience firsthand by marketing and

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Speaker 1: Brandon expert Rashan McDonald. I will know he's given me

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Speaker 1: advice on many occasions. In the case you didn't notice,

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Speaker 1: I'm not broke, you know he'll be interviewing celebrity CEOs,

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Speaker 1: entrepreneurs and industry decision makers. It's what he likes to do,

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Speaker 1: it's what he likes to share. Now it's time to

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Speaker 1: hear from my man, Rashan McDonald money Making Conversations. Here

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Speaker 1: we come. My guest on Money Making Conversation Masterclass is

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Speaker 1: Brian Wilson's the co founder and CEO of The Gathering Spot,

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Speaker 1: a private membership network that has served that serves as

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Speaker 1: a hub for collaboration and business connection connections for African

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Speaker 1: Americans and minority The Gathering Spot opened in Atlanta in

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Speaker 1: twenty sixteen and has expanded nationally. We'll discussed that during

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Speaker 1: our interview. In twenty twenty two, The Gathering Spots is

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Speaker 1: acquired by Greenwood, Inc. Creating the most significant fintech and

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Speaker 1: community platform for blacks and minorities where they come mind

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Speaker 1: collaborating business community of over one million people. Please walk

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Speaker 1: into Money Making Conversations Masterclass, Ryan Wilson. How you doing, Ryan,

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Speaker 1: I'm doing well. Thanks for having me tell us about

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Speaker 1: the gathering spot twenty sixteen. I had to start before

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Speaker 1: that with a dream, with an idea, who pushed an

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Speaker 1: idea and how did it happen? So it did start

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Speaker 1: before twenty sixteen. I like to say that a lot

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Speaker 1: of times folks think that businesses start overnight, but our

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Speaker 1: process was truly at night. I started writing about TGS

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Speaker 1: in twenty thirteen, and my plan growing up was to

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Speaker 1: be an attorney. So I was in law school in

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Speaker 1: DC and came up with the idea to really rethink

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Speaker 1: or reimagine the private city club experience. Sent the idea

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Speaker 1: to my college roommate, and we worked for about three

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Speaker 1: years before the first gathering spot opened in March of

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Speaker 1: twenty sixteen. So it's been seven great years now. Nah.

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Speaker 1: That sounded really simple, Ryan, Okay, you know yeh, y'all

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Speaker 1: had a great idea and then all of a sudden

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Speaker 1: it happened, because we know it didn't happen because people

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Speaker 1: pushed back on great ideas, especially when it's not normal,

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Speaker 1: especially when it's not part of a community that that

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Speaker 1: experience happens. What were the pushbacks and what were the

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Speaker 1: obstacles and getting it opened? So I actually counted the

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Speaker 1: obstacles in the early days, so I thought it was

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Speaker 1: important to know just how many of them we were collecting.

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Speaker 1: Our first round of funding required three million dollars of

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Speaker 1: capital to be raised, and it was ninety seven people

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Speaker 1: that told us no in a row before we got

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Speaker 1: to our first yes. At the time was twenty two,

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Speaker 1: twenty three years old, and we just kept going. I mean,

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Speaker 1: the thing that we told ourselves during that time period

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Speaker 1: was that we really were seeing something that the market

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Speaker 1: couldn't see, right, and that honestly, there was a good

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Speaker 1: thing in the knows that we were getting from folks,

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Speaker 1: because they were actually indications that we were probably heading

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Speaker 1: actually in the right direction because they couldn't see what

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Speaker 1: we were trying to accomplish. But ninety seven people before

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Speaker 1: the first yes, and then we after that first yes,

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Speaker 1: we're able to move a little bit faster and start

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Speaker 1: the construction process of the first TGS. Now the first

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Speaker 1: TGS Atlanta, Georgia. Okay, because you were saying you said

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Speaker 1: DC earlier in your conversation why Atlanta, Georgia was the

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Speaker 1: gathering spot to open it in Atlanta, Georgia was the

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Speaker 1: perfect location. I think Atlanta is one of the more

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Speaker 1: important cities in the country right now. If you look

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Speaker 1: at the colleges and universities, if you look at the

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Speaker 1: small business community, if you look at the large companies

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Speaker 1: that call Atlanta home, and then if you look at

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Speaker 1: the creative community. I really think that what we export

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Speaker 1: more than anything else in the city is our culture.

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Speaker 1: So when I thought about a place that I would

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Speaker 1: want to be where there would be different people connecting

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Speaker 1: with one another, I wanted to be in a city

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Speaker 1: where black folks were in leadership and leading the city.

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Speaker 1: But also we're doing it from a variety of different industries.

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Speaker 1: And so I decided to come back home. I'm from here,

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Speaker 1: but this city's special. Atlanta. Atlanta as a as an

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Speaker 1: incredibly special place, and I wanted to be a part

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Speaker 1: of the growth of what I thought the city was

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Speaker 1: going to experience. And I have to agree. I know

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Speaker 1: that Steve Harvey and I when we left New York

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Speaker 1: and we was trying to figure out a place where

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Speaker 1: we wanted to set up our businesses our headquarters, and

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Speaker 1: in two thousand and seven we moved to Atlanta because

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Speaker 1: we felt that it was just the right environment, the

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Speaker 1: right type of African Americans to do business with. It

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Speaker 1: was upluely mobile as far as coast of living. We

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Speaker 1: felt that was in line right there. And also, but

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Speaker 1: in since two thousands and something, you've seen how the

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Speaker 1: especially with Tyler Perry moving his theater down here and

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Speaker 1: the other the tremendous growth in the television and film

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Speaker 1: and streaming industry. And here in twenty sixteen you said,

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Speaker 1: you know you have to be you have to kind

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Speaker 1: of be a visionary when you start setting up these ideas.

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Speaker 1: Was that Did you see that, Brian or you just

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Speaker 1: it just happened and you're excited about being a part

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Speaker 1: of being along for the ride. I mean, I saw it,

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Speaker 1: but more importantly, I felt it right when I came

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Speaker 1: back home. I could I could feel the energy that

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Speaker 1: was in the city. And this is a big city

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Speaker 1: to a certain extent, that still feels like a small town, right.

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Speaker 1: You can build relationships here. So I would come back

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Speaker 1: to Atlanta and we would get more done in a

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Speaker 1: couple of days in the city, and it felt like

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Speaker 1: we were getting done anywhere else we were trying to

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Speaker 1: raise money. So I felt that energy. I felt felt

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Speaker 1: the fact that people were rooting for you here, that

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Speaker 1: they're willing to help you, and that was a part

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Speaker 1: of the culture. So it made all the sense in

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Speaker 1: the world. And I mean honestly, again, I'm in my

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Speaker 1: early twenties at this part of the journey, so I

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Speaker 1: didn't have much to be afraid of, right it was.

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Speaker 1: It was exciting more than anything else, just to be

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Speaker 1: able to have the chance to have a chance. Well

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Speaker 1: the Jayson Roy I'm talking to Ride Wilson, the co

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Speaker 1: founder the CEO of the Gathering Spot, of private membership

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Speaker 1: network that serves as a hub and collaboration for business

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Speaker 1: connections for African mary and minorities. Now, I mean it

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Speaker 1: takes a lot of confidence. I won't say the word

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Speaker 1: arrogance to say you a young guy and say I

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Speaker 1: need three million dollars and being go in the room

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Speaker 1: convincing people I need this amount of money. Now, what's

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Speaker 1: your background to give you that level of confidence? And

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Speaker 1: what type of presentation did you have to put together

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Speaker 1: to convince people that this would work? So I had

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Speaker 1: to benefit my parents were entrepreneurs, and so I grew

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Speaker 1: up not wanting to start a business at all because

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Speaker 1: I saw that life. I saw what my parents went

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Speaker 1: through to build and scale of the companies that they

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Speaker 1: had started. The best advice that I could give folks

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Speaker 1: that are that are staring at an idea that they

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Speaker 1: have is just to know that it isn't random, right,

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Speaker 1: There's something that's really leading you to the point of

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Speaker 1: wanting to do whatever it is that you want to do.

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Speaker 1: And it's important to be a good steward of what

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Speaker 1: I saw is my assignment. My my mission is to

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Speaker 1: connect people. I'm a community builder, and look, I don't

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Speaker 1: I don't get a chance to do life over from

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Speaker 1: what I understand, and so I didn't want to have

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Speaker 1: any regrets about not trying. And at that point, again,

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Speaker 1: I'm in my twenties, so if it didn't work out,

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Speaker 1: my mind was like, well, I'll go back and I'll

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Speaker 1: have plenty of time to figure out a plan B.

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Speaker 1: But I couldn't live with the what if, And so

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Speaker 1: our plan was to just to give it a shot.

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Speaker 1: And thankfully, thanks to a lot of really, really good

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Speaker 1: people that were helpful to us, we were able to

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Speaker 1: get off the ground and running. Now. It's it's so enlightening.

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Speaker 1: I'm born and raised in Houston, Texas, Okay, lived in

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Speaker 1: Chicago for five years, in New York for four years,

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Speaker 1: so La for fifteen years. And so I understand the

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Speaker 1: culture of this country, especially from the black perspective, because

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Speaker 1: I've lived it, I've experienced it. And so you've expanded

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Speaker 1: this this environment of the gathering spot. Now, what are

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Speaker 1: the other two locations? Other locations that you have, all

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Speaker 1: the locations that you were considering, and why so we

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Speaker 1: we built the second TGS in Washington, d C. I met,

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Speaker 1: I went to school in DC for underground and for

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Speaker 1: law school. Built the third one in Los Angeles. And

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Speaker 1: then what we have something called connected cities, where if

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Speaker 1: you know anything about the gathering spot, we program a lot.

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Speaker 1: We do a lot of events. And so our mission

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Speaker 1: during the pandemic, when we couldn't gather in the way

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Speaker 1: that we traditionally, what we're doing was to start to

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Speaker 1: build things that you could do maybe that weren't necessarily

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Speaker 1: connected to the physical locations. So in five other cities

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Speaker 1: New York, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, and Charlotte, we have what

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Speaker 1: we call connected cities, and so there are thousands of

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Speaker 1: members that are a part of those clubs in the

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Speaker 1: cities that I referenced that don't have access to a

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Speaker 1: physical space yet, but do have access to our programming

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Speaker 1: into the community. The goal is to build physical locations

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Speaker 1: and all of those markets plus something. Okay, let me,

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Speaker 1: do you want to slow it down a little bit? Ryan?

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Speaker 1: You know, because I know what the gathering spot is.

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Speaker 1: When I read this out, I say a private membership network.

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Speaker 1: It serves as a hub for collaboration and business connections

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Speaker 1: for African Americans, the minority. What does that mean and

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Speaker 1: how does that membership register? So we have the best

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Speaker 1: way to understand TGS is that we build physical spaces

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Speaker 1: where everyone's welcome. But we are focused on making sure

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Speaker 1: that black folks in particular feel celebrated at everything at

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Speaker 1: every turn of what we do. Our clubs have events space,

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Speaker 1: so we host a lot of different events throughout the year.

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Speaker 1: We have a restaurant in bar space, and then we

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Speaker 1: have workspace. The reason why people join, though, is because

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Speaker 1: of the network, because of the community. So my job

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Speaker 1: each and every day is to try to figure out

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Speaker 1: how to introduce people that ordinarily would not have met

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Speaker 1: one another. The youngest member is twenty one, the oldest

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Speaker 1: member is now ninety one. And so my job is

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Speaker 1: to no matter what you do, and if you go

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Speaker 1: to a gathering spot, you'll see people wearing t shirts

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Speaker 1: sitting next to people who are wearing suits, right, And

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Speaker 1: my job is to try to figure out where is

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Speaker 1: the common ground and where can we build a relationship,

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Speaker 1: hopefully for business purposes or honestly for people just to

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Speaker 1: meet others that they need to know socially. You know,

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Speaker 1: it's really interesting. I'm talking to Ryan Wilson, and you know,

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Speaker 1: I've been together to start four events. I've been togethering

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Speaker 1: spots for meetings. It's a certain pride that you give

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Speaker 1: young entrepreneurs. That's that's that's my biggest takeaway Ryan, is

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Speaker 1: that when I meet young entrepreneurs, they said, can you

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Speaker 1: meet me at the gathering spot? You know, and and

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Speaker 1: our meeting is at a table, you know, and the

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Speaker 1: probably in the in the in the dining area. And

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Speaker 1: you know, when you when you walk into the gathering spot,

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Speaker 1: ladies and gentlemen, it's you met. It's an amazing experience

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Speaker 1: because it's beautiful, first of all, and you walk in

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Speaker 1: and every step of the way you felt like you

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Speaker 1: walk you walked into a world of professionalism. Every step

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Speaker 1: of the way. Soon as you walk into the dining area,

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Speaker 1: you know, everybody's everybody feel like they're motivated to do

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Speaker 1: something unique for themselves and special. Like I guess you

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Speaker 1: have to experience that to understand what I'm talking about,

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Speaker 1: because when we walk, this is not like walking into spaces.

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Speaker 1: This is not like walking into we works where they

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Speaker 1: do run out the offices and they do run out

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Speaker 1: the desk and all that. This is the experience where

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Speaker 1: you have people tied with the worried pride. Am I right?

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Speaker 1: Then when I say that, Ryan, no, I appreciate that.

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Speaker 1: I mean that's our goal, right If I if I

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Speaker 1: to use another reference point, I mean different age group here.

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Speaker 1: But if you think about the experience that a lot

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Speaker 1: of folks have when they walked into their high school

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Speaker 1: cafeteria or the cafeteria at college, right where everybody was there.

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Speaker 1: It was a place where that you could build relationships,

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Speaker 1: you could work, you can hang out, right, but it

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Speaker 1: was family right, It felt it felt warm. That is

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Speaker 1: what we are trying to make sure that the adults

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Speaker 1: that are members of the club have a similar experience,

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Speaker 1: and so people are there for different reasons. Again, some

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Speaker 1: folks are there to get some work done. Others are

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Speaker 1: there to meet people and try to get business deals done.

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Speaker 1: But all in all, we want it to be a

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Speaker 1: welcoming and warm experience that you know was built for you.

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Speaker 1: We have this idea a lot of times that the

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Speaker 1: spaces that we move in and out of were built

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Speaker 1: for everybody. Well, look, my belief is that somebody was

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Speaker 1: thinking about somebody when they built whatever it is that

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Speaker 1: you're you're using. I was thinking about black folks when

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Speaker 1: we were building the gathering spot. And so the music

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Speaker 1: that you hear, the food that you'll eat, and the

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Speaker 1: people that you'll see all go back to this very

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Speaker 1: simple idea of we need to have a place where

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Speaker 1: we feel comfortable. Well, you know, I you know, this

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Speaker 1: is the fun point. By talking to Ryan, you know

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Speaker 1: he talks about you know, I was in about early twenties,

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Speaker 1: you know, gathering spots only seven years of age now,

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Speaker 1: so that means he's nice in his early thirties. Okay,

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Speaker 1: you know I love talking to him because you know,

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Speaker 1: I'm saw him like a couple of years. It was

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Speaker 1: a big event that tend that hosted over the gathering

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Speaker 1: spot because it's also by community, and I want to

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Speaker 1: people emphasize that. That's why I've been to like several

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Speaker 1: events there. I think the UH, the African American Museum

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Speaker 1: had any event there where they had the fundraiser there.

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Speaker 1: I went to the event for that. Of course, my

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Speaker 1: recently was the Big Brother's Big Sister event where they

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Speaker 1: were it was engaging black men to come to the

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Speaker 1: gathering spot and be mentors for for young young people.

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Speaker 1: And this is the type of a home that you've created. Um,

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Speaker 1: what makes you so proud about it? Ryan, Well, I'm

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Speaker 1: grateful more than anything. Right when we started this journey,

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Speaker 1: I had no idea that anybody was going to come

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Speaker 1: into the first gatherings about twenty five thousand per feet, right,

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Speaker 1: and so that's a lot of space to fill up

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Speaker 1: on any given day. So to know that from the

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Speaker 1: President of the United States, to your favorite artists UH,

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Speaker 1: to the many many figures in leaders throughout town, including yourself,

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Speaker 1: that have spent time at TGS and hosted programs talked

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Speaker 1: about the important issues that are happening in our community.

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Speaker 1: I'm just grateful that folks saw what we were, this

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Speaker 1: idea that we had in our head, and have invested

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Speaker 1: their their their time with us. More memories to count.

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Speaker 1: I mean the club in Atlanta, we tried to look

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Speaker 1: at it the other day. I think we're like ten

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Speaker 1: thousand events in and so it's it's humbling, it's amazing

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Speaker 1: talking to Royan will soon be right back with more

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Speaker 1: money making conversation mass plat don't go anywhere. It's about

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Speaker 1: it's about changing lives and that's what I've you know,

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna call him a young man, you know, because

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Speaker 1: he started his idea and it's it's it's important to

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Speaker 1: realize that if you have a dream, don't feel that

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Speaker 1: you're too young or too old to start pursuing it.

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Speaker 1: And he started it in his early twenties and he's

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Speaker 1: still living it now in his early thirties. So the

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Speaker 1: future is bright and future is strong. Now he has expanded,

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Speaker 1: we were right back with more money making conversations. Master

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Speaker 1: class with the incredibly gifted and talented founder and CEO,

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Speaker 1: co founder and CEO of The Other Spot, Ryan Wilson.

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Speaker 1: Right back, Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back

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Speaker 1: with more money making Conversations Masterclass. You are now tuned

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Speaker 1: into the Money Making Conversations Minute of Inspiration with Rashaan McDonald.

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Speaker 1: Following Tameron Hall's bittersweet exit from NBC Today Show more

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Speaker 1: than two years ago, a lot of people wrote her

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Speaker 1: off and some said it was a mistake to leave

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Speaker 1: the show. Well, Tameron Hall has overcome the odds and

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Speaker 1: now host one of the hottest shows in daytime talk.

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Speaker 1: Most important to me and for me is that folks

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Speaker 1: who are at home launching know what they're getting. They're

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Speaker 1: getting a real conversation. I hope they're getting smart questions.

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Speaker 1: We are looking for substantive ways to make our lives

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Speaker 1: better as people, as parents. The human experience is a

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Speaker 1: common thread. At the end of the day, I don't

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Speaker 1: want someone keeping me from my dream. I don't want

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Speaker 1: someone standing in my way. I want inspiration. I want

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Speaker 1: to be a better wife, I want to be a

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Speaker 1: better daughter, I want to be a better mom. And

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Speaker 1: so that's a big part of what we talk about

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Speaker 1: on our show. If you want to hear this full

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Speaker 1: interview with Tamarin Hall, visit Moneymaking Conversation dot com. Keep winning.

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Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Money Making Conversations Masterclass hosted by

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Speaker 1: Rishan McDonald. Welcome back to Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Speaking

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Speaker 1: to Ryan Wilson, the co founding CEO of the Gathering Spot.

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Speaker 1: He's on the show for some other things. The American,

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Speaker 1: I mean the African The Atlanta Business League has celebrated

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Speaker 1: their nintieth anniversary. Before we get into that more detail,

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Speaker 1: I just want to wrap my head around one more thing,

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Speaker 1: the fintech, which is financial tech and the community platforms

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Speaker 1: that are available at the Gathering Spot. When you're here,

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Speaker 1: the word fintech a lot being thrown around. What exactly

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Speaker 1: is that and how you guys being one of the

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Speaker 1: lynch pins or one of the forward thinking platforms for that.

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Speaker 1: So fintech broadly speaks to this idea that there are

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Speaker 1: a new set of companies that are trying to provide

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Speaker 1: financial services or financial solutions to people. Our particular solution

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Speaker 1: we required our company called Greenwood, and the goal there

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Speaker 1: is to bank our community at scale, providing a lot

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Speaker 1: of different products, so from savings and credit to investing.

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Speaker 1: You will see the company over time really speaks to

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Speaker 1: the entire financial health of our community. Why that's important

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Speaker 1: is that at TGS. I mentioned all the programs that

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Speaker 1: we were we've been hosting for our entire history. A

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Speaker 1: lot of those conversations get back to us talking about money, right,

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Speaker 1: but we realized that we didn't actually have the tool.

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Speaker 1: We could talk about it right, but we didn't have

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Speaker 1: the ability to bank or or help our community actually

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Speaker 1: gain access to the tools that we were speaking about.

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Speaker 1: So what the two companies coming together helps to accomplish

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Speaker 1: is that goal. We can talk about it and host

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Speaker 1: our programs and meet one another and also get connected

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Speaker 1: to the right resources. Um that that again at scale,

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Speaker 1: becomes a really powerful thing. You know when I when

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Speaker 1: I when I bring interviews onto the show, and I

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Speaker 1: it was a couple of things that happened in my life,

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Speaker 1: you know, like to like I said, Ryan, I was

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Speaker 1: born in Houston, and then I moved to New York

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Speaker 1: when I thought I was going to be the next

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Speaker 1: Eddie Murphy going to our stand up comedy career, and

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Speaker 1: it was just how how empowering that city was emotionally

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Speaker 1: for me. And then when I moved to LA because

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Speaker 1: you know, you you kind of grow up and you

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Speaker 1: really realize how much history has taught to you about

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Speaker 1: New York. So when you get up there, you kind

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Speaker 1: of like walking around going wow, that's wow, Wow, Brooklyn Bridge, Wow,

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Speaker 1: Empire State Building. And then I went to La it

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Speaker 1: was the same way, you know, Muscle Beach and uh

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Speaker 1: Walk of Fame in the Chinese Theater. And it's becoming

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Speaker 1: the same way with the city of Atlanta. This is

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Speaker 1: becoming a lot of landmarks. Big events are constantly being

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Speaker 1: held here. And when you talk about the Atlanta Business League,

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Speaker 1: what is your relationship with them and what's the purpose

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Speaker 1: of us discussing on the show today. So I have

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Speaker 1: the privilege of serving as the new chair of the

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Speaker 1: Atlanta Business League, and it's important for everyone to know

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Speaker 1: if you are a black owned business in Atlanta, you

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Speaker 1: have been impacted by the work of the Atlanta Business League.

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Speaker 1: This is our ninetieth year as an organization, and so

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Speaker 1: my job is in that very rich history to continue

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Speaker 1: the effort to advocate and advance the interests of black

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Speaker 1: owned businesses in Atlanta specifically. So we've got a great,

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Speaker 1: great organization and a great history, but also a great

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Speaker 1: current membership that is again focused on the issues of

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Speaker 1: the day. Now we just talk about the Congress, it's purpose.

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Speaker 1: I lined up our target audience key takeaways for the attendees.

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Speaker 1: Talk about that because it sponsors Norfolk Southern w CRK,

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Speaker 1: and Atlanta AJC, which is is a print publication is

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Speaker 1: located in the Atlanta George ed area. Those important sponsors

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Speaker 1: are important. You gotta mention them, you gotta be able

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Speaker 1: to say what they do, and they serve their purpose.

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Speaker 1: But what audience are you really trying to reach? Because

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Speaker 1: right now everybody's laying off everybody. You know, You're you know,

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Speaker 1: Disney laying off. You know, Google laid off twelve thousand

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Speaker 1: people via email. They didn't even want to tell you personally.

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Speaker 1: And so you know, Amazons laying off people. So when

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Speaker 1: you talk entrepreneurship and then you talk about layoffs, where

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Speaker 1: does where do's the excitement happen and where's the enthusiam.

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Speaker 1: Enthusiasm of the Atlanta Business League helps out the individual

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Speaker 1: as well as the small businesses. Yeah, so everyone is welcome.

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Speaker 1: Keep that please keep that in mind, right, but our

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Speaker 1: focus is everything connected to black owned businesses that are

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Speaker 1: in Atlanta and the folks that are interested in partnering

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Speaker 1: with them. So you will see some of the largest

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Speaker 1: companies in town. I thank you for mentioning our sponsors,

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Speaker 1: but you will see some of the larger organizations in

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Speaker 1: town that are interested in doing business with some of

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Speaker 1: the businesses that are the members of the league also

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Speaker 1: present the congress that's coming up. It is April eleventh,

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Speaker 1: and it's all day. It's from eight to three o'clock.

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Speaker 1: The goal of the this is our sixteenth annual Congress

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Speaker 1: on the State of Black Business. Goal of this day

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Speaker 1: is again to talk about the important issues that we're seeing.

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Speaker 1: What we will engage what's happening in the market broadly,

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Speaker 1: but then also give very practical advice by way of

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Speaker 1: of of a panel discussions about what black owned businesses

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Speaker 1: in the city can be or should be thinking about

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Speaker 1: as they continue to grow and scale their companies. You know,

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Speaker 1: it's really interesting, dude, because and I think you can

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Speaker 1: agree with me, Like in twenty twenty, you know, the pandemic,

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Speaker 1: but also the unfortunate murder of George Floyd in the

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Speaker 1: state of Minnesota, and there was a huge push for diversity,

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Speaker 1: equity inclusion. Well, I'm out the business just like you.

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Speaker 1: It feels like that lull for that push because politics

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Speaker 1: are getting involved in it. Means that, you know, people

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Speaker 1: trying to say diversity is a bad words shouldn't be

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Speaker 1: using it. It's like a reverse racism in a sense. Now,

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Speaker 1: when you talk about black businesses, you know at one

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Speaker 1: time they will, you know, companies will pursuing us, pursuing

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Speaker 1: our opportunities. It feels not with a different hustle speed.

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Speaker 1: Now am I Am I wrong in saying that? Brian?

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Speaker 1: Are you seeing something differently than what I'm seeing? No,

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Speaker 1: I'm not saying seeing much different. Look. One of my

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Speaker 1: favorite quoteses do you really want to win or look

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Speaker 1: good losing? And I think, unfortunately a lot of times

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Speaker 1: in the diversity, equity and inclusion space, it's not always

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Speaker 1: about winning, right, it's about looking looking good losing. That

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Speaker 1: is not in our interest, right. We actually have to

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Speaker 1: it's it's in everybody's interest, no matter who you are,

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Speaker 1: that black owned businesses grow in scale. We've got to

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Speaker 1: continue to see, yes them be started, right, but also

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Speaker 1: watch these companies get to meaningful scale. What that means

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Speaker 1: are more employment opportunities for folks. That means better participation

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Speaker 1: in our communities and the ability to be able to

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00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:05,159
Speaker 1: spend in our community. So, look, I do agree with

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00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:06,879
Speaker 1: you that we are entering a time period where it

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00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:10,400
Speaker 1: feels like, um, you know, we we we we came

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00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:12,879
Speaker 1: saw and conquered as it, you know, as we needed

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00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:16,959
Speaker 1: to for black home businesses and our advocacy and support

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00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:20,199
Speaker 1: of them. Right, we're not there yet, and I mean

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00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:23,480
Speaker 1: the ninety ninety years of the Atlanta Business League tells

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00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:25,320
Speaker 1: you pretty quickly that we've had a lot to discuss

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00:23:25,359 --> 00:23:29,040
Speaker 1: for a long time. But we're not nowhere near the

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00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:32,080
Speaker 1: finish line, and it's important to continue to keep a

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00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:35,560
Speaker 1: spotlight on what is a very important issue now. The

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00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:39,199
Speaker 1: event is April eleven. There's registration deadlines tied to that.

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00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:43,560
Speaker 1: I think midnight April ninth is the deadline for registry

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00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:48,120
Speaker 1: for this event, and the event is the registration at

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00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:51,320
Speaker 1: the email address our ship website is Atlanta Business League

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00:23:51,359 --> 00:23:55,960
Speaker 1: dot org. That's Atlanta Business League dot org and midnight

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00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:59,120
Speaker 1: of April ninth is the registration deadline if you want

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00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:02,200
Speaker 1: to participate in this incredibly event. I just want to say,

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00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:05,080
Speaker 1: just your rhyme, you know, to gather a spot Like

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00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:07,879
Speaker 1: I said that, we do have two three physical locations.

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00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:10,720
Speaker 1: One is in DC of course, the headquarters is in Atlanta.

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00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:14,240
Speaker 1: The home basis in Atlanta and then Los Angeles. Now

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00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:19,880
Speaker 1: you over the Atlanta Business League, a historical organization that

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00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:22,879
Speaker 1: has been fighting the fighting, the fight, and you're a

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00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:26,240
Speaker 1: young guy man, and I'm so impressed with that. The

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00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:30,280
Speaker 1: maturity and the responsibility cares a certain burden with it.

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00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:32,960
Speaker 1: How do you allow that to allow you to be

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00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:38,280
Speaker 1: yourself and continue to understand that you can't do at all? Look,

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00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:42,040
Speaker 1: I look at this as responsibility, and if you know

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00:24:42,119 --> 00:24:44,160
Speaker 1: your history right, you know that there were there were

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00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:48,399
Speaker 1: good people for a long time fighting way harder than

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00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:51,640
Speaker 1: what I can say that I am. On a daily basis,

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00:24:51,640 --> 00:24:53,600
Speaker 1: I wake up and go to work each day break,

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00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:57,399
Speaker 1: but thanks to their sacrifice and able to do it

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00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:02,480
Speaker 1: in a context where the the work, while still difficult,

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00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:06,240
Speaker 1: is nowhere near What if you again understand our history

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00:25:07,119 --> 00:25:10,760
Speaker 1: our ancestors faced, and so I wake up every day

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00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:14,040
Speaker 1: with that knowledge and knowing that it's important to continue

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00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:17,920
Speaker 1: to figure out how to keep going on with organizations

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00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:20,760
Speaker 1: like the Atlanta Business League. I would not be able

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00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:22,520
Speaker 1: to be in business if it were not for the

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00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:25,280
Speaker 1: Atlanta Business League. I decided to come back to Atlanta

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00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:28,760
Speaker 1: in my twenties, raise money and thought it was possible

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00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,680
Speaker 1: because organizations like the ABL has shown it. So so

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00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:37,360
Speaker 1: we have a responsibility to keep keep all of these

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00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:41,200
Speaker 1: efforts going. And so I would really appreciate the folks

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00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:44,840
Speaker 1: that are listening to this conversation. Please consider joining the

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00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:49,280
Speaker 1: Atlanta Business League. Please definitely attend the congress that will

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00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:52,600
Speaker 1: be on April eleventh, but know that even after that

481
00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:56,240
Speaker 1: congress is over with, we need you engaged on trying

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00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:58,360
Speaker 1: to figure out how to grow and scale our companies.

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00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:01,959
Speaker 1: The easy way to do do that is to make

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00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:04,359
Speaker 1: sure that you're being intentional with how you spend your money.

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00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:08,639
Speaker 1: But beyond that, what other ways can you probably know

486
00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:11,080
Speaker 1: somebody in business, what other ways can you be helpful

487
00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:14,600
Speaker 1: to helping that that company get to scale? So um,

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00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:16,480
Speaker 1: I don't look at that with sadness. I look at

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00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:20,119
Speaker 1: it as as responsibility and with optimism and joy that

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00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:24,560
Speaker 1: I get the opportunity to have an opportunity to even

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00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:27,399
Speaker 1: to make an impact, and so I'm gonna do it.

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Speaker 1: A couple of things I want to mention as we close.

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00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:33,600
Speaker 1: Take your business to the next level? What's that all about?

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00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:37,120
Speaker 1: So that's a part of our effort at the Atlanta

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00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:40,000
Speaker 1: Business League and it's true to name right. It's an

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00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:43,920
Speaker 1: effort that businesses can can can join with us and

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00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:47,280
Speaker 1: where we get laser focused on growth. So number of

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00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:52,040
Speaker 1: programs at abl UM, but again, please consider joining and

499
00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:54,760
Speaker 1: becoming a member of the organization as you. As you do,

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00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:57,200
Speaker 1: you'll see that we host a number of programs throughout

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00:26:57,200 --> 00:26:59,880
Speaker 1: the year that will help you grow and scale your company.

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00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:02,760
Speaker 1: He is a leader, a natural leader, still a young

503
00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:05,919
Speaker 1: man and he's a leader. And I say that combined

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00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:10,480
Speaker 1: collaborating business community of over one million people. The CEO

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00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:13,679
Speaker 1: and co founder of the gathering spot located in like

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00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:17,080
Speaker 1: you said, Atlanta, d C. And as well as Los

507
00:27:17,119 --> 00:27:20,159
Speaker 1: Angeles physical location as well as hotspots in places like

508
00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:23,000
Speaker 1: Chicago in Houston. Again, thank you for coming on my show,

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00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:25,879
Speaker 1: Money Making Conversation Masterclass. Ryan. I appreciate you having me.

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00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:26,600
Speaker 1: See you soon,