October 20, 2025 • 39 mins
Mikki’s Café and Houston’s This Is It Soul Food historically have been anchors in both the Third Ward and Southwest communities. Siblings/ Co-Owners, Craig Joseph Jr. and Jeanelle Williams have a candid conversation host Sky Houston on the importance of healing and succession planning for generational success. Regarding longevity and community support, Dr. Asheli S. Atkins, also joins us as The GHBCC Pinnacle celebrates its 28th Annual Pinnacle awards, 90 years of service and their ongoing commitment to – resilience, innovation and excellence into the future of Houston’s Black business community.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
What would you say makes Houston Houston? While you think
about that, I know somebody has the word culture in
the back of their minds. So what exactly is culture?
Culture is basically how we do what we do our people, language,
our music, and our foods. Today, inside the Public Affairs Podcast,
I have two guests in the studio from two of
Houston's staples, soul food restaurants. There was a story this
(00:22):
week about the soul Food restaurant This is It closing
its doors. I want to bring some clarity to what
that means. In third ward. In the studio with me,
I have owners of Mickey Soul Food Cafe, Craig Joseph
Junior and Janelle Williams Horse Siblings. I want to welcome
you guys to the show and I want to talk
about Mickey Soul Food Cafe and This is It Soul
Food a telle of two kitchens, two separate paths, but
(00:44):
one common thread. And Janelle, I'm going to start with
you first. Give me three things you love about Hetown.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
I love a lingo.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
I love our Ahetown music and the food.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
The food.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
How about you to say food the vibe here is
obviously a great city because people are moving here from
all over. So I think the vibe. I like the
youthiness of the city. You know, it's not old fashioned,
it's up to date. They got some things they need
to repair out here.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
But we were just talking about the bolls. We're gonna
digress on that in traffic, but overall the city is
a vibe in the general. So two brands that you
guys are representing today. One of those brands I was
introduced to in nineteen ninety four Jason's lyric. Let me
just play a quick clip to take folks back. Welcome
to this is it?
Speaker 5 (01:34):
I mean a healthy.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Chicken, black eyed peas, corn on the cobs, sucker, and
one of them tackles. She never did get my man's
that PICKLEI was asking for. But this was the first
time we saw Houston. Sofu staple this is it on
a national scale. Craig Junior. That was your father's father's business. Miss,
tell me just a little history about this is it.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
It was open in nineteen fifty nine, so it's obviously
way before.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Mama was one exactly.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
And so my great grandfather, him and his wife, my
great grandmother, they found a restaurant in the neighborhood. They
stayed in the Fourth Ward and he was into cooking.
From the stories I was told already, he just didn't
have a facility that operated out of So they found
a little house on the corner of Andrews and Fourth
Ward and they seen it and his wife said, this
is it. And he looked at her and was like,
(02:21):
this is what And she was like, this is it.
This is where we're going to have our restaurant.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Now you gotta put some steak on it, like the
lady in the movie This is She said, I did.
There you got And he was a smart enough man
to run with it.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Yeah, you're ran with it.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
And that name just stood and throughout the years, the
community in fourth Ward supported him until it started getting
outside of you know, outside into the Senate limit, and
so it moved from West Grade to Gray and now
as far as Third Ward goes, you know, before they closed,
they moved to third Ward. Eventually, when my great grandfather
got older, you know, his health started declining, and it
was my dad's turning step up, and he taught him
(02:55):
everything he knew. That's kind of how that branched out
into the brand that it is that made Jason sleep.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Three generations of men cooking and being in business is
a phenomenal feed. But I think what's even more extraordinary.
I want to do this narrative justice is that you
are the fruit of two culinary trees independent of one another.
Your father and his family owned this is it. Your mother, Jeanette,
a tremendous cook in her own right, independent of this
(03:20):
is it, launches Mickey Soul Food in the city, in
conjunction with your stepfather, Mickey Blue. The first thing my
mind said, were there cooking wars in the house.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
You may not remember, okay, the stories because they divorced
when I was three, and so when Mickey's open in
two thousand, it wasn't a like, let me get back
at you because we're not together. This was truly her passion.
As you mentioned before, Mickey Blue. He encouraged her a lot.
He gave her the withdraw to go out there and
actually open it when she doubted herself.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
So now, legend has it she was cooking over a holiday,
had all of the family over, and her cooking was
so good it made her husband say, baby, you should
open up a restaurant. You could sell this, and that's
how Micky Soul Food came about? Is that right? Janelle
And by the way, Janelle and Craig are siblings, the
two children of Jeanette of Mickey Soul Food.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Most definitely be like, hey, let's go ahead and give
it everything we got.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Now we're talking twenty five years ago when Mickey Sofood
became a staple in the city. So you guys were young.
We've been talking a lot inside the Public Affairs podcast
about starting businesses, growing businesses, sustaining and planning succession for
the business. And I always kids want to work on
the family business. How did you feel about working in
the business with your mom?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
It was just something that was natural. It was like, hey,
this is what we're going to do. We're family and
it's going to be family pushed. Like, we're family orientated.
So it was like, hey, you do this, you do this,
and even if you weren't directed, if you saw something
that needs to be done, you just hopped in because
we knew that there was a bigger picture. We didn't
know what that picture was going to look like, but
(04:53):
we trusted in our parents and we knew that if
they were saying this was something that we needed to do.
It was gonna give a thousand and percent whatever we
saw her do. We knew to duplicate that because we
wouldn't get a lash year.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Now, be careful saying lashing on the radio. Somebody may
misunderstand they can't do nothing to it. But still now,
just so I'm clear, you guys had no thoughts about
coming into the family business. Jenelle Craig, what were you
originally thinking you would do with your lives?
Speaker 2 (05:20):
I thought I was going to be a pediatrician. This
was never anything that I thought we would be doing.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
Yeah, I was into media, so website design and videography, photography,
the whole media world was my world.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Not wanting to do this take on the family business
of making so food. What has shaped you guys's perspective
on business?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
For me, it's just I have a certain standard of
the way I like things, and as well as what
my mother, what her standards were, which were very high.
Knowing what she required and what I required. Just as
a human being myself, I want to give the people
what my mom set out from the very beginning, and
then the customer service, the food, the atmosphere to be nice.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
I'm glad, y'all. Let's because a lot of kids don't
listen to their parents. They see them all day working hard,
doing everything and don't mean nothing.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Well, it was times that we didn't listen.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Sticking with what Craig just said, sometimes children of business
owners don't want to listen, because I'm sure your parents
both sides. Because we're talking about a tale of two
separate legacies, two separate culinary families that you two are
now carrying the torch for Mickey sold Food started twenty
five years ago. This is it. You guys are taking
over the third Ward location, converting it now into a
(06:28):
third Mickey's location, balancing what that succession at least that
location looks like. But these are two separate and well
known soul food restaurants in the city. Tell me a
little bit more about as a child trying to find
your own way and seeing maybe my parents are right.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Quit laughing you that when when Mickey's was getting jumping
in the beginning, at that particular time, my mom wasn't
making the money the ends to really support the life
I wanted to live at that time. I wanted to
get my first apartment. I wanted to get a car,
and she could. Mickeys couldn't afford to pay those type
of bills that time because she was just starting and
she had so many other things that she owed money
(07:04):
to just to get the money of the business started.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
So you have two parents in the restaurant business. Your
mother's running Mickey's, your father's running This is It. How
did both of you guys as children, decide which restaurant
as a child to go work for.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
I don't know if everyone knows me and Craig we
have the same mother but different father.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
So, and I.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Actually worked at This is It. Yeah, we used to
go to rest little mother's house. You know, that was
his father.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
So yeah, for me being a middle child from both sides,
my dad owns This is It, my mom owns Mickey's.
I worked at This is It as well to start out.
But I had a talk with my mom and I
was like, I want to come work for you. She
at that time, I feel she needed me most because
he was established and she was getting established. Her passing
basically solidified everything.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Now, let me ask this, because I know Janette's passing
was unexpected. How does the family shift when the owner
passes away? Were you guys prepared to take over the business. Well, oh, we've.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Been training all our lives. So even if we thought
we weren't ready, we were. It was already in us.
All the things we didn't understand, all the complaining, crying
to her, sometimes she would just smile and walk off
like like as if she could she knew the future
or something. Catch it in traffic, okay, And so when
she did pass, it knocked us off our feet. But
(08:21):
at the same time, my mom was a fighter, and
or what she had built so far.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
We couldn't let that just go.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
We just had to get past the grief and us
being a team and working together the way that she
would want us to be, because the moment we got
on the right track, like God just kept opening doors
for us NonStop.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
I'm speaking with Janelle Williams and Craig Joseph Jr. The
owners of Mickey Sofu Cafe. Recently they acquired this is
it their third ward location, which will relaunch as a
third Mickey Sofu Cafe location. We talk plenty. We've had
guests come on who can tell you how to start
a business, how to fund the business, how to grow
a business. But what does it take to take over
(08:59):
a businesusiness, a family staple, and how do you do
it as you're losing a parent in business? Whoever you
know is thinking about doing this.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
You know with their kids, if they're young, they're going
to have to understand sacrifices are going to have to
be made, but they will learn so much that will
take them through the rest of their life.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
And for me, I think the relationship part of it.
Me and my sister, we've been.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Through hell and high waters.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Oh my goodness, we've been there and back because when
my mom passed away, this was the start of Perland.
So she signed the lease and she passed away the
very next month after signing the lease. Wow, And so
we opened a second location. All of it, you know,
grieving and everything at the same time. And so we're
trying to get through our relationship issues and still come together.
(09:43):
That's the main thing I would tell people. If you
don't do it, you're gonna it's not gonna work.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
I don't know if we've talked about that enough. How
families handle grief, siblings, rivalry, or family members after our death.
There are so many things that you're already fighting over
with losing a loved one who gets to make the decisions.
And then on top of that, you guys are in
business together, but on a relational side before you can
even get to talking about the business part, what relational
things can siblings possibly fight over.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
The understanding of my brother and the way he thought,
the way he did things, his intentions towards things.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
And then we have a five year age gap between us.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
So I never fully got to, I guess, know him
until we got older. And so it's like when I
got to see his character and who he really is,
I was able to be able to embrace him better
and be like, Okay, you know what, I can look
over that this is how we're going to do this,
so that we can still do this as a unit.
So I would say for myself, it's just having an
(10:40):
understanding of your siblings.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
So you could you're meaning to tell me you could
possibly not know your sibling that you've grown up with
your entire life.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Really, you could laugh with them, eve dinner with them,
go to games, all that, but the true essence of
who your sibling is character you need to know, and
I mean on down to the crying from each other,
breaking down, telling.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Secret like and vulnerable with your sibling.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
I'm telling you it's so important because if you don't
break that layer off, there's no value there because it's
not real.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
It's good. Craig, i'a let you go. So we're talking
about relationships underneath business. You know how they say you
can grow up in the same household with your sibling
and have two totally different experiences because as individuals, you're
filtering differently what's happening And Craig, what would you say
is your experience in working with your sibling, getting past
(11:30):
grief and working in business.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
I'm the first start of us to get married, and
so in laws have a huge part to play in relationships.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
You know what I mean, you getting married, you're in laws.
What would that possibly have to do with your sibling?
Speaker 4 (11:43):
So it's not really just a sibling thing. It's a
family I feel once the man gets married, I feel
like the aunts are jealous, the mam is jealous, the
sister is jealous.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
There's something, there's something there.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
Everybody like, that's my boy and he's being taken away.
And so you fight those battles, But those are the
ones you can overcome within within time.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
You know what I mean if you work through them.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
Yeah, which we you know, I mean, we happen to
try that path of making it work through any kind
of differences we had over the years. So yeah, it's
for me that's the biggest part, getting adjusted to a
new life, a new family and blending them together.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
And I'm partly the blame for that.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Okay, take some ownership PSA. There are women in the
world who take responsibility for their parts. Fellas out there listening.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Yeah, I'm partly the blame because of my communication or
not communicating with him for the way I'm communicating with
him still a man and your brother and as a man.
And so once I was able to learn how to
do that, because I had to learn, he was able
to open up his ears and his heart to me
and make whatever possible moves he could make to help
(12:49):
bridge the gap.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
You're his sibling, but you took it for granted. You
had to earn him as a partner. And if you
want him to have a perspective that matches in life
and in business, you have to earn that. Is that accurate, exacurate,
hundred percent.
Speaker 4 (13:02):
I mean, if we didn't do it, we were mickeys
wouldn't have the potential of going nowhere, not even with
this newbeing still.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Yeah, house divided can't stand. So what did you guys do?
Coming back to when did talks of taking over this
is it the third world location come into play? For
the siblings.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
The talks of my dad retiring kind of sparked that up.
You know, he was on the contemplating and retiring because
he's getting up there in age. And I would prefer
anyone that owns a business to hand it over to
their kids while you're still living and not after the
fact and them be misled, you know, or trying to
learn on their own growing up. So he decided he
wanted to sit down, and I came to my sister
(13:40):
and I was like, my dad wants to sell the
restaurant or sell that property to us. And I said,
the only way this can work is if we stick together.
And if you said that to her, I said that
to her, and you know we had we talked for
hours on the phone about the potential of like what
this could mean.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
I thought the beautiful part of this narrative was that
you don't see fathers as often handing over businesses to
their sons. In our community, and I thought the conversation
needed to be had more often on how do we
have our kids in position to succeed us. Your father
isn't actually just giving you or handing this business over
to you. You're actually purchasing, as brother and sister this
(14:17):
location from him. Man a man, how did that conversation
go and how did you really feel as a son
in that moment?
Speaker 4 (14:22):
In that moment, I thought that was the first time
it's ever came up as far as the talks of
selling it. So I don't believe he had the vision
or the intentions of selling it until he passed away hisself.
Because that's what.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Our mother was.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
She said, she said, y'all ain't gonna take meeks over
my dead.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Bute, y'all ain't gonna mess my stuff up. Well, no,
that's real talk, and I'm glad you said that for
both sides. Statistically, boomers aren't as ready to retire these days.
It's hard to hand over business that you slaved over
all these years. And honestly, as a parent, I'm thinking
about my thirteen year old. He'll be ready. I don't
care if he thirty three. He may not. I've seen
him the moves he makes, the stubbornness of want to
(14:58):
go do your own thing, and you don't know if
they're ready. So I'm hearing both of your parents really
may not have been ready, but it was all in.
Speaker 4 (15:05):
Timing his health. He had a couple of surgeries that
was the sign from God to me, just like, Okay,
this is time. You know what I mean. Like, if
this isn't a sign, then you don't want to pass
over in the restaurant, work in to your last days,
you know what I mean. You want to be able
to enjoy life. And I think enough of his friends
and family convinced him like we had the potential and
(15:25):
he's seeing what we were doing at Mickey.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
For the listening audience, we're talking with Craig Junior and Janelle,
owners of Mickey Soul Food, and we're talking business and
we're talking succession right now, being the children of two
successful founders of two successful soulfood restaurants in Houston. As
siblings with the same mother, your mother Jeanette and husband
Mickey Blou started Mickey Sofood restaurant. On the other side, Craig,
(15:48):
your father started this is it soul Food? You guys
are taking over the third ward location of this is
it turning it into a Mickey Soul food restaurant. It's
legacy two ways, So I know you got to be
thinking about your children, leaving an inheritance for your children's children.
What would this look like for you guys as children?
Is that what's on the forefront of your mind with
this expansion. It's always about our kids. It's no way
(16:11):
that we.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Would be going through what we're going through.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
If we couldn't see the bigger picture.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
I want my kids to be able to benefit from
the blood, sweating tears starting from my mom and my
father on down also my brother's kids, which on my
niece and nephew, to see the labor from their grandmother
and their father and their mother and be able to
benefit from that and also carry that legacy on.
Speaker 4 (16:35):
We even preached to the younger people that's working at
Mickey's now because eighty five to ninety percent of the
people that's there now never met my mom, so they
don't know her spirit, they don't know her culture. They
got to appreciate what's before them, and then if they don't,
I feel they'll be lost.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Are there any other business tips? You would give small
business owners who are franchising or moving to the next
level of having multiple locations. Pay your taxes and pay
your bills.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Do not be fripless with your money and want to
show it off before you take care of home.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Okay that car, No, do make sure you're paying it
off the right account, your personal.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
Not the business accountability.
Speaker 5 (17:08):
Man.
Speaker 4 (17:09):
I think the main thing when God blesses you with
more with financial substantial financial gains, people tend to splurge,
want to go shop, travel and this, and that. You
have to have the mindset of not spending the bottom
line that's coming out of your operating account and spending
the money you're actually supposed to pay yourself and people
you know, I mean, And you can do that as
(17:29):
long as you're kind of like treading waters. But once
God bless you with a blessing that you feel like
you can handle, people tend to keep beside themselves and
spend money recklessly.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Stay humble, Stay humble, and sit down, all right. Craig
Junior and Janelle, they are fruit of two Houston culinary trees.
Craig Senior of this is it is closing his historic
third or location and he still has his humble location.
But the children, the two in the studio with me now,
are opening Mickey's Cafe and that's same historic location, honoring
(18:02):
their mother's vision and launching their own new chapter. You
guys come from two great lines of restauranteurs in the city.
This is about to be something new, the changing of
the guard, the positive pivoting of family business. Mama Pop's
going big. Janelle, what are you thankful for?
Speaker 2 (18:17):
I'm just thankful that this opportunity has presented itself because
it's like one in a million.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
The fact that we're able.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
To take the recipes and share them with that community,
it means everything to me.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
Craig Junior, before we leave, give me a lesson that
you've learned from your father.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
I was able to watch my father from afar when
him and my mother are divorced, and so I was
able to watch him from a fault like be a leader.
I was able to see him fall. I was able
to like basically learn from his mistakes, and he would
always tell me, son, if it don't work out for me,
please don't do that. You know what I mean, Like
with him messing up with my mom and them getting divorced,
(18:53):
you tell me they were too young, they didn't know
what they were doing, but it was his fault. Don't
ever mess it up with your wife and your kids
because you don't want to be in the sea situation.
I'm me in like you know what I mean. I
gotta be the man of you know what I mean.
I have to be the leader of the women that's
in my life, and I have to know how to
balance all of them so it can go together. And
he taught me a valuable lesson.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
That sounds like the secret sauce right there. Yeah, yeah,
all right, talk balance keeping balance. Thank you both for
being here. I truly believe that your family is a
beautiful example of a successful business succession. These two restaurants
have always been more than just places to eat, their
community anchors. And I know with you two siblings working
hand in hand, this isn't just another launch of another location.
I think this move honors all lines of the family business.
(19:34):
So may the spirit of Jeanette rest in peace and
live on, and may you two stay unified in family
and in business. Thank you for being here, aches, Thank
you so much. You just heard the personal account of
two siblings in business right here in h Town. When
we come back, the Greater Houston Black Chambers Pinnacle Awards
is coming up, and we'll talk about how they're really
defining black business community and since we mentioned succession, how
(19:57):
this ninety year old business has been doing it the
right way and showing you to move forward. Next inside
the Public AFFAANS podcast. For ninety years, the Greater Houston
Black Chamber has been like a vital heartbeat empowering the community.
And this year for them marks ninety years. They have
this powerful event. You've probably heard about it in the past,
the twenty eighth annual Pinnacle Awards. Joining me for a
(20:19):
conversation today. Please welcome into the studio, doctor Ashley s Akins.
Welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Doctor is in front of that give us a little
background on what is your doctorate in?
Speaker 5 (20:29):
So I actually have a PhD in sociology. I study
black businesses. So I got my PhD.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
Don't we love that?
Speaker 5 (20:34):
Right?
Speaker 3 (20:34):
I study.
Speaker 5 (20:35):
I got a PhD in race, class and gender and
Organizational theory. Like I tell people, sounds like a lot.
Simply put, I studyed black businesses, black women businesses, any
marginalized group. I'm studying them, but not just studying them
to talk about the barriers. I'm talking about how they're
navigating the barriers. Like we know the black women face
discrimination and sexism, but they're still the fastest growing group
of entrepreneurs. So I look at how So that's what
(20:56):
my research looks at. And so yeah, I'm I'm the
President of the Black Chamber. I feel like with my
PhD plus me being the president, what better place for
me to be.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
You can't see me on the radio, but I got that.
I'm rooting for you face now, doctor, I want the
inside track. Tell me what's coming down the pipeline that
we need to know about.
Speaker 5 (21:12):
So there's so much upcoming. This is our ninetieth thear
Like you mentioned, ninety is a very very big deal,
especially for any organization, especially like black organization. And so
we have a lot planned, specifically our Pinnacle Award in Gala.
So that's on November first, it's going to be at
BYU Event Center. But before that, we're actually having a
Pinnacle Wealth Form and so that's a conversation on wealth building,
wealth management, what is retirement look like for entrepreneurs? Conversation
(21:33):
that doesn't really happen often. What does a secession plan
look like for entrepreneurs. You're not just closing your business,
but you're passing it down. And so we're having a
full day conversation at Rice University on October thirty, first Halloween,
from eight to five, and we're bringing in all the experts,
so venture capitalists, investors, bankers, everybody you can think of
that is an expert in wealth management and wealth building.
We're bringing them to the space to have these really
(21:54):
important conversations. And so on top of our Pinnacle Award,
we have reoccurring events. We have trainings going on right
now for people who want to learn how to be
successful at pitch competitions. We have programs going on people
that want to get bids with the City of Houston's
We have a lot going on right now and we're
just going to keep going in twenty twenty six and
even beyond.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
I saw one of the conversations you guys have coming up.
It mentioned reimagining wealth. The title reimagining Wealth caught my attention.
Tell us more about.
Speaker 5 (22:19):
That things were changing, Like we have the introduction of
AI coming around, we have the changes in real estate market.
There's so many changes, and especially for this current generation
of you know, content creators and influencers, wealth looks different
for them than it did for our parents, our parents,
and so we have to really reimagine what wealth management
looks like and really find innovative and creative ways to
engage these next generations in wealth management because we don't
(22:40):
want to leave them out of the conversation.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Absolutely, And you guys have a college form that we do.
We do a little bit about that. What do college
students need to have on the forefront of their minds
and family members of college students, like parents, what are
we not thinking about or what do we need to
start shaping.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
I think the.
Speaker 5 (22:56):
First thing which people always talk about is student loans.
So let's say you have student loans. You know, we
want people to avoid them. I didn't avoid them. I
got undergrad at PV. Hey PV what student loans?
Speaker 3 (23:06):
Hello?
Speaker 5 (23:06):
And we want them to know how to manage that,
how to deal with that. We want to know that
even if you have debt, that doesn't define your future.
And then we want to have conversations like I mentioned
influencer economy, how do you really make money off of
being a content creator? And then also AI AI is
more than just TRAGYBT, So how do you make money
or also incorporate AI into your business as a college
students because there's a lot of college students that have
(23:27):
businesses that are thriving. So we want them to be
a part of these conversations. But then we are offering
them the basics, So the basics of real estate. What
does real estate mean, what does it look like? Is
it just home buying? Is it investing? And then also
getting into the conversation of investing one on one, how
do you invest?
Speaker 3 (23:42):
What is the stock market?
Speaker 5 (23:43):
Helping them to really understand these basics because we want
again we don't want to lead.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
Them out of the conversation.
Speaker 5 (23:47):
They have to be a part of it, but we
want them to be prepared to be a part of
this conversation.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Okay, now you mentioned like four or five things. Yeah,
I want to deal into the first one you mentioned
student loans. I was in that group of folks who
got subsidized in US subsidized loans. You're still paying for
a shout out to you if you got that were
a white shirt, your student loans totally out wish a
zero balance to you. I am applauding your idea whatever
it was necessary to get that. But what is the
(24:12):
conversation for students right now?
Speaker 5 (24:14):
The first part of the conversation is managing it understanding,
Like you mentioned, there's subsidized, there's unsubsidized, there's public, there's private.
But then there's also a lot of forgiveness options. If
you work for a university, I work prepar of you
for fifteen years. If you work for a university or
even a school district, a lot of times you can
get those loans forgiven. But then also managing the payments,
making sure you understand how to pay it off quickly
or just how to pay it off in time without
(24:35):
you know, living below the poverty line, being able to
afford your basics, but also still paying off your student loans.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Is there anything happening as far as all of the
new laws and administration things that's changing. What do we
not know has changed that may affect us right now?
If we have student loans.
Speaker 3 (24:51):
And so that's perfect, So that's going to be.
Speaker 5 (24:52):
So we're bringing in the experts to have those conversations
on the changes that are on the horizon for twenty
six and beyond, because a lot of these college students
are maybe sophomores or juniors, so they really won't be
affected until twenty seven or twenty eight, and so we
want them to be aware of those changes. But those
changes come in various forms. So it may be that
the interest rates go up, it may be that you
are penalized for not paying your student loans, and so
(25:13):
your checks are going to get garnished, and so we
want them to be aware of like, this hasn't always
been the way, but it may be the way in
twenty seven and twenty eight, and we need you to
be aware of that. One thing that a lot of
business owners who are not even college students. These are
individuals who are twenty thirty years in the game don't
know how to separate their business, you know, purchases from
their personal purchases, so they're paying for everything on the
personal card. And we have to make sure that college students,
(25:33):
please don't make that mistake. Please don't get too far
into using your personal credit card, using your personal debit
card to do those things, because it has to be separated.
But then also looking to the experts, we're bringing in
experts that are giving these students a lot of free resources,
a lot of free services, and so finding the CPA.
You're at college, there's a lot of students that are
in accounting. Make friends with them because they could eventually
be your CPA for your business. Because here you are
(25:55):
a marketing major, you don't know anything about accounting.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
Why not lean on the experts.
Speaker 5 (26:00):
And so we're having conversations around about with these students
around and managing your finances as business owners. But then
also just some little tips about marketing, about again AI,
about trademarking, protecting your brand. So you're building these really
cute companies and these amazing companies, protect them even at
the very very early stages.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
Protection is the name of the future game for sure.
Now I also saw that you guys have workshops that
are coming up. Tell me some workshops that you're excited
about upcoming.
Speaker 5 (26:26):
So one workshop I'm really excited about, like I mentioned before,
is secession planning and retirement for entrepreneurs. This is not
a conversation that happens a lot. We think about retirement.
We think about like the workplace professionals, the nine to five,
you get your four on one K, you have a
retirement you know, planned out, and so we want to
talk with business owners about how do you plan for
retirement as a business owner. Hopefully you don't want to
have to work in your business for you know, the
(26:47):
rest of your life. You want to get at a
certain point where you can pass it along. And so
that means building a team. That means finding, you know,
creating really solid systems that can exist without you being
being you know, a part of it or being hands on.
So that's one that I'm really excited about. And then
also we have a couple of fireside chats and panels
we're being in individuals who are venture capitalists, who are funders,
(27:08):
who are like, hey, I have money to invest in
your business. That's exactly what I'm here for, looking for
marginalized specifically minority businesses that they want to invest in.
And so I'm really excited for that because I do
think that a lot of people feel that venture capitalists
or investors are so far off and like not really tangible.
But they're right here in Houston. They're going to be
in the room, and so they're going to be giving
you the tips and the advice on how to prepare
(27:30):
yourself to go after funds from them.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Now, if you're wondering who is the Greater Houston Black Chamber.
They are the go to organization for business development and
community partnership in the Houston African American community. Now, the
Pinnacle Awards, I'm used to that being that gala style event.
But these workshops that you're talking about, where do these
take place?
Speaker 5 (27:49):
So the workshops are going to be happening on October
thirty first. The Pinnacle Awarding gala is on November first,
and so that is going to be a true dress up,
get really cute, put your tie on and your black
suit and come out and let's celebrate. And we're going
to be geting awards out all night long.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Now I did see that tables are sold out, but
individual seats are she said, yes. I was like, okay,
so tables are sold out, but if you are individuals,
you could still get tickets.
Speaker 5 (28:11):
Yes, so tables are sold out, unfortunately, but we do
have some tables that are set for individual ticket purchases.
So those are still available under ten unfortunately, so we
do not have a lot.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
But get them. Why they are available.
Speaker 5 (28:21):
This room is going to be packed with over five
hundred of Houston's best and brightest, So community leaders, elected officials,
black business owners, anybody you can think of that is
doing their part to support and advocate for black Houston.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
They're going to be in that room. Now.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
I did see on the fly. I saw plenty of
business owners that I'm not familiar with, but I did
see some that have been tilling the ground in Houston
for twenty plus years. So you got a great mix
of new and seasoned business owners. If someone's listening to
this and they hadn't thought about being a part of
the awards, why is it important for them to do that.
Speaker 5 (28:51):
One thing that we do with the awards that we
divide the categories up so if you are business that's
been around for twenty years, we're not going to put
you in the same award category as somebody that just started.
And so we have an award called the Mack Canna
Junior Upside Award, and so it's for businesses two years
and younger. We also have awards for business owners who
are eighteen and under. We also have one individuals who
are eighteen and twenty four. We want to make sure
that everybody has a chance in their award category, and
(29:11):
so put your name in the hat. A lot of
times people are doing work in a silo. They don't
think that they have a lot of support, they don't
think they'll get a lot of recognition. But when you
put your name in the hat, a lot of times
we're like, we're odd, you know, we're in awe at
how much work and how amazing that these businesses are doing.
And so we want to make sure to give you your awards,
give you your flowers and your praise on that night.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
I think we take for granted how important it is
to tell your story. Yes, so if you're a business
owner or somebody who's not really into awards and the
whole look of being applauded, it's marketing on one hand,
but it's also important to tell the story of who
you are so that people see you and recognize you
as the go to in whatever your field is. Nobody's
in business just to be in business. You're in the
(29:50):
business to eat, feed your family, hopefully have a legacy.
But your whatever your why is, why not make sure
the world and the city of Houston is aware of
what you are. So sometimes being a part of these
awards shows are not just for the show of it.
It's for the extension of what you offer. Would you
agree with that?
Speaker 5 (30:08):
Absolutely? And so to your point, we're going to have
some college students in the room. We're going to have
individuals who are in high school eighteen and under who
are business owners, you know, the young entrepreneurs. And so
if you're applying and you share your story, you're inspiring
the next generation of business owners to share this story
as well. So, yes, it is marketing. Yes you do
receive an award. Yes, people will know your face. But
the goal is that you share your story to inspire
future generations of black business owners.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
More people need to know who you are, what you do,
and why you matter. So exactly, I just have to
put that out there. It matters. Recently, you were talking
about succession. Do you care about your business living beyond you?
That's a conversation.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
And then also it's people's ability to just let go.
Speaker 5 (30:45):
You know, your business and your your small business is
your baby, and we get it. But at a certain
point you have to start thinking outside of yourself, Like
your business has to exist when you're on vacation. Your
business has to exist if you're sick, and so it
should be able to fully function and operate without you
having your hands in it, and so that should be
the goal of all business owners, is to create a
business that can operate without your involvement. And so that
(31:06):
means letting go, building a team, a trusted team, and
then also looking at that team as individuals who can
run it and run the ship well after you are
gone off this earth and can do it well to
honor your name and to honor the passion that you
put into the business. And so succession planning is really
really important. But it does take entrepreneurs' the ability to
trust other individuals and also the willingness to take your
(31:28):
hands off of it at a certain point.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
Taking your hands off of it at a certain point. Now, listen,
we're going to expand a conversation that's networking. Your net
worth is steel your network or vice versa networth network.
Can people be a part if they're not a member
of the chamber.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (31:45):
So. Every month we're done for this year, we're going
to start back in February. Every month we have a
Networking Nourish It's a second Tuesday lunch in at elder
Alda Ballroom eleven thirty and we have a lot of
events like this one, like we have different happy hours.
All of our events are always open to the public.
Speaker 3 (31:57):
All of them. You do not have to be a member.
Speaker 5 (31:59):
But the Networking Nourish event, I bring that up specifically
because it allows our members to network across industry. So
you're in the room with individuals who are not in
the same industry as you are, made some of them are.
You're networking with people who are from different age brackets,
even different racial groups. It's completely different backgrounds. Because the
importance of cross networking, you're not networking within the same
group and you guys just recycling the same information over
(32:19):
and over. You're introduced to new information, to new people
and to your points. You're putting your face out there.
People are like, I met her at that luncheon. She
has this amazing company. And so even when you're not
with them, if they're thinking of somebody that has a
floral company, they're like, Okay, I met this person at
the luncheon. Let me drop their name and let me
give them a call. And so you do not have
to be a member to be a part of the
Black Chamber, And we do that intentionally because we want
you to come out and see come out and see
(32:40):
the impact come out and see the benefits, come out
and see the people in the room and the just
the atmosphere in the room, which is really encouraging, really
really supportive, and really welcoming. Because one thing that's going
to happen, that always happens, is after two or three events,
people are going to join the Black Chamber, and so
that's what we're noticing. So you do not have to
be a member, but eventually you will become a member.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
I like the confidence, Yes, the greater if you said
black chamber quickly, you mentioned you said a word, and
it sparked my thought to say this. You said networking
across industries. Why is that important? And I want to
know a little bit more about the chambers involvement in
the upcoming afro tech.
Speaker 5 (33:14):
Yes, so it's important to network across industries. So as
association put on my sociology hat. There is a concept
called the strength of weak ties, and so that means
that I might not know you or have met or
I might walk into a room where I'm the only
person that looks like me, but there are strengths. There's
a strength in those weak ties because everybody in that
room has information that I probably have never been privy to.
And so strength and weak ties means that you're connecting
(33:34):
with people that you really have no connection with, but
you're gaining so much information. And so networking cross industries
is really important because a lot of times we're in
the workplace with people that are in the you know,
that do the same thing as us, and we're all
cycling the same information, the same resource, the same knowledge,
the same tools. And then you step in a room
where nobody's in your industry and you realize, man, there's
a lot of information and resources out there that I
(33:56):
would never have known about if I had to not
step into this room. And sotwork across industries is really important.
But even beyond across industries, just networking across backgrounds, where
you may go to an event again only person that
looks like yourself, networking across age groups. You may walk
in and be one of the oldest people or one
of the youngest people, but you're able to get access
to new information and so that's really really important. And
so you mentioned our afrotech and afro tech. I'm sorry,
(34:20):
sorry about sorry afrotech, my bad. So yes we did,
actually we announce our partnership with afro Tech this summer,
and we're really really excited they're coming back to Houston.
And one of the really important things for us was
making sure that our members not only attended we want
you to attend the conference, yes, we wanted our members
to learn how to do business with afro Tech. What
that means is that when Afrotech is looking for somebody
to do table linens, they should be contacting our members.
(34:41):
When they're looking for somebody to do lighting, they should
be contacting our members. And so we've had a virtual
meeting where afro Tech listed off all their vendors that
they needed lighting, floral prints, security, and we had our
members sign up and apply to be vendors with them,
because we wanted to begin more than just attending the event,
doing really intention partnerships with these organizations, with these conferences
(35:02):
that are coming to Houston. And so all of our
members will get diskind of ticket Staffrotech this year. We've
already sent those discount codes out and then on top
of that, we're going to continue this partnership with them
well into twenty twenty six, and so it's not just
us partnering with them with the conference but it's us.
We had to meet up with them at the ion.
We want to have a continuous event so that people
can connect with the Afrotech team and also learn about
(35:24):
other things that they're doing outside of the conference, which
is just you know, once a year. They're doing a
lot more work in the city of Houston. We need
our members to be a part of that.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
Give me three great things about Houston and the business
landscape for the future.
Speaker 5 (35:35):
Innovative, so innovative and encouraging and welcoming. I think that's
the first thing. And so that people are innovative, which
is great. We love the new ideas, but the ability
to be supportive of people who maybe maybe are in
the same space as you, So that idea of competition,
we remove that idea, like we support you whether you're
in the same industry as I said or not. Because
innovation is how we grow these industries, especially these new industries.
(35:55):
And then welcoming at all of our events, You're going
to feel welcome, even if you come alone or you
come with the friend. You're going to come to these
events and know that we want you here, We want
you in this space. We want you to see us
as a resource. And then lastly, I would say it's
a must have, like you should be a part of
the black chamber. Whether you are black or not, you
should be a part of the black chamber because we
are growing the economy in Houston. We are actively a
part of the economy in Houston, and so you should
(36:17):
be a part of it. You should be connected, You
should be an advocate for black businesses in Houston and
black business success. So yeah, those are my three more
than probably three words, but those are my three words
plus some descriptions.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
I'm gonna throw you another boomerang. Take your president and
CEO head off real quick, just on a base, a
friend level. When we're talking off the mic, you wish
people knew what? What are they missing? And what do
you wish they knew?
Speaker 5 (36:41):
I wish, heart to heart, I wish that people knew.
There's so much money out there. There is so much
money out there, how much may so much money out there?
There are grants, there are so many pitch competitions and
grant programs that want to give money to the entrepreneurs.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
There is there's so much money out there.
Speaker 5 (36:56):
There are even different banks that will put on programs
so that you can can train you on how to
manage your finances and at the end you'll get a
grant or you'll get a loan. There's so much money
out there. And then on top of that type of money,
there's so much there's so many opportunities to make even
more money as a business owner. And that's through doing
business with organizations like the City of Houston or HMSDC
or the Port or Afro Tech. You can make a
(37:19):
lot of money. You can grow your business very very
quickly if you know how to do it.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
Speaking with my guest today, I'm thinking of the meme
where it says money just runs me down. You're saying
there's a lot of money out there. There's a lot
of money out there. Why should people tune into this
interview today?
Speaker 5 (37:38):
Because you realize the importance of entrepreneurship. You realize I
know you mentioned earlier you were like, oh, October, small business,
we're very easter Ray Like, every day we're celebrating black businesses.
Every day, I'm rooting for everybody black. I'm looking for
everybody period. But every day we're celebrating black businesses. It's
not just in the month of October. You should tune
in because you want to see the economy in Houston grow.
(37:59):
Whether it's the the economy through the work of black
businesses or is the economy through the work of small businesses.
You should be tuning in because you want Houston to
be seen as like the Silicon.
Speaker 3 (38:09):
Valley or the New York.
Speaker 5 (38:11):
We're getting to that point, but it takes support and
it takes involvement in organizations like the Great Houston Black Chamber.
Speaker 1 (38:17):
All Right, I'm gonna take your doctor hat off one
more time. I'm gonna take your president hat off one
more time, and your CEO hat off one more time.
If I don't have a business, why does this conversation
matter to me?
Speaker 5 (38:27):
Oh, it matters so much. So the Black Chamber people
think that it's all small business owners, but we have
a large demographic individuals who work nine to five. They
are they have no desire to be small business owners whatsoever.
But they come to support because when I'm looking for somebody,
I'm like, man, I really want to find a florist.
I want to find a florist, and so going into
these spaces I can find one.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
I want to find a really.
Speaker 5 (38:46):
Good photography the photographer to take Christmas pictures of me
and my family. You know, you can find all these
resources by connecting to the Black Chambers, so you do
not have to be a business owner. It's a way
to connect and also it's a way just to network
and meet people. It's not just about meeting business owners,
it's about meeting in the visuals and people and the
Chamber does that all right.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Thank you for being here today, ladies and gentlemen, doctor
Ashley Atkins. She is the President and CEO of the
Greater Houston Black Chamber. Thank you for being he.
Speaker 3 (39:11):
Thank you so much for having me. I truly appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (39:14):
Before somebody tunes out, they're about to hop out of
the car, how do they find you.
Speaker 5 (39:18):
Guys online www dot GHBCC dot com, so GHBCC dot com.
Everything is there, all of our events, all of our programs,
even our community partner programs. Everything you need is there,
different resources, different videos you can watch.
Speaker 3 (39:32):
It's all on the website.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
Thank you again for being here, doctor Ashley. If you
know of a great event, a great cause, or great
people doing great work in the city and you want
to hear about it, or opportunity that matters to our
community in Houston and you want to hear about it,
reach out. I'm Skotti Houston and we'll be talking again
next week on the Public Affairs podcast.
What would you say makes Houston Houston? While you think
about that, I know somebody has the word culture in
the back of their minds. So what exactly is culture?
Culture is basically how we do what we do our people, language,
our music, and our foods. Today, inside the Public Affairs Podcast,
I have two guests in the studio from two of
Houston's staples, soul food restaurants. There was a story this
(00:22):
week about the soul Food restaurant This is It closing
its doors. I want to bring some clarity to what
that means. In third ward. In the studio with me,
I have owners of Mickey Soul Food Cafe, Craig Joseph
Junior and Janelle Williams Horse Siblings. I want to welcome
you guys to the show and I want to talk
about Mickey Soul Food Cafe and This is It Soul
Food a telle of two kitchens, two separate paths, but
(00:44):
one common thread. And Janelle, I'm going to start with
you first. Give me three things you love about Hetown.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
I love a lingo.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
I love our Ahetown music and the food.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
The food.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
How about you to say food the vibe here is
obviously a great city because people are moving here from
all over. So I think the vibe. I like the
youthiness of the city. You know, it's not old fashioned,
it's up to date. They got some things they need
to repair out here.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
But we were just talking about the bolls. We're gonna
digress on that in traffic, but overall the city is
a vibe in the general. So two brands that you
guys are representing today. One of those brands I was
introduced to in nineteen ninety four Jason's lyric. Let me
just play a quick clip to take folks back. Welcome
to this is it?
Speaker 5 (01:34):
I mean a healthy.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Chicken, black eyed peas, corn on the cobs, sucker, and
one of them tackles. She never did get my man's
that PICKLEI was asking for. But this was the first
time we saw Houston. Sofu staple this is it on
a national scale. Craig Junior. That was your father's father's business. Miss,
tell me just a little history about this is it.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
It was open in nineteen fifty nine, so it's obviously
way before.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Mama was one exactly.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
And so my great grandfather, him and his wife, my
great grandmother, they found a restaurant in the neighborhood. They
stayed in the Fourth Ward and he was into cooking.
From the stories I was told already, he just didn't
have a facility that operated out of So they found
a little house on the corner of Andrews and Fourth
Ward and they seen it and his wife said, this
is it. And he looked at her and was like,
(02:21):
this is what And she was like, this is it.
This is where we're going to have our restaurant.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Now you gotta put some steak on it, like the
lady in the movie This is She said, I did.
There you got And he was a smart enough man
to run with it.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Yeah, you're ran with it.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
And that name just stood and throughout the years, the
community in fourth Ward supported him until it started getting
outside of you know, outside into the Senate limit, and
so it moved from West Grade to Gray and now
as far as Third Ward goes, you know, before they closed,
they moved to third Ward. Eventually, when my great grandfather
got older, you know, his health started declining, and it
was my dad's turning step up, and he taught him
(02:55):
everything he knew. That's kind of how that branched out
into the brand that it is that made Jason sleep.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Three generations of men cooking and being in business is
a phenomenal feed. But I think what's even more extraordinary.
I want to do this narrative justice is that you
are the fruit of two culinary trees independent of one another.
Your father and his family owned this is it. Your mother, Jeanette,
a tremendous cook in her own right, independent of this
(03:20):
is it, launches Mickey Soul Food in the city, in
conjunction with your stepfather, Mickey Blue. The first thing my
mind said, were there cooking wars in the house.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
You may not remember, okay, the stories because they divorced
when I was three, and so when Mickey's open in
two thousand, it wasn't a like, let me get back
at you because we're not together. This was truly her passion.
As you mentioned before, Mickey Blue. He encouraged her a lot.
He gave her the withdraw to go out there and
actually open it when she doubted herself.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
So now, legend has it she was cooking over a holiday,
had all of the family over, and her cooking was
so good it made her husband say, baby, you should
open up a restaurant. You could sell this, and that's
how Micky Soul Food came about? Is that right? Janelle
And by the way, Janelle and Craig are siblings, the
two children of Jeanette of Mickey Soul Food.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Most definitely be like, hey, let's go ahead and give
it everything we got.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Now we're talking twenty five years ago when Mickey Sofood
became a staple in the city. So you guys were young.
We've been talking a lot inside the Public Affairs podcast
about starting businesses, growing businesses, sustaining and planning succession for
the business. And I always kids want to work on
the family business. How did you feel about working in
the business with your mom?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
It was just something that was natural. It was like, hey,
this is what we're going to do. We're family and
it's going to be family pushed. Like, we're family orientated.
So it was like, hey, you do this, you do this,
and even if you weren't directed, if you saw something
that needs to be done, you just hopped in because
we knew that there was a bigger picture. We didn't
know what that picture was going to look like, but
(04:53):
we trusted in our parents and we knew that if
they were saying this was something that we needed to do.
It was gonna give a thousand and percent whatever we
saw her do. We knew to duplicate that because we
wouldn't get a lash year.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Now, be careful saying lashing on the radio. Somebody may
misunderstand they can't do nothing to it. But still now,
just so I'm clear, you guys had no thoughts about
coming into the family business. Jenelle Craig, what were you
originally thinking you would do with your lives?
Speaker 2 (05:20):
I thought I was going to be a pediatrician. This
was never anything that I thought we would be doing.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
Yeah, I was into media, so website design and videography, photography,
the whole media world was my world.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Not wanting to do this take on the family business
of making so food. What has shaped you guys's perspective
on business?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
For me, it's just I have a certain standard of
the way I like things, and as well as what
my mother, what her standards were, which were very high.
Knowing what she required and what I required. Just as
a human being myself, I want to give the people
what my mom set out from the very beginning, and
then the customer service, the food, the atmosphere to be nice.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
I'm glad, y'all. Let's because a lot of kids don't
listen to their parents. They see them all day working hard,
doing everything and don't mean nothing.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Well, it was times that we didn't listen.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Sticking with what Craig just said, sometimes children of business
owners don't want to listen, because I'm sure your parents
both sides. Because we're talking about a tale of two
separate legacies, two separate culinary families that you two are
now carrying the torch for Mickey sold Food started twenty
five years ago. This is it. You guys are taking
over the third Ward location, converting it now into a
(06:28):
third Mickey's location, balancing what that succession at least that
location looks like. But these are two separate and well
known soul food restaurants in the city. Tell me a
little bit more about as a child trying to find
your own way and seeing maybe my parents are right.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Quit laughing you that when when Mickey's was getting jumping
in the beginning, at that particular time, my mom wasn't
making the money the ends to really support the life
I wanted to live at that time. I wanted to
get my first apartment. I wanted to get a car,
and she could. Mickeys couldn't afford to pay those type
of bills that time because she was just starting and
she had so many other things that she owed money
(07:04):
to just to get the money of the business started.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
So you have two parents in the restaurant business. Your
mother's running Mickey's, your father's running This is It. How
did both of you guys as children, decide which restaurant
as a child to go work for.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
I don't know if everyone knows me and Craig we
have the same mother but different father.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
So, and I.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Actually worked at This is It. Yeah, we used to
go to rest little mother's house. You know, that was
his father.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
So yeah, for me being a middle child from both sides,
my dad owns This is It, my mom owns Mickey's.
I worked at This is It as well to start out.
But I had a talk with my mom and I
was like, I want to come work for you. She
at that time, I feel she needed me most because
he was established and she was getting established. Her passing
basically solidified everything.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Now, let me ask this, because I know Janette's passing
was unexpected. How does the family shift when the owner
passes away? Were you guys prepared to take over the business. Well, oh, we've.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Been training all our lives. So even if we thought
we weren't ready, we were. It was already in us.
All the things we didn't understand, all the complaining, crying
to her, sometimes she would just smile and walk off
like like as if she could she knew the future
or something. Catch it in traffic, okay, And so when
she did pass, it knocked us off our feet. But
(08:21):
at the same time, my mom was a fighter, and
or what she had built so far.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
We couldn't let that just go.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
We just had to get past the grief and us
being a team and working together the way that she
would want us to be, because the moment we got
on the right track, like God just kept opening doors
for us NonStop.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
I'm speaking with Janelle Williams and Craig Joseph Jr. The
owners of Mickey Sofu Cafe. Recently they acquired this is
it their third ward location, which will relaunch as a
third Mickey Sofu Cafe location. We talk plenty. We've had
guests come on who can tell you how to start
a business, how to fund the business, how to grow
a business. But what does it take to take over
(08:59):
a businesusiness, a family staple, and how do you do
it as you're losing a parent in business? Whoever you
know is thinking about doing this.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
You know with their kids, if they're young, they're going
to have to understand sacrifices are going to have to
be made, but they will learn so much that will
take them through the rest of their life.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
And for me, I think the relationship part of it.
Me and my sister, we've been.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Through hell and high waters.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Oh my goodness, we've been there and back because when
my mom passed away, this was the start of Perland.
So she signed the lease and she passed away the
very next month after signing the lease. Wow, And so
we opened a second location. All of it, you know,
grieving and everything at the same time. And so we're
trying to get through our relationship issues and still come together.
(09:43):
That's the main thing I would tell people. If you
don't do it, you're gonna it's not gonna work.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
I don't know if we've talked about that enough. How
families handle grief, siblings, rivalry, or family members after our death.
There are so many things that you're already fighting over
with losing a loved one who gets to make the decisions.
And then on top of that, you guys are in
business together, but on a relational side before you can
even get to talking about the business part, what relational
things can siblings possibly fight over.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
The understanding of my brother and the way he thought,
the way he did things, his intentions towards things.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
And then we have a five year age gap between us.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
So I never fully got to, I guess, know him
until we got older. And so it's like when I
got to see his character and who he really is,
I was able to be able to embrace him better
and be like, Okay, you know what, I can look
over that this is how we're going to do this,
so that we can still do this as a unit.
So I would say for myself, it's just having an
(10:40):
understanding of your siblings.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
So you could you're meaning to tell me you could
possibly not know your sibling that you've grown up with
your entire life.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Really, you could laugh with them, eve dinner with them,
go to games, all that, but the true essence of
who your sibling is character you need to know, and
I mean on down to the crying from each other,
breaking down, telling.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Secret like and vulnerable with your sibling.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
I'm telling you it's so important because if you don't
break that layer off, there's no value there because it's
not real.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
It's good. Craig, i'a let you go. So we're talking
about relationships underneath business. You know how they say you
can grow up in the same household with your sibling
and have two totally different experiences because as individuals, you're
filtering differently what's happening And Craig, what would you say
is your experience in working with your sibling, getting past
(11:30):
grief and working in business.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
I'm the first start of us to get married, and
so in laws have a huge part to play in relationships.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
You know what I mean, you getting married, you're in laws.
What would that possibly have to do with your sibling?
Speaker 4 (11:43):
So it's not really just a sibling thing. It's a
family I feel once the man gets married, I feel
like the aunts are jealous, the mam is jealous, the
sister is jealous.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
There's something, there's something there.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
Everybody like, that's my boy and he's being taken away.
And so you fight those battles, But those are the
ones you can overcome within within time.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
You know what I mean if you work through them.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
Yeah, which we you know, I mean, we happen to
try that path of making it work through any kind
of differences we had over the years. So yeah, it's
for me that's the biggest part, getting adjusted to a
new life, a new family and blending them together.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
And I'm partly the blame for that.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Okay, take some ownership PSA. There are women in the
world who take responsibility for their parts. Fellas out there listening.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Yeah, I'm partly the blame because of my communication or
not communicating with him for the way I'm communicating with
him still a man and your brother and as a man.
And so once I was able to learn how to
do that, because I had to learn, he was able
to open up his ears and his heart to me
and make whatever possible moves he could make to help
(12:49):
bridge the gap.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
You're his sibling, but you took it for granted. You
had to earn him as a partner. And if you
want him to have a perspective that matches in life
and in business, you have to earn that. Is that accurate, exacurate,
hundred percent.
Speaker 4 (13:02):
I mean, if we didn't do it, we were mickeys
wouldn't have the potential of going nowhere, not even with
this newbeing still.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Yeah, house divided can't stand. So what did you guys do?
Coming back to when did talks of taking over this
is it the third world location come into play? For
the siblings.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
The talks of my dad retiring kind of sparked that up.
You know, he was on the contemplating and retiring because
he's getting up there in age. And I would prefer
anyone that owns a business to hand it over to
their kids while you're still living and not after the
fact and them be misled, you know, or trying to
learn on their own growing up. So he decided he
wanted to sit down, and I came to my sister
(13:40):
and I was like, my dad wants to sell the
restaurant or sell that property to us. And I said,
the only way this can work is if we stick together.
And if you said that to her, I said that
to her, and you know we had we talked for
hours on the phone about the potential of like what
this could mean.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
I thought the beautiful part of this narrative was that
you don't see fathers as often handing over businesses to
their sons. In our community, and I thought the conversation
needed to be had more often on how do we
have our kids in position to succeed us. Your father
isn't actually just giving you or handing this business over
to you. You're actually purchasing, as brother and sister this
(14:17):
location from him. Man a man, how did that conversation
go and how did you really feel as a son
in that moment?
Speaker 4 (14:22):
In that moment, I thought that was the first time
it's ever came up as far as the talks of
selling it. So I don't believe he had the vision
or the intentions of selling it until he passed away hisself.
Because that's what.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Our mother was.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
She said, she said, y'all ain't gonna take meeks over
my dead.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Bute, y'all ain't gonna mess my stuff up. Well, no,
that's real talk, and I'm glad you said that for
both sides. Statistically, boomers aren't as ready to retire these days.
It's hard to hand over business that you slaved over
all these years. And honestly, as a parent, I'm thinking
about my thirteen year old. He'll be ready. I don't
care if he thirty three. He may not. I've seen
him the moves he makes, the stubbornness of want to
(14:58):
go do your own thing, and you don't know if
they're ready. So I'm hearing both of your parents really
may not have been ready, but it was all in.
Speaker 4 (15:05):
Timing his health. He had a couple of surgeries that
was the sign from God to me, just like, Okay,
this is time. You know what I mean. Like, if
this isn't a sign, then you don't want to pass
over in the restaurant, work in to your last days,
you know what I mean. You want to be able
to enjoy life. And I think enough of his friends
and family convinced him like we had the potential and
(15:25):
he's seeing what we were doing at Mickey.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
For the listening audience, we're talking with Craig Junior and Janelle,
owners of Mickey Soul Food, and we're talking business and
we're talking succession right now, being the children of two
successful founders of two successful soulfood restaurants in Houston. As
siblings with the same mother, your mother Jeanette and husband
Mickey Blou started Mickey Sofood restaurant. On the other side, Craig,
(15:48):
your father started this is it soul Food? You guys
are taking over the third ward location of this is
it turning it into a Mickey Soul food restaurant. It's
legacy two ways, So I know you got to be
thinking about your children, leaving an inheritance for your children's children.
What would this look like for you guys as children?
Is that what's on the forefront of your mind with
this expansion. It's always about our kids. It's no way
(16:11):
that we.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Would be going through what we're going through.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
If we couldn't see the bigger picture.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
I want my kids to be able to benefit from
the blood, sweating tears starting from my mom and my
father on down also my brother's kids, which on my
niece and nephew, to see the labor from their grandmother
and their father and their mother and be able to
benefit from that and also carry that legacy on.
Speaker 4 (16:35):
We even preached to the younger people that's working at
Mickey's now because eighty five to ninety percent of the
people that's there now never met my mom, so they
don't know her spirit, they don't know her culture. They
got to appreciate what's before them, and then if they don't,
I feel they'll be lost.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Are there any other business tips? You would give small
business owners who are franchising or moving to the next
level of having multiple locations. Pay your taxes and pay
your bills.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Do not be fripless with your money and want to
show it off before you take care of home.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Okay that car, No, do make sure you're paying it
off the right account, your personal.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
Not the business accountability.
Speaker 5 (17:08):
Man.
Speaker 4 (17:09):
I think the main thing when God blesses you with
more with financial substantial financial gains, people tend to splurge,
want to go shop, travel and this, and that. You
have to have the mindset of not spending the bottom
line that's coming out of your operating account and spending
the money you're actually supposed to pay yourself and people
you know, I mean, And you can do that as
(17:29):
long as you're kind of like treading waters. But once
God bless you with a blessing that you feel like
you can handle, people tend to keep beside themselves and
spend money recklessly.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Stay humble, Stay humble, and sit down, all right. Craig
Junior and Janelle, they are fruit of two Houston culinary trees.
Craig Senior of this is it is closing his historic
third or location and he still has his humble location.
But the children, the two in the studio with me now,
are opening Mickey's Cafe and that's same historic location, honoring
(18:02):
their mother's vision and launching their own new chapter. You
guys come from two great lines of restauranteurs in the city.
This is about to be something new, the changing of
the guard, the positive pivoting of family business. Mama Pop's
going big. Janelle, what are you thankful for?
Speaker 2 (18:17):
I'm just thankful that this opportunity has presented itself because
it's like one in a million.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
The fact that we're able.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
To take the recipes and share them with that community,
it means everything to me.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
Craig Junior, before we leave, give me a lesson that
you've learned from your father.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
I was able to watch my father from afar when
him and my mother are divorced, and so I was
able to watch him from a fault like be a leader.
I was able to see him fall. I was able
to like basically learn from his mistakes, and he would
always tell me, son, if it don't work out for me,
please don't do that. You know what I mean, Like
with him messing up with my mom and them getting divorced,
(18:53):
you tell me they were too young, they didn't know
what they were doing, but it was his fault. Don't
ever mess it up with your wife and your kids
because you don't want to be in the sea situation.
I'm me in like you know what I mean. I
gotta be the man of you know what I mean.
I have to be the leader of the women that's
in my life, and I have to know how to
balance all of them so it can go together. And
he taught me a valuable lesson.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
That sounds like the secret sauce right there. Yeah, yeah,
all right, talk balance keeping balance. Thank you both for
being here. I truly believe that your family is a
beautiful example of a successful business succession. These two restaurants
have always been more than just places to eat, their
community anchors. And I know with you two siblings working
hand in hand, this isn't just another launch of another location.
I think this move honors all lines of the family business.
(19:34):
So may the spirit of Jeanette rest in peace and
live on, and may you two stay unified in family
and in business. Thank you for being here, aches, Thank
you so much. You just heard the personal account of
two siblings in business right here in h Town. When
we come back, the Greater Houston Black Chambers Pinnacle Awards
is coming up, and we'll talk about how they're really
defining black business community and since we mentioned succession, how
(19:57):
this ninety year old business has been doing it the
right way and showing you to move forward. Next inside
the Public AFFAANS podcast. For ninety years, the Greater Houston
Black Chamber has been like a vital heartbeat empowering the community.
And this year for them marks ninety years. They have
this powerful event. You've probably heard about it in the past,
the twenty eighth annual Pinnacle Awards. Joining me for a
(20:19):
conversation today. Please welcome into the studio, doctor Ashley s Akins.
Welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Doctor is in front of that give us a little
background on what is your doctorate in?
Speaker 5 (20:29):
So I actually have a PhD in sociology. I study
black businesses. So I got my PhD.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
Don't we love that?
Speaker 5 (20:34):
Right?
Speaker 3 (20:34):
I study.
Speaker 5 (20:35):
I got a PhD in race, class and gender and
Organizational theory. Like I tell people, sounds like a lot.
Simply put, I studyed black businesses, black women businesses, any
marginalized group. I'm studying them, but not just studying them
to talk about the barriers. I'm talking about how they're
navigating the barriers. Like we know the black women face
discrimination and sexism, but they're still the fastest growing group
of entrepreneurs. So I look at how So that's what
(20:56):
my research looks at. And so yeah, I'm I'm the
President of the Black Chamber. I feel like with my
PhD plus me being the president, what better place for
me to be.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
You can't see me on the radio, but I got that.
I'm rooting for you face now, doctor, I want the
inside track. Tell me what's coming down the pipeline that
we need to know about.
Speaker 5 (21:12):
So there's so much upcoming. This is our ninetieth thear
Like you mentioned, ninety is a very very big deal,
especially for any organization, especially like black organization. And so
we have a lot planned, specifically our Pinnacle Award in Gala.
So that's on November first, it's going to be at
BYU Event Center. But before that, we're actually having a
Pinnacle Wealth Form and so that's a conversation on wealth building,
wealth management, what is retirement look like for entrepreneurs? Conversation
(21:33):
that doesn't really happen often. What does a secession plan
look like for entrepreneurs. You're not just closing your business,
but you're passing it down. And so we're having a
full day conversation at Rice University on October thirty, first Halloween,
from eight to five, and we're bringing in all the experts,
so venture capitalists, investors, bankers, everybody you can think of
that is an expert in wealth management and wealth building.
We're bringing them to the space to have these really
(21:54):
important conversations. And so on top of our Pinnacle Award,
we have reoccurring events. We have trainings going on right
now for people who want to learn how to be
successful at pitch competitions. We have programs going on people
that want to get bids with the City of Houston's
We have a lot going on right now and we're
just going to keep going in twenty twenty six and
even beyond.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
I saw one of the conversations you guys have coming up.
It mentioned reimagining wealth. The title reimagining Wealth caught my attention.
Tell us more about.
Speaker 5 (22:19):
That things were changing, Like we have the introduction of
AI coming around, we have the changes in real estate market.
There's so many changes, and especially for this current generation
of you know, content creators and influencers, wealth looks different
for them than it did for our parents, our parents,
and so we have to really reimagine what wealth management
looks like and really find innovative and creative ways to
engage these next generations in wealth management because we don't
(22:40):
want to leave them out of the conversation.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Absolutely, And you guys have a college form that we do.
We do a little bit about that. What do college
students need to have on the forefront of their minds
and family members of college students, like parents, what are
we not thinking about or what do we need to
start shaping.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
I think the.
Speaker 5 (22:56):
First thing which people always talk about is student loans.
So let's say you have student loans. You know, we
want people to avoid them. I didn't avoid them. I
got undergrad at PV. Hey PV what student loans?
Speaker 3 (23:06):
Hello?
Speaker 5 (23:06):
And we want them to know how to manage that,
how to deal with that. We want to know that
even if you have debt, that doesn't define your future.
And then we want to have conversations like I mentioned
influencer economy, how do you really make money off of
being a content creator? And then also AI AI is
more than just TRAGYBT, So how do you make money
or also incorporate AI into your business as a college
students because there's a lot of college students that have
(23:27):
businesses that are thriving. So we want them to be
a part of these conversations. But then we are offering
them the basics, So the basics of real estate. What
does real estate mean, what does it look like? Is
it just home buying? Is it investing? And then also
getting into the conversation of investing one on one, how
do you invest?
Speaker 3 (23:42):
What is the stock market?
Speaker 5 (23:43):
Helping them to really understand these basics because we want
again we don't want to lead.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
Them out of the conversation.
Speaker 5 (23:47):
They have to be a part of it, but we
want them to be prepared to be a part of
this conversation.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Okay, now you mentioned like four or five things. Yeah,
I want to deal into the first one you mentioned
student loans. I was in that group of folks who
got subsidized in US subsidized loans. You're still paying for
a shout out to you if you got that were
a white shirt, your student loans totally out wish a
zero balance to you. I am applauding your idea whatever
it was necessary to get that. But what is the
(24:12):
conversation for students right now?
Speaker 5 (24:14):
The first part of the conversation is managing it understanding,
Like you mentioned, there's subsidized, there's unsubsidized, there's public, there's private.
But then there's also a lot of forgiveness options. If
you work for a university, I work prepar of you
for fifteen years. If you work for a university or
even a school district, a lot of times you can
get those loans forgiven. But then also managing the payments,
making sure you understand how to pay it off quickly
or just how to pay it off in time without
(24:35):
you know, living below the poverty line, being able to
afford your basics, but also still paying off your student loans.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Is there anything happening as far as all of the
new laws and administration things that's changing. What do we
not know has changed that may affect us right now?
If we have student loans.
Speaker 3 (24:51):
And so that's perfect, So that's going to be.
Speaker 5 (24:52):
So we're bringing in the experts to have those conversations
on the changes that are on the horizon for twenty
six and beyond, because a lot of these college students
are maybe sophomores or juniors, so they really won't be
affected until twenty seven or twenty eight, and so we
want them to be aware of those changes. But those
changes come in various forms. So it may be that
the interest rates go up, it may be that you
are penalized for not paying your student loans, and so
(25:13):
your checks are going to get garnished, and so we
want them to be aware of like, this hasn't always
been the way, but it may be the way in
twenty seven and twenty eight, and we need you to
be aware of that. One thing that a lot of
business owners who are not even college students. These are
individuals who are twenty thirty years in the game don't
know how to separate their business, you know, purchases from
their personal purchases, so they're paying for everything on the
personal card. And we have to make sure that college students,
(25:33):
please don't make that mistake. Please don't get too far
into using your personal credit card, using your personal debit
card to do those things, because it has to be separated.
But then also looking to the experts, we're bringing in
experts that are giving these students a lot of free resources,
a lot of free services, and so finding the CPA.
You're at college, there's a lot of students that are
in accounting. Make friends with them because they could eventually
be your CPA for your business. Because here you are
(25:55):
a marketing major, you don't know anything about accounting.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
Why not lean on the experts.
Speaker 5 (26:00):
And so we're having conversations around about with these students
around and managing your finances as business owners. But then
also just some little tips about marketing, about again AI,
about trademarking, protecting your brand. So you're building these really
cute companies and these amazing companies, protect them even at
the very very early stages.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
Protection is the name of the future game for sure.
Now I also saw that you guys have workshops that
are coming up. Tell me some workshops that you're excited
about upcoming.
Speaker 5 (26:26):
So one workshop I'm really excited about, like I mentioned before,
is secession planning and retirement for entrepreneurs. This is not
a conversation that happens a lot. We think about retirement.
We think about like the workplace professionals, the nine to five,
you get your four on one K, you have a
retirement you know, planned out, and so we want to
talk with business owners about how do you plan for
retirement as a business owner. Hopefully you don't want to
have to work in your business for you know, the
(26:47):
rest of your life. You want to get at a
certain point where you can pass it along. And so
that means building a team. That means finding, you know,
creating really solid systems that can exist without you being
being you know, a part of it or being hands on.
So that's one that I'm really excited about. And then
also we have a couple of fireside chats and panels
we're being in individuals who are venture capitalists, who are funders,
(27:08):
who are like, hey, I have money to invest in
your business. That's exactly what I'm here for, looking for
marginalized specifically minority businesses that they want to invest in.
And so I'm really excited for that because I do
think that a lot of people feel that venture capitalists
or investors are so far off and like not really tangible.
But they're right here in Houston. They're going to be
in the room, and so they're going to be giving
you the tips and the advice on how to prepare
(27:30):
yourself to go after funds from them.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Now, if you're wondering who is the Greater Houston Black Chamber.
They are the go to organization for business development and
community partnership in the Houston African American community. Now, the
Pinnacle Awards, I'm used to that being that gala style event.
But these workshops that you're talking about, where do these
take place?
Speaker 5 (27:49):
So the workshops are going to be happening on October
thirty first. The Pinnacle Awarding gala is on November first,
and so that is going to be a true dress up,
get really cute, put your tie on and your black
suit and come out and let's celebrate. And we're going
to be geting awards out all night long.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Now I did see that tables are sold out, but
individual seats are she said, yes. I was like, okay,
so tables are sold out, but if you are individuals,
you could still get tickets.
Speaker 5 (28:11):
Yes, so tables are sold out, unfortunately, but we do
have some tables that are set for individual ticket purchases.
So those are still available under ten unfortunately, so we
do not have a lot.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
But get them. Why they are available.
Speaker 5 (28:21):
This room is going to be packed with over five
hundred of Houston's best and brightest, So community leaders, elected officials,
black business owners, anybody you can think of that is
doing their part to support and advocate for black Houston.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
They're going to be in that room. Now.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
I did see on the fly. I saw plenty of
business owners that I'm not familiar with, but I did
see some that have been tilling the ground in Houston
for twenty plus years. So you got a great mix
of new and seasoned business owners. If someone's listening to
this and they hadn't thought about being a part of
the awards, why is it important for them to do that.
Speaker 5 (28:51):
One thing that we do with the awards that we
divide the categories up so if you are business that's
been around for twenty years, we're not going to put
you in the same award category as somebody that just started.
And so we have an award called the Mack Canna
Junior Upside Award, and so it's for businesses two years
and younger. We also have awards for business owners who
are eighteen and under. We also have one individuals who
are eighteen and twenty four. We want to make sure
that everybody has a chance in their award category, and
(29:11):
so put your name in the hat. A lot of
times people are doing work in a silo. They don't
think that they have a lot of support, they don't
think they'll get a lot of recognition. But when you
put your name in the hat, a lot of times
we're like, we're odd, you know, we're in awe at
how much work and how amazing that these businesses are doing.
And so we want to make sure to give you your awards,
give you your flowers and your praise on that night.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
I think we take for granted how important it is
to tell your story. Yes, so if you're a business
owner or somebody who's not really into awards and the
whole look of being applauded, it's marketing on one hand,
but it's also important to tell the story of who
you are so that people see you and recognize you
as the go to in whatever your field is. Nobody's
in business just to be in business. You're in the
(29:50):
business to eat, feed your family, hopefully have a legacy.
But your whatever your why is, why not make sure
the world and the city of Houston is aware of
what you are. So sometimes being a part of these
awards shows are not just for the show of it.
It's for the extension of what you offer. Would you
agree with that?
Speaker 5 (30:08):
Absolutely? And so to your point, we're going to have
some college students in the room. We're going to have
individuals who are in high school eighteen and under who
are business owners, you know, the young entrepreneurs. And so
if you're applying and you share your story, you're inspiring
the next generation of business owners to share this story
as well. So, yes, it is marketing. Yes you do
receive an award. Yes, people will know your face. But
the goal is that you share your story to inspire
future generations of black business owners.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
More people need to know who you are, what you do,
and why you matter. So exactly, I just have to
put that out there. It matters. Recently, you were talking
about succession. Do you care about your business living beyond you?
That's a conversation.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
And then also it's people's ability to just let go.
Speaker 5 (30:45):
You know, your business and your your small business is
your baby, and we get it. But at a certain
point you have to start thinking outside of yourself, Like
your business has to exist when you're on vacation. Your
business has to exist if you're sick, and so it
should be able to fully function and operate without you
having your hands in it, and so that should be
the goal of all business owners, is to create a
business that can operate without your involvement. And so that
(31:06):
means letting go, building a team, a trusted team, and
then also looking at that team as individuals who can
run it and run the ship well after you are
gone off this earth and can do it well to
honor your name and to honor the passion that you
put into the business. And so succession planning is really
really important. But it does take entrepreneurs' the ability to
trust other individuals and also the willingness to take your
(31:28):
hands off of it at a certain point.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
Taking your hands off of it at a certain point. Now, listen,
we're going to expand a conversation that's networking. Your net
worth is steel your network or vice versa networth network.
Can people be a part if they're not a member
of the chamber.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (31:45):
So. Every month we're done for this year, we're going
to start back in February. Every month we have a
Networking Nourish It's a second Tuesday lunch in at elder
Alda Ballroom eleven thirty and we have a lot of
events like this one, like we have different happy hours.
All of our events are always open to the public.
Speaker 3 (31:57):
All of them. You do not have to be a member.
Speaker 5 (31:59):
But the Networking Nourish event, I bring that up specifically
because it allows our members to network across industry. So
you're in the room with individuals who are not in
the same industry as you are, made some of them are.
You're networking with people who are from different age brackets,
even different racial groups. It's completely different backgrounds. Because the
importance of cross networking, you're not networking within the same
group and you guys just recycling the same information over
(32:19):
and over. You're introduced to new information, to new people
and to your points. You're putting your face out there.
People are like, I met her at that luncheon. She
has this amazing company. And so even when you're not
with them, if they're thinking of somebody that has a
floral company, they're like, Okay, I met this person at
the luncheon. Let me drop their name and let me
give them a call. And so you do not have
to be a member to be a part of the
Black Chamber, And we do that intentionally because we want
you to come out and see come out and see
(32:40):
the impact come out and see the benefits, come out
and see the people in the room and the just
the atmosphere in the room, which is really encouraging, really
really supportive, and really welcoming. Because one thing that's going
to happen, that always happens, is after two or three events,
people are going to join the Black Chamber, and so
that's what we're noticing. So you do not have to
be a member, but eventually you will become a member.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
I like the confidence, Yes, the greater if you said
black chamber quickly, you mentioned you said a word, and
it sparked my thought to say this. You said networking
across industries. Why is that important? And I want to
know a little bit more about the chambers involvement in
the upcoming afro tech.
Speaker 5 (33:14):
Yes, so it's important to network across industries. So as
association put on my sociology hat. There is a concept
called the strength of weak ties, and so that means
that I might not know you or have met or
I might walk into a room where I'm the only
person that looks like me, but there are strengths. There's
a strength in those weak ties because everybody in that
room has information that I probably have never been privy to.
And so strength and weak ties means that you're connecting
(33:34):
with people that you really have no connection with, but
you're gaining so much information. And so networking cross industries
is really important because a lot of times we're in
the workplace with people that are in the you know,
that do the same thing as us, and we're all
cycling the same information, the same resource, the same knowledge,
the same tools. And then you step in a room
where nobody's in your industry and you realize, man, there's
a lot of information and resources out there that I
(33:56):
would never have known about if I had to not
step into this room. And sotwork across industries is really important.
But even beyond across industries, just networking across backgrounds, where
you may go to an event again only person that
looks like yourself, networking across age groups. You may walk
in and be one of the oldest people or one
of the youngest people, but you're able to get access
to new information and so that's really really important. And
so you mentioned our afrotech and afro tech. I'm sorry,
(34:20):
sorry about sorry afrotech, my bad. So yes we did,
actually we announce our partnership with afro Tech this summer,
and we're really really excited they're coming back to Houston.
And one of the really important things for us was
making sure that our members not only attended we want
you to attend the conference, yes, we wanted our members
to learn how to do business with afro Tech. What
that means is that when Afrotech is looking for somebody
to do table linens, they should be contacting our members.
(34:41):
When they're looking for somebody to do lighting, they should
be contacting our members. And so we've had a virtual
meeting where afro Tech listed off all their vendors that
they needed lighting, floral prints, security, and we had our
members sign up and apply to be vendors with them,
because we wanted to begin more than just attending the event,
doing really intention partnerships with these organizations, with these conferences
(35:02):
that are coming to Houston. And so all of our
members will get diskind of ticket Staffrotech this year. We've
already sent those discount codes out and then on top
of that, we're going to continue this partnership with them
well into twenty twenty six, and so it's not just
us partnering with them with the conference but it's us.
We had to meet up with them at the ion.
We want to have a continuous event so that people
can connect with the Afrotech team and also learn about
(35:24):
other things that they're doing outside of the conference, which
is just you know, once a year. They're doing a
lot more work in the city of Houston. We need
our members to be a part of that.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
Give me three great things about Houston and the business
landscape for the future.
Speaker 5 (35:35):
Innovative, so innovative and encouraging and welcoming. I think that's
the first thing. And so that people are innovative, which
is great. We love the new ideas, but the ability
to be supportive of people who maybe maybe are in
the same space as you, So that idea of competition,
we remove that idea, like we support you whether you're
in the same industry as I said or not. Because
innovation is how we grow these industries, especially these new industries.
(35:55):
And then welcoming at all of our events, You're going
to feel welcome, even if you come alone or you
come with the friend. You're going to come to these
events and know that we want you here, We want
you in this space. We want you to see us
as a resource. And then lastly, I would say it's
a must have, like you should be a part of
the black chamber. Whether you are black or not, you
should be a part of the black chamber because we
are growing the economy in Houston. We are actively a
part of the economy in Houston, and so you should
(36:17):
be a part of it. You should be connected, You
should be an advocate for black businesses in Houston and
black business success. So yeah, those are my three more
than probably three words, but those are my three words
plus some descriptions.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
I'm gonna throw you another boomerang. Take your president and
CEO head off real quick, just on a base, a
friend level. When we're talking off the mic, you wish
people knew what? What are they missing? And what do
you wish they knew?
Speaker 5 (36:41):
I wish, heart to heart, I wish that people knew.
There's so much money out there. There is so much
money out there, how much may so much money out there?
There are grants, there are so many pitch competitions and
grant programs that want to give money to the entrepreneurs.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
There is there's so much money out there.
Speaker 5 (36:56):
There are even different banks that will put on programs
so that you can can train you on how to
manage your finances and at the end you'll get a
grant or you'll get a loan. There's so much money
out there. And then on top of that type of money,
there's so much there's so many opportunities to make even
more money as a business owner. And that's through doing
business with organizations like the City of Houston or HMSDC
or the Port or Afro Tech. You can make a
(37:19):
lot of money. You can grow your business very very
quickly if you know how to do it.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
Speaking with my guest today, I'm thinking of the meme
where it says money just runs me down. You're saying
there's a lot of money out there. There's a lot
of money out there. Why should people tune into this
interview today?
Speaker 5 (37:38):
Because you realize the importance of entrepreneurship. You realize I
know you mentioned earlier you were like, oh, October, small business,
we're very easter Ray Like, every day we're celebrating black businesses.
Every day, I'm rooting for everybody black. I'm looking for
everybody period. But every day we're celebrating black businesses. It's
not just in the month of October. You should tune
in because you want to see the economy in Houston grow.
(37:59):
Whether it's the the economy through the work of black
businesses or is the economy through the work of small businesses.
You should be tuning in because you want Houston to
be seen as like the Silicon.
Speaker 3 (38:09):
Valley or the New York.
Speaker 5 (38:11):
We're getting to that point, but it takes support and
it takes involvement in organizations like the Great Houston Black Chamber.
Speaker 1 (38:17):
All Right, I'm gonna take your doctor hat off one
more time. I'm gonna take your president hat off one
more time, and your CEO hat off one more time.
If I don't have a business, why does this conversation
matter to me?
Speaker 5 (38:27):
Oh, it matters so much. So the Black Chamber people
think that it's all small business owners, but we have
a large demographic individuals who work nine to five. They
are they have no desire to be small business owners whatsoever.
But they come to support because when I'm looking for somebody,
I'm like, man, I really want to find a florist.
I want to find a florist, and so going into
these spaces I can find one.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
I want to find a really.
Speaker 5 (38:46):
Good photography the photographer to take Christmas pictures of me
and my family. You know, you can find all these
resources by connecting to the Black Chambers, so you do
not have to be a business owner. It's a way
to connect and also it's a way just to network
and meet people. It's not just about meeting business owners,
it's about meeting in the visuals and people and the
Chamber does that all right.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Thank you for being here today, ladies and gentlemen, doctor
Ashley Atkins. She is the President and CEO of the
Greater Houston Black Chamber. Thank you for being he.
Speaker 3 (39:11):
Thank you so much for having me. I truly appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (39:14):
Before somebody tunes out, they're about to hop out of
the car, how do they find you.
Speaker 5 (39:18):
Guys online www dot GHBCC dot com, so GHBCC dot com.
Everything is there, all of our events, all of our programs,
even our community partner programs. Everything you need is there,
different resources, different videos you can watch.
Speaker 3 (39:32):
It's all on the website.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
Thank you again for being here, doctor Ashley. If you
know of a great event, a great cause, or great
people doing great work in the city and you want
to hear about it, or opportunity that matters to our
community in Houston and you want to hear about it,
reach out. I'm Skotti Houston and we'll be talking again
next week on the Public Affairs podcast.
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