August 17, 2023 • 31 mins
Darlene works as a Business Solutions Officer for the Carolina Small Business Development fund, a community development financial institution (CDFI) providing technical assistance and funding to small businesses across the state. Prior to joining CSBDF, her career has included working with Self-Help and the NC Rural Economic Development Center, also CDFIs within NC.
With a penchant for small business Darlene pursued her own entrepreneurial dream by owning and operating an Edible Arrangements franchise for 12 years with locations in the Durham and Raleigh markets. Prior to joining CSBDF, she served as an Adjunct Professor with Durham Technical Community College and North Carolina Central University.
Darlene has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Economics from SUNY Old Westbury, and as a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship recipient, Darlene obtained a Master of Science Degree in Urban Policy Analysis and Management from the New School of Social Research in New York. She is currently a doctoral student at UNC Charlotte - Belk School of Business where she is pursuing a degree in business administration. Her research interests include exploring the resiliency of women-led organizations in the wake of the digital age.
With a penchant for small business Darlene pursued her own entrepreneurial dream by owning and operating an Edible Arrangements franchise for 12 years with locations in the Durham and Raleigh markets. Prior to joining CSBDF, she served as an Adjunct Professor with Durham Technical Community College and North Carolina Central University.
Darlene has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Economics from SUNY Old Westbury, and as a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship recipient, Darlene obtained a Master of Science Degree in Urban Policy Analysis and Management from the New School of Social Research in New York. She is currently a doctoral student at UNC Charlotte - Belk School of Business where she is pursuing a degree in business administration. Her research interests include exploring the resiliency of women-led organizations in the wake of the digital age.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening. When you're tuned in,
you're with Lady Business and give it to the People
Radio where you're going to get enlightened, enhanced, empowered, and enriched.
Make sure that you always tune in to give it
to the People Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening. Whenever you're watching,
you know that it's going to be some good stuff.
We're talking about a new series that we're doing that
is Black Wall Street Mindset. And the reason we're doing
this series is because we are a part of a
thing that is called the Black Wall Street Forward Initiative. Now,
this particular initiative is modeled on the pillars that made
(00:41):
Durham's original Black Wall Street successful and it aims to
continue the legacy of this vibrant work by supporting and
catalyzing local leaders, black business owners and champions. So today
we have one of our champions that is going to
be talking to us and giving us some insight into
her version of Black Wall Street. We have on the
(01:01):
call today. We have Darlene and she is the Business
Solutions Officer for Carolina Small Business Development Fund and it's
a community development financial institution which provides technical assistance and
funding too small businesses across the state. Now, she's going
to be able to give us a whole lot of
different information in regards to how businesses can get some
(01:21):
access to capital, some of the things that she just
wants to let you know about her own experience as
far as with Black Wall Street. And so we're going
to bring Darlene on right now. So Darlene, how are you,
Darlin good? I'm doing great.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Actually, I'm in holiday spirit.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
So well, that's a good thing. So just let's jump
in with this, because what does it mean to you
to have a modern Black Wall Street? What is your
version of that? Wow?
Speaker 4 (01:48):
So I was thinking about our time today and one
of the things that I think I'd like to share
first is that as a as a high school.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Student, I actually worked on Wall Street.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
I worked for Goldman Sachs, and I worked at a
time when you know.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
There was really a lot of big business. Wall Street
was banging and booming at the time.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
But I was just a kid from Brooklyn, and so
I saw the have and have not sent a.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Lot of my life.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
Living in Brooklyn and then working on Wall Street where
there was an abundance of resources, but in Brooklyn at
the time, it was going through the crack academic and
so people were struggling and it was just really different.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
It was two different worlds.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
So when I think about, you know, my journey to
Durham and then finding out about the history in Durham,
about the Black Wall Street history and all of the
you know, n Cum Capital and all of the the
rich Black wealth history. The convergence of what I saw
(03:01):
in New York and now what is or has been
in Durham and what could be it creates in my
mind a possibility of something that you know, maybe my
younger self couldn't even perceive.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
But now I see it as opportunity.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
I see it as information and informing, but also just
a richness of people collaborating and really coming together, like
the Black Wall Street of the past. And so I
think to encapsulate what I perceive it as, I perceive
it as a regeneration of collaborativeness and community and purpose
(03:47):
that is really making available the ideation that it can be,
but also taking it a step further and bringing it
to life, to it will be.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Yeah, I mean, I love that idea the way that
you put it, because it's not that we're not doing
things right. But the key word that I think you
used is collaboration, is doing the things together. And so
you know, in the past, there wasn't a choice, right, Like,
there were specific black neighborhoods, and everything that went on
(04:19):
in that black neighborhood was for the black people in
that black neighborhood and very rarely did you see things
where we have people of other cultures come into the neighborhood.
Whereas now things there's just so much more diverse that
you may not necessarily see in a lot of places
a specific black neighborhood, right exactly make the choice to
do that. But what you see now is a lot
(04:41):
of gentrification. You see people you know that were not
in certain areas coming into areas now. And I think
that that's not something that's just happening in Durham. It's
something that's happening definitely in Brooklyn, because I know I'll
be it in brookwork exactly Parlem, right, And so when
we see these things, you know, it's it's one of
those where it's like, Okay, well, the progression is great,
(05:03):
the inclusivity is great, but I think sometimes we might
miss the collaboration of just black.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
People, exactly exactly.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
And I think, you know, I think my ancestors are saying,
pay attention, right, pay attention to each other, pay attention
to where you spend your dollars, pay attention to how
you can construct or destruct an economic system based on
the choices.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
You make every day.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
Like, that's what I hear them saying. I hear them saying.
We were intentional. We were very adamant about where we
spent our dollars and how we put those dollars to work,
but not only that, preserving them too, because it was
not just about the spend. It was also about the
preservation and keeping that wealth, you know, and being able
to grow that wealth from the position of yes, I
(05:57):
have a small business, But did I just give myself
a job or did I really give myself an opportunity
to reach out and have greater impact beyond myself?
Speaker 2 (06:08):
And there's a difference in that, you know, I think
one of the things, once you get into business, you'll
realize that you're working harder for yourself than we ever
worked for anybody else, and that you probably work more
hours than if you were working your regular job. Right,
So when you kind of look at the payoff of that.
It is to be independent, but is it also going
to do something where you're going to be able to
provide jobs for other people and then continue to build
(06:31):
on that. And I think a lot of times with
you know, the just the average you know, black business,
they may not make as much, but part of the
reason that they don't make as much is always capital, right,
So you need more capital. But it's not just capital
that's financial. It is also capital that is knowing people
and those circles and also legislature and you know, the
(06:52):
city council and the things that maybe sometimes people don't
get involved in because maybe they feel like that's for
those people over there. I things that make a difference.
And so with what you're doing specifically, I just want
to know, like what is your change quotient?
Speaker 3 (07:08):
My change quotient.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
So the position that I hold as a business Solutions
officer for Carolina a small Business Development Fund, puts me
in a position to really have a maximum impact on
people that are aspiring as entrepreneurs and also people that
may want to scale who already are in business. So
(07:30):
I act as a business coach and I think what
I bring to that is one a rich history of
being in business. For myself, I did have an Edible
Arrangements franchise. I had two locations. I held a franchise
for about twelve years before you know, my husband and
I we just decided to do a life pivot. But
I would say that, you know, my experiences as a
(07:53):
franchise e, but also being a part of the entrepreneurial
culture of Durham and Raleigh gives me a depth of
insight that I think if I had not had those experiences,
I wouldn't be able to And some of it is
like the emotional intelligence of it. You know, people realizing
(08:13):
that they are are taking a venture, which means that
you're taking financial risk. You may be risking you know,
your assets or whatever the case may be. But being
able to speak to that, you know the fears of that,
but also you know, kind of on the other side
of it, what is possible. And that's really where you
(08:34):
put your your dream in. When you dream about the
possibilities of what you could have, you know, and you're
willing to work for it. And so I think my
change quotient is being able to speak the truth of that,
to say that it's not all going to be great,
but a lot of it is going to be great.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
You know.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
And I used to tell my team when we were working,
I was like, you know, every day we open these doors,
today is a good day.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Today's a good day. It's a good day to go
to work.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
And what you realize is that you're putting something creatively
or aesthetically or even in terms of a service out
in the public and people are choosing you.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
They're choosing to come to you, they're choosing to spend.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Their dollars with you, and that in and of itself
is success, you know. And then we can start to
count the money and see how things are falling in
terms of the earning pieces of it. But I think
just the idea that somebody is taking the braving it
and opening their doors.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Like that is huge, you know.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
To think that you can and can can impact commerce
and bring something creatively to the public, maybe no one
else has done it. That's huge in and of itself,
you know. And so I had a friend of mine
that was in business prior to me being in business,
and she told me, no matter where you land, your
success because ninety nine percent of the people thinking about
(10:03):
business probably won't go into business.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Yeah, but the one percent to do it, I had
to do it. I mean that's success.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
You know. Yeah. And you know, one of the things
that I want to touch on that you spoke about
was people choosing you, right, And so you know, I
like to think about you know that you have all
kinds of choices out there with what you can spend
your money. And one thing I like to tell people is,
you know, they're choosing you a lot of times, even
(10:34):
over other things that are necessities. So more than likely
a good majority of our business is people may not
have to have to survive, but they choose to spend
their money with us. And it's something that is intrinsic
to that individual company, that person that's running the company
that allows people to make that choice. Do you feel
like there has been a push or that there's been
(10:57):
a regeneration of sorts, and not just necesscessarily from mainstream media,
but more so from individual black people who are starting
these businesses to really see like, you know, I could
be the one that's chosen. I am going to do
the things that are going to make people see that
my business is valuable, and you know, I want to
be a part of this whole Black Wall Street movement,
(11:19):
and sometimes I don't think they realize it, but just
you know, do you think that there is more of
an interest now and idea of a Black Wall Street
and people being a part of that whole area of commerce.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Absolutely do.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
Actually I've reshared a post this past weekend about Black
Wall Street Durham, and I think that that there's a
raised awareness and a raised consciousness. I will say, as
black people, we're educated, We're becoming more educated. As far
as like home ownership, which is usually the path to wealth,
(11:57):
more of us are becoming homeowners.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
I would say that.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
There there's intentionality around what our future really should look like,
what we would like it to look like, particularly as
we pass on wealth to our children and our children's children.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
I do think that.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
That we're aware and we want to see change, and
we're and we're intentional about how we spend.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
So for myself personally, there were several.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
Proprieties that I've met over the course of the year
and as it becomes the holidays, like I'm conscientious, like
I want to spend my money with some black enterprises, right,
I want to make sure that I'm able to contribute.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
To that success story.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
And so I think there are others like me that
are just really conscientious about it.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
I think social media is also.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
A very powerful tool, and we can tell the story
of how we come to black business or how we
come to business in general.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
But just do it in excellence.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
Right, If there's only my only request is that we
do it in excellence. We cannot anticipate or expect people
to spend money with us if we're not doing it
in excellence. So I would say, yes, the intentionality is
in the desire is there, But also there's a desire.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
To say yes.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
You know, if I had to choose, I'm not making
a lesser choice. I'm actually making an equal choice between
who I want to spend with, and in this case,
I want to spend with people that look like me.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
You know. I love that, and I think you know,
when we talk about that and we talk about the
intentionality of things, you know, one thing that I would
I would say is sometimes even in efforts like this,
they can be disjointed as much as we want them
to be collaborative. So if you were to say, listen,
I'm going to make sure that I spend with the
black enterprise. Then I would say that as a member
(13:55):
so to speak, of this Black Wall Street movement, that
we then have something where we you know, have a hashtag,
we share it online.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
We let yeah, that's a great idea.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Like it. Just and I'm not saying there's anything wrong
with if you're buying, okay, good, but how many people
did you tell that you specifically bought at a black
owned business? You know? So I always make it a
point to say, well, hey, this is a client or
this is a business that I like, even if they're
not a client, and let people know that this is
a black owned or a woman owned business. And you know,
(14:25):
then what that does is it's like, oh, okay, well
you're paying attention to it. Well I should pay attention
to it, and I don't. Sometimes we realize how influential
we can be as individuals to help grow these businesses
just from our own testimony, our own review, you know,
our own Okay, well, you know I'm endorsing this because
I bought it. And even if I don't like it,
(14:47):
I bought it one time. Let me just try it exactly,
and then once I like it, let me tell you
it works. You know, let me tell you that this
is a company that you should support, and I think
that that makes a huge difference in it and us
being able to kind of coalesce our ideas. So with
the team that we've chosen to be on the Geram team,
our thing was we went with the black mindset, right,
(15:08):
the Black Wall Street mindset, So we chose to kind
of combine what your idea was storytelling, but also with
a kind of a one day event which is focused
on entrepreneurs going from being a black employee to turning
to a black entrepreneur. And so I want you to
touch on that really quickly because me and you totally
(15:29):
completely agreed that everybody's not cut out to be an entrepreneur. Yes,
if you are, you should do things in excellence. Like
you said, so, can you give an idea to a
person who's like, well, why should I come to this
event that you guys are going to do because what's
in it for me is what they're thinking.
Speaker 4 (15:46):
Yeah, I love the question, and I think that the
heart of Black Wall Street is exploratory, and this means
that you may be in a place where the idea
of entrepreneurship is bubbling up in you, but you really
don't know what it means. You have kind of just
(16:06):
flipped it over in your mind maybe a few times.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Maybe there's a hobby that you do really.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
Really well and other people have told you you should
monetize it. Maybe it's just a matter of it's something
that you always aspired to do, but timing was not right.
All of those are reasons to attend the conference. This
is really a place to explore who you are in
(16:31):
the Ideation of Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship textbook, it means taking risks, yes.
It means that you're proactive and seeking an opportunity, yes,
And it also means that you are taking advantage of
market possibility. And so really now could be a great time.
(16:55):
It could be right now, or it could be something
that you come to but then you kind of think
about it later on, and when you're ready to launch,
you will always have this knowledge, so nothing is wasted
whether or not you're what we call a nascent entrepreneur,
someone who is just kind of in an exploratory phase
of it, or you're someone who might be working a
(17:17):
job and it's later on down the line.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
Maybe you've had.
Speaker 4 (17:20):
Some you know, family members or relatives that were entrepreneurs
and you're kind of curious about it. It's a great
place to come and just explore. And I think we
need to give ourselves permission to do that. We need
to give ourselves permission to think, explore, dream beyond what
today's possibility is. And I think also as the Black
(17:47):
Wall Street of the past, you know, that's what they
had to do. They had to think beyond what their
reality was, and so you know, us giving ourselves permission
to kind of be the same in that regard to
have thoughts that exceed what is the reality of today,
to move beyond the limitations maybe that someone has put
(18:09):
on you, to move beyond, even with your own.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
Expectation has been This is a place to explore that.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
And I just really love the mindset because it all
starts there. It all starts what you think about, what
you believe about.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Yourself, And.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Our initiative is really focused in on you to have
the capacity to expand your mindset, to breathe in the possibilities.
And if you go away with nothing else other than Okay,
they gave me a lot to think about, or you
come away with wow, I can do this, both of winners.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Yeah, and I mean the thing that you said right
there was the exploration right like I mean, and the
possibility of what could be right. So when I think
about that, I think the fact that you know, when
we're creating a business, especially if we haven't done it before,
it's something new, it's something fresh, and you might fail
(19:08):
a little bit, but if you have the help and
you have the base of people who still want to
support you, I think oftentimes plenty of businesses have been
able to not only just survive, but also thrive because
of the fact of their community. And that's exactly definitely
trying to create here. But the other thing that's missing
is the money. So small business development and then working
(19:33):
specifically with the ecosystem and really looking at how they
can help black businesses. Can you tell us what you
know the involvement is there, and how people can be
a part of, you know, whatever program that might fit
them at a particular point in time to help them
grow or start their business.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Absolutely, absolutely two things. Though.
Speaker 4 (19:53):
One thing that you said earlier was the social capital piece,
and I think that being a part of this conference
help you to help you to build that social capital.
As far as the Carolina Small Business Development Fund.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
We have lots of tools.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
We are, as you said earlier, a CDFI community development
financial institution.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
We work with a municipality. So right now we have the.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
Durham Opportunity Loan Fund which helps existing businesses gain access
to capital of up to thirty five thousand. It is
through the City and County of Durham, and that particular
program is for COVID impacted businesses. But the beauty of
(20:38):
it is that it's interest rate is only three percent,
which you will not find in the seven percent prime interest.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
Rate environment that we have now.
Speaker 4 (20:48):
In addition, there's no personal credit checks. You have to
have less than five hundred employees, less than five million
sales or proceeds, and if you meet that criteria, basically
it's open to you as an opportunity to expand and
(21:09):
grow your business. But in addition to that, we're also
SBA lenders. We can lend it up to three hundred
and fifty thousand dollars to small businesses. This could be
for startup as well as existing businesses.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Really, what we're looking we don't look.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
At just the credit score is a part of the
credit evaluation. We look at the whole picture.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Of who you are.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
We look at the credit history, yes, but we also
look at the assets. We look at the idea that
you want to bring to market. We look at basically
what the market entails and whether or not it makes
sense from a pro former standpoint, meaning that you can
make money, because we don't want to have you taking
risks that you're taking unnecessarily, so really making sure that
(21:54):
your risks are sound and they're made with sound judgment.
And so we're doing the same thing. Essentially, we're investing
in your project as well.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
The other pieces of that. What we do.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
We also offer technical assistance and so we're really part
of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and we work with the small
business and technology development centers. The small business centers, we
work with other organizations such as Forward Cities and Provident
eighteen ninety eight, which is the gathering coworking space where
(22:25):
you will find a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs as well
as entrepreneurs developing their skills.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
In addition to that, we are a policy institution and
we count the widgets. We count the metrics because when
it comes to the policy level and stay in local
and also the federal government, we have to tell the
story about how we may impact.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
How many jobs were created, how much money came into
the community as a result of this business being created
or businesses being created. In addition to the populations that
we target, which are women, minorities, and lot of modern
income individuals.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
And so it's really like a trifecta, if you will.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
It's the piece that is lending, it is the piece
that is technical assistance, and it's the piece that's policy
and all for the benefit of raising disparate communities that
may or may not have access to capital and traditional means.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
And so with all of that that just that knowledge
right there, a person could come out to this event
and they could say, I need to talk to Darlene
right like that would be tuly. We talk to Darlene,
She's the one I need to talk to. Now, we
also have a bunch of people that might be veterans
as well. So when we talk about people that are
veterans that are maybe transitioning, you know, from different places military,
(23:48):
when we talk about people that are just getting out
of college and that want to start something, talking about
people who want to retire and they don't want to
do what they've done for the last twenty.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
Thirty exactly business.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
So I think that when we look at the way
that we specifically try to formulate this right and saying,
you know, black employee to black entrepreneur, it could be
a lot of different areas that you may have touched
and now you want to go into entrepreneurship. But it
doesn't mean that it has to be full time.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
Yes, I do.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Want to turn into a full fledge this is what
I do business. It could be you know what people
like to call a side hustle where you you know,
a certain amount of money. And then I think one
of the other things that we could also touch on
is there may be somebody that on disability, right and
they may not be able to actually make over a
certain amount because that might disability. But having a business
(24:39):
on the side, you know, where you can make a
certain amount could be that could be you know, really great.
And we do recognize too that everybody may not necessarily
need capital as far as extra capital, like they may
have what they need to start, but if that situation
does arise, then now they know that they can come
to you specifically, you know, over at Carolina Small Business
(24:59):
Development in order to be able to seek that funding
and then they can also kind of find out well,
what's necessary, right, yeah, so it will come out then
this way, you know, you can say, well, I didn't
know what I needed to have together, right, and so
if there's like a list of these are the things
that we need to have in order for you to
be able to get along, right, they can start working
(25:19):
on getting those things together even if they're not ready now.
And I think that you know, when you talk about
this and being a coach and a counselor, it's not
just well, no, we're not going to give you any money,
but it's a reason why maybe you won't get the
money now. But if you did X, Y, and z,
if you were in business for this amount of time,
if you can show income, like there could be a
(25:40):
lot of different reasons why people don't get the funding
that they need, and oftentimes they don't even ask why.
So just being able to be there, to have those conversations,
to be able to see the other people that are
in the room, you know, the day that we have
the event, I think that it will bring them closer
and it will help them create their own community and
see people that are inside of the community that are
(26:02):
specifically working to help them, you know, be more successful
with their businesses.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
So with your personal story, right, I just want if
you have maybe like two three minutes or so, is
there any personal story that maybe you want to tell
the people that you know it's inspiring to them about
you know, just black wall thing, your experience or anything.
Speaker 4 (26:26):
Just give us you got like a little two or
three minutes, I would I would say, Uh, Basically, my
decision to go into business for myself it came at
a time when my children were younger and I found
myself working for an organization that was very rigid. It
(26:49):
didn't give me the flexibility that I needed to you know,
be a proper mom to date Danielle and David, and
so I really started to look for opportunities. And it
just so happened that as I started to look for
those opportunities.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
I noticed, like.
Speaker 4 (27:08):
The wisdom of I want to say, you know, I
called God, but I would say, the wisdom of God
in the universe, whatever you call it, started to track me.
And literally I was I was at my home in
Brooklyn and I saw this franchise and I was like, Wow,
that's interesting. I wonder if they have that in North
(27:29):
Carolina and so and then I was on the plane
and I saw advertisement for the same franchise and I.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Was like, wait a minute, sometimes this is right, because
you're not believing threes was.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
It some exactly exactly? Well?
Speaker 4 (27:45):
I think the third time was just a matter of
finding out more information.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
And then I kid you not a chocolate covered arms
sold me a franchise. I tell that story because it
was so good and.
Speaker 4 (27:57):
I was like, yes, I'm onto something. And as it
turns out, we ended up being the first edible Arrangements
in Durham, and then we expanded over to Raleigh a
couple of years later. But I think that just the
idea that I wasn't in a situation where I was
getting what I needed, and the door opened for me
(28:20):
to have what I needed in every sense of the word,
you know. And not only that, but I will also
say this inspirational piece. Our first major holiday was Valentine's
Day nineteen ninety seven. We failed miserably.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Valentine's Day.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
Valentine's Day.
Speaker 4 (28:42):
It was so crazy, We had so much business, we
didn't know what to do.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
It was a popular item.
Speaker 4 (28:49):
We were the first ones in the market we had
been there since April, so you know, we were kind
of gaining momentum.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
And it was just like it was terrible. It was terrible.
Speaker 4 (29:00):
So we had customer complaints and the whole nine. So
the next year we were like, Okay, now we know
what this is about. So we made a game plan
and we executed it perfectly. But what I will tell
you is that my community, people that were friends, family,
church members, you know, just just everybody came through the shop,
(29:24):
offered to lend a hand. That was black Wall Street,
that was that was a community that did not want
to see me fail. And I just tell you the
inspiration is that this is a magical place. This is
a this is an environment where people support and really
really believed in the possibility of a greater and better life.
(29:46):
And so my inspiration is your inspiration to believe. If
you believe it, someone else will believe it with you.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
Bring it forward.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
I love that and that is a perfect way to
end this. So I don't have anything else to say
because she said it all and that inspiration was exactly
what we needed. So check the links below so that
this way you can find out more about our event
that we're going to be doing Black Wall Street Mindset
where we're specifically talking about black employee to black entrepreneur,
and we'll see you because we have some more people
(30:17):
that are on our team that we'll be doing some
more videos and so this was wonderful and maybe when
you come out, maybe she can tell us that story
about that chocolate covered orange, like I need that rune
story now, so you just might hear that story when
you come out to the event. Well, Darline, thank you
so much, and you're guys, thank you for watching. Make
sure that you share this and make sure that you
(30:37):
use the hashtag black Wall Street Mindset so that this
way we know that you're paying attention to what we're
doing here specifically, and then this way we can go
ahead and continue to influence our community and continue to grow.
Thank you so much, Thank you, thank you so much
for listening to give it to the people radio.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Make sure that you follow us online at Ladybusiness dot com,
Lady bis, d N E S S. We look forward
to helping you grow, sustain, and maintain your business
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening. When you're tuned in,
you're with Lady Business and give it to the People
Radio where you're going to get enlightened, enhanced, empowered, and enriched.
Make sure that you always tune in to give it
to the People Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening. Whenever you're watching,
you know that it's going to be some good stuff.
We're talking about a new series that we're doing that
is Black Wall Street Mindset. And the reason we're doing
this series is because we are a part of a
thing that is called the Black Wall Street Forward Initiative. Now,
this particular initiative is modeled on the pillars that made
(00:41):
Durham's original Black Wall Street successful and it aims to
continue the legacy of this vibrant work by supporting and
catalyzing local leaders, black business owners and champions. So today
we have one of our champions that is going to
be talking to us and giving us some insight into
her version of Black Wall Street. We have on the
(01:01):
call today. We have Darlene and she is the Business
Solutions Officer for Carolina Small Business Development Fund and it's
a community development financial institution which provides technical assistance and
funding too small businesses across the state. Now, she's going
to be able to give us a whole lot of
different information in regards to how businesses can get some
(01:21):
access to capital, some of the things that she just
wants to let you know about her own experience as
far as with Black Wall Street. And so we're going
to bring Darlene on right now. So Darlene, how are you,
Darlin good? I'm doing great.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Actually, I'm in holiday spirit.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
So well, that's a good thing. So just let's jump
in with this, because what does it mean to you
to have a modern Black Wall Street? What is your
version of that? Wow?
Speaker 4 (01:48):
So I was thinking about our time today and one
of the things that I think I'd like to share
first is that as a as a high school.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Student, I actually worked on Wall Street.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
I worked for Goldman Sachs, and I worked at a
time when you know.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
There was really a lot of big business. Wall Street
was banging and booming at the time.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
But I was just a kid from Brooklyn, and so
I saw the have and have not sent a.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Lot of my life.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
Living in Brooklyn and then working on Wall Street where
there was an abundance of resources, but in Brooklyn at
the time, it was going through the crack academic and
so people were struggling and it was just really different.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
It was two different worlds.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
So when I think about, you know, my journey to
Durham and then finding out about the history in Durham,
about the Black Wall Street history and all of the
you know, n Cum Capital and all of the the
rich Black wealth history. The convergence of what I saw
(03:01):
in New York and now what is or has been
in Durham and what could be it creates in my
mind a possibility of something that you know, maybe my
younger self couldn't even perceive.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
But now I see it as opportunity.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
I see it as information and informing, but also just
a richness of people collaborating and really coming together, like
the Black Wall Street of the past. And so I
think to encapsulate what I perceive it as, I perceive
it as a regeneration of collaborativeness and community and purpose
(03:47):
that is really making available the ideation that it can be,
but also taking it a step further and bringing it
to life, to it will be.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Yeah, I mean, I love that idea the way that
you put it, because it's not that we're not doing
things right. But the key word that I think you
used is collaboration, is doing the things together. And so
you know, in the past, there wasn't a choice, right, Like,
there were specific black neighborhoods, and everything that went on
(04:19):
in that black neighborhood was for the black people in
that black neighborhood and very rarely did you see things
where we have people of other cultures come into the neighborhood.
Whereas now things there's just so much more diverse that
you may not necessarily see in a lot of places
a specific black neighborhood, right exactly make the choice to
do that. But what you see now is a lot
(04:41):
of gentrification. You see people you know that were not
in certain areas coming into areas now. And I think
that that's not something that's just happening in Durham. It's
something that's happening definitely in Brooklyn, because I know I'll
be it in brookwork exactly Parlem, right, And so when
we see these things, you know, it's it's one of
those where it's like, Okay, well, the progression is great,
(05:03):
the inclusivity is great, but I think sometimes we might
miss the collaboration of just black.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
People, exactly exactly.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
And I think, you know, I think my ancestors are saying,
pay attention, right, pay attention to each other, pay attention
to where you spend your dollars, pay attention to how
you can construct or destruct an economic system based on
the choices.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
You make every day.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
Like, that's what I hear them saying. I hear them saying.
We were intentional. We were very adamant about where we
spent our dollars and how we put those dollars to work,
but not only that, preserving them too, because it was
not just about the spend. It was also about the
preservation and keeping that wealth, you know, and being able
to grow that wealth from the position of yes, I
(05:57):
have a small business, But did I just give myself
a job or did I really give myself an opportunity
to reach out and have greater impact beyond myself?
Speaker 2 (06:08):
And there's a difference in that, you know, I think
one of the things, once you get into business, you'll
realize that you're working harder for yourself than we ever
worked for anybody else, and that you probably work more
hours than if you were working your regular job. Right,
So when you kind of look at the payoff of that.
It is to be independent, but is it also going
to do something where you're going to be able to
provide jobs for other people and then continue to build
(06:31):
on that. And I think a lot of times with
you know, the just the average you know, black business,
they may not make as much, but part of the
reason that they don't make as much is always capital, right,
So you need more capital. But it's not just capital
that's financial. It is also capital that is knowing people
and those circles and also legislature and you know, the
(06:52):
city council and the things that maybe sometimes people don't
get involved in because maybe they feel like that's for
those people over there. I things that make a difference.
And so with what you're doing specifically, I just want
to know, like what is your change quotient?
Speaker 3 (07:08):
My change quotient.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
So the position that I hold as a business Solutions
officer for Carolina a small Business Development Fund, puts me
in a position to really have a maximum impact on
people that are aspiring as entrepreneurs and also people that
may want to scale who already are in business. So
(07:30):
I act as a business coach and I think what
I bring to that is one a rich history of
being in business. For myself, I did have an Edible
Arrangements franchise. I had two locations. I held a franchise
for about twelve years before you know, my husband and
I we just decided to do a life pivot. But
I would say that, you know, my experiences as a
(07:53):
franchise e, but also being a part of the entrepreneurial
culture of Durham and Raleigh gives me a depth of
insight that I think if I had not had those experiences,
I wouldn't be able to And some of it is
like the emotional intelligence of it. You know, people realizing
(08:13):
that they are are taking a venture, which means that
you're taking financial risk. You may be risking you know,
your assets or whatever the case may be. But being
able to speak to that, you know the fears of that,
but also you know, kind of on the other side
of it, what is possible. And that's really where you
(08:34):
put your your dream in. When you dream about the
possibilities of what you could have, you know, and you're
willing to work for it. And so I think my
change quotient is being able to speak the truth of that,
to say that it's not all going to be great,
but a lot of it is going to be great.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
You know.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
And I used to tell my team when we were working,
I was like, you know, every day we open these doors,
today is a good day.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Today's a good day. It's a good day to go
to work.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
And what you realize is that you're putting something creatively
or aesthetically or even in terms of a service out
in the public and people are choosing you.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
They're choosing to come to you, they're choosing to spend.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Their dollars with you, and that in and of itself
is success, you know. And then we can start to
count the money and see how things are falling in
terms of the earning pieces of it. But I think
just the idea that somebody is taking the braving it
and opening their doors.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Like that is huge, you know.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
To think that you can and can can impact commerce
and bring something creatively to the public, maybe no one
else has done it. That's huge in and of itself,
you know. And so I had a friend of mine
that was in business prior to me being in business,
and she told me, no matter where you land, your
success because ninety nine percent of the people thinking about
(10:03):
business probably won't go into business.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Yeah, but the one percent to do it, I had
to do it. I mean that's success.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
You know. Yeah. And you know, one of the things
that I want to touch on that you spoke about
was people choosing you, right, And so you know, I
like to think about you know that you have all
kinds of choices out there with what you can spend
your money. And one thing I like to tell people is,
you know, they're choosing you a lot of times, even
(10:34):
over other things that are necessities. So more than likely
a good majority of our business is people may not
have to have to survive, but they choose to spend
their money with us. And it's something that is intrinsic
to that individual company, that person that's running the company
that allows people to make that choice. Do you feel
like there has been a push or that there's been
(10:57):
a regeneration of sorts, and not just necesscessarily from mainstream media,
but more so from individual black people who are starting
these businesses to really see like, you know, I could
be the one that's chosen. I am going to do
the things that are going to make people see that
my business is valuable, and you know, I want to
be a part of this whole Black Wall Street movement,
(11:19):
and sometimes I don't think they realize it, but just
you know, do you think that there is more of
an interest now and idea of a Black Wall Street
and people being a part of that whole area of commerce.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Absolutely do.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
Actually I've reshared a post this past weekend about Black
Wall Street Durham, and I think that that there's a
raised awareness and a raised consciousness. I will say, as
black people, we're educated, We're becoming more educated. As far
as like home ownership, which is usually the path to wealth,
(11:57):
more of us are becoming homeowners.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
I would say that.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
There there's intentionality around what our future really should look like,
what we would like it to look like, particularly as
we pass on wealth to our children and our children's children.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
I do think that.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
That we're aware and we want to see change, and
we're and we're intentional about how we spend.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
So for myself personally, there were several.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
Proprieties that I've met over the course of the year
and as it becomes the holidays, like I'm conscientious, like
I want to spend my money with some black enterprises, right,
I want to make sure that I'm able to contribute.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
To that success story.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
And so I think there are others like me that
are just really conscientious about it.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
I think social media is also.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
A very powerful tool, and we can tell the story
of how we come to black business or how we
come to business in general.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
But just do it in excellence.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
Right, If there's only my only request is that we
do it in excellence. We cannot anticipate or expect people
to spend money with us if we're not doing it
in excellence. So I would say, yes, the intentionality is
in the desire is there, But also there's a desire.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
To say yes.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
You know, if I had to choose, I'm not making
a lesser choice. I'm actually making an equal choice between
who I want to spend with, and in this case,
I want to spend with people that look like me.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
You know. I love that, and I think you know,
when we talk about that and we talk about the
intentionality of things, you know, one thing that I would
I would say is sometimes even in efforts like this,
they can be disjointed as much as we want them
to be collaborative. So if you were to say, listen,
I'm going to make sure that I spend with the
black enterprise. Then I would say that as a member
(13:55):
so to speak, of this Black Wall Street movement, that
we then have something where we you know, have a hashtag,
we share it online.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
We let yeah, that's a great idea.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Like it. Just and I'm not saying there's anything wrong
with if you're buying, okay, good, but how many people
did you tell that you specifically bought at a black
owned business? You know? So I always make it a
point to say, well, hey, this is a client or
this is a business that I like, even if they're
not a client, and let people know that this is
a black owned or a woman owned business. And you know,
(14:25):
then what that does is it's like, oh, okay, well
you're paying attention to it. Well I should pay attention
to it, and I don't. Sometimes we realize how influential
we can be as individuals to help grow these businesses
just from our own testimony, our own review, you know,
our own Okay, well, you know I'm endorsing this because
I bought it. And even if I don't like it,
(14:47):
I bought it one time. Let me just try it exactly,
and then once I like it, let me tell you
it works. You know, let me tell you that this
is a company that you should support, and I think
that that makes a huge difference in it and us
being able to kind of coalesce our ideas. So with
the team that we've chosen to be on the Geram team,
our thing was we went with the black mindset, right,
(15:08):
the Black Wall Street mindset, So we chose to kind
of combine what your idea was storytelling, but also with
a kind of a one day event which is focused
on entrepreneurs going from being a black employee to turning
to a black entrepreneur. And so I want you to
touch on that really quickly because me and you totally
(15:29):
completely agreed that everybody's not cut out to be an entrepreneur. Yes,
if you are, you should do things in excellence. Like
you said, so, can you give an idea to a
person who's like, well, why should I come to this
event that you guys are going to do because what's
in it for me is what they're thinking.
Speaker 4 (15:46):
Yeah, I love the question, and I think that the
heart of Black Wall Street is exploratory, and this means
that you may be in a place where the idea
of entrepreneurship is bubbling up in you, but you really
don't know what it means. You have kind of just
(16:06):
flipped it over in your mind maybe a few times.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Maybe there's a hobby that you do really.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
Really well and other people have told you you should
monetize it. Maybe it's just a matter of it's something
that you always aspired to do, but timing was not right.
All of those are reasons to attend the conference. This
is really a place to explore who you are in
(16:31):
the Ideation of Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship textbook, it means taking risks, yes.
It means that you're proactive and seeking an opportunity, yes,
And it also means that you are taking advantage of
market possibility. And so really now could be a great time.
(16:55):
It could be right now, or it could be something
that you come to but then you kind of think
about it later on, and when you're ready to launch,
you will always have this knowledge, so nothing is wasted
whether or not you're what we call a nascent entrepreneur,
someone who is just kind of in an exploratory phase
of it, or you're someone who might be working a
(17:17):
job and it's later on down the line.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
Maybe you've had.
Speaker 4 (17:20):
Some you know, family members or relatives that were entrepreneurs
and you're kind of curious about it. It's a great
place to come and just explore. And I think we
need to give ourselves permission to do that. We need
to give ourselves permission to think, explore, dream beyond what
today's possibility is. And I think also as the Black
(17:47):
Wall Street of the past, you know, that's what they
had to do. They had to think beyond what their
reality was, and so you know, us giving ourselves permission
to kind of be the same in that regard to
have thoughts that exceed what is the reality of today,
to move beyond the limitations maybe that someone has put
(18:09):
on you, to move beyond, even with your own.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
Expectation has been This is a place to explore that.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
And I just really love the mindset because it all
starts there. It all starts what you think about, what
you believe about.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Yourself, And.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Our initiative is really focused in on you to have
the capacity to expand your mindset, to breathe in the possibilities.
And if you go away with nothing else other than Okay,
they gave me a lot to think about, or you
come away with wow, I can do this, both of winners.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Yeah, and I mean the thing that you said right
there was the exploration right like I mean, and the
possibility of what could be right. So when I think
about that, I think the fact that you know, when
we're creating a business, especially if we haven't done it before,
it's something new, it's something fresh, and you might fail
(19:08):
a little bit, but if you have the help and
you have the base of people who still want to
support you, I think oftentimes plenty of businesses have been
able to not only just survive, but also thrive because
of the fact of their community. And that's exactly definitely
trying to create here. But the other thing that's missing
is the money. So small business development and then working
(19:33):
specifically with the ecosystem and really looking at how they
can help black businesses. Can you tell us what you
know the involvement is there, and how people can be
a part of, you know, whatever program that might fit
them at a particular point in time to help them
grow or start their business.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Absolutely, absolutely two things. Though.
Speaker 4 (19:53):
One thing that you said earlier was the social capital piece,
and I think that being a part of this conference
help you to help you to build that social capital.
As far as the Carolina Small Business Development Fund.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
We have lots of tools.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
We are, as you said earlier, a CDFI community development
financial institution.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
We work with a municipality. So right now we have the.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
Durham Opportunity Loan Fund which helps existing businesses gain access
to capital of up to thirty five thousand. It is
through the City and County of Durham, and that particular
program is for COVID impacted businesses. But the beauty of
(20:38):
it is that it's interest rate is only three percent,
which you will not find in the seven percent prime interest.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
Rate environment that we have now.
Speaker 4 (20:48):
In addition, there's no personal credit checks. You have to
have less than five hundred employees, less than five million
sales or proceeds, and if you meet that criteria, basically
it's open to you as an opportunity to expand and
(21:09):
grow your business. But in addition to that, we're also
SBA lenders. We can lend it up to three hundred
and fifty thousand dollars to small businesses. This could be
for startup as well as existing businesses.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Really, what we're looking we don't look.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
At just the credit score is a part of the
credit evaluation. We look at the whole picture.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Of who you are.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
We look at the credit history, yes, but we also
look at the assets. We look at the idea that
you want to bring to market. We look at basically
what the market entails and whether or not it makes
sense from a pro former standpoint, meaning that you can
make money, because we don't want to have you taking
risks that you're taking unnecessarily, so really making sure that
(21:54):
your risks are sound and they're made with sound judgment.
And so we're doing the same thing. Essentially, we're investing
in your project as well.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
The other pieces of that. What we do.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
We also offer technical assistance and so we're really part
of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and we work with the small
business and technology development centers. The small business centers, we
work with other organizations such as Forward Cities and Provident
eighteen ninety eight, which is the gathering coworking space where
(22:25):
you will find a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs as well
as entrepreneurs developing their skills.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
In addition to that, we are a policy institution and
we count the widgets. We count the metrics because when
it comes to the policy level and stay in local
and also the federal government, we have to tell the
story about how we may impact.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
How many jobs were created, how much money came into
the community as a result of this business being created
or businesses being created. In addition to the populations that
we target, which are women, minorities, and lot of modern
income individuals.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
And so it's really like a trifecta, if you will.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
It's the piece that is lending, it is the piece
that is technical assistance, and it's the piece that's policy
and all for the benefit of raising disparate communities that
may or may not have access to capital and traditional means.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
And so with all of that that just that knowledge
right there, a person could come out to this event
and they could say, I need to talk to Darlene
right like that would be tuly. We talk to Darlene,
She's the one I need to talk to. Now, we
also have a bunch of people that might be veterans
as well. So when we talk about people that are
veterans that are maybe transitioning, you know, from different places military,
(23:48):
when we talk about people that are just getting out
of college and that want to start something, talking about
people who want to retire and they don't want to
do what they've done for the last twenty.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
Thirty exactly business.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
So I think that when we look at the way
that we specifically try to formulate this right and saying,
you know, black employee to black entrepreneur, it could be
a lot of different areas that you may have touched
and now you want to go into entrepreneurship. But it
doesn't mean that it has to be full time.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
Yes, I do.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Want to turn into a full fledge this is what
I do business. It could be you know what people
like to call a side hustle where you you know,
a certain amount of money. And then I think one
of the other things that we could also touch on
is there may be somebody that on disability, right and
they may not be able to actually make over a
certain amount because that might disability. But having a business
(24:39):
on the side, you know, where you can make a
certain amount could be that could be you know, really great.
And we do recognize too that everybody may not necessarily
need capital as far as extra capital, like they may
have what they need to start, but if that situation
does arise, then now they know that they can come
to you specifically, you know, over at Carolina Small Business
(24:59):
Development in order to be able to seek that funding
and then they can also kind of find out well,
what's necessary, right, yeah, so it will come out then
this way, you know, you can say, well, I didn't
know what I needed to have together, right, and so
if there's like a list of these are the things
that we need to have in order for you to
be able to get along, right, they can start working
(25:19):
on getting those things together even if they're not ready now.
And I think that you know, when you talk about
this and being a coach and a counselor, it's not
just well, no, we're not going to give you any money,
but it's a reason why maybe you won't get the
money now. But if you did X, Y, and z,
if you were in business for this amount of time,
if you can show income, like there could be a
(25:40):
lot of different reasons why people don't get the funding
that they need, and oftentimes they don't even ask why.
So just being able to be there, to have those conversations,
to be able to see the other people that are
in the room, you know, the day that we have
the event, I think that it will bring them closer
and it will help them create their own community and
see people that are inside of the community that are
(26:02):
specifically working to help them, you know, be more successful
with their businesses.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
So with your personal story, right, I just want if
you have maybe like two three minutes or so, is
there any personal story that maybe you want to tell
the people that you know it's inspiring to them about
you know, just black wall thing, your experience or anything.
Speaker 4 (26:26):
Just give us you got like a little two or
three minutes, I would I would say, Uh, Basically, my
decision to go into business for myself it came at
a time when my children were younger and I found
myself working for an organization that was very rigid. It
(26:49):
didn't give me the flexibility that I needed to you know,
be a proper mom to date Danielle and David, and
so I really started to look for opportunities. And it
just so happened that as I started to look for
those opportunities.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
I noticed, like.
Speaker 4 (27:08):
The wisdom of I want to say, you know, I
called God, but I would say, the wisdom of God
in the universe, whatever you call it, started to track me.
And literally I was I was at my home in
Brooklyn and I saw this franchise and I was like, Wow,
that's interesting. I wonder if they have that in North
(27:29):
Carolina and so and then I was on the plane
and I saw advertisement for the same franchise and I.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Was like, wait a minute, sometimes this is right, because
you're not believing threes was.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
It some exactly exactly? Well?
Speaker 4 (27:45):
I think the third time was just a matter of
finding out more information.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
And then I kid you not a chocolate covered arms
sold me a franchise. I tell that story because it
was so good and.
Speaker 4 (27:57):
I was like, yes, I'm onto something. And as it
turns out, we ended up being the first edible Arrangements
in Durham, and then we expanded over to Raleigh a
couple of years later. But I think that just the
idea that I wasn't in a situation where I was
getting what I needed, and the door opened for me
(28:20):
to have what I needed in every sense of the word,
you know. And not only that, but I will also
say this inspirational piece. Our first major holiday was Valentine's
Day nineteen ninety seven. We failed miserably.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Valentine's Day.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
Valentine's Day.
Speaker 4 (28:42):
It was so crazy, We had so much business, we
didn't know what to do.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
It was a popular item.
Speaker 4 (28:49):
We were the first ones in the market we had
been there since April, so you know, we were kind
of gaining momentum.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
And it was just like it was terrible. It was terrible.
Speaker 4 (29:00):
So we had customer complaints and the whole nine. So
the next year we were like, Okay, now we know
what this is about. So we made a game plan
and we executed it perfectly. But what I will tell
you is that my community, people that were friends, family,
church members, you know, just just everybody came through the shop,
(29:24):
offered to lend a hand. That was black Wall Street,
that was that was a community that did not want
to see me fail. And I just tell you the
inspiration is that this is a magical place. This is
a this is an environment where people support and really
really believed in the possibility of a greater and better life.
(29:46):
And so my inspiration is your inspiration to believe. If
you believe it, someone else will believe it with you.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
Bring it forward.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
I love that and that is a perfect way to
end this. So I don't have anything else to say
because she said it all and that inspiration was exactly
what we needed. So check the links below so that
this way you can find out more about our event
that we're going to be doing Black Wall Street Mindset
where we're specifically talking about black employee to black entrepreneur,
and we'll see you because we have some more people
(30:17):
that are on our team that we'll be doing some
more videos and so this was wonderful and maybe when
you come out, maybe she can tell us that story
about that chocolate covered orange, like I need that rune
story now, so you just might hear that story when
you come out to the event. Well, Darline, thank you
so much, and you're guys, thank you for watching. Make
sure that you share this and make sure that you
(30:37):
use the hashtag black Wall Street Mindset so that this
way we know that you're paying attention to what we're
doing here specifically, and then this way we can go
ahead and continue to influence our community and continue to grow.
Thank you so much, Thank you, thank you so much
for listening to give it to the people radio.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Make sure that you follow us online at Ladybusiness dot com,
Lady bis, d N E S S. We look forward
to helping you grow, sustain, and maintain your business
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