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All right, guys, welcome back earned a Lisia La edition. We have a very we have a very very educational, exciting episode. I'm looking forward to. I know you're gonna learn a lot. We have for Zana Naani.
That was good.
Sorry I got nervous, cracked under pressure, cracked under pressure. But no, this is very this is very going to be an informative episode. So for people that don't know, there's a lot of programs that for business owners. So the thing of the think about this whole podcast is to get people information, is to inform people, and we inform people of all areas of finance, but especially business
owners and entrepreneurs. Right, So when we heard your story and he was just educating us about how many programs and opportunities there are for business owners, I'm like, okay, yeah, we definitely we have to tell the people to enlighten them, to educate them, and to really you know, give them
an idea of what's going on. So you are a business coach, business consultant and you've worked with over four hundred businesses in the last six years, all the way from small businesses to fortune five hundred companies.
That's correct.
Some of the largest companies are Lexus, Chet, Blue Us Bank, the La County, the Fire Department. So you and you work with a lot of different companies as far as the divert the inclusion program and diversity, right, yes, yes, yes, So first and foremost, thank you, thank you.
For thank you for having me, thank you for.
Coming taking out, thank you for hosting us exactly, thank you for coming.
Exactly, exactly exactly, so we're gonna we're gonna jump right into it. And you was just you was educating me about redlining. And after redlining, there was some programs put in place by banks to kind of help the effects of redlining business. So, can we just get a brief explanation of what red lining is so people that might not be familiar with redlining.
Sure.
So.
Unfortunately, there was a lot of racist policies that were up held by the government and other aspects of our society, and one was redlining. And redlining is when a lot of different institutions drew literal red lines on the map and said we are not going to do business here and we're not going to have any loans here or access for people for real estate. And those were underrepresented communities,
i e. People of color. And so what happened is as a result of that, years and years and years of this trauma and really this pain that has been put on people our communities, there have been programs and things that have come into place to help offset that. And one is called the Community Reinvestment Act and is literally an act that says that banks and other people have to donate back to those communities in the form of you know, donations and charity to nonprofits and specifically
it's for financial literacy. So what all you all are talking about. They are funding that. They're giving the money to nonprofits. And I work for nonprofit, so I was fully aware of what amazing programs are there are because we were able to get the checks to do the program. So some of those things are business counseling, they're entrepreneur programs. I used to teach entrepreneur programs and they're really low cost or they're free, and so it's just really good
for our people to know about that. I'm Filipino and Pakistani and so I worked in historic Filipino town in la and we did a lot of good work there. We still do a lot of good work there around how to get people aware of what's out there. Savings programs. They had one program back in the day where you could save money like fifty bucks a month and at the end of practicing saving for twelve months, you get two thousand dollars from this bank, from this grant. It
was amazing. So people need to know about stuff like that and be aware about what's possible.
Okay, so all right the Community Reinvestment Act. Can we just give a little bit, a little bit broad a detail on what that actually is? That is? That? Is that A because we're in l I don't know if I sit that way in LA, but we're in l A right now. Shout out to the city, the great city of Los Angeles. You know, we love l A. So but is this a program that is specific to California l A or is it a national.
I feel like LA was broken into the red line zones, and I think it had something to do with the train tracks, and that's how the parts of LA were broken up, like Compton Wise, It's like all these things were broken up intentionally, right and in that time, that's how neighborhoods formed and.
How games key people where they were.
It was like, it's a history of that Chicago, and that's where the term other side of the train tracks exactly because literally a lot of you on the other side of the tracks that separated the good neighborhood from bad neighborhood quote unquote, well, I mean property from not poverty. So that's a good first bethead. I mean not good people, but good as far as you know real estate prices and stuff like that. So all right, But it was.
A multiplier effect of that, because if you couldn't get a loan, you couldn't own a house. If you couldn't own a house, then you can't have wealth. So it's what we see multiply over and over. And then on top of that the schools is that you're in an undesirable neighborhoods, you're not gonna have good schools. So on top of that, then your schools are bad. So what do you have. You have liquor stores and check cashing places. You don't have banks, so you're now paying to cash
your check. You're paying to go and get your check cash. So it's just lose, lose, lose the whole way. So this Community Reinvestment Act was to help offset that, to help get people back into banking, to trust banks again, so not to go to the check cashing places, not to go spend money doing putting your Oh we have people having cash under the mattresses. That's where people are. That's where they're saving them money because they're like, we don't trust the banks. How do we don't even know
anyone at the bank. Actually banks don't have people that look like us. So these nonprofits where these intermediaries, these like go betweens to help people gain trust back into the banks. That's what they were for.
It's funny like that.
We we had conversations with adults were the first thing that they wanted to do when they got that check was go to check cash, and we were like, no, you should probably have a bank account. And it's like, now I don't trust it. It's just something that's been ingrained in our communities for so long. That's it.
And people don't people don't understand how you know what. Somebody made a good, good analogy to me because when I first when I got my first job, and I went to the check cashing checks like a couple of blocks away from where I worked in the camp and everybody went there and they were saying, like, you never see a check cash in place in like a white neighborhood or like a wealthy neighborhood. You don't. This is what a fried chicken spot.
You never see a couple of things. It's going to be a liquorster, a church, a fried chicken spot, and a check ash.
No, it's it's true, it's true. So but all right, So there's programs put in place by banks to help educate people, right, So what are they actually educating them on.
So one is how to have a bank account, how to actually write a check, how to just use the financial institutions that are out there to get you used to that so you don't have to pay for your money because a check cashing place, Okay, you cash your check, but then you get used to going there, and then they upsell you on like this a loan. Oh, you need an advance on your check. You need some money, Okay,
but that's like going to cost you forty percent. So the next time around, now you're paying half your check right in order to get the money, and then that compounds, so now you owe money. So all of a sudden, you're owing money instead of making money. Where if you put in the bank you gain interest, even if it's a little bit interest, at least you're not paying to
get your money. So it's a way to get people used to using financial institutions and Also the other programs were about how to start a business, which I really love. That's what I was a part of, so how to start a business. And then I even did financial literacy for kids, so we got piggybanks. We taught them how to count and use a calculator, and then we taught
them about like needs and wants. So don't spend money on those name brands necessarily when you're that young, Like save a bit, you know, earn your leisure, how you have your assets.
This sounds something right right, Yeah, for sure.
That's what you teach. So we did it all for you know, there in those hoods, and it was great.
Can you talk about the program for small business owners? Yeah, there's an SBA.
So the government has different parts of it, and one part of it is called the Small Business Administration, the SBA. And who pays for that? You do? You do?
I do?
The taxes pay for it. The taxes that you pay go to programs. And these programs are free so that the programs are small business counseling, so you can come if you need a business plan, you can go roll up to one of these places and go and get yourself a business counselor for free, and they will coach you through a business plan. And you've already paid for it because you pay ten taxpayer, so you should go and get the resources that you've paid for.
Where do I find this program? Because I know this is not being offered in schools, So is it at a community center or is there a designated area that I can find that program?
Right? So, the SBA has centers, they're called Small Business Development Centers, and they're also partnering with the nonprofits, so they would employ people like me to work in these nonprofits to reach out to the community and then be like they're like proxy, like be their ambassador. So they would be the ones to help in those communities teach people about business plans and other stuff.
Okay, and each demographic has its own, right because I know you said that you were working with the Filipino.
Area, and is that true for the Hispanic area?
Yeah, and the black communities too. So the banks knew that the only way for people to get used to them is to go through the nonprofits they know or the churches they know. So most of these communities have their own so you could just look up what's in your area look up who the main players are who are doing work in the area, really good community nonprofit work, and they're probably doing this already.
But how do you look it up?
How so you could look up small Business Counseling or free small Business Development Center SBA and you'll find it.
And do you have to how do you qualify? Like, it's okay if I'm a small business owner, I want to have a business plan? Me right, there's a certain qualification that I have to meet to have a free business plan.
No, it's free. You fill out one form with your name, address, and you check that you certify this information is true and that's it.
So I can google. I can google s B a s.
B a free business counseling or small business development center, and then you can find one near you and they're targeted to let's say women, or let's say the community that you're part of, and it's all free. They also have another program called SCORE and that program is with executives.
So it's I forget the first part, but it's retired executives and it's these guys who are like retired in there, you know, in their retired time frame, like they're they're they're free and they want to give back, and they also do counseling for you. So you can even hear from an executive, which is a trip because they're they're you know, golfing and hanging out and they want to give back and so they will talk to anybody. You just make an appointment.
And it's so in the area that you worked. What's the retenttrary?
How many people do you see trying to create small businesses in the community you served.
The thing is the thing that people think is you need money to make money. You don't need money to make money, you need drive. The thing that I saw that made everybody successful is they had ambition, Like they could have a couple bucks in their pocket, but they knew that they could do it. I had one sister. She had an ice cream truck and I'll give her a shout out. Her name, her company name is Callie Pop. And she would go in the hood and sell ice cream.
Like why are you going in the hood. She's like, my papa did that. My papa did that because it was the jungle and he was the only one that would sell ice cream in the hood. And I helped her and so we got her her things set up. She got set up at the commissary like where she stocked her stuff. And just like the other day, I saw her in the Beach Cities areas and she was selling to the kids, and I was like, girl, you're doing good, Like I'm so proud of you that you
came up. And she she didn't have much, but she made it work. But she had that determination and it was like her legacy because it came from her dad. So she really wanted to do it. And so I had people doing childcares and people doing record stores. I
have restaurants, and they had nothing. They had no education, even you know high school dropouts, right, And one of my clients in the Park's Finest, they were high school dropouts and they used to cook barbecue in the hood to stay out of trouble, so they wouldn't get into fights with people because they'd be the ones that would come through and cook for you for your parties. So they never got in anybody's way. They were run on
anybody's side. And they came to me one day and they're like, yo, like we want to go and buy this trailer. We want to buy this barbecue trailer. And so I helped them through it. They ended up now they have a storefront. They got on diners, drive ins and dives on the food network and it's like and it there's high school dropouts.
So let me ask you this. So the Small Business Administration, Yeah, they help you. They can write, well, they can help you write a business plan. Yes, they can help you with coaching, mentorship, right, can they help you with funding.
Yes they can. So all of the coaching and the classes that they have they do want to get you set up so you can go and get a loan. And so they actually have education on how to get a loan from a bank. So they work with banks on getting businesses ready to go and try to go for a loan. So all these banks and the SBA, they all work together to try to help the different business clients get ready and you know, try to acquire that which is possible.
And it's all free.
That is free, all free. It's all free. But we don't know about it.
We do.
Now, what are some things some people can do to help them help their chances to get alan because that's always come down to money and it.
Always comes out with credit, right, So use your credit card responsibly and build your credit score up slowly and be responsible. So even if you okay, so when people use debit cards, it's cash out the door, right, which is fine because you're like, oh, I don't want to spend more than I have in my bank. But if you can discipline yourself and use a credit card and pay that fifty bucks down every month, then you have
like a track record of credit. I remember the first credit card I opened, I only had five hundred dollars, like that's all I could get, Like that was my max. And I still have that card today because it and I won't close it because it has a history of credit history of how many years I've had that one credit card. In fact, I don't think I even increased the limit. I still only have five hundred on it. But I never closed it, and so they've seen like
decades of me using a credit card. And I didn't have a lot of money at the time, like I was a student, like I literally they didn't know who I was. But I applied for it as a student. I was like, oh, yes, I have this five hundred dollar card, and at the time that was like a lot of money for me. So I just never went over and I paid it off and then over time you built your.
Credit score back to funding for a seconds. What's the maximum amount of money that can be loaned for a small business?
There is there's no mak, no max. Okay, there's no max. There's different levels. So they have different programs for like depending on how much business you do, but they have smaller loans. It's more what's the minimum? I think that's the question. Like it's more like can I go for
five thousand dollars? Can I go for ten? And so what it is is you can go and make a relationship with your bank, go and talk to someone there and start to ask these questions and they will actually also coach you through it to help you get ready. And it's all that's all free too.
So I want to ask you one more question. The chamber of commerce you work with chame more commerce?
Right? I did I work for? After this nonprofit? I work for an Asian Chamber of Commerce?
So what is the chain of I could? I always hear chain of commerce here in this city, and there's different groups to have chain Like what is it? What is it? What does that mean? Like? What is a chain of commerce?
What do you do So a chamber of commerce takes Businesses can sign up to join as a member, and you basically are members with other people, and then you can network with these people, meet them, maybe do business with them. You can go to their different events and learn from them, and it's basically an association, so you're not solo on your own. Like if you start a business and you're like, I don't know anybody. Where can I meet somebody or where can I learn from other people?
And even though they're your peer group, like they're the same as you, they might have a tip that you don't know. So by going and hanging out with these people, you're also kind of raising the bar on yourself because you're learning from other people who might be struggling the
same way but might have a tip for you. They might know something about a program, or they might actually introduce you to some business, and so by being around other people like that, you're just going to raise your chances of doing better.
Okay, So a chain of commerce is not a government institution.
It's not it's by the city. And then there are these offshoots like the one I work for, that are for the community. So there are nonprofit ones and they're all really like geographic base.
Most of the time, anyone can can visit the chamber.
Of commerce, you can join, there's usually a you to join, so that's the only kind of thing that you have to sign up for, right, cool.
Cool, So yeah, that was some good information. So now we're going to go into the second segment. We're going to talk about different programs to hire small businesses. So the first thing you have to do is educate yourself to actually start a business. But once you start a business, was educating us that there's a lot of initiatives and programs and even stipulations a lot of times big corporations have to put in place to bring small business owners on.
So yeah, we're going to go into that segment next. All right, So in the second segment, we're going to talk about supplier diversity, right and so, well, a lot of times people don't realize is that there are programs in place and some stipulations a lot of times in place that a big corporation or a government agency they have to use a portion of their budget for minority businesses. Right, So all right, can we go into.
That, Let's do it all right?
All right? So, so all right, So what's the deal with that.
Before we go to the kid. Can we define what a minority is? Well, that might be important to know first.
Right, Well, oh yeah, can we do that.
We can do that, so tie together your question and your question. There are programs out there where companies have to do business with people who are underserved. And so the minority category is basically people of color, So it could be someone who's Black, Asian, Latino. That is the minority community. The Native community has their own as well, but they're also a minority. You also have veterans have
their own categories. So if we have folks here who are veterans who have served our country, that's another category, and women is another category. So you can belong to more than one category and actually try to go for a business in each of these categories. But basically, if you're a person of color, you can go for the minority category. If you're a man or woman, whatever you are.
So can you walk me through and we can go through LA. Like, since we're in LA. If I have an HVAC company in Los Angeles, I'm African American mail. Yeah right, all right, what do I do?
So let's say you're doing pretty good. Like you you're you got your business going your you've got customers, like you've got to be at the point where you're you're operating, you're doing not bad for yourself, you've got your financials. Then you can start to go kind of for the big guns, like you can go for corporations. And corporations
are buying stuff all the time. They're buying light bulbs or buying paper, they're buying, you know, things like that, and they're looking for vendors that are minorities, that are from these categories. And in California specifically, the utilities here have a general order that mandates basically, it makes it required that phone companies, the water companies, all these utility companies they have to do business with minorities have to have to have to is a law. Okay, so that's
set aside. So at least fifteen percent of anything that they buy, any people they hire have to be minorities. So if you think about that, it's set aside for us. So how do we get it right? So that's the next question. So you have to get certified to show that you're a minority, and you have to prove it by going through different agencies that give you the certification.
You fill out some forms, you show your financials, and then after some time you pay, like you pay a fee to do that, and then after some time you get the certification. And after that you can start to try to pitch your business to these corporations and you get in this special category where you can try to get that money.
So in New York, I think it's called MWBE Minority Women Business Enterprise.
You got it.
Yeah, And in order to be certified in New York, your business has to be i think in place for two years, and it's a long list of different things that you have to provide profit and law statements. You have to all kinds of stuff like corporation letter, and it's a very long list. I know because I've done it. So is it the same in Los Angeles?
It's the same across the country.
It's the same.
They have the national they have a national certification organization that does this and MSDC, and then every region has their local version that helps give information about it. So it's the same across the country, okay for everybody. So what you just described is completely accurate, and it's the same across the country.
Okay, that's good to know. I didn't know that, all right, So okay, so and then correct me if I'm wrong. Fifty one percent of the ownership has to be on because you can have a white partner, right.
Right, You can have a white partner, but that you got to own more than them, So you got to own fifty fifty. So you can't be that's the thing.
You can't be messing.
Around and you can't be fake. And why did they do this is because white folks were taking advantage and so they're like, look, we need to make this a certification. It needs to be proof on paper that this is minority own Okay, because that's what this is about. This is not about some fake thing that you know, you're the face of it. No, this is to make things right for underrepresented individuals and communities that have not been served. And that's what this is for. To make it right.
You said the process takes two years to No, you have to.
Be in business for two years. You have to take like a few months. It's more how much paperwork you have in order. That's what takes time. Like you have to get your stuff together, you have to get your paperwork together. That's what I do. I help businesses get it together. And I do like consulting about that because sometimes they can be overwhelming. So so it's really important to try to just have your books in order and
your paperwork together to try to get that ready. But after that, it just it doesn't take that long.
So working in LA, how long you've been working.
In LA fifteen years?
So how many people that have businesses are aware of that? Of the program?
There is more that they don't know about it, right or some people are like, I don't need that. I'm good, Like I'm fine with how I am. But the thing is, if you can go and get more, why don't you go and get more? Like if you can do business with major companies like brandnames I'm talking like Toyota or Honda, or Boeing or North of Grumman or any brand name that you know has a version of this, why wouldn't
you go and try? Because they're looking for us, they're looking for women, they're looking for minorities to do business with. It's set aside. They have people in those companies that are their whole job is to go find minority businesses. Can you believe that? Yes, that's the whole that's the that's their whole job.
So am I not to do it? A minority is pretty much anybody that's not white, right, that's rights.
To say that.
Yeah, okay, and obviously a woman, any woman. It can be a white woman.
It can be a white woman, yeah, or a black woman.
Do you have do you know like percentage wise, like who benefits the most from these programs?
You know, that's a good question. What I've seen for the minority category. I feel like, you know, it depends on the industry. So certain industries have more, right, So I don't want to stereotype, but that's what you see. So what you see on the world, what people are doing that it reflects back into this.
In your fifteen years in this service, right, what's the largest amount you've seen allocated to a business millions?
Millions?
Yeah?
Well yeah, no, like they start small, you start small, but then it multiplies. It's this multiplier effect, and then they get a bigger contract, and then they go bigger and then all of a sudden they're like running the whole thing or they're going like to different regions, right, and then after that it's guy's a limit because what happens is the folks that are in these corporations, they're like, yo, yo, yo, this person's good. You need some here, I'll refer you.
So then they cross refer across the corporation. So then it's the same guy or the same woman or the same person getting more and more and more because they're trusted, they're known, they're like celebrated, and then all of a sudden they're killing it. So all I'm saying is like, why don't we get more people in that pipeline.
Let me ask you this because a lot of times in our communities we pick businesses that aren't scalable. What I mean by that is go ahead, run them down, shohny arrest. Even though all of these businesses can be scalable, but for the most part, they're not. They're local mom and pop restaurants, barbershops, sneaker stores, stuff like that. Right, So these aren't type of businesses. Maybe a restaurant you can cater, but these aren't the type of businesses that
are going to get these these dollars from these corporate companies. Right. So from being in the industry that's right for a long time, what are the most appealing businesses that can get money from large corporate Like what are they looking for?
It's really everything. You walk through an office, what do you see? You see chairs, do you see paper, you see light bulbs. They're buying everything it could be. There was when I saw recently it was for hand loation. I'm not kidding. So there they bid it out. And the thing is they have to put it out to a bid to try to find minorities. If they don't get it, who gets it? The white folks. So if they don't find someone, if someone's not in that spot, it's going to go to somebody. So why not have
our people there? Why not have our people in that pipeline? Right?
So businesses like h FAG like construction.
A big one. They can't find construction.
Construction huge, construction is huge. It's not easy to start a construction, not easy.
And a guy doing past control like you can think.
Of control is huge, controls huge.
H fact is it's pretty big business too though, because everybody needs a fact on a certain level, you need it.
Then somebody reach out to us about pest control and they were like, they're running this huge business doing it and nobody knows about it's something that we definitely want to want.
To talk about it. But I'm just I say that to say a lot of times we just have to think outside of the box and think different ways. Scalable business model, Yeah, because a lot of times, like I said, you start a business, if it's not scalable, you're only going to go so far right in your neighborhood. Right, And even if there's money allocated from corporations, they can't.
It's not a fit.
It's not going to do it.
It's not it's not going to do anything right.
So all right, you got certified. How do you find these? Is it like a database inside of the website to say, okay, HBO is looking for construction, Like how do they work?
So every company has their own portals sometimes where you have to go and apply in there, and that's the biggest barrier because people have to go in each one and then apply, right, but they are the certifying organization. They also have a directory. So NMSDC has a directory of suppliers and if you can keep that directory entry up to date, people will come find you. So that's
another way where you get tapped. And so I've done something where I've done some business with a university, and I filled out their database and now I'm in their database. So if they ever need somebody, they can tap it again like they know that they can find it because I'm in there. So once you're in, it's great and it can work two ways. You can try to pitch yourself or.
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You can also be tapped for that. And then on top of that, these nonprofits like the Chambers and stuff, they do networking events for the supplier diversity. So to tie it all together back to the beginning, we're talking about all the different nonprofits that do programs. Another program is matchmaking, So they have these matchmaking fairs, matchmaking events where you roll up with your business cards. They have all the companies lined up. They have sessions for education.
They have booths where all the companies are there waiting to meet you, and you can go shake hands and meet them and it's all free.
What's the name it is, it's all.
Front it's all supplier diversity, So supplier diversity match making events, that's what it's called. So they're they're they're ready, they're wanting to meet you. All you got to do is be ready with your stuff, like if you have a one pager which is like a one page business sheet on what your business is in your business card, and you get ready to make a good impression.
So it's like a high level job fear almost.
Yeah, it's a matchmaking it's like it's like you know, speed dating. Yeah, and and they're there to help you. And even if you're not ready at that point, you will if you make a good impression, that'll keep you in mind. And then they nominate you for programs. So there are these programs where you get put in Academy for for entrepreneurs. Macy's had an academy for entrepreneurs. A
friend of mine went through Macy's Academy for Entrepreneurs. She Latino woman latina' black and she got put through Macy's Academy. Or there's another one, Goldman Sachs. It's called ten Thousand Small Businesses, and you can go and you learn souped up financial education. So once you're past the financial literacy, you know, the foundational stuff, they teach you the next level.
And if the company likes you, even though you haven't done business with them yet, they'll put you through that program to get you ready to do business with them. It's all to help.
Yeah, the Goldman program is good. I actually know a few people that went through that. It's like a college course pretty much, and they teach you high level business planning and how to you know, succeed a lot of times most businesses fail because of lack of education and planning.
Lack of planning right, right, but like.
They don't really know, they don't understand business. They might be passionate about what they do. Like if you're a restaurant owner, you might be a great chef, but if you don't understand payroll and you don't understand like what's the good time to open your restaurantf you don't understand the basic business principles, you're going to fail. Right, So this is what the podcast is about. But also it's important for people to seek resources outside of the podcast,
So it's great information I should provide. And so one of the questions that I have was the bid you had. You said something about like the corporations they bid, right, what's the bid process?
Yeah, so when they're looking for something, that's called a request for proposals or they are looking for a bid. So a bid is like it's like an auction, like I bid this, Like they're looking for you to bid your services. So you would go and say, I have this product and here's what my cost is. If you want to hire me for my product or my service, and I'm going to put my name in the hat to try to get that money or that contract and
they'll review it. And if it's between you and someone else and you have minority certification, you will get it because they need those numbers, they need to fulfill this quota that they have, so it's worth it to get the certification. If you like, no, no, no, I'm good, Like I can get it on my own, Like sure, you can go and get it on your own, but if it's between you and someone else who has a certification, they're going to get it, so you might as well go and get it.
Where do these bids take place and how often do they occur?
So if you aren't in a good relationship with the company, they will actually contact you and let you know when it's coming. So that's one way. That's like the whole relationship thing, like everything in the world. If you know someone, you're gonna find out. So that's one thing. The other one is these fares. They tell you when they're upcoming bids. So at those booths I was just talking about, they'll handout papers and say we have this stuff coming up.
It's not out yet, but it will be. And then another thing is they might have an online portal where they have, you know, information that they share. So if you're in the category of that service, like I do training consulting, so I'm on these directories, so I will get an email that says, hey, we've got a bid out for these services, and it'll say what services, and I can decide if I want to apply for or not. So those are a few ways that you can find out.
And then the nonprofits also get contacted like yo, like we need someone now, like we need this person, so that happened with my friend with pest control where they're like, yo, like we need a pest control company. So I sent my client out and he got to do a walk through this like major venue here in LA And I'm so proud of this Filipido guy and he's walking with all these like major companies and he had a shot right It's because he knew me through a nonprofit that
wasn't out on some internet website. That was because someone like emailed me and was like, hey, look, you know anyone. I'm like, yeah, I know someone else, send him right now. So it's it's all all of the different ways.
So does the lowest bidder always get the job or no.
It's a few things. They want to trust you, they want to see your track record. They also want to see your potential, and they will give it a shot if they think that like you'll do good.
The great thing about this whole situation is that I actually went through this before, so I could speak on the first hand and sometimes, like literally you could just fall into money. Because so there was a school that I was working with as an independent contractor and they had a program called My Brother's Keeper Initiative. President Obama. Anybody's not familiar. President Obama put together a program called My Brother's Keeper and it was to give money to
school districts and other type of community. Oh so you sure. It was for them to bring in outside resources to add to their curriculum. So they got a budget and they had to fulfill the first twenty percent of that with minority women business enterprise thing, and they couldn't They couldn't do anything else until they filled that. The problem with it is that they didn't have they they didn't
have the didn't know they were doing. So literally, if in that situation, if you you could have just stumbled and got paid because they were looking for and what they were looking for was like anything that they can bring into their school district. So I think they had a program for like video gaming. It was complete nonsense. But the whole thing about it is it.
Was grossly mismanaged.
Yeahs manage. Yeah it was, Yeah, it was terribly But the thing about it was, to their credit, they didn't really have too many options and then they had to really do it in like a three month window. Like you said, it's just sometimes like.
Damn, we need this now, and then they they're like, well, like anyone know anybody, so they start like hunting for it.
No, you could have had any program, anything that you had. I could have pitched it to the school district and you could have got a nice check for that. Because they had they had they had right time, right, they had to use the money. They had to use the money. It was over six figures six six six figures yep, they had to use it and one year spent and they only had like thirty days to implement their first program,
their first phase of it. So you could have just walked into probably like twenty thousand dollars just by accident.
So that's the thing you're talking about. It's time because every year these companies have a goal, they have a quota they have to hit, and so they're running up against the clock where they have to they have to they have got to find it. Do you see what I'm saying? Right, So it's like make it easy for them. Get yourself ready, like get know them and then and help them find you.
That's the first thing we said when we met each other today. It was like you ready to get ready? Right?
Right?
You ready? And were they ready? So you don't have to get ready, that's a.
Fact, right, And you were saying that they have like like parties, graduation and stuff like that, like for these so.
They have gala lunches, like they're basically celebrations and awards ceremonies. So once you're doing good and you get recognized, they will actually honor you at an awards ceremony as a proud minority business, which is amazing. So not only are you getting paid, you got the contract, but now you're
getting an award. And what happens when you get an award other people see you in the room, and then the other companies like, yeah, oh we'll get him too, and then you get more because you're trusted and like oh they got an award, Okay, I'm gonna trust them. So then you get more. So it's it just multiplies and amplifies, and so the trajectory is like amazing, Like there's so much opportunity here. And I was inspired. I've been a lot of these. It is because of part
of the nonprofit. So I got invited as a community member and I was inspired. And these people are making bank like like they're small businesses, and then the medium and then that they're the ones doing millions.
You got to be a diplomat in this world, especially in business. A lot of times people have different views, especially entrepreneurs, like they don't really want any help. A lot of time anyone through things themselves. And I respect that. But but if there are ways to actually accelerate your business and to get money, and like I said, I've seen it firsthand where you can literally stumble into money, you have to really ask yourself is it beneficial to
fight against a wave or to surf serve it? Because they're already they're gonna use somebody regardless.
That's the thing.
The money's going after it could be you or can that be you?
Right? Might as well make it go and take it right.
Yeah, And like you said, I had a quick question about so when you have clients, right, you do the coaching part and more clients you get, are you compensated each time they get a new too or is it just the once they find it?
Do?
How's that work for you?
Well?
I do also coaching just to get people started, so it's an hourly rate. I do group coaching as well. So if people you just want to learn more, that's the thing. And then after that also to help them out, like we can work it out whatever works for people. I also am, I'm like, I want to give back, So I don't want anyone to be like I don't know what to do, or you know, like I will help. So there's educational resources, there's ways that they can you know, find out more.
Yeah, I can do that for sure. So that leads us into our last segment, which we're going to talk about business coaching, right, So, yes, that's what we're going to next. All right, So in the last segment, we're gonna we're gonna keep it in the world the business, but a little different conversation because a lot of times when we tried to releases highlight every area of entrepreneurship and business ship and just business owners and just everything.
So being a business coach not something that we've actually covered so far, so I think this would be a good way to cover it. So you're a business coach, right, that's right? Okay, So what does it mean? Because I've heard this term before and I'm still not exactly sure what a business coach does. So what does it mean to be a business coach?
So what I do is I help people who are stuck. They have an idea and they don't know where to go with it, or maybe they're at a certain point and they can't get past it. And so what I can do is help with that, to help give strategies, tools, resources, and put them in touch with people or even you know, give them some ideas on their business plan to help them along. So it's like a consultant is a consult right.
But the thing with coaching is like sometimes it's a personal block, Like maybe you're stuck in your head about something and you need like you know, life coaching, or you need, you know, a pep talk before you go into that meeting where you're going to do a bid like what we're talking about. So sometimes you need a coach. This is like sports coach, like you need someone to
tack you through like the play right. So if you're on the floor right and you're like, okay, there's three minutes left on the clock, what are you going to do? Like the coach will know what to do because you're in the game. You're playing. You're like, yo, like I don't know what to do. So it's like do I shoot it? I passed? What do I do? So the coach is going to help you through that. That's what's gonna happen.
That's a pretty good analogy. So are you day to day with the clients or are you meeting weekly? How does that work?
Usually it's like every couple of weeks we do a check in or a month. Some people stretch it out where they're like, I'm good, Like we can talk in a month. It's a package. So you can do a series with me, and then after that, you know, you can go from there. I also have group coaching sessions so people can join those, so that's more affordable with them. Well,
we don't have our culturally competent coaches. We don't have people that know how to talk our language, like yo, like I got you know, my grandma at home, she's sick. Like people are just looking at your profit and loss statement. They don't know all this other stuff. So what I do is I incorporate the cultural knowledge and respect in that and talk the language that you know, and also incorporate that into your plan because you can't just make
a plan without thinking about your family. You can't just make a plan without you know, thinking about how you do business because you're not going to compromise your culture. You're not going to compromise yourself ethically because you're not
going to survive. If you're someone else through all of this, then you're not going to survive because that's only going to last like a flash in the pan, and then you're done, or even worse, you're going to turn into someone that you can't look in the mirror and respect anymore. So what I do is I honor that in you, Like I'm like, what do you want to do? What do you want to do? Like in there, what do you want to do? Versus like what should I do? Or what the world's telling me to do or what
my mom's telling me to do? You know. So that's what comes out of the coaching.
Really not as powerful. It's honorable. A lot of people have compromised their culture, but it's a different conversation. So all right, so let's say I want to let's say I want to become a business coach. Right, Yeah, I'm tired of the podcast. I can't take it any more. I just want to just start coaching people in their business. How do I do that?
Well, you got to be informed and figure out what it is that you know. So maybe you're a strategy person, like you know how to help people to like use the dynamics, Like you know how to how to operate within a company or operate like within an organization. That's your thing. Or maybe you're a really good like business plan person, like you're you know how to make the business plan. So you figure out what it is that you know and what you want to teach and how
you teach, and that's what you go with. You go with what you know and what you're good at.
How do you how do you market it? How do you personally?
Me personally? It was all word of mouth, so people it gone on the street like, oh here, you want to know someone here, talk to her, and so it was word of mouth referral. The best thing out there is your name and your brand. That's the best thing out there. You got to keep that clean and shiny and true. And once you have that, you're good because people will know good people, attractive people. Right, look at how we all met.
It just happens story, so.
You kind of manifest it. Like if you've heard of this book, it's called The Secret. The secret is like how do you have people have things come to you? And there's a dude right, and he's like, look, I want to make a million dollars, so I'm going to write a check and put it on my ceiling. I'm gonna stare at that thing every day. So that was what he manifested. He manifested it, and that's what you can do with any of this stuff.
So what's the pricing model?
Like for coaching, I have a sliding scale so I can work with folks. So my corporate consulting rates are like three fifty an hour. But that's like if you're at the point where, look, I need it quick and I need I know exactly what I need, and you come and I'll give you that. If you want like group coaching, I can do you know, different rates for that. That's like a package. And then I do do like, you know, a sliding scale rate, so if you need to talk to me, it's like one hundred and fifty bucks.
But the thing is just like, oh that's expensive. Okay, you want to waste your time, like you know, darting around doing the wrong thing. It's like, you you pay for quality out here, so invest in yourself. Don't buy those movie tickets for one night. You know what I'm saying. Like, don't buy that purse like you're in your leisure. We got to earn it. So put the put the money in, put the time and save the money, don't go out to eat, make that lunch right, and and invest in yourself.
That's what people need to do.
You know, is your coach in uh California base or do you?
Because I notice that you you travel around.
And speak about travel and speak a lot areas as well. Well that's all online so we can talk on zoom and it's like I'm in your living room, you know, like we can talk on video call and like you feel so close in that conversation. I do too that it's it's almost like we're in person. So that's the wonder and beauty of technology is that that can happen.
So there's really no set standard for for pricing, like you could just you just it's like a psychologist, you just do whatever you want to do.
Well you can, yeah, but it's like you all.
In scale industry standard Like no, no.
It's like I'm certified. So that's the thing. I have financial certification. I'm totally certified. I have National Development Council certification. I also have coaching certifications. So all of that is like, that's fine, that'll, you know, help your rate along. But if people like you, you'll pay. I knew dude I heard about he's like charging five thousand dollars for an hour, and it's like, are you for real? People who were buying that because he was good. So it's it's really
up to you. I try to make it accessible though, So we.
Had shout out to Alex. He was he's in a trucking industry and he said he charged ten thousand dollars and he had an eight month waiting list.
That's what I'm saying, so you know, catch me now.
So yes, the price is the price.
Is going on, but I give a lap back. So I give in ways like I can tell when I can figure out a way for it to work. So you know, I might be in your neighborhood and I'll be doing a talk and maybe you can check it out. So if folks keep in touch with me on social or are on my email list, then you can find out when I'm doing the free things and then you can see me in person.
So the best ways to kind of get your brand out there, to become a business coach is this is my personal opinion, right and correct me if I'm wrong. Social media, speaking engagements, any type of publicity that you can get, doing podcasts, writing articles, establishing your credibility as an expert in that particular field. Because this is the thing, right, You got to be a specialist. It's like going to a doctor. Now, I'm not going to a cardiologist to
get my teeth fixed. Doesn't make sense, right, When you try to be a jack of all trade, you end up as a master of none. So you have to specialize in one particular area. So like the guy in the trucking industry, he specialized. He became the trucking guy. So now it's not unreasonable for him charge ten thousand dollars because he's established himself as a leader in the industry. Do you believe that that what I just said is correct?
That's I do believe that. Yeah, So I agree with that. And I think for me, people know me because of what you just said, because I write and I speak and people see me. I'm at conferences all the time. And then you know, the corporations also call me, so I can call sometimes when something goes wrong and they can't call somebody else. And they'll bring me in and they won't tell anyone because they need it fixed. So
I'm that person too. So I'm the person that can help, you know, find a solution a lot of time or strategy or way forward.
And it's also important to know that, and you said this earlier off cameras that a lot of times you're doing this for free, like you're going to speak sometimes just for free to get your name out there. Yeah, that's important, right. You don't charge this amount when you start.
You have to build that.
I'm going to give back to So that's my ethic is like I've been there, I know, and parts of my family are still there actually a lot. So the thing is is like that's never going to go away. So what do we got to do? We got to help each other. And so you know, what they say is that you lift as you rise, You lift as you rise. If I'm rising, I'm gonna bring everybody along with me. And if you're rising, you bring everybody along
with you. And if you do that and he does that and she does that, then we all grow, right, And that's what we want to do. We want to have everyone up there with us. We don't want to be alone. It's lonely there. I don't like to go into spaces where it's businesses and I'm the only woman of color. I don't like that. I want to see more people that look like me. I want to go up on stage and be like like everybody else. So I don't I don't want to do this by myself anymore. I need all of everybody.
So how do you How do you convince small business owners, specifically small business owners that pain for education paying for a consultant is valuable because they always try a lot of times penny pinch. They want to pay anything. So how do you do it?
It's two reasons, Okay. Number one is they figure out how to do it better, right, it's a strategy. The other one, number two is the motivation. If you're putting money down, you're going to go show up, okay. But if you're like it's free or this is not I don't know, Like you're not committed. So I'll talk to you next year when you're serious, because you're not serious
right now. So it's a promise to yourself. You're making a promise to yourself, you're honoring yourself, you're putting yourself first. You're not putting that pair of shoes first. You're not putting you know that bet on the game first. Right, You're getting a guaranteed outcome out of this. And that's all I can say. I'm not saying it's going to end up like getting you whatever you need, like some kind of contract or whatever. But you're going to move forward. And that's the first step.
You have to look at it like sports, like if you're Michael Jordan or Lebron James or whatever, they're not going in the gym by themselves. They have personal trainers. They also have massage therapists. They also have nutrition nutritionists, they have chefs and everything, right, and because they understand that like Lebron he said he invests a million dollars in his body every year. There's a reason why he's never really got hurt. He's putting that type of resources
in it. He's obviously gonna be dedicated. You're not gonna spend a million dollars in and not be dedicated. But also these people are pushing him because you can only push yourself so far. It's like lifting weights, like that's why you need somebody to help you lift. If you're really gonna like try to max out right, It's like,
you can only go so far by yourself. So I encourage everybody, no matter what industry you're in, to seek help, whether that's in the form of mentorship, whether that's in the form of a coach, whether that's in the form of just podcasts or you know, any type of information that you can receive. A lot of times people have the thing where they try to do everything themselves and you're only going to get so far by yourself. You
need help, And there's nothing wrong with help. And I think a lot of times, you know, you have to look at people that have been extremely successful and they always have help in some capacity, and a lot of times they have a lot of help. So small business owners, unfortunately a lot of times they think small and the yes'. And so what you're saying is actually something that's extremely valuable. And I want people to actually fully understand the importance
of it because I see it firsthand. I've seen it first hand. Even myself, I'll fall vic into it. Nobody's perfect. But you know, as you live and you learn and you become more humble, and that's the thing too. You have to be humble in order to seek criticism and also to seek help because a lot of times for coaching, it might not be something that you want to hear.
That's a tough thing, but you've got to be ready to face it right right.
Like, if I tell you that what you're doing is totally wrong and you've been doing it for ten years, it's like you you might not want to change that because nobody wants to admit that they're wrong. But if I know more than you, I'm trying to actually help you. So if you're humble enough to receive the information and you process it, then you could potentially blossom as a result. There it is, right there, go there, go, So how can people get in contact with you? Like, what's the
social media handles? Where you have website? All that time?
Right, I'm easy to find on social So my handle is at Farzana Niani so it's my first and last name together. I'm on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, I'm on LinkedIn as well. I have a website. My website is www dot or zanaiani dot com. A lot of resources up there. You can also follow me on all those social handles and see what I'm up to. You can follow my story, see my little words of wisdom that I have put up there all the time, and just check it out and be inspired yourself.
For sure. One, thank you for coming, thank you for hosting us. And shout out to all the people in the Philippines as well. So I used to live in Hawaii, and if you did sort of, oh did you of Hawaii? Okay, I was on the Big Island.
I went to school there for a couple of school You go to University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Okay. I went to the University Hawaii a Heilo. So we have more com for sure. Mahallow, mahallo. So that's a boy.
Yes, hello to everyone.
I wear many ads, so yes, I say that to say there's a there's a very large Filipino population in Hawaii. So very good people actually went to the Philippines. Me and Jamal went to We went to the Philippines. So shouts all the good people at the Philippines. I have not been to Pakistan, but shout out to Pakistan. And both shouted good people with Pakistan and yeah that's a good. Yeah, that's the thing. Your leisure, We with everybody, with everybody, and the information.
You're going to break out some tod, I was.
The information is for the entire world, that's what that's what we We're not limiting ourselves to anybody. We want to of information to entire man cond all over the world. So thank you again for joining us. We appreciate it. Troy.
Yeah, we gotta give a shout out to Mike too. Right, he had a plane ride here to La.
Dude, it was a cosmic meeting where we had four hours from Atlanta to La where we talked. We talked so much that the lady between us had to move because you're like, you all need to like get together. You're entrepreneurs.
So he couldn't wait to tell us about the conversation meeting. So shout out to Mike and yes, thank you again.
Shout out to Mike Man, the producer of the show. And he told us he was like, I just met this this lady on the plane and we got an interview with us.
Say how he talks though, Yo, I just that this guy you got. We gotta have it.
You gotta meet us, right man. If it goes wrong, it's on you.
So yeah, then.
Shout to Mike Man. We we put we put our faith in him him and I told him that he would get all the credit if they want, right and he would get all the blameing and going.
So what's the verdict.
He finish?
I think you know he picked a He he made a good decision. So shout to Mike for sure. Yeah, Troy house keeping eye.
And shout to everybody on Patreon dot com.
Y'all know that's our proud to pay program. It is doing tremendously well. We have bonus content up there. Y'all notice five tiers. You can join that and we're gonna keep putting content and we have something special. I told you when we get to one hundred, we're gonna do something special for five of our patrons and we're about to release that very soon. And shout out to everybody
who is buying the merch. You know, we put up the Full Fall with on Early dot com and shot he has on the crew neck, I'm wearing the hoodie.
It is cold in New York and it is chilly at night in l A. It's chill. It's chilli at night. So yeah, that's why we have it on. Even though we are in l A.
And we have some some some new merch chairs also going to be launched. We gave that out on on the episode with John Harry that Our Earners is going to be the name for our followers. So we're gonna have some merge that you know signifies that. So be on the lookout for that and keep supporting.
Yeah, supporters, I like. I like the words supporters better than follow social media. I only like how they phrase that because you're not following us, you're supporting us and we appreciate you, and we're not. We're not treating you like a fan or follower. You're a supporter and we really love you. We love you and we appreciate you. We wouldn't be here without you. And the book tip for this week is by Ben Harwitz. If you're not
may have been Hardwitz. He's a legendary VC investor, angel investor, and he's also very good friends with NAS. He's the one that actually encouraged NADS to get into the venture capital world. Anybody that follows NAS knows that he's huge right now in venture capital. So his book is What You Do Is Who You Are? So interesting read check it out and we'll see you guys next week.
Peace, Peace, You gotta say peace, Peace.
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