Shatrela Washington-Hubbard, Ph.D. Brenau University And Kimber Armstrong With Better Business Bureau

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studio in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio, brought to you by Kennesaw State University’s Executive MBA program, the accelerated degree program for working professionals looking to advance their career and enhance their leadership skills. And now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, CSU’s executive MBA program. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on the show, we have Shatrela Washington Hubbard, who is with Brenau University, and we have Kimber Armstrong with the Better Business Bureau. Welcome.

Shatrela Washington-Hubbard: Thank you for having us.

Lee Kantor: Well, why don’t we get started with Kimber? Uh, Kimber. We’re here to talk about this exciting program, bridge. And can you share a little bit about mission purpose? What is bridge doing for folks?

Kimber Armstrong: Yeah, absolutely. So bridge is a 501 C3 non-profit, and we have just launched, um, just in this last month, and our initial launch was at Brunel University. And we are a mobile resource center that goes out into the communities across the whole state of Georgia, providing actionable resources for small business owners. And we do, um, have a focus on minority and women owned businesses because they usually need more help. So our mission is to empower those businesses that are struggling and to help them succeed and to improve the survival rate for for those businesses in the state.

Lee Kantor: So now, why was it important for the Better Business Bureau to partner with them? Him.

Kimber Armstrong: Well, Better Business Bureau is steeped in the small business community, and it was just kind of a natural progression for us to branch out and provide, you know, resources we see up front in the community what the needs are. Customer complaints, customer reviews. We process about 65,000 customer complaints every year and around 26,000 customer reviews. So we have a front row seat to what’s going on in the market and who needs help. And we just we see entrepreneurs. We know that they have a passion and they they hit the ground running from sunup to sundown and they’re wearing all the hats. And while there are many, many great resources in metro Atlanta, we know that small business owners typically don’t have a half day or a whole day to spend chasing down those resources. So that’s why we come up with the idea to come directly to them. And so we partner with experts. Um, we pretty much stick to two main buckets of content that we’re teaching them. So it’s access to capital and financial management and legal and administrative services. So we have a broad network of amazing partners that help us.

Kimber Armstrong: A partner can like host an event. They can sponsor us, they can provide subject matter expertise, or they can help us get the word out to get businesses there. Um, and it is this mobile resource center is an expandable trailer. It’s 53ft long. And once we park it, it expands 15ft wide and it ends up being about 850ft² of Oval Office space. So it’s really cool. And it’s it’s kind of futuristic looking. It’s it’s drawing a lot of attention in the state of Georgia so far. Uh, when we went to the DMV to get our, our title, they said, oops, you’re going to have to come back. We don’t have one of these in the state of Georgia yet, so we’ve got to come up with a number. We’ve got to assign it a number. So it’s it’s new and exciting. And um, like I said, people just seem to be enamored with the whole whole trailer aspect, and there seems to be a great need in the state for it now.

Lee Kantor: Uh, Doctor Washington Hubbard, um, what was the thinking behind Brunel’s involvement with this venture?

Shatrela Washington-Hubbard: So when Kimber initially reached out to me about what bridge was trying to do in communities, it was a natural fit for us. Um, Hall County has been number one in the state of Georgia for small businesses. And so we know that small businesses are growing in the community. However, as Kimber said, there are some small business owners who do not have access to certain resources. And so, as the College of Business and Communication has been trying to infuse experiential learning into our courses and partner with the community more, this seemed like a natural fit for us to support the community as well as the college and that entrepreneurial ventures.

Lee Kantor: So can you tell us a little bit about how the event went?

Shatrela Washington-Hubbard: So for the event, we had a two day event as our kickoff. There was a networking night on Thursday, and that was the arrival of the Mobile Resource unit. During the networking event, we had representatives from bridge from Brunel University as well as community partners, faculty, staff and students in attendance. Individuals were able to network with each other and sign up for the day two um, which was on that Friday, to actually receive um services on the mobile resource unit for day two, which was that Friday. That was when the mobile unit was open, and we had partners here who were able to provide one on one, um, consultations with small business owners to support them with their small businesses. Individuals were also able to tour the mobile unit on that day. So, um, from the statistics that I received, I think that we serviced over 35 individuals on that Friday. So for the initial launch, I would say that this was a very big success. And we’re just appreciative, um, to bridge for having the honor of having the first, um, service date at Brunel University.

Lee Kantor: So now is it touring around other is that the plan to go around to other universities around the state, or are you going to other locales as well?

Kimber Armstrong: Yes we are. So we um, we just got the trailer about a month ago and, um, you know, very quickly have done the kickoff and, um, have been at some other events and, um, we’ve got 25 confirmed events on the calendar so far. And we know that, you know, we’ve heard from, um, some state leaders that there are plenty of communities that need help. And whenever you know we’re ready, there’s a list they’ll give us so that we can go into other communities. We are building this initiative to scale. We plan to serve a thousand businesses within the first 12 months and 3000in the next 12 months. And by year four, we plan to have about five of these mobile resource centers.

Lee Kantor: And then so then, can you share a little bit about what exactly is happening? Say, I’m a small business owner. I see that you’re coming to town. Um, what is what what should I be doing in order to get the most out of this?

Kimber Armstrong: Yeah. So we we have an events page on our website. Um, the, our parent company is called M works m w o r x. Uh, so it’s powered by M works. And if you go check out the events page, there are registration links. We’re going to be in Henry County. Um, we’ve got a commitment with them to go out monthly. Um, we’ve got a commitment with Doctor Washington, Hubbard and Brunel University to provide ongoing resources for their community for three years at least. Um, and so some some of the events we do are like more of a pop up event. Um, but we are providing actionable resources. It’s really important to for us to provide, you know, we don’t just want to we don’t want an entrepreneur to come spend a couple of hours with us and then feel like they’ve just been handed off to someone else. So, like when we were at Brunel, um, the, the individual business owners came on board and they sat down with, um, like access capital for entrepreneurs who actually can offer lending products and can tell them whether they qualify for those loans. And as we progress and, um, you know, build out the programing more, we’ll be very intentional about advising business owners who are coming, like if it is a loan application, they want, you know, you need three months of bank statements and a couple years of tax returns, whatever the requirements, because there’s so many different lending products out there and so many different things that are needed at the time. So, um, and then also we have attorneys that we’re partners with. We know that what we hear is small business owners don’t, you know, it’s kind of intimidating if you don’t know the legalities of maybe it’s contracts with customers or vendors, vendors. Um, so anything like that, if we have an attorney that day, um, and they need to bring anything that they need to have looked over, um, it could also be like their formative documents for their corporation, as a corporation, those kind of things.

Lee Kantor: So they’re actually getting it’s not just like, oh, you need to call a lawyer and here’s my card. And then, you know, this is something they have to purchase. This is actually giving them free consultations and actionable things at the event. It’s not just, like you said, passing them on to somebody who’s going to charge them a lot of money down the road.

Kimber Armstrong: Yes. That’s correct. So we’re actually providing the services there. Um, one of our upcoming events, we have our Department of Revenue partner that will be there with us. And it’s always interesting. She’s done um, some educational programing with us before. And it’s interesting to see this audience of entrepreneurs, their eyes get really big when they when they, they are understanding what is required from them through the Department of Revenue and running their business. They’re like, oh, I didn’t know that. You know, so, um, just a lot of really helpful information like that to steer them in the right direction, to do business the right way so that they can, um, thrive and grow.

Lee Kantor: So you mentioned ace, um, the access to capital for entrepreneurs, folks, are they they’re like actually filling out applications to, you know, help them get some money or funding.

Kimber Armstrong: Yes. So they, they, um, and we have, we have like 18 financial partners. We’ve got an extensive array of, loan products and other type of financing, credit, business credit, those kind of products that ace is very you know, they have their criteria. And so there’s a certain, um, business owner where they are in their business life cycle that fits in with their loan products very well. Um, and then we have other lenders who may offer, um, like equipment loans, you know, small, smaller loans. We have, you know, ones that offer bigger loans. It’s just there’s so many different products out there. So it’s it’s kind of like a little matchmaking game to, um, you know, work with our partners to decide who we’re inviting, who’s going to be there, and exactly what services we’re going to offer. And then also like in what language, because Doctor Washington Hubbard, um, when she and I first started talking about this, she said there’s a large Hispanic small business population. And so that’s, you know, that’s something that we’re factoring in as we’re, planning and building out the programing that we will have Spanish speaking professionals, because we know that they they need that in order to trust the information that they’re getting. So it’s very tailored to the community and the businesses that we serve.

Lee Kantor: Now what stage of an entrepreneur life cycle are you dealing with? Are these folks that have been around for like a year, or are they folks that have been around for ten years, or are they people that have an idea on a napkin?

Kimber Armstrong: It could be all of the above. So, um, our our definition of a small business is a business up to $1 million in gross annual revenue.

Lee Kantor: So up to a million, which is kind of the opposite of what, uh, the, the official government small business description is.

Kimber Armstrong: Well, and we’re so we’re, you know, in private nonprofit. So we, um, it’s, it’s important to us to help the businesses that really need it. And so at this point, that’s our guideline, right?

Lee Kantor: No, that seems that’s the majority of the businesses I would imagine. I think what small business definition, according to the government, is like $50 million or something.

Kimber Armstrong: Oh, wow. Yeah, I didn’t I would I would have had to look that up.

Lee Kantor: But yeah, it’s.

Shatrela Washington-Hubbard: That’s not.

Kimber Armstrong: That’s not very small.

Lee Kantor: Exactly. At least in my experience though, I think you’re going to hit a lot more people.

Kimber Armstrong: Yeah.

Lee Kantor: Now you mentioned.

Kimber Armstrong: Out there that need it.

Lee Kantor: Absolutely. And and the most fragile like this is where this type of information and resources are the things that, you know, make or break an organization. So if you’re really trying to give them the best chance to thrive and survive and grow, you’re doing it at the right time.

Kimber Armstrong: Yeah, I think that sweet spot is kind of somewhere in that 2 to 3 year mark where things are either they’re going to they’re going to figure it out and they’re going to soar with their business or they start really floundering, you know, and they need they need to grow. But they may have, um, maybe on poor advice or just not knowing. They, they report, you know, no earnings to the IRS. They, you know, write everything off. And then they want to go to a bank and get a loan. And you can’t do that. A bank’s not going to loan you money if you’re not showing any income. So it’s really taking those things that we know, um, that they need help with and getting out ahead of it so that we can, you know, help them not get to that point where it’s like, oh my gosh, like, the wheels are falling off and I’m just gonna have to close the doors like there’s so many steps leading up to that. And that’s what we hope to accomplish is to interject at the time that they need it the most.

Lee Kantor: And you’re partnering with, uh, other folks like Doctor Washington Hubbard at universities, but you’re also partnering with chambers of commerce and other kind of business hubs and communities.

Kimber Armstrong: Yes, absolutely. So honestly, like a host partner needs to be able to, um, accommodate a 53 foot trailer number one, which they have the perfect space at Brunel University. And, um, you know, chambers are a great partner too, because they have those networks of small businesses that they can help get the businesses there. Um, so yeah, that’s you’re exactly right.

Lee Kantor: Now, Doctor Washington Hubbard. Um, what was your thinking? Your, um, the dean of the College of Business and Communication, but you were also the first one in and you took action before anybody else. Um, what was so compelling about this, um, organization and this vision that that got you to take action so quickly? And if you have any other advice for other folks out there that should be hosting this type of, uh, an event, uh, what would you tell them?

Shatrela Washington-Hubbard: Well, as a university, um, and specifically as a college, we’ve been working with a lot of organizations, specifically with small business owners. And when they told me the population that they were really targeting, it was really a passion for me. Um, we’ve been servicing small business owners, not just in the United States, but we have been partnering as a university with different municipalities, with, um, different universities and programs in Costa Rica and Panama as well. So this is an expansion of the work that we’ve been doing as a university and a college. And so with Kimber, I’ve actually worked with her on a few other projects, and we serve on a board together with the Georgia Women’s Chamber of Commerce. And so, um, we both have always said that we felt like we would be doing more work together. And so she pitched the idea to me, and I knew that in the Hall County area, there’s a real diverse group of small businesses. And so I brought together a small group of individuals to see if this is something that the community would want and need. And everyone was in agreement that we should move forward with this. So even with being the first, one of the things that I told Kimber is I know we would have hiccups, but I was willing to just power forward. And I think it’s a great initiative. It’s very needed. A lot of businesses are still going through that post pandemic struggle, um, and trying to recover. So I thought that this was the right time. And so I was glad to step in to, um, be the first.

Lee Kantor: So what do you all need more of? And how can we help you? Do you need more sponsors? You need more locations to host the, um.

Kimber Armstrong: Yes, yes we do. Like, as I mentioned, we, um, our intention is to serve thousands of small businesses and to grow, um, you know how many vehicles we have out there across the state. So we we definitely desperately need sponsorships. We, um, we need host partners. Like for now, University. Um, we need other organizations that can help us get people there. So we’re bringing the mobile office space and our network of partners. Although as we’re growing this and building this like it’s very community focused. And Doctor Hubbard has introduced me to leaders in Gainesville with many more to be introduced to. So as we’re going into each of these communities, we’re reaching out to, um, leaders and professionals in those communities so that the small businesses that are there have, you know, have somebody that they know and trust where it’s not like we’re, um, our office is in Alpharetta, but it’s not like we’re bringing in, you know, all these folks from metro Atlanta with their great, great, great resources in metro Atlanta. But we’re unearthing and building those partnerships in the communities that we serve in.

Lee Kantor: Now, are you also building community for the entrepreneurs that are going through this, um, experience? Is there a place for them to connect with each other and to. You know, as a alumni of going through there. Is there a an effort to create community around them as well?

Kimber Armstrong: Yes there is. That’s a great question. And it’s not something that I that’s like completely finalized at this point. But we’ve talked to them about it internally among our team that they absolutely need to have that, um, that core group that they’re, you know, working through these stages with and that they can, um, mentorship is huge. And I hear that from, from small business owners often, like from, um, black female entrepreneur. Like, I don’t even know how my white counterpart is networking at the level that she is. Like, I don’t even have that access. So providing that ecosystem, it’s right now it’s a mobile ecosystem, um, which we know we can address digitally, but we can also address by, um, you know, reconvening at these at these Yeah. Community locations. I foresee that with Grinnell University that as we go along, we talked about having, you know, whether it’s quarterly or bi annually, um, you know, a congregation, a high level networking group where we can go and have leaders present, um, and also these businesses that are, um, committed to, you know, doing what it takes to, to succeed.

Lee Kantor: So let’s, um, help people connect. Um, what is the best way is there a kind of a center point for learning more and getting on a list if they’re coming to a community near them?

Kimber Armstrong: Yes. Um, our website is worksource. And you’ll you can, um, become a member there. There’s no charge for that. You can look at the events page and register for upcoming events. You can reach out through the contact form on the website. And that comes directly to me. So I just encourage, you know, anybody who has a desire to learn more, go to the website and reach out. I’m happy to connect with you. Um, we’re also having a kickoff at State Farm Arena on June 16th. That is, um, there’s a registration link on our website. We do ask people to register, but there’s no charge to attend. And that’s pretty exciting. We’re going to have the trailer actually, um, in the arena, and we’re fingers crossed we’re trying to get Mary Dickens there to speak and some other, um, some leaders from the Hawks and the Atlanta Dream. So, um, check that out on our website, too. We’d love to have a big crowd show up.

Lee Kantor: And then if somebody wants to learn more about brenau, uh, Doctor Washington Hubbard, is there a website you can share? Uh, if somebody wants to learn more about Brenau or connect with you or somebody on your team.

Shatrela Washington-Hubbard: Yes. So Brenau University, our website is brenau b r e a u.edu. We’re also on social media channels so you can look up Renown University and specifically the College of Business and Communication. So we are CBC at Renown on Instagram. And um, you can connect with us on LinkedIn as well.

Lee Kantor: And Kimber, if somebody wants to learn more about the Better Business Bureau or connect with you.

Kimber Armstrong: Yeah. So we’re we’re all over LinkedIn and Instagram and Facebook. So we are um, our handle on LinkedIn is Better Business Bureau Atlanta and Northeast Georgia, I believe that’s kind of our official name for this, um, locale.

Lee Kantor: Good stuff. Well, thank you both for sharing your story. You’re doing important work, and we appreciate you.

Shatrela Washington-Hubbard: Thank you for having us.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.