Black Leaders Detroit hosts "More Money. More Impact" to help entrepreneurs secure funding

Detroit, welcome to the show where we talk about all the good happening in and around our city, from the inspiring people to unique places and cool events for you to check out. This organization does so much incredible work helping out entrepreneurs, and here to tell us more, we have Sharia Ayers with Black Leaders Detroit. Welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. Yes, so happy to have you here with us. So first, for people who haven't heard of Black Leaders Detroit, tell us about the work that you do. So Black Leaders Detroit is a funding vehicle for businesses and nonprofits of African descent, and we do it through community giving. So we ask the community to partner with us to donate one dollar a week. We take that dollar to build a pot of money to provide the no interest loans and grants. Talk about the issue with black owned businesses and that equity, having the funds to fund their vision. Exactly. So with that, we know some of the historical barriers that have been there. So this is our way of pulling community together to provide a solution to an extent. Right. Because we take that pot of money and we deploy it with no interest loans and we trust the entrepreneurs to do what they need to do with those funds. So that's how we balance out the equity piece in regards to making sure there is a space where they can come and access capital. Awesome. And you are getting ready to host your More Money, More Impact event, helping, you know, founders, entrepreneurs. Tell us about the purpose of this event and how you will help them. So More Money, More Impact started because a lot of people were calling the office and trying to talk to Duann and some of the people on the team. So this is our way of not gatekeeping, right? More Money, More Impact is for nonprofit leaders in the city of Detroit or anywhere, actually. who want to come and just learn about how to build allies how to build a team what it's like to bring your non-profit like a business um as well as any any tips tricks and trades of funding for non-profits that's what we'll be sharing here and we're also going to be giving grants love that tell me about the grant how much can people possibly get here yes so we'll be granting um a total of 15 000 but it will be in increments of course so amazing and you mentioned a key word here gatekeeping yes when that comes to business and entrepreneurs and helping new entrepreneurs talk about how you know challenging that could be for them if they don't know the way from other people who've successfully made it everybody needs a mentor and help right and so when like you said when it comes to gatekeeping there are so many people who feel like they have to do it on their own and you just don't so this is our way of opening up the doors of communication and opportunity and getting people in the same space that can share the knowledge that people need to scale or grow their nonprofits. And so again, I have the background also of being an entrepreneur and it is kind of difficult because you don't know who you can talk to, who you can ask. And this is our way of giving back the knowledge as well as the information and money that we have to give. And tell us about your business that you have. So I ran a trivia business because I was a trivia nerd so I love that yes so it was all about um black history arts and culture so I I enjoyed it but just getting out there and understanding contracts and how to even like charge properly it was just so many questions I had but with that um it was it was a great time yeah and speaking of what are maybe the top three things you think entrepreneurs need to know when it comes to funding? Honestly, how to keep their books in order. And as I said before, operational systems. So with Black Leaders Detroit, we use EOS, which is an entrepreneurial operating system. So really, processes are going to help your business run run as smoothly as possible. So your books, processes, and then most of all, just that marketing piece is so important now, whether it's a nonprofit or a business. So I would say those three things are some of the things we're going to cover at More Money, More Impact. But just a plethora of knowledge is going to be accessible to the attendees there. Yes. And when it comes to marketing, do you think more people should jump on the social media train? Of course. Or jump off of it? I would say both. And it really just depends on your target audience, you know. So yes. And yeah. So what would be reasons why some businesses should jump on the social media train? Well, one, I think some businesses should jump on the social media train because that's the easiest way if you don't have a large team to get information out there. Right. So social media has done wonders, of course, for getting our message out. So that's why I'm pro it. But there are so many distractions on social media. So you have to have different means of staying relevant. So it really just depends on your your target audience and capacity. Now, what about jumping off? If you know you need to go another route instead of social media, what would be the reasoning for that? Well, I'll say this. Have you heard of Jiffy? Like the cornbread? Yeah. OK. Yeah. That's the only Jiffy I know. So hopefully that's the right answer. Yes. So back in the day, we did a tour at the Jiffy factory and we learned that they had never done like, well, they had print advertising, but they had never done like commercial advertising. And so the thing is, they were saying word of mouth has sustained their business for years. Wow. So when you think about the power still of word of mouth, it still reigns supreme. So, you know, that's why I say that's kind of the benefit of not being on social media, because, you know, somebody, you know, somebody, you know, somebody, you know, they're going to get the word out. That is so cool. Yeah. Black Leaders Detroit has helped. I mean, Detroit entrepreneurs secure eight million dollars in funding. Talk about the impact, the difference that's making for their businesses. Yes. So, again, it has been a blessing to deploy eight million dollars, support over close to a thousand businesses and nonprofits. And that helps in regards to employment, scaling, securing different product needs, buying real estate. So it's been an impact in so many different ways, especially on that real estate piece, because we just launched the Young Developers Fund. So now we're taking that information that we have about wealth building and pouring it into young scholars so that they can learn how to invest in real estate, rehab and then provide housing for Detroiters. That's amazing. And you recently helped the Detroit Detroit People's Food Co-op. They recently were pretty much begging, asking people, hey, shop with us so that we can keep this going. Yes. You guys help them do just that. Talk about how you gave them a helping hand. Well, Malik Yakini is not only a member of Black Leaders of Detroit, but he's also been a recipient with the Detroit People's Food Co-op. And DeJuan is also our CEO is also a member of the Detroit People's Food Co-op. So we see the value in having them in the community. But we were able to give them a twenty five thousand dollar grant to help with the call. And there have been so many people to pour in support to the to the Detroit People's Food Co-op. And it's necessary. Right. That is literally community support and giving and community wealth building as well, because you pour into the market and then they give back and help with that food disparity here in Detroit. So it is very vital. How can the community help you continue to do what you do to uplift and support black businesses? They can partner with us. So anybody that believes in fairness, that believes in Detroit and believes in building better communities, one dollar at a time, they can partner by joining the movement and donating that dollar a week or fifty two dollars a year. And when can they check out the More Money, More Impact event? More Money, More Impact is November 3rd and 4th. I know that's Election Day on the 3rd, but you do have time to vote and still attend. so um november 3rd and 4th at developing kids and you can find more information at blackleadersdetroit.org