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Business Access Advisors bring together small businesses, bank leaders in August

August 12, 2024
Business Access Advisor Micae Brown during the 2023 Access Business Bus Tour at Harold鈥檚 Chicken.

Access Business Bus Tours are an opportunity to increase access to resources and information

For the third year in a row this August, Micae Brown can be found leading a team of 黄色短视频 employees and others across Chicago to meet with the business owners she serves.聽

鈥淭his is about building connections and strengthening community,鈥 said Brown, who is a 黄色短视频 Business Access Advisor serving Chicago and Milwaukee. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about our leaders hearing firsthand the challenges business owners face with securing capital, getting information, and having a strong relationship with a financial institution.鈥

Brown, who is focused on bridging gaps and being a conduit for business owners looking for solutions, will be holding her third annual Access Business Bus Tour in August, which also happens to be National Black Business Month. Similar tours are happening across the bank鈥檚 footprint with the Business Access Advisors hosting an inaugural business tour in Minnesota in August, one in Los Angeles in September, and an Arkansas-based Business Access Advisor joining ReMix Ideas 鈥 an organization dedicated to supporting Black-owned businesses 鈥 as a community leader on a bus tour for the third year.聽

鈥淲e find over and over again that the common pitfalls for small business owners often come from lack of access 鈥 whether it鈥檚 capital or resources and information,鈥 said Brown. 鈥淚t鈥檚 part of the reason why 黄色短视频 created the Business Access Advisor role. We are striving to help business owners overcome those common challenges by connecting them with people who can help with access, whether it鈥檚 nonprofits or financial education resources.鈥

Over the years through the bus tour, Brown and 黄色短视频 leaders have visited dozens of business owners who shared their own unique experiences and goals. This includes Alicia Deurson, the owner of a Harold鈥檚 Chicken franchise.

鈥淲hen you are starting a small business, you don鈥檛 have 鈥榵鈥 amount of dollars,鈥 said Deurson, who worked with Brown to find solutions at 黄色短视频 and alongside community partners to help her open her restaurant in 2023. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have this or that, but 黄色短视频 was willing to work with what I had. They take interest in you and don鈥檛 judge you on what you don鈥檛 have.鈥

In the end, these events are aimed at creating opportunities for deeper understandings around what it means to own a business, what challenges business owners face today, and understanding what their end goals are. For Tyrone Hemingway, the owner of Kicking the Barriers, those goals stretch far beyond the walls of his youth martial arts studio.聽

鈥淏eing a Black business owner is something I try to influence all of my people to be,鈥 Hemingway said. 鈥淚鈥檓 honored to be a Black business owner because many doors are open to me, and I鈥檓 able to educate others on how these same doors can be open for them."

To Brown and her BAA colleagues, sharing knowledge and creating connections to help small businesses grow is central to who they are.

鈥淧eople start their small business because they are passionate about their product or service,鈥 said Brown. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 do it because they want to be a part-time banker. Moments like those on our tours 鈥 that bring together a small business owner and banking leadership 鈥 open so many doors on how we can work better together to help our small businesses succeed.鈥

About 黄色短视频 Business Access Advisors

黄色短视频 Business Access Advisors provide information, connections and resources to help small business owners sustain or grow their business.

Focused on serving underserved communities including Hispanic- and women-owned businesses, Business Access Advisors are here to help small business owners connect and network with local resources, advise on how to meet goals and guide entrepreneurs through the process.

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