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What the SBDC’s new advisors want you to know.
Ashley Wilson Fellers
After six months as local business advisors, Kat Pascal and Macklyn Mosley have learned a lot about what entrepreneurs need to hear.
In Februrary, Macklyn Mosley, a musical artist and graphic designer, and Kat Pascal, co-owner of Farmburguesa, decided to leverage their experiences in a new way. Each joined the Small Business Development Center as diversified regional advisors, where they hope to empower local, minority-owned businesses.
“This is important work,” says Pascal, a bilingual advisor who also founded Latinas Network. “The rewarding part has been meeting with clients and hearing, ‘You’re allowing me to bring my dreams to reality.’”
Day to day, that work might mean helping entrepreneurs write business plans, craft marketing strategies or crowdfund. And after six months, Pascal and Mosley have both learned a lot about what minority entrepreneurs need to hear most…
1) Don’t go it alone.
“Sometimes small businesses don’t think that there’s anyone there,” Mosley explains. “But they can get free advising, financial literacy and education, someone walking them through the process, and I think that’s so important.” Many are shocked to learn that the SBDC’s resources are all free, Mosley says.
2) Wherever you are in your business’ life cycle, it’s a great time to make a plan.
“There’s no shame at what point you are in your business,” says Pascal. “We just survived a pandemic!” Whether a business is launching, growing, in a management phase or preparing to close, an intentional strategy can make a world of difference, she says.
3) Relationships are critical.
“A lot of small businesses feel they really have to be competitive with other businesses around them,” Mosley explains. The result can be a business without a healthy ecosystem. “How can we break that down by building relationships?” he says.
4) Business is personal.
“Going into business is life-changing,” Pascal shares – and that change can affect an entrepreneur’s mental health, family life and finances. That’s why advising is confidential, she says – and why it can be so encouraging for minority business owners to see an advisor from a familiar community.
“Where there may not have been trust before, now there’s going to be a meeting in the middle,” says Pascal. “We’re rolling up our sleeves, pulling back our hair … We’re going into the journey with you.”
To schedule a meeting with a local business advisor, go to roanokesmallbusiness.org/advising.
The story above is a preview from our July/August 2022. For more stories, subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!