How Women-Owned Businesses Lead Pasadena's Post-Fire Economic Rebuild with Lizzy Okoro Davidson, Director at Pasadena Women's Business Center Episode 165

Speaker A: There's a higher success rate with women owned small businesses. There's a greater economic output in terms of, you know, having a woman lead the household and having her be economically sound means that it's a greater impact on the overall family and overall communities. And so I'm really passionate about it because it's not just a fun, warm, fuzzy feeling that you get talking about women owned small businesses. There's true economic impact.

Speaker B: Hi, I'm Salvatrice Cum, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at ah, Pasadena City College and host of this podcast. And we are starting the conversation about the future of work. We'll explore topics like how education can partner with industry, how to be more equitable, and how to attain one of our highest goals, more internships and PCC students in the workforce. We at, ah, Pasadena City College want to lead the charge in closing the gap by between what our students are learning and what the demands of the workforce will be once they enter. This is a conversation that impacts all of us, you, the employers, the policymakers, the educational institutions, and the community as a whole. This is the future of work.

Speaker C: Hi, welcome back to the Future of Work podcast. I am your host, Dr. Salvatrice Cumo. As you know, it has been just over a year since the Los Angeles fires and we are still very focused on recovery and, and rebuild that comes after such a natural disaster. Today we have Lizzie Okoro Davidson, director at PCC's Women's Business center, back on the show to discuss how the Women's Business center has been a key leader and supporter in recovery efforts that are rooted in equity and economic opportunity. As we move forward into the next phase of rebuilding, I am thrilled to have Lizzie join us back on the podcast once again. So let's get into it. Welcome back, Lizzie.

Speaker A: Thank you so much for having me. It's good to be back. It's like I never left.

Speaker C: No, you haven't. You haven't. Um, speaking of which, in our last conversation, the last time you were on the show was right before the annual Future of Work conference last October. And then LA fires really hugely impacted the Pasadena region, specifically in Altadena, and, and the Women's Business center played and has played a huge role and a collaborator for Pasadena City College in supporting the community through that time. What do efforts look like now as we continue to rebuild?

Speaker A: Thank you for so much. Like I said, for having me, it's really great. I'm glad to continue the conversation because I think in the spirit of that question, um, and I said this before, I Said it. Even a few months after the fires, a lot of people feel like the new cycle has just moved on, that everybody has moved on. And um, for many of the people who lived here in this community, people who patronized local businesses, people who own small businesses feel like they're still very much in the throes of what it looks like to rebuild and recover. And so I appreciate the question so much because I think it acknowledges that this work is, it's a, uh, it's going to be, you know, it's going to be a long process. It's not something that is completely fixed by any means. Even though there's a lot of hopeful and optimistic and wonderful stories that have come out about people being back in business and, you know, really being back out there and rebuilding their homes, it's still a very long journey. So with that being said, I think our center, we've really tried to be, you know, boots on the ground, ears to the ground, to understand what are the needs that people have, where are they at? Uh, sometimes that looks like hope, honestly, like just coming together and being able to be in community with people who are like them and who are still pursuing this dream of building a business or launching a business. And sometimes it looks like things that are a little bit more tactical and hands on, so really making sure that they understand what it takes to build a successful business. And I think before that might've looked like depending on one, maybe two streams of income. And now people realize especially, especially if they've been in business for, you know, over five years, that that looks like having multiple streams of income. So that when one faucet dries up or one tap is not working, you can pull on these other, you know, lovers, so to speak, in order to, to make sure that you keep the lights on. So we really do try to make sure that we are understanding what that looks like in real time so that we can deploy some of those strategies and programs in order to meet people where they're at.

Speaker C: Uh, thank you.

Speaker A: I.

Speaker C: And so let's lean in a little bit more. You said the word strategy, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna leverage that word. What does that look like? What are specific strategies? What does that look like for, um, the needs of women owned businesses after a disaster like this?

Speaker A: Absolutely. So I think that regardless, as ah, a women's business center, my goal, my mission and vision has always been for the center to really look at what are the opportunities and challenges that women owned businesses face. Right. So when we're looking at those challenges. We're thinking about lack of access to a network and lack of access to money, to capital. Women owned businesses tend to do a lot with a little. So how can we make sure that they're not just barely surviving but really thriving. So that's always been the goal. But for me what that has looked like in practice has really been creating some accelerators and boot camps and some programming that goes beyond just our normal one to one advising. Um, which is wonderful. It's a, the one to one advising that we do is very much rooted in this idea of having a partner, having an accountability partner, I should say more specifically having a mentor, um, having someone to just bounce ideas off of. But then it became, well, how can we go even deeper to have trainings that are not just high level and really generic in general, but really teaching people the strategies behind how to launch a successful business or how to grow a successful business. And I think that within that there's also the idea that you should again have more multiple streams of income and also be tapping into every resource possible. Uh, so for example, with our newsletter and our social media channels, we try to scour the Internet for grant opportunities because one of the biggest things that we hear from small business owners coming to us is I know there's something about grants. I don't know where to find them, I don't know how to apply for them. But tell me everything you know about grants and it's like we will. And a really, really easy way to find some of those opportunities is go and you know, go onto our social media, go onto our uh, Instagram and we do a roundup every month of uh, the top grants that you need to apply for. We put those also in our weekly newsletter as well. So again, you're not just relying on loans or credit cards or your personal savings. You now have grant opportunities that, you know, helps to address the issue of lack of access to capital. And then also when we're thinking about lack of access to a network, uh, we also have, you know, in person events that we've deployed this year which have been very successful. In addition to um, our private Slack community, so our private Slack channel, as soon as someone signs up for the center, they're able to tap into this and ask questions in real time, have conversations, etc. So we're just really thinking about like the soup to nuts experience of a small business owner and how we can really help facilitate growth at every step of the way.

Speaker C: Hmm. I m like that. I think I heard you mention the slack private community at one point, but it didn't register till right now, um, when you said it, I need to join the community.

Speaker A: Like I did. Yeah, you did.

Speaker C: I would love to hear what is happening with our business community, the questions that they're asking because it does help inform our programming. Right, it's helped inform your programming. That said, you know, thinking about what you just mentioned, what are some specific programs that you've developed and why that area of focus? And then the second part of that would be, um, what can we expect next? Yeah.

Speaker A: So the one thing that I'm really excited about and even before I had this role, I was hearing a lot of people who are in the small business community, some friends talk about their experience working within the government. So really, really utilizing all of the resources that our wonderful locals, states, federal government have to offer them. Which I thought was super unique. Right. When people start businesses, they don't actually typically think, well, let me, let me look at the public servants, the, the public, the public officials that are here. Like, I don't think of them, when I think of starting a business. They might think of, you know, going on to YouTube University, like I say, or going on to social, or asking friends or joining all of these, uh, other networks. But they don't think about the government as a lover to pool to pull. Whether that's, you know, inviting a council member to come to the opening of your, your ice cream shop, or it's actually discovering these government contracts. And so when I was coming into this role, I had a couple of friends, uh, I'll think of one in particular. They were making great money just hand over fist doing local government contracts, so contracting with the unified school Districts. And I was like, well, how are you getting these opportunities? Because I feel like I call LAUSD or I've called them or I know people who call them in the past and you can't get anybody on the phone. You're calling schools, like public schools, trying to get your programs in and you know, how did you do this? And they told me I became certified as a woman owned small business, minority owned small business. I registered, I got the certification. And from there you're able to then bid on contracts. And it just, I still didn't quite understand what that meant. But just to even make it clear, you know, a lot of people think, oh, I'm a woman, I own a business, therefore I'm a woman owned small business. Not realizing that it's an actual process and certification that people get, uh, in order to be able to become competitive and bid on contracts with the government and with private sectors. And so that was really mind blowing to me. And I continued to meet other people, small business owners in that position where they had the certification and learned how to bid. I learned that it was incredibly difficult, a uh, uh, difficult thing to navigate. Complicated. Just a lot. It was really a lot of mystery around it as well. And I said I want to figure this out because this is a huge unlock for small businesses. Huge. Especially the ones that I know for a fact because I was an advisor for PCC's SBDC. So I was seeing tons of people really confused as to why they couldn't penetrate certain industries and learning that this was a way. So that's my very long winded and very passionate way of saying that. One of the programs that we have is this procurement accelerator where it's between six to nine weeks. We have ones that are now industry focused, focused on construction. But uh, we did one previously that was just general. We took small businesses, we trained them on, you know, what this process is, how do you get your certification, how do you bid? We introduce them to procurement leads, the people in charge who make those decisions. And we've had amazing outcomes so far. So you know, creating that accelerator, I've uh, created other accelerators. We did a beauty. One that addressed really the needs of the Pasadena and Altadena areas that were impacted by the fires and they basically lost so much foot traffic. And so we really wanted to tap into how do we help them market better. And so things like that just again keeping our ears to the ground, understanding the industries, understanding who our clients are and what they really need and then going out there and finding the answers to the questions that they have and creating really in depth programming around it. That's uh, really been my strategy so that no one has to, you know, overnight your whole entire business or funding stream should not be taken away because hopefully you have two or three other streams of revenue that um, you can tap into. So that's been my strategy.

Speaker C: That's excellent. Um, very similar to the beyond the Chair accelerator. Right. Do you want to share a little bit more about that program and how you came about developing that program based on the need of our community?

Speaker A: Yeah, so that, that is the beauty accelerator. But it was really one of our advisors, Deandra, she had been talking about it even before the fires. Um, she's a beauty expert. She is a former salon owner and a professor at ah, Pasadena City College. So we feel really lucky to have her and um, she been talking about wanting to do some sort of seminar or workshop around, you know, what it means to be a beauty professional or beauty entrepreneur. And when the fires hit again, it became this talk, especially in being in close communication with the city of Pasadena and understanding that that community got hit really, really hard. Foot traffic was completely down. You know, people storied history. Businesses that had been around for 10 plus years were suddenly struggling because their clientele had left, um, et and the question then came, you know, I've been in business, I've had a book of business. I haven't really had to do any sort of marketing before. I'm really intimidated by it. What do I do? And it became a collaboration between myself and DeAndre to say, why don't we go deep? Uh, you know, how do we go deep with these beauty professionals? And what was born was a four week accelerator where we took them through social media marketing off, you know, other types of sales strategies, etc. Where do you find clients? Graduated about 15 beauty professionals. They were so amazing, so grateful. The feedback we got was like 5 stars, 10, 10 out of 10 experience. And we are definitely, we're bringing it back. So good. It's great.

Speaker C: I love that. Well, gain is kind of back on track. So I, I went off tangent a little bit because I'm aware of the stellar programming that's happening at the Women's Business Center. And while yes, we're focusing on rebuild, but that's part of rebuild too. Uh, and these accelerators. I'm glad you're bringing it back. I'm glad you're bringing it back.

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker C: Because as we know, some of these businesses, some of these beauty professional businesses were also operating out of the homes in which are no longer there. Right. And so there's so many levels of complexity in who was impacted and how they were impacted. That said, like, what do you think businesses might not be considering, um, that they should be after a natural disaster. What are some lessons learned?

Speaker A: I think the thing, the big thing that came out of it, and thank you for speaking too because it is, it is so important and really paints the picture for people, the emotional picture, the mental picture for people. Like when we say or remind them that people didn't just lose their homes, people didn't just lose their businesses, a significant number of people lost both. And I think in particular when we're thinking about women owned small businesses, I don't have stats on this exactly, but it did feel like, at least empirically that a lot of women owned small businesses. Were operating out of their homes. You know, because of what I've shared before, lack of access to capital, lack of access to a network. And so they're building multimillion dollar businesses from their homes. They're doing it also, and a lot of times because of child care, et cetera. So to really thread the needle with this, what I also saw was when you are operating out of your home, sometimes, not all the time, and this is not a, I don't mean to make such a blanket statement, but a lot of those businesses just didn't have their paperwork in order. Right. It's, you know, it feels like you probably did something that was a natural extension of what you do, what you do in your personal life and your passion. And so it's really easy to get like loosey goosey with a lot of these things and not file the proper paperwork or not, you know, get the proper business licenses and permits, or just not knowing. Sometimes it's just not knowing what you need either. Getting really bogged down between, like, what's the difference between an LLC and an S corp and a sole proprietorship? Do I actually need insurance? I don't think I do. I think I'm okay. So things like that, we really saw, um, come back to hurt a lot of businesses because all of a sudden, in order to qualify for some of the grant programs for loans, et cetera, you needed to produce these documents that proved that you were in business. And especially if you were working out of your home, you might not have had those things. So I think one of the. I get it, it's not sexy, it's not fun to think about, but just, you know, to cover, cover your bases and cover your buns, like, it's really important to have those, those really unfun, unsexy things in place. So that should. A natural disaster. We know, unfortunately a natural disaster is going to come again. We, we just do. Right. Like as we sit here today, the Hawaii is being hit again. Cuba, uh, is being hit again. Right. Places that have already experienced devastation. It's happening again and again and again. And so we know, we just know. And so I would recommend that anybody who's in business just get the paperwork done. It's, it's, I don't know, a day's worth of work for 10 years plus worth of coverage. So.

Speaker C: Right.

Speaker A: That's what I would say to think about.

Speaker C: Yeah, I love that. Thank you for sharing that, Lizzie. And I wonder if you can share with the listener, how can those businesses, if there's a Business that's listening. How can they work with the Women's Business center to ensure that they stay vigilant and maximize success?

Speaker A: That's literally our favorite thing to do is to make sure that business owners don't have to feel as though they're going at this alone, that they have a partner in it and someone, an expert who has gone through the process and knows the process. We can help you. So, um, signing up to become a client is the first way to do that. Uh, and from there telling us what you need in particular, just saying, hey, I need help with business permits, licenses, I don't know what I don't know. And our advisors are able to help work with you in order to identify the right things for you to be able to file. So, and one thing too that's come up that um, definitely working on with the city of Pasadena and also our partner organization that we're co located with, which is the Small Business Development center, sbdc is to actually start to create these one day workshops where we can bring people in, sit with our team of experts and get your, get the paperwork done right. Just like get it done. So I'm kind of, you know, holding us to this by saying this publicly, but it's something that we have um, discussed because it's very clearly needed. Um, and maybe just putting it out into the community will help people. Just check it off your list. Just check it off your list. You know, you need to get it done. We're here to help you do that. So.

Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. Well, you certainly shared it. And so therefore now.

Speaker A: Yes, we'll work on it. We will work on it for sure.

Speaker C: That's right. No pressure.

Speaker A: No, yeah, lots of pressure.

Speaker C: You know, with everything that's going on with the state of the economy, uh, layered with the complexities of natural disasters, taxes, the war, I mean, just name it. Right. What do we need to know as a community about how women owned businesses affect the health of the overall local economy?

Speaker A: Oh, uh, love that question. It's my favorite thing to talk about too. I mean, talking about small businesses and women owned small businesses, that's my favorite thing to talk about, period. But you know, even coming into this role, I was shocked because I didn't even understand how vital women owned small businesses are to our economy. Like we, there's a lot of stuff, stats that are thrown out there, right. For every dollar that a woman is given, there's twice the amount of output. Whether that's economic output or you know, just other things that, that are happening. It's really, really incredible. I share the stat always that, you know, over 50% of employees in the United States are employed by a small business. Women owned small businesses account for half at this point. Half of new businesses that are started, most are profitable within five years as well. Um, whereas half of the small, over half of small businesses across the board fail within five years. Right. There's a higher success rate with women owned small businesses. There's a greater economic output. Happy mom means happy household as well. Just even from, you know, having women own small business, there are stats that I should have ready to go. But in terms of, you know, having a woman lead the household and having her be economically sound means that it's a greater impact on the overall family and overall communities. And so, um, I'm really passionate about it because it's not just a fun, warm fuzzy feeling that you get talking about women owned small businesses. There's true economic impact. If we let our small businesses fail, we let our economy fail. Essentially. We're always talking about Wall street, but there's also Main street and women owned small businesses are completely dominating on Main Street. And so it's literally within everyone's best interest to not just, you know, say oh, I shop local or oh, I support my small business. It impacts everybody. When small businesses in particular women owned small businesses are given the opportunity to thrive, it really means a healthy economy for everyone. So, um, and I like to share too, and I might have even said it on a previous episode, you know, I always say let's make it real. When you think about the small businesses that women own, many of them are very heart centered. Right. They come, they really combat a lot of the details that are missed by our male counterparts. Um, they really look at the whole person. They really think about the community at large. A lot of them are. A lot of women are creating businesses that also have non profit arms or they're creating a certified B corp, which M is like, you know, businesses that ah, are rooted in good. So there's a lot of positive impact that come from women owned small businesses. And I just think that. And again too I also have to define that small business doesn't always mean a one or two person shop. Depending on the industry. It can mean someone who is making something seven or eight figures and employing hundreds of thousands of employees as well. So you know, please, like there are other companies other than Amazon and other than Google.

Speaker C: That's right.

Speaker A: That are incredibly big and incredibly powerful and should be patronized just as much so.

Speaker C: That's right. That's right. And you were most recently at the New York Stock Exchange. You want to share a little bit about that? Because that's underscoring what you're, what you're talking about now about how women own businesses impact our local economy.

Speaker A: Yeah, no, thank you for that. What a thing. What a. It was something that wasn't even on my bucket list because it didn't occur to me that that was possible. But yes, um, the. I was invited to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange with Paris Hilton, Gloria Steinem, um, and several of the women owned small businesses that we supported last year after the fires happened. They were our grant winners. Um, about five of them traveled to New York so that we could all do this in honor of International Women's Day. It was a great honor, of course, just mhm, Mind blowing. Um, but it was wonderful that the New York Stock Exchange also recognized that. Yes, um, small businesses are important to the overall health of the economy. We work hand in hand. Of course, you know, the New York Stock Exchange, publicly traded companies, they are companies, of course. But to even recognize and honor the fact that small businesses work hand in hand with Wall street businesses is something that was really just incredible. So.

Speaker C: And would you agree that some of those public publicly traded companies started somewhere, Right? They started small.

Speaker A: Yes, yes. Thank you. That's a huge. Yeah, I'd be remiss if I didn't say that exactly. Everyone started somewhere, so very few people as far as I know, I don't can't think of anyone who started off, you know, that's right. They started off as a big, huge overnight success. So yes, yes, it was very inspiring to, to be in the company of folks that had done that already who had created these big amazing businesses.

Speaker C: So yeah, that, what a beautiful experience. I was so happy that you went, um, and so thankful for Paris Hilton and 1111 Media for taking you and our grantees up there. I mean, just outstanding. So what's next, like what's next after this amazing opportunity at the New York Stock Exchange?

Speaker A: Well, I got some very exciting news that day which is that Paris Hilton's 1111 Media Impact and gofundme.org are actually going to give another round of funding to the Pasadena Women's Business center for us to be able to deploy to our, our clients because they recognize, we recognize that again, this is a long haul effort. Um, and while it was absolutely wonderful and impactful to be able to give 50 women business grants to continue to thrive, which fun fact, 90% of those businesses are back in business.

Speaker C: Nice.

Speaker A: And actually operating and functional. There's still so many more people who are deserving and are in a bind because of the fires. And so we are working with them to bring back that, that grant program on a smaller scale at the moment. But it's still going to be money that will be deployed to help rebuild. So I'm really excited to be.

Speaker C: That's fantastic. That's fantastic. And we can also m. Put in information to our show notes.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker C: Shares a little bit more and how to find the information. We'll be sure to enter that as well. Fantastic. Great news.

Speaker A: Thank you. I'm really excited. Very excited.

Speaker C: You know, just thinking about, you know, we're coming to the end and the. And the sunset of this conversation, but wanted to ask you, what would you like or what would you want our listener to know about the Women's Business center and its efforts and how it's going to impact our future?

Speaker A: That's a wonderful question.

Speaker C: Big one.

Speaker A: A big question. A big question. Uh, you know, I will say this at the risk of beating a dead horse, but I. Or, you know, just being redundant. My vision has always been to create an experience for a small business community that makes them say, wow, I cannot believe, uh, that I get to, uh, have these resources for no cost. Right. Like, I really want them to walk away and say, this was an incredible value. I cannot believe that I get this. And for them to walk away and become evangelists for our center and continue to share that with the masses and say, you need to tap into the PCC Women's Business Center. You need to talk to them. How dare you start a business or grow a business and not visit them? Because this is such an incredible resource. And I will brag a little bit and say that we do get that feedback quite often. And so, you know, just thinking about the rebuild efforts, what it means to rebuild and recover, that really looks like us continuing to be in community. And we always want to hear what people are going through, good, bad, and in between, um, so that we can help plug those holes and fill those gaps for the small business community. Like, I'm literally here to serve them and make sure that we're creating programming that's responsible, responsive, that's, you know, competent, that is also sensitive to what they might need. So I. It's just such an incredible opportunity. Like, I'm making this program in real time with the, with the community. And what. How unique of an opportunity for us to be able to really serve everyone, not just our Small businesses, but everyone at the end of the day. So I don't know if that fully answers the question.

Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely does. I, um, loved what you said. You said, I'm building the program in real time with the community.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: That's your formula.

Speaker A: That's the formula.

Speaker C: Uh, yeah, I love that. I absolutely love it. And I think there's so much more work that we can do. There's so much more time that we can invest in and, and then give back to our community and embed ourselves in the community and rebuild and replenish and nurture our community, and we can sit here and talk for hours about it. I am so incredibly grateful that you said yes to another episode at the Future, uh, of Work podcast because there has been so much. I mean, the last time we spoke, you were maybe three months in, right? Like three, three, probably three or four months in, into the Women's Business Center. Fast forward. You had to build programming in real time with the community based on the conditions. Right. And based on the needs of our community. And so it's been absolutely amazing, uh, to watch. I'm in constant awe of you and the advisors and the work that you all are doing. And I am super excited to have you back a year from now.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker C: And like, we're gonna do these yearly anniversary updates. And, um, that said, Lizzie, if one of our listeners wanted to get in contact with yourself or the center, what is the best way or how is the best way to get in contact with you or the center?

Speaker A: We're on everything.

Speaker C: Email,

Speaker A: the web. Our email address is WBC Pasadena Edu WB Stanley for Women's Business Center. In case that wasn't clear, you can also find us on instagram @pasadena. WBC is our handle. And then if you go to the, uh, the PCC website, so Pasadena Edu and just type in WBC will come right up.

Speaker C: So excellent. Thank you so much. We'll be sure to put those into the Show Notes and have it accessible for everyone to see. Thank you again, Lizzie. Appreciate your time.

Speaker A: Thank you so much.

Speaker B: Thank you for listening to the Future of Work podcast. Make sure you subscribed on your favorite listening platform so you can easily get new episodes every Tuesday. You can reach out to us by clicking on the website link below in the show notes to collaborate, partner, or just chat about all things Future of Work. We'd love to connect with you, all of us here at the Future of Work and Pasadena City College wish you safety and wellness.