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In this episode of “Financial Freestyle with Ross Mac,” Ross Mac is joined by Joy Butts, vice president and senior business consultant at JPMorgan Chase & Co., as she shares her career journey and some tips for small businesses.
“The relationships that you have, the relationships that you foster is very, very important,” Butts says. “Most of… your time is spent at work… And so you want to make sure that you’re comfortable, you want to make sure that you’re enjoying what it is that you do.”
Butts talks about one of the fastest growing segments in entrepreneurship. What’s amazing is that black businesses, especially women-owned businesses. They’re actually one of the fastest growing segments within entrepreneurship. And so being able to really wrap our arms around them in a way that makes a difference is… not only just rewarding, but it’s so important and vital.”
Butts discusses a commonality that businesses feel, which is feeling “alone.” “All of these businesses feel like they’re in it by themselves. And they really need community. They need their tribe. They need people that are surrounding them. And so what’s interesting is that when you think of entrepreneurship, we always talk about you need a banker, right? You need an accountant, you need an attorney, but you also need some other people to support that journey as well.”
When it comes to getting capital, Butts notes that, “first of all, you need to know how much you need and what it’s going to be used for… It’s understanding how much you need, what you’re going to use it for, and how you’re going to get the return.” Butts explains that “if you have a solid plan as to what it is that you’re going to do, and you can articulate that within a business plan or with that banker that you have a relationship with, that is key. So that’s number one. Number two… would be that relationship. So having a banker, somebody at any institution, right? Somebody that you trust, that knows you, knows the ins and outs of your business, understands your journey, understands where it is that you’re looking to go, that is… key and vital because they become your advocate within that space. The third thing that I would say is having your financial ducks in a row.”
Personal credit is very important when it comes to getting capital as well. “Personal credit is the bedrock and the foundation to get access to capital for your business. And the reason is because you are the one running the business, steering the ship. And so the way in which you operate as an individual is going to naturally transport over to the way in which you operate in your business.”
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This post was written by Mariela Rosales.