Supporting Black Entrepreneurs in Richmond

Speaker 1 0:00

Black entrepreneurs . Oftentimes we're not born into wealth , so very much so we're starting from scratch . Oftentimes , what financial institutions require we are not able to check the boxes initially , and so that's why it's important to have organizations like Virgin Virginia , who takes a different approach to capital access . But we need more right Because we are so large and have so many resources . You know one would start off with interested in starting a business . You know you have organizations like the Metropolitan Business League , which is the trusted source in small business , so that Black entrepreneurs can have access and they can enjoy the same path that others do right and in terms of accessing capital .

Speaker 3 1:03

You're listening to America's Healthiest City on Mike King . Biz Radio Network . On ESPN Richmond 106.1 and Choice 105.3 .

Speaker 2 1:10

Good morning and welcome to America's Healthiest City . I'm your host , will Melton , and today I'm in the ESPN studio with Melody Short , the founder of the Richmond Night Market . Co-founder . Co-founder of the Richmond Night Market . Thank you for that correction of the Richmond Night Market . Thank you for that correction . So , if you're first to this program , please check out americashealthiestcitycom to learn about our 10-year community partnership to make all of Richmond the healthiest region in America by 2033 . It takes all of us and there are small ways , and perhaps big ways , that you can contribute to the cause . So check out our ideas board and learn what it takes to become an ambassador . Also , make sure you check us out on LinkedIn and YouTube and wherever you get your social and your podcasts Now , you can catch us by podcasts . So , without further ado , melody Short , thank you so much for coming into the studio today and having this conversation with me . You're a very impactful person in Richmond and I'm eager personally to hear more about your story . So thank you .

Speaker 1 2:03

Thank you , Will , for having me my pleasure , my pleasure , my pleasure .

Speaker 2 2:07

Well , let's start with a thing that I think you're most known for in Richmond , which is the Richmond Night Market . I might be wrong about that , so you can correct me , but tell me about just . Let's start with kind of what brought you to the point of saying this is something that Richmond needs , and I'm the person to help start that .

Speaker 1 2:25

Right . So I am a daughter of Richmond a proud daughter , I should say , of Richmond . But I left Richmond for college and I've been afforded the opportunity to live in a few different major cities across the country , and I've always been drawn to art , largely because my father is an artist visual artist , but also he dabbles in music as well and I remember being just completely engulfed with , like the art scenes of Brooklyn and DC and my time spent in the South . On previous work , I worked for Sony Music Distribution . That was my first job out of college and , having returned home after I became a mother , I noticed in Richmond and this was maybe 15 years ago I noticed Richmond had this .

Speaker 1 3:12

There was this pulse around arts here in the city , support of Black artists and women artists in a way that both women and the Black community would feel welcome to enter into these spaces . And so my business partner , adrienne Cole-Johnson , and I put our heads together and came up with what was initially called the Artisan Cafe , and so we would rent art galleries out around town and we would have a wine wine bar , we would have a dj , a music component , but essentially it gave artists the opportunity to get themselves in front of consumers , um , and these consumers range from folks that are looking to buy art , visual art , ceramics or jewelry , and so , essentially , we wanted richmond to feel like art was accessible to all . And so you do that by having various price points , creating an atmosphere that feels welcoming and fun , and so that was the birth of the Artisan Cafe , which has , as of six years ago , transitioned to the Richmond Night Market .

Speaker 2 4:20

Well , thank you for that backstory . I come from a family of artists . My grandmother was an artist in just about every medium you can imagine .

Speaker 2 4:28

She taught art at the community college and I was surrounded by it as a child , long to figure that out , but I can't help but to notice that Richmond not only does it have this artistic undercurrent , but there's an entrepreneurial undercurrent in that , and you can't separate entrepreneurship from art . So can you talk a little bit about that impact ? And maybe you interface with dozens , hundreds of vendors perhaps , and those people are all entrepreneurs , making something for themselves and their families . What do you take of that ?

Speaker 1 5:10

Well , first I would say thank you for understanding and knowing that as an artist , you are an entrepreneur , but oftentimes artists they are so heads down with creating , and so the Richmond Night Market offers that platform , essentially a home for artists . So that , know , listen you can cultivate both your art and strengthen your business acumen at the same time . They don't have to be separate , they can coexist , and so we create that . We have created the Richmond Night Market for artists to be able to sell their pieces with low investment . Oftentimes they are trying it out to just kind of test the market to see if maybe we should evolve into a gallery space or maybe we should evolve into a shared brick and mortar space with another artist .

Speaker 1 5:55

And so it's important because I've always been bothered by the starving artist concept . It's like there's such deep talent that resides within our city , particularly within the artist concept . It's like there's such deep talent that resides within our city , particularly within the artist community , and if you're taking a lot of time to create these pieces , you should be able to create a way of life for yourself and your family off your gifts . And so you know we talk about centering . You know economics , but also creativity , with the Richmond Night Market .

Speaker 2 6:25

So , as a marketer by trade , I think a lot about people who are not sort of naturally creative or who think they're not naturally creative or who maybe haven't been practicing their natural creative gifts , about the opportunity to leverage creativity as a virtuous cycle of discovery and self-discovery and growth . I think to myself , as somebody who has vended at markets and kind of had to have that experience , that as a marketer , there's no more valuable way to get market research done than talk to the people who are going to potentially buy your product and talk to the ones who say I don't want to buy your product . What do you take of that ? I mean , are there like kind of light bulb moments for vendors and artists , artisans who come and do that ? Do they have that spark that says I need to do this more , I really need to change direction or I need to stop doing this altogether ? Like what kind of happens there ?

Speaker 1 7:19

So , yes , the Richman Knight Market offers that ability for them to flex and grow as artists and again test the market out .

Speaker 1 7:26

So we offer marketing calls throughout the month leading up to each night market , and so there lies an opportunity for us to give them some recommendations and advice on how to prepare for the big day , Because really , night market is a love offering to our city and so it's really something that we all are involved in .

Speaker 1 7:47

You know , making sure folks are familiar with the night market , creating the visibility , and so we give them some suggestions on like branding in advance . You know , marketing your product prior to the night market but then set up , like you know , don't sit behind the table , stand up , create a welcoming environment within your booth space so that folks could want to come over and talk to you , have samples available so that they can experience through the senses what your creation is , if possible . So we like to give just a plethora of feedback . But also they find community at the night market with other small business owners that are there . We hear that often they have the opportunity to learn about other markets that are taking place within that region and across the nation by simply being a part of community of artists and entrepreneurs that really like their tribe of folks , because everyone won't get it .

Speaker 1 8:41

You know , if you are a brick and mortar business and you started in that way , you may not understand the benefits of being a vendor and how far your reach can go , starting at that level .

Speaker 2 8:54

I can imagine for a lot of people who are creating something with their hands . They're often doing that in isolation . They may not have an abundance of family members and friends who are doing that , so they don't really know where to go to get advice . I think that's a great point . Well , we're going to take a quick break and we'll come back . We'll talk more about the night market and some of the other things that you're doing in the community . So far , I've really enjoyed learning more .

Speaker 2 9:16

Thank you for listening to America's Healthiest City on Mike King Biz Radio Network . Welcome back . We are in the ESPN studio today with Melody Short , the co-founder of the Richmond Night Market . I'm your host , will Melton , and you can catch us each week at 6 am here on ESPN 106.1 . We're part of the Mike King Biz Media Network . We are bringing leaders from the area to the radio waves so that you can hear .

Speaker 2 9:42

What does it take to make Richmond the healthiest region in America ? It's called America's Healthiest City , but we have to go bigger than that because we are a multi-jurisdictional region and just before the show we were talking about Petersburg , which is very much part of central Virginia and greater Richmond . So your work is multifaceted . We were talking about that too . You do a lot of things , yeah , so I want to give you just an opportunity to talk about some of the things that you're passionate about , because Richmond Night Market is not the only thing you do . I could ask you questions , but just tell me kind of what's something that's making you wake up every day and go push to make things better .

Speaker 1 10:22

I would say entrepreneurship , right ? You know , I believe that small business , small business owners , are like the backbone of a local economy , and I also look at small business as a pathway to freedom as a black woman , one of the pathways to freedom , and so that is what guides me every day , this deep desire to be free , and I have been afforded I feel so grateful the opportunity to do work that supports small business owners . I've done this work for about 25 years now . I started with Sony Music Distribution , so my work initially started with supporting mom and pop record store owners in the Mid Atlantic , in the Northeast and in the Southwest markets , and then I've transitioned over to supporting daily operations of the largest chain of Black-owned bed and breakfast inns in the country Quaba Bed and Breakfast Inns the owner is Monique Greenwood and most recently , the past 15 years , I've been doing work to support artists within our region through the Richmond Night Market , which is its current name , but present day , as the night market continues , I have been able to go deeper in my work and I'm so excited about the opportunity to do so with Bridge in Virginia , which is a local organization that provides nonprofit organization that provides affordable capital resources for our small business community and pairs them with technical resources through other partners in the ecosystem . I have a few other projects that I'm working on , but one of the bigger I would say not bigger projects , but one of the other organizations that I am fortunate to be a part of allows me to stretch a bit more nationally , and so I am part of the runway team , and so we are a financial innovation firm that invests in black and brown businesses in Oakland , chicago , boston and Alabama , and so it's like this beautiful marriage of being of service to my hometown and region , but also the opportunity to stretch a bit more , to tap into other resources , to fully develop myself nationally , to be of service to entrepreneurs across the country .

Speaker 2 12:47

So you've gone even deeper than .

Speaker 3 12:48

I would have imagined today .

Speaker 2 12:48

So I have a really important question for you . Do you consider yourself to be an entrepreneur , an artist , a creative ? How would you describe yourself to folks who you talk to ?

Speaker 1 12:58

I am an entrepreneur and I am an investor in small business , with a deep focus in black business investment . Okay , great great .

Speaker 2 13:09

It's always evolving for me . So I'm always keeping a finger on the pulse for who I am Great . It's always evolving for me . I'm always keeping a finger on the pulse for who I am yeah .

Building Generational Wealth for Black Entrepreneurs

Speaker 2 13:15

So let's talk about this capital need . So I've been thinking a lot myself lately . I sit on the board of Housing Families First , and one of the biggest barriers to having people off the streets is having enough houses , but enough houses that are affordable , and so I think a lot about this need to build generational wealth , and there are different ways to do it . Real estate is certainly one of those ways , but building a business is another one , I would say personally I'm an entrepreneur myself I would say starting a business is the easiest way to build generational wealth for yourself because you control every facet of it .

Speaker 2 13:49

But capital is so hard to come by for somebody who doesn't have a track record of generating profit in a business , doesn't have a track record of maybe even borrowing a significant sum of money . Can you talk a little bit about what that sort of time frame looks like for people ? Not necessarily the time itself , but before they're ready . Or maybe they are ready and they just don't have the like you mentioned technical resources ? Now what's that process look like for people who are discovering ? What does it take to be able to be capitalized and what happens for them after they are capitalized ? You know , more times obviously wouldn't be investing if they're not earning a profit .

Speaker 1 14:27

Well , the process varies , I would say the journey varies , depending on the individual , and so , for the sake of this conversation , I'll focus on Black entrepreneurs in our region , if that's okay . And so , as Black entrepreneurs , oftentimes we , more often not we don't come , we're not born into wealth , and so very much so we're starting from scratch , and so , from the beginning onset , we're starting at a disadvantage Right . So oftentimes , what financial institutions require , we are not able to check the boxes initially , and so that's why it's important to have organizations like Virgin Virginia , who takes a different approach to capital access , a different approach to capital access . But we need more right , because they are but so large , we are but so large and have so many resources . So , you know , one would start off with I'm just going to kind of go through the ecosystem interested in starting a business . You know you have organizations like the Metropolitan Business League , which is the trusted source in small business you can place membership , allow you to be part of an organization , so that you are not on this island alone .

Speaker 1 15:40

Whether you're artists or not , you want to be in good company with others that have experienced entrepreneurship , or on the same stage , I would say , at the same level that you are , you want to tap into resources .

Speaker 1 15:52

Like the Office of Minority Business Development , ms Pat Foster . They are constantly offering resources from a technical support , educational , I would say offerings , because as an entrepreneur you're a student constantly Like you don't just you know , because I've started a business and learning stops . No , your industry is changing , your region is changing and so those resources are there and available and very much so necessary . And I think once you get the business started , you tap into the technical resources and strengthen your knowledge base again , industry and region . You position yourself so that you can be capital ready . Most larger financial institutions look at just credit score and collateral and things of that nature . Virginia takes an approach that's not as harsh . In fact it offers more flexibility and it's more community centered . I think cities have a responsibility , particularly those in the South , because of history of finance in the South , to be flexible with capital resources so that black entrepreneurs can have access and they can enjoy the same path that others do , right in terms of accessing capital .

Speaker 2 17:13

So on the other side of it , what are some ? Maybe just an anecdote that you can share , somebody that you've seen be capitalized and then take that I mean , I've seen it myself from across society but somebody who just says you know what , I'm going to go , do this thing , and they find their way to that point where they can have that money . What changes for them after that ?

Speaker 1 17:34

So there are so many instances , I am thinking about one and so I can't name the business , just to kind of protect you know . But I'm thinking of one business in particular . The husband is a chef . They have a food truck business very popular within our region , and so there was time there was a need for scale . Right , they reached that point of where they need to scale their business .

Speaker 1 18:08

They fully immerse themselves in the resources and that's key , like you really have to immerse yourself and take advantage of the resources that we have within this ecosystem enrichment , and there are plenty . The thing is , a lot of folks don't know where to begin . So that is an area that we have to work on and that initiative is being led by folks like the NBL and Bridge of Virginia to kind of bridge that access gap . But they tapped into resources within the ecosystem , multiple I mean . So they are in multiple cohorts , so they're getting education . Because of the education that they have acquired and the time in which they've been in business , they have been ripe and able to gain access to capital resources . So they've done that and they are preparing to open their brick and mortar .

Speaker 2 18:51

Oh wonderful , that's got to be life changing .

Speaker 1 18:54

It's life changing and they're so excited and I'm so excited for them . But they have also been really good listeners . They've been receptive to feedback . They have been just an incredible sponge . They're always looking to tap into what's next in terms of resources within Richmond .

Speaker 2 19:10

Well , that's a great transition . We're going to take a quick break , but when we come back , I want to talk a little bit about what's next for Richmond , as we think about ways we can make our community healthier .

Speaker 3 19:20

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Empowering Black Entrepreneurs in Richmond

Speaker 2 19:50

Welcome back to America's Healthiest City . I'm your host , will Melton , and today in the ESPN studio we have Melody Short , the co-founder of the Richmond Night Market . Melody is a very impactful person here in the community and we're eager to have her thoughts on ways that we can make Richmond a healthier place the entire community . If you are new to this program , I know you probably listen to podcasts too , so please go over to where you listen to your podcasts and subscribe to America's Healthiest City so you can hear each of these interviews when it's most convenient for you . Melody , thank you so much for coming in today . I really appreciate this conversation . I'm learning a lot and I hope our listeners are too .

Speaker 2 20:26

I want to talk a little bit about the future of Richmond , and this takes a lot of different shapes and I'll kind of prime you for a couple of things . I want to think about some folks who are out there doing some good work that we might think about . But I'm really curious . You've had this very long time here in Richmond and you've been other places and you've brought some of those lessons back . What are some thoughts that you have as you look into the future ? Things we need to do better ? You've mentioned some already , but small ways that people can get involved , the things that maybe we can do together to be better for the future .

Speaker 1 20:57

Just to make the space a bit more equitable for all , and so the lens for me it's always through small business . Um , you know , I remember saying to our current mayor um , you know , I love bragging on Richmond when I'm in other cities , um , because of the , and so it's a bit easier to start a business here in the city in comparison to my friends in New York and things of that nature . But once the businesses are started , we want the businesses to be sustained , and so oftentimes businesses here in Richmond are up against a lot of you know , a lot of red tape , whether it be through their interactions with City Hall . I think we need to do a better job at making . You know renewing your business license , you know getting things squared away with zoning , like I'm , I know of a local business owner who's just looking to open his doors . He has been trying to do so for months while also having to pay the landlord rent every month , but he needs to complete the zoning and compliance requirements before doing so . We could do better with that , because they are small businesses , they don't have this river flowing of just capital resources that they can afford to pay rent and not be generating money .

Speaker 1 22:28

So we can do better with City Hall and those things that take place there , but I'm always going to talk about just capital , resources and access to real estate , because I do think small business , yes , it is a pathway to freedom , but I think part of that and we were talking about real estate prior to sitting here .

Speaker 1 22:47

We need to be able to own black entrepreneurs , be able to own the buildings that our businesses are housed in .

Speaker 1 22:54

That is game changing , and so I would love to see more programs in place , whether it be through the Office of Economic Development , identify parts of Richmond , and I know that there are some programs in certain parts , but I think that there's opportunity to expand where we can ensure black entrepreneurs are able to access the real estate in an affordable way .

Speaker 1 23:16

To access the real estate in an affordable way . The last point of that I know that there are owners of real estate , particularly on Broad Street , that do not reside . They're not Richmond residents , and they've been sitting on these properties for years , decades , and it is to me gross and so one . It doesn't help to , it's not attractive , right , but beyond that , it's not being used , when someone locally could use , and I don't know how you go about doing that . I don't know if you put a minimum time frame on having to develop and build out a piece of real estate , but I think that we could do better with allowing folks that are not local on the real estate and not developing the properties , which ultimately does not help our city .

Speaker 2 24:00

Well , that was a lot of things . I will just reflect on that . I used to be on the Economic Development Commission for the city of New Haven in Connecticut and that was a problem there too . There were people that lived in New York or wherever and they'd sit on property for 20 , 30 years . Why did you know ? And just taking up space , that their businesses actually want in this space and they're like , well , if I hold it longer , I'll make more money off of it . Well , we definitely need to do a better job at reaching out to those folks . I also want to say , as a business owner in the city of Richmond , I can expect definitely most businesses can expect to need to go to the bank and post office sometimes I have to go to City hall more often than I would like to say .

Speaker 2 24:41

And it's not , it shouldn't have to be it's not one of those places that you should have to be physical , so we don't need to be . We have to find ways to make those things better . So I happen to agree with you a great deal there . And then , when it comes to assets , I mean I just I think that that's so critical and I don't know that we spend enough time we talk about it with owning a home . But as a business owner who's largely in the service industry , you know Richmond Water recently invested in some new hydration stations and for us those are assets and as a business owner , you think about assets differently than you do the flow of income and expenses , I think . Anyway , I do . So I think those are all really great points and I want to welcome you to share anybody who you think is really just making a mark in Richmond . That is , somebody who would want to come in here and tell me more about what they're doing .

Speaker 1 25:32

Mm-hmm , yeah , okay , so now I have to choose , because there's so many great people in Richmond that are making a mark and I feel privileged to be part of , I would say , being in good company with them , and so now I'm in my head right now stalling . That's okay .

Speaker 2 25:54

You can give me a couple of people .

Speaker 1 25:56

I'm stalling , trying to think of two . Yeah , so I will think . So . There's two names , one . The first would be Floyd Miller .

Speaker 2 26:08

Okay .

Speaker 1 26:09

He is the CEO of the Metropolitan Business League . He is a former boss . I used to work for the NBL . I call them my forever family . Um , I have the honor of continuing to work with them from , uh , my work with Bridger Virginia . But he is , I mean , if the world had more Floyd Millers we would be in better shape . Trust me , um , completely service driven but has a heart of gold , and so you see the growth and development of the Metropolitan Business League because of his leadership , and so I offer .

Speaker 2 26:44

I haven't had him on the show yet and I adore him , so I would forward you my dinner , yeah .

Speaker 1 26:48

Floyd is amazing Trusted source and the MBL is obviously the trusted source for small business , particularly in support of black businesses in Richmond . And then I would offer Amy Wentz Okay , are you familiar ?

Speaker 2 27:02

I haven't had Amy on .

Speaker 1 27:03

Yeah . So Amy Wentz again , heart of gold . So I always look at people that are doing work in service of our city to residents of our city that would do it if a paycheck wasn't involved , residents of our city that would do it if a paycheck wasn't involved . These are people that really I call it hard work , that are so deeply committed . Sometimes it could be at fault , but your path is your path and , yeah , amy is just one of those gems in my opinion . She would be great .

Speaker 2 27:37

Well , part of the reason I asked this question is so that our listeners who are sitting at home maybe thinking that things aren't happening fast enough or that we're , you know we're not moving in the direction we need to go in . I want them to know that these folks are out there working hard every single day .

Speaker 1 27:50

I mean yeah , I mean Amy has . You know , when you think about the Richmond Black Restaurant Week experience , she's one of the co -founders BLKRVA , that initiative through tourism that is , that started with Amy Wentz Relief she's co-founder along with Cherie Shannon , so she is in I mean arts culture . It just kind of runs the gamut and super smart . In I mean arts culture . It just kind of runs the gamut and super smart , so yeah .

Speaker 2 28:24

Well , we never have enough time to have these conversations . We could have gone down any one of those tentacles and I very much look forward to having conversations with you off air and having you back in the future to tell us about developments , because you're always moving and shaking out there . So thank you for coming on .

Speaker 1 28:39

I appreciate it and I would just love to invite your listeners to Richmond Night Market where every second Saturday of the month our season runs from April to December 5 to 9 pm at the 17th Street Market Date night . Come out by yourself , bring your entire family . We have the Artisan Village that features up to 40 small business owners and artisans for you to shop with . We have the Makerspace that features local artists painting live . We have the Creative Kids Hangout , where we have a local non-profit organization create art programming for the night market for that day . And then there's music . So we have a DJ that spends all night except one hour , and that's the hour that the live band performs .

Speaker 2 29:18

Wonderful .

Speaker 1 29:19

Well , that's great . Where can folks find you guys online ? Richmondnightmarketvacom .

Speaker 2 29:24

Great Well , thank you so much . This was a great interview and I wish you the best .

Speaker 1 29:28

Thank you Will .

Speaker 2 29:29

This was America's Healthiest City . On ESPN Richmond 106.1 , part of the Mike King Biz Media Network . Catch us each week at 6 am on Thursdays . Please follow us on socials and leave some comments in the comments below . Thank you so much for listening . We'll catch you next week .