Find the Hidden Money in America
Hi there, I am so excited to see all of you on the website.
[indiscernible] so helpful in my business, let's get started everybody.
"Find the Hidden Money in America" . This is something I am so excited about. Something I think as Americans and people who pay taxes, all these opportunities that some of us don't take advantage of. It has really changed my career and my business. I am so thrilled to speak to you. I want you all to know the statements I express are my own. I am very proud, this webinar is sponsored by Chase
in the small business administration. I want to get started. I am Nely Galan , that I am "Self Made" but the truth is I am a small business owner for over 25 years. That ages me but that it's the truth . I started my business very young. The first Latina president of entertainment for Telemundo. Also with Tyler Perry, my own company with over 700 televisions shows in English and Spanish. And I am the founder of the Adelante Movement , to empower Latina entrepreneurs.
And when I show up all of my other cultural brothers and showed brothers and sister show up.
Last year I met -- wrote a best-selling book called "Self Made" . A manifesto for all .
I think this issue of hidden money in America is so important because all of us are always looking for capital. Every small business. It is our biggest issue the weather in the startup phase, survival phase etc. For all of us, cash flow is the biggest issue. The thing that causes stress for all of us. And finding that capital that's required to expand in order to hire additional employees, or by equipment, whatever we need, is the thing we worry about every night. Keeping us from getting sleep.
So many of us also wish we could buy the building we are and that we don't have the capital to do so. I am happy to tell you, I wish I had known then what I know now . there is so much hidden merrily the best hidden money in America for all small businesses.
These opportunities are out there. I have to tell you, they come in the form of loans, credit. Points on the credit card, grants , incentives. I can't wait to tell you about all of the contracts the government programs, private sector resources. And within the -- not finding out about them we are leaving money on the table. That's why it's so important to talk about this. An entire chapter in my book. I feel like as taxpayers we are not taking advantage of the financial system in the country. That's get going and talk about them.
I'm going to show you as I said, I already told you at the chapter in my book. Later on we can go deeper into it. I will tell you ways of getting in touch with me and we can go further. Let's get going.
Hidden money in America. Let me tell you my story and my mistakes. I am an immigrant, I came to the country when I was five years old. I am Latina like so money of us the best so many of us that are Latina immigrants . I mated -- made money selling Avon when I was 12. I worked like a dog like all of us . All these different jobs. I was very blessed to get into television early in my life. By the time I was 22, I was a station manager of a little station in New Jersey. That is now Telemundo. Back then it was an independent station.
I worked 24 hours a day, three years into that job I found out my station was being sold. I was heartbroken. It was my baby. I went to see my boss and I said how could you do this to me. He said young lady those are my tips. If you want to play get your own tricks.
I was crying in bed thinking my little baby is being taken away from me. I decided at that moment I would never work from the best for anyone else again. I would start my own business and I did. I have to be honest with you, for four years I did not make one penny. I had to do side jobs. My parents were freaking out telling me my God, find a husband . Why are you doing this but my friends thought I was crazy. But when I look back on it, I really made a lot of mistakes in those four years. I didn't have a team helping me. I was doing this by myself. I didn't join any organizations, I certainly didn't go on a webinar like this. The biggest thing is I didn't know about hidden money in America . > I believe to grow your business you need to grow your self first. I am so proud of all of you that you are here listening in. This is what it takes. It takes being a hunter, finding out, participating, it takes being around other people like you to get the information. So thank you for being here. I wish I had done this.
How did I find the hidden money in America, after four years of really feeling like I was going to give up. Well finally, I went to a bank and someone said to me there is a Latina banker, she looks like me . I started talking to this small business banker. I didn't understand there was a difference between a teller and a small business banker. That there were specialist in the bank that new all about business . So when I met her, still my dear friend, she said are you doing any organizations. I said no. You need to join the Chamber of Commerce. Join an entrepreneurial organization.
Organizations in the entertainment industry.
I started cultivating a team. A banker, insurance, all the people I needed to really learn that there was hidden money in America. I took me a while to figure this out.
The only thing that saved me was one of my old bosses said to me when I was your age I started a business and it took me 10 years to make money. I'm only at your for, maybe I will get there . It started turning around.
I want to show you. I love this slide. Start taking screenshots, I know you will get all of this in the end but this is a very important slide. I found a woman that looks like me. She started telling me what to do. I think that was a game changer for me. She said to me you have got to meet all these other people. So again when you're looking, she sent me to organizations, told me about financial advisors. So I added more help. I had her and the team. I started learning about taxes. I started getting insurance , I didn't realize I needed insurance. I asked a lawyer to meet with me. Real estate, I wouldn't have known about all of these. Little by little people started telling me about government incentives. And about the small business administration. I knew nothing about. So I cultivated a team and I cultivated knowledge that all these people gave me. Starting with this person I felt comfortable with . I don't think a lot of people realize, especially somebody like me, I came from Cuba where it became communist. The banking system failed. How many of us come from places we don't trust banks. For me to find someone that was like me, and she explained to me the system in the country, it was a game changer for me.
Through all of those people I started finding out that the hidden money in America lied in this thing called the Golden triangle. I love this. Again if we come to this country and we don't know, the Golden triangle is financial institutions and corporations. I will go into this specifically for you. In the government, and nonprofits and later on in the deck I will show you, we are in a digital world . That is the new part of the Golden triangle. That is where the financial system, all of the money, hidden money, lies in these three places. I really recommend you take a picture and we will come back later so don't worry. Let me explain what I mean by that. Here it is laid out. The Golden triangle. Financial institutions and corporations . Financial institutions help you with loans and credit. They also help you with advice and strategy. This is where my banker that I found was able to fill me in. They also help you with community development financial institutions. CDF I. This means if they are not even ready, there are parts of things they are able to do that they are not ready. They will help you up with organizations to help start you getting loans. Corporations have something called supplier diversity programs. When someone said that to me, it's like is that another language. It means corporations in America have these contracts, if you make your business hold mother business, we can go deeply in this later. Training corporations offer free training. Nonprofit grants through their foundations. And there are shared economy opportunities in this digital age that we will talk about later as well.
And the federal government, when we all pay taxes, there is money put aside for these agencies. Small business administration. They have loans for us, business loans and real estate loans for us to buy buildings, that we don't know about. I always find it incredible, when I found out of all the money they have, a small percentage, of people go and apply for the money. You know how much money is sitting there. Federal and state tax incentives. I will go into this but they are like coupons you can use for yourself and your business that most of us don't know exist. I love that one because when I tell people they say are you kidding me . We are not using those incentives. I can't wait to go into it deeply for you. The Department of Commerce. How to do trade in America. So much information. So much opportunity and they don't find out about it. And government contracting. Every department of the government has contracts in every single area that your businesses are in. Again if you apply for these contracts , can you imagine, the scale you can create for your business. It's incredible.
And then nonprofits in America advocate for small business owners. They train , they help find your team. They help you find qualified staff and advisors . often times they help you find customers. A lot of times these nonprofits, the people that sign up for these nonprofits that are members are your potential customers. Also nonprofits help you with microloans, grants, contest and the CD FIs that are for profit and CD FIs for microloans that are profit . Incredible organizations we don't know about. > I hope you getting excited, this is a game changer for you.
Okay, why is your small business banker important? First of all remember small business banker, different than anyone else in the bank. They are an expert. These bankers, just like my like Tina that helped me -- Latina that helped me cut Tina. They can advise you of all these options in the bank. They can put you in touch with CD FIs and additional micro lenders. So there is no too little, no to large, find your small business banker I really want you to see the value of that relationship . > So what are all the different things I didn't realize either when I started? That a small business banker can connect you with. Lines of credit. I didn't know what a line of credit was . I'm a TV producer, I don't get paid until the TV show goes on the air. They give me like 10% upfront. And sometimes the TV show, it can take months. I really thought in the beginning of my career, how do I do it. What will I do? Irene explained to me that lines of credit are incredible. You have to take advantage of business opportunities as they arise. As you note sometimes business opportunities arrive quickly and you have to be ready to go. I will let you read all of this. Access to funds. Revolving line of credit. You apply early so it's waiting for when the opportunity arrives. You can get lines of credit ranging from $10,000 and above.
Business term loans to pay off a significant purchase over a longer period of time. You can choose fixed or variable way the best rates.
Flexible terms, and again these are $10,000 and above. Something I had no idea existed .
And business credit cards. I never knew that the rewards program , you can choose now there so many credit cards available. Cash backs, travel credit cards, gift cards and experiences. I use my points in order to fly my employees or upgrade my employees. All of the stuff I use saves me a lot of money, especially when I'm going through a difficult clash cash flow time .
And the online tools that credit cards offer to manage spending, including employee spending , to see how you're doing.
Let's keep going. Here this gives you a big idea of business credit cards and what they can provide. Cash flow management. I use it now all the time. Convenience and control. It allows us to charge different things on different cards to manage expenses. Service and security . a lot of things I was paying for separately that I didn't know was included in the card. And the rewards that really allow you to also better travel and other things and treat your employees as well in a way that doesn't cost you cash.
I'm gonna go through this pretty quickly. I want you to look at this. You can always come back and really look at this carefully. A business card can be useful to cover short-term expenses while retaining cash. They help you maintain immediate access to credit. They manage fluctuation in cash flows with your business seasonality. They address emergencies and unexpected expenses. And they can lower cost compared to paper check disbursements. And they can leverage card terms, extend payment dates, a.k.a. payment float . These are things you can see that you can manage better through a business card. By the way, this is my holy Grail. >
Also service and security. I have to bring this up because a lot of the stuff on the customer service, fraud monitoring,
domestic and international travel assistance. All of these things listed, consumer protections, zero fraud and extended warranties. Auto rental collision damage waiver , how many times we pay for these because the card covers it. We don't realize it. Insurance and reimbursement, tramp cancellation insurance -- trip cancellation insurance. Now I know and I understand my credit cards inside and out. And use them wisely as part of my budget .
Let's keep going. Hidden money additional funding options. We already talked about how your small business banker can help you access hidden money with other financial , nonprofit and government partners. I don't think I knew this either. You can get them to help you find them. They can help you find a community development financial institution. They are known as CDFI's . These people are 100% dedicated to delivering responsible and affordable lending to you. You might be sitting thinking I'm too small, I don't want to talk even to the banker. You don't realize this exist and they will help you. These people can finance small business, micro enterprises and commercial real estate across the nation. Many of them are profitable , some also nonprofits did their job is to really be good to you. They don't want to make money off of you, they want to be a choice for you in the beginning stages of a small business. There are CDFI banks, credit unions, loan funds, venture capital funds. And Chase recently has committed $75 million as part of their small business forward program to facilitate access to capital seating of new funds with trusted CDFI partners such as axion . I work with them closely conjured 48 development fund the best the Detroit development fund, lift fun, and pressed almost.
Okay. Your small business banker can also help you connect with other lenders to the responsible business lending coalition. Right all of these down. The B BOR. A bunch of organizations I didn't know about. That you should know about . Nonprofits and organizations that can fund small business owners. Again we mentioned [indiscernible] the Aspen Institute, funding circle, lending club, opportunity fund and small-business majority . Here is a website of a place you can find all of them. Don't worry, we are recording this and you can come back and watch it 1 million times. .
Let's keep going.
Let's get into the SBA. I love the small business administration. Your small business banker can introduce you to SBA loans. A big thing I never knew. I would go on the websites and say it seems so complicated. How will I speak to the government. Forget about it. The SBA is only a guarantor of loans. You are not a lender. You go to your bank, it's an SBA loan through your bank. For most entrepreneurs the SBA's a great option. So many times it goes unused. And where do you begin? Small business banker. Tell them you're interesting interested in an SBA loan at the bank for you. It is not so complicated .
That they're going to tell you, your small business banker will show you the benefits of an SBA loan. The SBA's primary goal is to help qualified small businesses obtain financing when they might not be eligible for regular business loans through normal lending channels by guaranteeing , the SBA guarantees, part of your loan. That gives you an advantage in getting the long. They provide additional financing opportunities for businesses that may be highly leveraged. That might be short on collateral. That have other identified weaknesses that may not allow for conventional financing. People, this is why you are an American . This is why you pay taxes. The SBA is there, this is one of the benefits of being an American. And benefits. Longer maturity on term loans. Lower equity injection. Easier to qualify for than conventional loans. The proceeds of the loan can be used for a variety of things that normal loans don't allow. And the SBA guarantee fees can be financed into the loan.