Wealth Management and Minority-Owned Businesses with Charisse Conanan Johnson, Co-CEO and Board Member of Next Street
Small business ownership is a proven way to build wealth, but for Black business owners, structural barriers often keep them from accessing traditional means of financing. For example, Black-owned businesses are approved for financing at one third of the rate of their White owned counterparts.
On this episode of The Chief’s Table, guest Charisse Conanan Johnson shares how her organization, Next Street, is helping to change that. Next Street supports small businesses and entrepreneurs by providing them with advice, resources and B2B solutions.
During her conversation with Kim, Charisse shares that as a Black woman who began her career in the financial industry, she realized that there were many structural impediments that kept Black Americans from accessing capital. In her role as Co-CEO and Board Member at Next Street, Charisse combines her passion for wealth creation and entrepreneurship by supporting minority-owned businesses.
Kim and Charisse also discuss the Black Lives Matter movement and the importance of holding corporations accountable, especially concerning their 2020 pledges to monetarily support small, minority-owned businesses. Charisse highlights some of Next Street’s specific clients that have done a particularly good job fulfilling their racial justice pledges, such as Verizon and the Columbus Foundation.
Additionally, Charisse shares some of the statistics surrounding Black and Brown business ownership, well as a personal story that has affected the way she views life.