Instagram Live Series with Chair Sima Ladjevardian | First Episode with Guest Christina Hale

Good morning, everyone. We're just going to give it a minute for Christina to join us. Good morning, everyone. My name is Sima Ladjevardian, and I am so excited to have our first Instagram Live with our very special guest, Christina Hale. I'm the chair of the National Women's Business Council. I'm going to give you a little bit of a background on NWBC., and then we're going to get into this riveting conversation with Christina, and then we're going to open it up to questions. So please type in any question you want and then we'll get to it afterwards. So NWBC is a nonpartisan independent federal advisory council that gives advice to the president, to Congress, and the SBA administrator about anything to do with women and women business entrepreneurs. We came into existence in 1988 with the enactment of the Women Business Ownership Act. And would you believe it, up until 36 years ago, women were not allowed to take business loans without a male cosigner. So this has happened then, and since then there was also the introductions and start of the Women Business Centers that Christina will get into later on. So a lot has happened, but it's just only been 36 years. The council is made up of volunteers that are appointed by the President and the SBA Administrator.. And they're women business owners and entrepreneurs from both parties and leaders of women business organizations. We're the only federal advisory committee that actually covers the 13 million women business owners. And we get all this information from holding roundtables, public meetings, and outreach with business leaders, policymakers, and our constituents. And, you know, now we've had— we have now almost 14— 42% of our businesses are women-owned. They employ 12 million employees and add $2.7 trillion to the economy. And if they were treated the same as men, we would add $7.2 trillion to the economy, which is really exciting. The SBA under Administrator Guzman has just done incredible strides with business owners in general, and it is just my pleasure to introduce our guest of honor today, Christina Hale, who is the Assistant Administrator in the Office of Women Business Ownership. She administers grants and support for the more than 160 Women Business Centers that we discussed. She previously served as the SBA's Associate Administrator for the Office of Communications and Public Liaison, and she's had more than 20 years experience working with business leaders in the government and civil society, specializing in communications, administration, and regulatory affairs. Her resume is very long. We're going to discuss it and then go through it. But Christina, I'm just so excited to have you on, and welcome.

Sima, thank you, and thank you for your leadership. I mean, this This board that you're leading is on the front line talking to women business owners all over the country about what's really going on, and it's developing possible good public policy from a very practical level. And I just really admire the work that you and your team have been doing and appreciate this invitation very much.

Absolutely. And your office has done so much.

That's, I guess, my— said, if you could just say public liaison again, I love to hear, I'd love to hear you say that all day long.

Public liaison, exactly. So just tell me, like, in your journey, what has, what really has inspired you to focus on women business ownership and really empowerment for women?

Economically? Absolutely, and what a great question because for me it's very, very personal. You know, I was a young single mom and my life completely changed in a matter of moments and I had to, to pivot and I didn't know what to do and I had this little kid and times were tough but I was determined not just because both of my brothers told me I was going to be a loser, but because I had this little kid and I knew I had to do something. But those of you out there listening, you've had tough times too. And it was two women in my home community that started a business, a childcare business. And that meant my son Owen could be in a quality care environment with his peers and playing outside. And it was just very healthy and it made my life go. And I could go to school. I could work my jobs. But I was so inspired by, by Deb and by Jan who put this together. One was a lawyer. One was a psychologist. And here I was, somebody who felt like nothing, but I knew I needed to do something. And I took that to heart. So, I knew I had to have a career about paying it forward and setting women up for economic success.

What an inspiring story. And it just tells you, if you put your mind at it and you have mentors and you have the resources available, how much you can achieve.

To your point though, you were talking earlier about 35 years and getting the business loan. Like, would that have happened like 35 years ago without all the progress that we've made so far and knowing how far we have to go? And it terrifies me a little bit because I think you and I have similar lived life experiences. And, you know, if I think of having to go to one of my brothers who had called me a loser and, you know, had to ask them for a loan or sign for me or help me get a credit card back when the NWBC and the Office of Women's Business Ownership were born, like, I don't think any of this would have happened. So I really appreciate partnering with you to to get good things done for women.

And there's a lot of pressure on women and a lot of prejudices. We've come a long way, but there's still a lot more to go. And this is what we're doing here, is making sure that we pave the way that, you know, it becomes even easier and easier, and especially allow younger people looking up and seeing, look, we've all gone through the hard journey. It's hard, but then we, you know, we're gonna get there. And I know we're talking about challenges, but I think, what is, what do you think that is one big challenge that could be solved by policy that women face? And I know your office deals a lot with that. So I think, just wanted to see what you thought.

Well, you heard me mention childcare. So that's really something that touches most women, most of us. And certainly most families that have to care for young children. We learned about it during COVID especially maybe for some men and others that hadn't really had to live through that and face the challenges in their own living room, on their own laps, on their own Zooms. But it's also a huge area of opportunity. So, you know, childcare, it's one of the easiest entry points for women into business. So a lot of women I meet with, small operators, you know, I'll talk to them about their business plan or their ambition and they'll just say, oh, I'm not a business person, I'm just a babysitter.

And that's— that is a business.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You're a business person. Let's talk and let's help you get licensed and help you get contracts. And maybe you want to franchise your business someday or buy your building. I mean, some of these childcare centers can grow to be very large, lucrative businesses, but we have so many childcare deserts as well that women are facing that impede their career, impede their ability to start up their own American dream and, and open their own business too, that we're really determined to do something about that. So at the SBA and the Office of Women's Business Ownership, we've put out a call for proposals to open some new women's business centers across the country that are dedicated to specifically working on helping women to start up scale up and grow their businesses. And I just want to finish by saying too, I, I've got to really give a shout out to the administrator of the US Small Business Administration. She's the only Latina in the President's Cabinet. She is the voice of small business in the President's Cabinet, and equity is at the heart of everything that we do directly associated with her leadership. And so She's been incredibly supportive, helping to drive this small business boom that we're enjoying here of more businesses registering to open than ever before in American history. But they're being led by women, and I think that's reflective of current leadership. And, you know, I think she's just the best boss in the world too.

Absolutely. And I think what I love with this administration, like one of the examples with the Invest in America is with the CHIPS and Science Act. You know, one of the requirements has been that these businesses need to provide childcare. And I think it's so important people realizing that women need to be able— women and men need to be able to thrive and have their own business and not be limited by that. And I love that the Gender Policy Council has also put out a task force on childcare. We know that childcare is such a huge expense for the family, so making it available, making it reasonable, you know, that you can pay for it, it just propels women. And I've talked to so many young women that are like, we want to have children, can we actually start our own business? We don't know. It shouldn't even be a thought. It should be something that's there. So love what you're doing. And I absolutely agree, the administrator has just been an incredible voice and you see how she's put equity at the forefront of everything.

Sima, if I could just mention too, Deirdre Henry-Spires has been really critical to this initiative and, and I've very much appreciated her leadership on our child care initiative at the SBA as well. But I also really appreciated your annual report last year too, so I wonder if one of our staffers could perhaps put in the chat a link to last year's annual report because I know you've done a lot of critical work in this area too that people might want to read more about.

Absolutely. I'm so glad you brought it up. So part of what we do in giving the policy that the advice that we give comes every year in our annual report. Our 2023 is on our website. We're right now working on our 2024, and we're going to present it at our September public meeting, 25th. So we'll ask you all to join that. So I'm going to put it in our chat, but if you go on the website www.nwbc.gov, it tells everything about what we do and every annual report we've had going back 36 years. You're going to see all of that being there, and then I'm going to put it in the chat. Um, how do you think— what do you do? I guess my question to you is, what do you do in your office to support women entrepreneurs?

Well, our number one initiative is helping to create and support women's business centers, so we're in every state, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, and we're growing too. We've just put out, as I mentioned, a request for proposals to grow up to 40 more, but we have 152 at the moment and they're there to be accessible so that women can feel comfortable. And let's face it, it's not just childcare providers that feel like imposter business people. You know, it's a comfortable place for women to go where they're gonna get help, where it's specific to them. If you need a mentor, if you need help drafting your business plan, if you need help accessing a loan, you know, we talk about access to capital. That's fancy language for how do you get your business loan, whether you're starting up or growing. And, you know, just getting advice too. Like if you're new, you might not know it's a bad idea to put payroll on your personal credit cards. You know, just these things that when you're getting started, when this is new for you, or perhaps you're at a more sophisticated point in your business cycle, we're there. Like I said, whether it's to start up, grow, scale up, maybe you're leaving us, you're growing from a small business to a medium-sized business. But it's because you got that critical SBA-backed loan or something like that. But it's a non-intimidating space. It's by women for women. We help men too, but it's specifically outreach for women to help you enjoy the success of your American dream with all the practical support you might need.

Yeah, I've seen what an incredible work they do. You know, most women, and especially immigrant women, are too afraid to ask questions, or they end up putting their own money, their own savings, their own whatever. So I've had several experiences when I direct them to the WBCs. They're like, oh my God, there's so much help, there's so much to do. It's just not scary anymore. And there is so much ample information and help there that if they just knew about it. And I love what the WBCs do. So, oh, I have to say thank you for your office because they do an incredible job.

Thank you. And we are trying to work smarter too and be more relevant for women so we can be more helpful and effective. So for the first time ever, we're going to be launching some virtual women's business centers. So if you're an urban woman and you don't want to have to transfer buses 3 times and get a babysitter to show up at a brick and mortar, bricks and mortar office, there will be a virtual option. Perhaps you're a military woman or you're a military spouse. And you don't really have ties to the same geography all the time, you can go to a virtual center and make it easy for you. Rural Native women, we're just trying to meet women entrepreneurs where they are, wherever they are, as Administrator Guzman says. And we're really excited about this way to, to be more relevant and accessible for all women so no one gets left behind.

I just love that. Tell me one of your favorite success stories about women entrepreneurs that benefited from the programs that you have.

Well, I have, I want to say 3, but I'll be quick. So one is a woman named LaFerris in Minnesota. She was a single mom like I was with a little kid. And about, I don't know, a little over 20 years ago, a domestic violence situation, and her life completely changed. And she needed an income stream, and that very accessible way to get into business, she started babysitting some kids. Now that little boy of hers is the CEO of her mega childcare business. We hosted her in the White House at our Gender Policy Council White House Summit, and LaFerris is growing. She's franchising. She's buying the buildings. Everything we've talked about, I think of somebody like, oh, Melissa Butler, who is the CEO of Lip Bar. I see Sima Ladjevardian, you like your lipstick as I do. So Melissa was in finance working in Manhattan in her apartment, had a dream of having her own cosmetology company, makeup company, and was making lipsticks at her kitchen table. Now, Lip Bar was the first African American woman-owned lipstick producer to be nationally distributed by Target, which is, my God, pretty awesome. Yeah. Um, one of her products is called Lip Boss Red, and she was talking to someone in the audience, uh, where she was speaking, and I got to, got to listen to her story. And she— the woman was like, Lip Boss Red is my favorite, blah blah blah, I still have mine. And she's like, please throw it away. It's probably full of bacteria. You know, uh, it's, you know, 7 years old. Get that out of your makeup drawer. So, uh, that was pretty funny. But another really quickly, the founder of Spanx. So her name is Sara Blakely, and she talks about she invented the Spanx, you know, and had to get her first patent and all of that. And her mom is the one who like helped her draw the design. She's modeling the, the, you know, the prototype of the Spanx, and her mom's drawing it. And that's what was baked into her application for her patent. Now we all know Spanx everywhere, but both of those women, actually all of the women I mentioned, LaFerris, Sarah, and Melissa, all got SBA help to get to where they are today.

So these stories also show you, you know, when young girls look up and see these incredible stories, it gives them the hope that they can get there. And this is part of our Instagram Live series, is that moving forward, once a month, we are going to talk to these women who have, you know, started from nothing and are just like massive success stories, just to talk about their journey and what's going to happen. So we'll keep you posted on that. But I— it's just It makes— it warms my heart to see how much women can do when they know where the resources are and they have access to those resources.

Yeah, and Sima, I love that you're getting out there on Instagram Live because that's where people are also, and helping have access to these stories. I think you're right, they're so inspiring, and I can't— I'm going to be listening to every single one and recharging my batteries because not every day is You know, some days are hard, and, and those are going to be the days I'm gonna maybe, maybe even be listening to the recordings.

So, but that's why we have a sisterhood. Yeah, we absolutely all help each other out.

Absolutely.

Um, what would be your advice, I guess, to our listeners? And I, and I know you may have a few. I would say, what are your top 1 or top 2 advice that you would give to our listeners?

Oh, first, yeah, is believe in yourself and try to be a voice of positivity in your own head and realize that there is enough success to go around. Success and opportunity is elastic. It just keeps growing. And I know something I struggle with is worrying that it's fragile and small. And that it won't stretch. So you see somebody else's success and you worry that you're not having your own. And you know, like, oh, they're— let's face it, we all edit our lives on the Insta and other social media to show the best angles and the best, you know, all the positive stories. But we also know it's not always positive and we can be our own worst enemies. So being good to yourself in your own mind's eye and then finding those people that care about you and will invest in you is important. And returning to the Women's Business Centers, that's kind of the foundation of them too, that they're a place where you can go whether you're feeling like, hell, I don't know what to do. Like, I've got this idea. What's the next thing I need to do? No shame, no embarrassment. Like, it's come in and people want to help you. And oh, have you thought about getting a SCORE mentor? Oh, hey, it's— maybe you should pursue this municipal contract, or, you know, just to help you get over the hump in your own head. But you also have to do that for yourself as well. And the final thing I would say is something that I think shores that up and makes you a stronger person and better prepared for your own journey is helping others who are coming behind you. So you might not realize you're a success yet, but you are to somebody and you are inspiring to people. So remembering to invite others to the table, you know, and looking behind you over your shoulder and pulling that next person in to what they could be doing or taking that step forward and encouraging them, you're going to get more out of it than you're giving.

I promise you. I absolutely believe in you, and I think as women, we tend to question ourselves like 10 times over and really believing that we can do this. I think what I've also seen is that there is so much out there, just not to be afraid to advocate for yourself and ask for help and make sure you go to the SBA website, make sure you go to the WBCs, and, uh, you'd be surprised how many people are out there to help you. And that's just, that has been really probably one of the most inspiring thing that I've seen is that, you know, we pull each other up and I'm not putting men different from this. I think if you ask, help is there.

So I think it's just so important. And Sima, the lights went out on me when you were speaking. I think it's the universe telling us something, actually wanting to underscore that point. Like don't wait to be perfect and have your business all figured out. Like, come in with your questions, come in with your worries and concerns, and let the network and people there whose job it is, their career's there to help people like you who have a dream and want to push it forward. So don't let the perfect get you down. Yeah, you're good enough even if you're just starting out with an idea.

That's the key to moving forward. What's interesting is that when you talk to super successful women who have already made it, they're still questioning so many things. So it's like, you know, we will always question ourselves, but just know, you know, there's never a perfect. Yeah. Just do your best and there's just never a perfect. That's just not what it is. God, I can have this conversation with you all day long, but I think we have some questions in the chat and I'll Let me just read some of them. So the first one I see is, do you, do you have centers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania?

We do, and you can go onto our website and find them all over the country. So we're easy to Google. We're the SBA Office of Women's Business Ownership, and you can go right there, sba.gov/owbo, and just look them up right there. And we'll also put that in at least the recording of this chat. And you can find me on, say, LinkedIn @HailIndy, and I'll make sure I put it up there as well. So, so you'll be able to find it and we'll make sure that you get to where you need to go.

Christina, both of us are extremely available, so just reach out and we'll be happy to help with any of that. One of the questions is, how do I obtain— could you make support for resources more navigable? I mean, interestingly enough, SBA has done an incredible job, like, for the certification part. They've really worked on doing a one-stop shop, which is amazing. And Christina, I'll put it up to you. This is, I guess, what we strive for all the time, to make it as easy as possible.

We do, and so we're constantly trying to improve and evolve and be where in the spaces where we need to be. This is also the federal government and you know it can be kind of bureaucratic, so it's one of the charges we take most seriously is how do we make it easier? How do we make it easier to be an entrepreneur? How do we make it easier to be a Women's Business Center? Quite honestly. And so a lot of times that's thinking through how to deformalize things, make them more accessible. And one initiative I already mentioned was taking this online, creating virtual women's business centers so that wherever you are, you know, if you can connect virtually, you can access those same services as well, because that's how people live these days. So, um, Suggestions always welcome too, because if you're trying to deal with the federal government on anything, the lived end user experience is important, and I might not have ever tried to jump through the exact hoops you have as a, as a customer. So let us know, and we might not be able to give you a fix right away, but we will take it in, take it seriously, evaluate it, and I imagine if you're having that problem, so are a lot of people, and we'll need to do something about that.

We also hold at NWBC a lot of roundtables on access to capital, doing a lot of these things, access to opportunities. So just make sure you join us and sign up for our newsletter and then follow us on all our social media platform because you can join us on a lot of these and your voice matters. That's really part of what we do is how we come up with our policy recommendations. So all of that is extremely helpful for us.

Sima, that reminds me too, at your public meetings, because your board meetings are open to the public, you always take public comment at the meetings, I believe live and when they're in person. And I think a lot of people don't know that like this is a national board. You are advising Congress, the SBA, and the president, and yet women can attend your meetings and give their own comment and feedback. And it's taken in and it's, you know, that's, uh, it's a really important opportunity that I think we just— people don't know about it.

So hopefully with this, our next one is September 25th. So once you sign up and you follow up, please join us. We want to hear all about what are your concerns and it goes into our policy recommendation. It goes into the discussions that we have. And we're there to help you with the SBA since, you know, they have all the resources that we're looking for. Let me see. Could you allow more certification entities to assist in SBA processing certifications?

Okay. Not exactly sure the nuance of that question, but I'll try to answer it. And, you know, so the SBA, we certify— like, you can get your Veterans Business Certification. We took that over in the past year or so from from the Veterans Department. We certify women-owned small businesses. I mentioned, you know, it's the federal government, so sometimes getting these certifications is rigorous, it's mysterious, it's expensive for some people who have to hire consultants, and, you know, they just want to pull their hair out, quite honestly. That is something we are working on very hard right now. So when we took over the veteran certification, we were able to essentially kind of start it off from scratch with with contemporary technology and streamlined processes. But sometimes, you know, these things have evolved over time. And we are doing— well, I'll tell you, Administrator Guzmán has caused the reorganization and the expediting of our women-owned small business certification. So it's got a very— it's got a wait time right now. That causes people to be impatient, but for not very much longer. So within the next few months, we'll be able to get online, have single sign-on, because under Administrator Guzman, we're moving toward a MySBA concept where you can come to the sba.gov website, put your information in, and then it's once, it's one time, whether you're working with a— on your WASB certification or you're trying to do lender match to find a loan or fill in the blank of the services.

I love it. It's like a one-stop shop that makes things just quick and easy, and she's just been incredible.

We're on the cusp where we're just starting. Veteran certification was the first project in this, but it's growing. It's going to be all of SBA very soon, and we've made great progress toward that so far.

Thank you so much, Christina. I know there's so many questions and we're Our time is up, but I think my biggest advice is that there are so many resources available. Be your own advocate, reach out. We're here to support you, and please tune in, reach out to me and Christina on any question you have, and just tune into our future Instagram Live series that are gonna give us a lot of insight on these incredible women who have gone through so many challenges and, and who have made it. And Please do follow us on all the social media platforms. Go on our website and sign up for our newsletter. We send— put all that up. And just, Christina, you've been so much fun. I can't wait to do this more with you.

Me too. Thanks so much, Sima.

Absolutely.

Appreciate it. All right, take care, everyone.