The Secret, the Significant, the Successful: Profiles of Women-led Businesses, Vol. 8

Welcome to the eighth edition for The secret, the Significant, the Successful. Each newsletter is broken down into three parts:

• The Secret - I don't want to do anything
• The Significant - Enriching lives and empowering others
• The Successful - Top Women-Led Business to Support During COVID-19

Read one section or read them all.

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1. The Secret

I don't want to do anything

By: Roshawnna Novellus ? Newsletter: The secret, the significant, the successful: profiles of women entrepreneurs

Photo by Nick Karvounis on Unsplash

Founder 1: I keep seeing all of these announcements for grants and awards, but I'm not in the mental space to apply right now.

Founder 2: I understand. How can we know our traction numbers, and brag about our business in the midst of sadness, uncertainty, and anxiety?

Founder 1: Exactly. I just want to focus on my mental health right now to make sure that I'm OK. My business can only thrive if I am OK.

Founder 2: I agree. At the end of March and beginning of April, I applied to everything and still haven't received a single response. So now, I feel like it's in my best interest to make sure that I'm at a high vibration.

It's important now, just like any time before, to take care of yourself and reduce your anxiety. Some of us need time to deal with the uncertainty, grief, and pain that we're currently experiencing. Some people respond by working to hide their feelings, and others experience their feelings completely before jumping into work. No matter where you are emotionally, physically, or financially today, it's important to acknowledge where you are and do what you need to do to be in the space to make the best step forward.

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2. The Significant

Enriching lives and empowering others

Interview with Roshawnna Novellus by Erica Sandberg ? Newsletter: The Secret, the Significant, the Successful: Profiles of Women-led Businesses | Originally Published at CreditCards.com

***4/15/2020 Note: I'm including this story as sometimes credit cards can be used for short term needs while you're waiting for lending approval, equity investments, or delivery of critical items. Many people are evaluating their financial options currently in the midst of uncertainty. ***

Summary

A powerhouse of expertise and intelligence, Dr. Roshawnna Novellus helps other women entrepreneurs connect to the investors they need to start their businesses. Here’s how a business credit card helped cut her costs in half so she could focus on helping others.

For Dr. Roshawnna Novellus, helping women become successful entrepreneurs is not just a passion, it’s a business. Novellus is a gender equality advocate who promotes economic empowerment and inclusive growth through her company, EnrichHER.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the debt investment platform connects female business owners with interested investors. The company has been able to aid in the funding of over 160 businesses with loans ranging from $50,000 to $75,000.

“There is a huge gap in access to capital for women,” says Novellus. “I wanted to provide that money because there is a substantial bias against women in business. We step in and value the qualities that many women exhibit but others may not look at – such as grit.”

As founder and CEO of EnrichHER, Novellus knows what she’s talking about. She also holds a Ph.D. in systems engineering, a master’s degree in information technology and two bachelor’s degrees – one in business management economics and the other in computer engineering. Her expertise speaks for itself.

Novellus also served on the Atlanta Commission on Women and was honored as one of the Women Who Mean Business by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. PItchBook also named her as one of the 27 black founders and investors to watch in 2019.

As a startup, getting the word out about the business is integral to her Novellus’s success as an entrepreneur and her travel card is getting her there – at an incredible discount.

What was the beginning of your business like?

Beyond the fact that many people don’t believe in providing resources in underserved founders, our biggest problem was obtaining support for our team. We sought out community and financing support to start off the business.

I started the company in Atlanta and there was a lack of understanding about what I wanted to do along with the problem many women, especially women of color, face. But I had faced the same challenges.

People would ask me to come back when I found someone technical to join the team – and I have the education and experience! In fact, I had to move to Washington D.C. so I could get enough support and get EnrichHER off the ground.

People would ask me to come back when I found someone technical to join the team – and I have the education and experience!

What kinds of costs hit you hard when you first started?

The biggest surprise was the impact of regulatory compliance with the launch of our debt-based securities platform. It was about $250,000!

We figured that all we needed to do was submit all the qualifications in order to launch our platform – but that was not the case. The regulatory agencies have their own timeline when it comes to approval and processing applications. They can ask for anything, whenever they want, without a care for our company budget. Honestly, I didn’t know they could drive so much work without consideration of if we could do it financially.

How have you been using credit cards for the business?

In the very beginning, I got a $5,000 business loan to start building our business credit. That was useful since it enabled us to qualify for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card. We use it to charge software tools, supplies, recurring memberships and for ad spends, such as Google ads. This card enables our team to travel to training classes, too.

We charge about $15,000 a month, which results in a huge amount of points. We were able to qualify for a Companion Pass fairly quickly – and that has been incredibly helpful. Every time I travel, I take someone else for free and it has vastly reduced our costs. So far this year, I’ve flown 54 times.

Our goal is to help 100,000 women-led businesses get the business financing and resources they need to grow

That’s a lot of card activity – how do you manage the account?

I make sure I categorize all transactions every week. We also link our transactions to key performance indicators (a value used to monitor and measure a company’s effectiveness). Then we adjust our plans quickly, as necessary. We pay off credit cards in full every month.

Do you have any regrets – anything you’d like to do over? 

Not about credit use. That’s been great. But I do wish that I had been quicker to let people go from my team who didn’t have the required worth ethic. I learned that some people take up too much space, time and energy. It’s very important for team members to be all in. They need to be part of your army!

What are the future plans for the business?

Our goal is to help 100,000 women-led businesses get the business financing and resources they need to grow. I plan on this goal taking five years. To get there, though, we need more people to know about us.

As an owner, what have you learned about borrowing money along the way? 

Before borrowing money, you need to have a strategy. Not all debt is bad; some is very good. The reason we obtained the Southwest Rapid Rewards card is that we wanted a companion pass as soon as possible, so that’s what we worked toward.

Our travel costs had been astronomical, so I figured out how to reduce it by half. You have to do the math but also think ahead. Your plan may not go as expected and then you’ll find yourself overextended. That’s OK, just start a new plan.

Don’t get caught up in not staying with your original goal. Things change. My advice to entrepreneurs is to stay on top of your financial options at each stage of your business. You don’t have to stick to one strategy indefinitely.

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3. The Successful

Top Women-Led Business to Support During COVID-19

By: Roshawnna Novellus ? Newsletter: The secret, the significant, the successful: profiles of women entrepreneurs | Full Featured Women-led Business are available on EnrichHER Founders

EnrichHER is a network of successful women-led businesses who love to see each other win. For a list of some of the highlighted companies, go here.

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If you enjoyed this newsletter, subscribe; after you do, here are a few other ways to stay in touch: 

1. Apply for Funding - EnrichHER offers growth capital for established businesses. If you or someone you know is looking for $50k - $250k in working capital and have been in business over 1 year and have generated $100,000 in annual revenue, apply. 
2. Nominate a Founder for up to $250,000 in small business financing. We deployed $3million to qualified women-led businesses in 2019, and our goal is to deploy $50 Million in 2020.
3. Join EnrichHER Society - EnrichHER Society is a deeply engaged network of women-led business owners. Our rapidly growing community provides tactical support and guidance, while we provide unique access to business financing. With over 1k members, you'll connect with like-minded business owners, apply for up to $250k in business financing, access grant opportunities, and get the resources that you need to grow.

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Dr. Roshawnna Novellus is the founder and CEO of EnrichHER, a financial platform that connects female entrepreneurs with lenders who want to earn a return on their investment while fueling the growth of women-led businesses. Dr. Novellus is a gender equality advocate who believes in economic empowerment and inclusive economic growth. Dr. Novellus holds a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering, with a Minor in Finance, a Masters of Science in Information Technology emphasizing Information System Engineering, a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management Economics, and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering – achieving Summa Cum Laude in each. Roshawnna served on the Commission on Women for the City of Atlanta and was honored as one of the Women Who Means Business by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, one of the 40 Under 40 by Georgia Trend, one of the Top 25 Disruptors and Innovators in Tech, one of the 27 Black Founders and Investors to watch by PItchBook, and LinkedIn Top Voice #5 in Technology. Right now I'm taking on a few small businesses to help them with a fun a win-win project, digital customer acquisition. If you'd like me to help you, drop a note here.