Kalika Tallou Davis Redefines Beauty and Holistic Business Success

“Hozhó is remembering that you are a part of the Earth’s brilliance. It is finally accepting that yes, you are a sacred song that brings the Diyin Dine’é, the holy people, to their knees in an almost unbearable happiness. Hozhó is remembering your own beauty.” -ASDZÁ NÍLCH’I’ BIK’IDÉEZ’ÍÍ

A prayer and a vision quest led Kalika Tallou Davis (Diné, Ute) to create Salon Tallou, a boutique salon for “holistic hair artistry” in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She also credits her trusted mentors through New Mexico Community Capital (NMCC) and the Native Entrepreneur in Residence (NEIR) Program with helping her devise and fine-tune her business strategy.

About five years ago, Tallou Davis founded her salon, which uses all biodegradable and organic haircare and coloring products.

“Her business model is exquisite,” attests Lyla June, Diné and Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne), an internationally renowned public speaker and entrepreneur in her own right. (Read more about June in “International Speaker Lyla June Talks Creating Businesses That Give & Heal.”) Tallou Davis subscribes to a “rebellious definition of beauty,” according to June, “that beauty comes from within, not without. Here she is, owning a beauty salon, and she’s committed to this idea that if we don’t take care of Mother Earth and take care of our bodies, what is beauty worth?” asks June, a longtime friend and soul sister who has facilitated Diné language classes at Salon Tallou with Tallou Davis.

The Impetus for Salon Tallou  

After graduating from beautician school, Tallou Davis spent many years as a mainstream beautician, using conventional hair products that contain chemicals that can contaminate sewage systems, ground water and nearby rivers and bodies of water.

“I started noticing the hazardous chemicals that we were being exposed to and building a personal resistance against it,” Tallou Davis says. So she began researching organic hair salons in her area to align herself and work with, but options proved very limited. “That’s when I decided to open my own organic hair salon,” she says.

Tallou Davis found mentors to work under—one who specializes in organic color and another with a focus on African-American and ethnic hair who does not use relaxers or offer any harsh chemical services. “It was more braids and twists and indigenous styles. She also came on board and worked in my space for a period of time,” Tallou Davis notes.

Salon Tallou utilizes an “ammonia-free hair color system that relies on botanical-based ingredients and coconut oil lipids to massage and let the color in,” says Tallou Davis, who is also in the process of creating her own haircare line using local herbs.

“I really value and center my business around being a social enterprise. I embrace the philosophy of keeping people and prayer at the heart of what we do, while also knowing that we need that abundance to have a good income, and we deserve that. We’re going to give that much more back, and spread that wealth and abundance around,” Tallou Davis says.

Beyond hair care, Salon Tallou treats people holistically, rather than strictly concentrating on external facets of beauty. The salon hosts gatherings, meditations and herb workshops. “We also decided to offer healing services at Salon Tallou, like massage and ayurvedic consulting, an ancient Indian philosophy and life-way that revolves around food as medicine,” says Tallou Davis, now an expecting mother, who is taking a short breather from the salon’s events as she prepares to give birth.

Tallou Davis considers the “deep connection” that she’s cultivated with her clients over many years of business as fundamental to her success. Her longtime client relationships have blossomed into friendships. “That anchors me and keeps me going on the holistic path that we walk,” she notes.

Tallou Davis’ husband [Henry] Jake Foreman, an educator and entrepreneur, emphasized the salon’s commitment to cultural sustainability as well. “Salon Tallou is a dynamic space that not only provides natural products and superb organic services but also supports indigenous culture through Diné language classes and mentorship for Native youth,” says Foreman, who serves as Program Manager of Financial Literacy/Business Basics through NEIR, a program established by NMCC, a private, nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).

Tallou Davis participated in the NEIR program, a six-month intensive accelerator including mentorship and a stipend, to launch her business and to take it to the next level. “The NEIR Program was extremely instrumental in the success and stability of my business, and purchasing the products that I needed, in addition to helping me to hire women and interns, training them and paying them a living wage. That was incredible and has continued to open up so many more doors for me. I’ve been able to connect with many more Native entrepreneurs and build a network here in the Southwest—particularly in Albuquerque,” Tallou Davis says.

Through NEIR, Tallou Davis co-curated the inaugural Native Women’s Business Summit, created and hosted by multiple female members of the NEIR Program (60 percent of NEIR graduates are women). The sold-out summit took place at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 13-14, 2018. “NEIR and the Native Women’s Business Summit offer that sustainability and network and membership to say that we’re here with you and that you’re not alone,” Tallou Davis states.

Tallou Davis assisted in the process of acquiring speakers for the Native Women’s Business Summit and helped to facilitate crowd-funding and social media strategy. “We had more than 19 dynamic speakers. We sold-out and had people wanting to get in, and people snuck in. It was really incredible to see that this was such a need,” she says.

While speaking with Native Business Magazine, Tallou Davis expressed her deep gratitude for NEIR, which empowered her to build and grow her business. “I was very scared to open my own business and felt like I was going out on a limb. Now I’m extremely grateful, because it’s opened up all these incredible doors that I wouldn’t have been able to walk through unless I was a business owner and entrepreneur,” says Tallou Davis, who now feels like she’s entered the “sharing and diffusing stage” of entrepreneurship to empower other aspiring entrepreneurs.

Tallou Davis’ advice to up-and-coming entrepreneurs is to “follow your passion and your joy compass. What really excites you and ignites you? That passion will keep you going through the more difficult times. I also found benefit in not being afraid to ask for help or connect with people in the community or with mentors. Reach out to them and ask them. Pick their brain or go to coffee. Don’t hold back, because I find that people want to share, and it’s not their knowledge to just keep. They want us to grow as a collective.”

She added, “When you rise, I rise, we all rise. Dreams do come true.”

Visit Salon Tallou at salontallou.com, 1022 Carlisle Blvd SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico, (505) 507-2368.

How Women Entrepreneurs Push Boundaries To Inspire The Next Generation

Shyla Sheppard of Bow & Arrow

People who inspire us have a spark. They have something within themselves that is bold and courageous. They push themselves to be uncomfortable. Shyla Sheppard, a native American from Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in western North Dakota, has shown this spark throughout her life. She is a member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes.

“It was evident that there was a lower expectation of us kids from the rez,”Sheppard said in her profile as a board member of First Nations Development Institute. “I felt that. And it made me work harder.” And her hard work paid off … for her, for the economy of the Southwest and for sustainability.

Encouraged to apply to Stanford, Sheppard studied economics and learned about venture capital. Intrigued by the concept of venture capital, wanting to do good, and interested in New Mexico, she joined New Mexico Community Capital, an Albuquerque-based social venture capital firm.

“These experiences furthered my development, growth and willingness to take risks,” said Sheppard. “It reminded me to continue to push myself outside of my comfort zone and make a place myself.” After eight years, “I realized that I wanted to start a business and build something from the ground up.”

Intrigued by the flavors, history and geography of craft beer, she examined the regulatory environment, evaluated the industry from an investment perspective and analyzed it from a practical and pragmatic viewpoint.

Bow & Arrow was born. Sheppard is one of growing number of Native American/Alaska Native women who own businesses. From 1997 to 2017, the number of their businesses increased 201% versus 114% for all women-owned firms, according to American Express 2017 State of Women-Owned Businesses*.

Wanting to build a sustainable business model, Bow & Arrow does production onsite, has a taproom and a distributors license. It can sell directly to consumers, through local restaurants, bars, hotels as well as through Whole Foods, Total Wine & More — a wine and beer superstore — and highly regarded local bottle shops.

Sheppard’s vision is to celebrate the land by creating beers that reflect the southwest. The head brewer brings experience in barrel sour beer production and a culinary background. Using locally foraged ingredients, such as sumac berries, he has created Bow & Arrow’s kettle sour lineup.

Sheppard invested her own money and so did her family. When she went to business associates to get feedback on her pitch deck, she received not just a thumbs up on her presentation but investments. She also tried for money from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Loan Guarantee Program but it wasn’t good a fit for small businesses. Instead, she got an SBA guaranteed loan from a bank.

As a Native American woman, Sheppard has done a lot of firsts and put herself outside her comfort zone, and as the only woman or the only native woman in many situations. “At times, it feels like a heavy burden,” she said. But, “the more you do it, the easier it gets … So I keep pushing myself and pushing boundaries.” Her motivation: her 15-year-old niece. Sheppard wants to show her that that someone just like her did it so can she.

After A Janitor Walked In On Her Pumping, This Entrepreneur Created Private Lactation Stations

Woman entrepreneur Stephanie Conduff launched Leche Lounge to offer lactation stations for nursing mothers.

Before Stephanie Conduff was an entrepreneur, she was a new mother juggling law school.

Balancing baby and school required her to carefully plan each day, especially when it came to pumping breast milk. She thought she had a private pumping solution — she hid in library side rooms during all-night study sessions — until a janitor walked in on her.

“I support women’s rights to breastfeed wherever they want — I breastfeed where I want. But when I’m pumping, I don’t love being in front of other people,” she says. “I want a private space. I want to pump my milk, and then I want to move on with my day.”

The embarrassment of that moment started her on the path to launching Leche Lounge, her Tulsa, Okla., “lactation station” business, in May 2015. The venture manufactures and sells booths that today are used in offices and businesses throughout the country.

There is huge market potential for her business, Conduff believes. Nearly 4 million babies are born each year in America, and about 80% of their mothers choose to breastfeed, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many of those moms go back to work quickly for economic reasons — in fact, it’s not uncommon for women cut their maternity leaves short. Yet when nursing mothers return to the workplace, most don’t have access to a private, clean place to pump milk.

Conduff wants to change that. Her business is still in its early stages, but she has already made deals with large institutions like Oklahoma gambling giant WinStar World Casino and the Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. She has also received regional and national press coverage for her product and pitch contest wins.

Conduff declined to disclose revenue or sale volume, citing ongoing discussions with potential investors. But she measures success in much more than dollars and units sold. A member of the Cherokee nation, sheand says her company is already having an important economic impact on her community because of the 25 jobs she has created for locals.

Indeed, a key part of her venture’s mission is to harness Native American ingenuity and craftsmanship to solve a problem for many women. “Success for an entrepreneur isn’t always a billion-dollar IPO,” she says.” It’s employing people in my community. It’s knowing we’re doing something that’s empowering women in the workplace.”

Addressing the Needs of Nursing Mothers

Under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, employers with 50 employees or more are required provide ample break time and a private space — not just bathroom stalls — for nursing mothers who need to pump milk. However, many do not comply. And while women are filing complaints in record numbers, many still decline to do so, for fear of potential repercussions.

Conduff has witnessed this struggle firsthand. Her cousin, for example, works on an assembly line at a chicken plant, and has nowhere to go to pump. She has avoided pursuing legal remedy because she’s afraid her employer might retaliate against her by putting her on less desirable shifts, Conduff says.

Even in more sympathetic environments, women feel pressured to tough it out, Conduff adds. “A lot of women come back from leave, and they don’t want to ask their boss for anything else.”

At first, the budding lawyer considered becoming America’s premiere lactation rights attorney. However, she quickly realized, “you’ll get settlements, but you’ll never get social change.” She decided to take an entrepreneurial approach instead, and set to work developing a prototype for Leche Lounge. But she still draws on legal arguments; she often points out to potential clients that “you have a legal mandate — and I have an easy solution.”

Each lactation station is designed to address numerous pain points for women who pump at work, and is made by a local Native American craftsman who also builds cabinets. They are equipped with a hospital-grade breast pump, large seats, fans and outlets for charging smartphones. They are also stocked with cleaning wipes for the pumps and lavender wipes for refreshing the space.

And Conduff has designed the stations, which resemble large photo booths, to be stylish yet unobtrusive. She has mostly keeping branding off of the exterior and uses pale wood paneling and customizable sliding doors that can blend into the corner of an office.

Creating the right setting wasn’t as easy as she thought it would be. “My first Leche Lounge was so ugly, and no one would tell me because I was so passionate,” she says of her first prototype, made in 2014. “No one’s going to tell you if your baby’s ugly.”

Her architect brother finally told her the truth. And while she searched for a manufacturer who could deliver a more aesthetically pleasing product, she also developed other specifications to improve both privacy and comfort.

Life as a Native Female Entrepreneur

These are, after all, needs she understands personally. Conduff’s personal pumping difficulties didn’t end after law school — she also struggled to find places to pump once she was working.

Her first job after graduation from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 2014 was at a firm in San Diego. She commuted to California while her family stayed in Oklahoma, and couldn’t pump on her flights and didn’t want to pump in bathrooms due to unsanitary conditions that could affect the milk. So she often had to ask travelers to unplug their phones so she could plug in her pump.

Conduff says she has faced numerous other barriers in her career, both as a woman and a Native American.

Sexism has been a particularly large problem as she has pursued funding opportunities. “I’ve had some really terrible pitch experiences,” she says, recalling investors who advised her to wear heels instead of flat shoes and asked what her husband — who works in construction — thinks of her business’ trajectory. Some investors become visibly uncomfortable about the topics of breasts and breastfeeding, often struggling to make eye contact during pitch meetings.

A lactation station sold by Leche Lounge.

Others pointed to competitors like Mamavaas evidence that the problem is already being addressed. “That’s like Ford being like, ‘Sorry Chevy, we already build cars,’” she says. “Do they tell men that? ‘Oh, there’s already an app. You shouldn’t build another.’”

Being a woman of color adds another layer of difficulty. Research shows that, in 2017, women overall received just 2% of VC funding. And just 0.2% of it went to women of color.

While some women are able to turn to their personal networks for investments, securing friends-and-family funding is tougher in her community, which lacks resources. “If you don’t come from a family with generational wealth, who’s going to be able to risk money in a startup idea?” As such, Conduff has bootstrapped her company, working two jobs to make ends meet.

She has secured some cash infusions — for example, a social enterprise fundin New Mexico that gives stipends to business owners gave her money that she was able to use for childcare. This helped her shift to focusing on Leche Lounge full time, as she oversees her team of Native American employees and contractors and pursues investment opportunities. But to accomplish her growth goals, she will need much more.

Growing the Business

Thanks to Conduff’s earliest clients and government officials in Tulsa, who have put her lactation stations in their buildings, she now has a solid track record to show to investors and new clients. But she wants to expand significantly.

As such, is currently participating in a women-focused accelerator called Project Entrepreneur sponsored by clothing rental service Rent the Runway, where she’s learning how to manufacture and scale more efficiently.

She is also working on refining her customer-acquisition strategy — starting with the question of who to target. “Do you talk to the facilities guy? Do you take it to the HR department? Do you try to target employees who are posting on Facebook about their terrible experiences pumping in a bathroom or in a car or in a storage room?” She hopes that by answering these questions, she will acquire more commercial, education and government clients.

No matter how many clients she takes on, though, she holds tight to the Cherokee ideal of “Gadugi,” that “we all work together for the empowerment of everyone.” She says this is her way of life, and that she will continue hiring Native American workers and collaborating with fellow female founders as Leche Lounge grows.

“I firmly believe that Leche Lounge is empowering the community. It’s empowering the economy. It’s empowering women where they are right now,” she says. “And that is very important work.”

Meet The PE Class Of 2018: Stephanie Conduff, Founder and CEO of Leche Lounge

The 2018 PE Intensive, taking place April 13 & 14, brings together the the top 200 female founders from the PE Venture Competition for hands-on workshops and mentorship in New York City. Among the 200 are 10 finalists who have been given the additional opportunity to participate in the pitch competition on Saturday, April 14 for a chance to receive a $10,000 grant and a spot in a five-week accelerator program hosted at Rent the Runway’s headquarters.

In the week leading up to #PEIntensive18, we’re featuring the 10 pre-selected finalists (two additional wildcard companies to be chosen during the Intensive will also present at the live pitch competition) and introducing them and their companies to our PE Community. Visit our 2018 PE Intensive website to meet the entire #PEClassOf2018, join our mailing list for Intensive updates, and follow Intensive highlights and behind-the-scenes with hashtag #PEIntensive18.

Stephanie Conduff is Co-Founder and CEO of Leche Lounge, which provides companies with Leche Lactation suites—portable units that can be placed temporarily or permanently on site for pumping and nursing mothers. Stephanie has more than ten years experience living and working in indigenous communities in North America and internationally in South Africa, Canada, Latin America, and Europe. Stephanie graduated from the University of Oklahoma (OU) College of Law, and she is admitted to practice in Oklahoma, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the Chickasaw Nation, Osage Nation, and Cherokee Nation and a few federal district courts. We caught up with Stephanie to learn more about the inspiration for Leche Lounge, learn more about what motivates her to build her business, and what she’s most looking forward to at #PEIntensive18.

Photo courtesy Stephanie Conduff

What inspired you to start your business?

Who inspired me is the best question. My daughter, Emerson Pearl, changed everything for me. I had the ‘dream job’ in an incredible law firm and traveled for my tribal clients. I would pump breastmilk for [Emerson], put it on dry ice and ship it back—I just couldn’t get into prepping her bottles in bathrooms.

I read an article and learned breastfeeding accommodation lawsuits rose 800 percent in the past decade. I could either litigate or innovate. Innovation would create manufacturing jobs in my tribal community in the Cherokee Nation, [so] I went for it.

What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?

The biggest challenge is access to capital because I’m a woman living in Oklahoma. I’ve had potential investors ask me what my husband thinks of this idea, or tell me to wear heels next time. This hasn’t ever happened to my male VC mentors. No one asks if their wife approves or tells them to smile after a pitch. It is a geographical challenge to raise capital in Oklahoma—we need to be on the coasts to have a chance.

What’s been the greatest reward?

After reading a book called Breastfeeding in Combat Boots, I set out to sell our Native American-owned, Woman-owned products to the U.S. Government, and we were successful in providing the Leche Lounge to our servicewomen in the Air Force. We have solid past performance and are now confident we can scale with the right partner. Knowing that we are creating intentional space for our women in the military is the greatest reward because they are willing to honor each of us by answering a call to duty for our Nation. They are the real MVPs.

Photo courtesy Leche Lounge

What changes would you most like to see in your industry, and how are you working to make those changes happen?

The most time-intensive part of our sell is educating men in decision-making positions on why we are critical to their facilities and operations. We are working to both inform people of the law and risks of noncompliance, and also [tell them] how easy it is to provide a solution with Leche Lounge. I know we are making change in this space because each time I have the conversation with an employer then we improve the quality of life for the employee and the health of their family. This is powerful. We are part of a movement that starts at birth and empowers mothers to decide how their children are nourished.

The ignorance of employers should not keep women from making a decision on breastfeeding; through having those bold conversations [with employers], we are making inroads. Many people think we are a product for women, but this is not true. We are a solution for businesses that want to retain employees, lower their litigation risks and control construction costs with a fixed price solution.

Who or what motivates you to keep going, even when things get tough?

I think of the incredible feminists in my life—Wilma Mankiller, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and my tenacious 4 year-old daughter (ok, so I only know two of those three personally. But don’t we all feel like we know the Notorious RBG?)

I’m certain that I can get to the end of that day if I stay focused. And when the sun comes back up, I’ll have another opportunity to hustle. I have to succeed or fail fast, and I’m visualizing the success and what it will do for the next generation of mothers and children and families. I know I’m not alone—I have my ancestors with me on this journey.

Leche Lounge has solid past performance and proven revenue. The world’s largest casino called us back for another Leche Lounge. We have a major state university. We have the Air Force. We now need some seed capital, a salesperson and graphic designer. I’m motivated that the woman at #PEIntensive18 know how to get us in a position to scale. I just have to keep getting up and giving it hell.

Photo courtesy Leche Lounge

What about #PEIntensive18 are you looking forward to most?

I can’t wait to look around and see the future of business and boards in the room at #PEIntensive18 and we’re ALL women.  The stats on leadership positions for women on boards and in CEO positions is dismal, but #PEIntensive18 is changing the script. I want my daughter to be in a position where equality in business is the norm. I want her to ask me what was different when I created Leche Lounge and be in shock at how much things have changed. I will be proud to tell her of the investment UBS and the Rent the Runway Foundation made to create the sacred space empowering a powerful trend.

Financial Literacy in Indian Country: Working to Bridge the Gap

April 30, 2018

The Administration for Native Americans (ANA) is celebrating financial literacy month by offering a glimpse into Native Americans’ capacity, based on knowledge, skills, and access, to manage financial resources effectively and what projects we’re funding to increase it. Our everyday lives are affected by our ability to handle our finances responsibly. Whether you’re budgeting for groceries for the week or saving up for college, you need to be financially literate. Unfortunately, Native American communities have a low financial literacy compared to the national average.

Earlier this month, I was able to visit one of our grantees, New Mexico Community Capital, and learn more about their ANA-funded Native Entrepreneur in Residence (NEIR)project. One of my favorite aspects of this project was the focus on financial literacy education in the classes for participating entrepreneurs. This is a crucial skill set that many in Indian Country struggle with.

First Nations Development Institute (FNDI) published a report in 2017 called Race and Financial Capability in America: Understanding the Native American Experience. The report compiled and added to research on Native American financial literacy and fragility. The main take away was that American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) are less financially savvy and more financially fragile – lacking the finances to deal with unexpected expenses, than many other groups.

According to one report, 87% of Native American high school seniors received a “failing” score in financial literacy, compared to 62% of all students. The lack of financial guidance from parents and older relatives for AI/AN youth creates a lack of confidence in their ability to manage their money. In order to be financially literate, an individual needs to not only have this basic financial knowledge but the skills and chance to apply this knowledge in decision-making situations. Unfortunately, there are few resources to fill this training gap. Only 29% of AI/AN respondents were exposed to financial education and only 22% had participated in financial education programs.

I know from personal experience that financial literacy and capability are hard to come by. My parents were teenagers when they had me and being young parents, they had a lot to learn in a hurry. Managing finances was a priority for them but, it was also through trial and error. While I was the child that grew and learned with them, my little brother who is 10 years younger than me had a different experience with being financially literate. Though, it turned out alright in the end, there are many financial lessons I wish we had all learned sooner. FNDI’s work proves that my experience is common for Native youth.

In many instances, this means that employed AI/ANs may be earning a paycheck but are not optimizing their income. With paychecks often being barely enough to cover many expenses, it can be hard to figure out the best way to budget. Knowing how money and investments work can help many Native individuals become more financially stable.

That is why grantees, such as Four Bands Community Funds, Inc. in South Dakota, are stepping up to improve financial capability by addressing the severe lack of basic personal financial management skills and experience with the financial marketplace. Residents of the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation are invited to participate in the project to build capital or credit for starting a business, becoming a homeowner, or purchasing a car. The project will focus on Individual Development Accounts (IDA’s) as pivot points for increasing the likelihood of success for individuals to achieve their financial goals. By combining knowledge and actual experience in opening bank accounts, saving over time, and building creditworthiness, reservation families will gain access to safe and affordable financial products to purchase these large assets.

The second part of the problem is the effect of income level in AI/AN communities. 63% of AI/AN households with less than $50,000 in income are financially fragile. Only 31% of AI/AN households have an income of $50,000 or more. Gender and age also affect financial literacy and fragility with young, female AI/ANs being less financially capable than older males.

Native American Community Services of Erie & Niagara Counties, Inc. (NACS) is another grantee working to counteract these challenges. NACS predominantly works with Urban Indians and notes high rates of under employment and single parent households headed by females. NACS also conducted surveys which showed nearly 30% of respondents having a total income of less than $20,000 and nearly 50% felt financial stability was extremely important. Thus, NACS developed the SEASONS program, which is a 36-month culturally based program to foster self-sufficiency and wellness in the local urban, Native American community, by way of financial education and cultural teachings.

Native business women gather strength

Tuesday, April 10, 2018 – Native business women gather strength

Native women make up half of all business owners in Native America according to estimates in the most recent “State of Woman-Owned Business Report” by American Express. At the same time they represent one of the smallest fractions of business owners in the country. The organizers of the first ever Native Women’s Business Summit aim to capitalize on the intelligence, creativity and resourcefulness Native women bring to their endeavors. But they also recognize Native women often have to overcome barriers like racial and gender pay gaps, wealth disparities, domestic violence, and even sexual trauma. We explore some expertise about raising capital, drafting business plans, self-promotion and other basics from the businesswomen’s perspective.

Entrepreneurs plan summit for Native businesswomen

By Kevin Robinson-Avila / Journal Staff Writer

Friday, December 29th, 2017 at 2:31pm

A group of Native American women is planning a business summit for this spring. From left are Alicia Ortega, Stephine Poston, Vanessa Roanhorse, Jaclyn Roessel, Kim Delfina Gleason, Vicki Pozzebon, Kalika Tallou, Lisa Foreman and AJ Gloshay. (Courtesy Stephine Poston)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — As a female business owner and Cochiti Pueblo member, Phoebe Suina says she often craves the camaraderie of other tribal businesswomen to manage the challenges of entrepreneurship.

“As Native Americans and women, we often face a double whammy, given all of today’s issues about how women are treated in the workplace,” said Suina, an engineer and owner of the environmental consulting firm High Water Mark LLC. “There are few of us women in engineering, and especially native women, so I call on colleagues to discuss issues and bounce ideas off each other without being judged.”

As more Native American women enter professional fields and start businesses, Suina and others have found such craving for support pervasive among existing and aspiring tribal women entrepreneurs, which encouraged them to launch a new Native Women Business Summit in Albuquerque.

Suina and other summit founders held a planning conference last October attended by 75 people. Now, they’re organizing a broader event for April, targeting about 200 participants, which they hope to turn into an annual summit for Native Americans in New Mexico and elsewhere.

“A lot of native women are taking the bull by the horns to start their own companies, but it’s difficult for many to break through the challenges and succeed,” Suina said.

Summit organizers originally banded together through New Mexico Community Capital, which offers Native American entrepreneurs assistance in launching and growing businesses. Five of the founders, including Suina, are graduates of NMCC’s Entrepreneur in Residence program, which functions as an incubator and accelerator for Native American businesses. About 61 percent of people in that program are women.

NMCC is providing logistical support and working on initial funding for the April summit.

“It’s important for these women to build a safe place where they can identify issues they face and talk about them,” said NMCC Managing Director Peter Holter. “For women either just starting or considering a new business, it’s an opportunity to see the examples of other successful businesswomen and share ideas and experiences with them.”

The summit will include skill-building workshops and informative sessions on everything from finance and taxes to licensing a company and hiring people, said Stephine Poston, Sandia Pueblo member and president and CEO of the communications firm Poston & Associates LLC.

It will also focus on building confidence, including sessions on how to get started and where to seek mentorship, said Poston, who won the 2017 Native Woman Business Owner of the Year award from the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development.

Perhaps most importantly, the event will simply bring people together.

“If I could give advice, it would be to commit to surrounding yourself with people who are rooting for your rise and give you honest, productive feedback and solutions,” Poston said. “That really matters.”

A Meeting of Two Worlds in New Mexico

Kim Delfina Gleason, artistic director of Two Worlds Theatre.

FEATURE | STAGING OUR NATIVE NATION MARCH 20, 2018 0 COMMENTS

A fledgling theatre company in the Land of Enchantment tells Native American stories with both authenticity and imagination

BY FRANCES MADESON

Pregnant with hope, pregnant with possibility, and just plain pregnant, on Jan. 25, the very night before Two Worlds artistic director Kim Delfina Gleason was due to give birth to her first child, she hosted a monthly table reading at the 12-year-old Native American theatre company’s offices at New Mexico Community Capital in Albuquerque.

While the baby rumbled his soliloquy of intention to join his parents and the vibrant ensemble of Native theatre artists and community members his mom has so devotedly served since 2009, Gleason photocopied scripts, made a fresh pot of coffee, and taped a sign on the street door directing newcomers to the conference room—her swollen belly floating before her, balloon-like, as she moved through her paces.

As participants filed in, some of them seeming almost magically well suited for the multi-generational roles in Zee Eskeets’s drama Fadeaway being read that remarkable evening, Gleason greeted everyone warmly, handing out scripts and gently assigning parts. Some of the readers were complete tyros, curious strangers who’d seen an event notice on social media or who’d been encouraged to attend by a therapist at rehab, while others, like playwright Jay B. Muskett, whose play The Weight of Shadows will be produced by Two Worlds in June, were already part of the Two Worlds family.

“The community kept asking me what’s next, what’s the next show, pushing me to not give up,” Gleason said about her commitment to Two Worlds over the years. “People are asking a lot more, ‘Tell me what happened at Wounded Knee—let’s hear the stories.’ They need Native theatre to exist; really, it depends on me.”

Two Worlds was founded in 2006 by James Lujan, currently the Chair of Cinematic Arts at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, to professionalize the pool of Native actors available for hire in New Mexico’s bustling film industry. But when Gleason assumed the helm at Lujan’s request three years later, she realized there was no purchase in continuing to play savages and princesses, no matter how skillfully.

“I was done playing the poor little Indian girl who can put a feather in her long hair,” Gleason said about her own acting career. “Terry Gomez of the Comanche nation was writing powerful monologues for Native women, big characters. That’s what I wanted—I wanted to see more of that, and more contemporary stories in everyday settings. We’re real people, and not all of us have the same situations. We want to tell our own stories authentically and we don’t want the white society to tell our stories.”

Eskeets, a graduate of University of New Mexico’s MFA Program in Playwriting, wrote Fadeaway while working toward completion of her degree. Her third full-length play, it’s an imaginative rendering of the real life events surrounding Navajo high schooler Brooke Spencer, a basketball player whose layup won her team in Gallup, N.M.—the Lady Bengals—the state championship in 2006. The college-bound athlete was slain by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, just days after her family’s high school graduation party celebrating her achievements. The grotesque murder stunned the Navajo nation and hit Eskeets particularly hard: the 18-year-old Spencer was her cousin.

“I couldn’t go to her graduation party because I had to work,” Eskeets recalled. “Three days later on the front porch steps of my grandma’s house…” She trailed off at the mention of the setting where Spencer was knifed by the boy, who is set to be released from federal prison next year.

Eskeet struggled with the first iteration of Fadeaway, as she tried to write it from the Brooke character’s vantage point. Ultimately she scrapped the 100-page script because she didn’t want the play to seem “victim-y”—and rewrote it from the murderer’s perspective.

“I hate that guy—I hate him with a passion,” she explained. “But writing the character I started to like him; I don’t know if empathize is the right word. I felt so bad for this guy who has nothing going for him except this girl. He’s in his prison. He loves this person so much, he’s never going to be able to say he’s sorry. I was crying as I wrote the murder scene at 5 o clock in the morning.”

The play received a university production in 2013 and “got standing ovations every night, people coming up to me in tears,” Eskeets recalled. She said Spencer’s mom told her: “That’s exactly how he was; I didn’t think anything like that would happen.”

Eskeets has hopes the show can be produced in Gallup, with Gleason directing. It’s not a far-fetched idea: As Two Worlds board member Lee Francis explained, touring productions to reservations, border towns like Gallup, and pueblo lands in New Mexico to engage Native audiences is very much a part of the company’s vision under Gleason’s leadership. Francis, who is the CEO/publisher of Native Realities Press, which produces indigenous comic books, is focusing his board participation on networking relationships to create an abundance of audience support in New Mexico’s most populous city.

“This is not Orlando, it’s Albuquerque, which should be the hub for this kind of work,” he said. “This is where we should be represented. Natives comprise 10 percent of the state’s population, and that level of support would be a game changer.”

Francis celebrates the current resurgence of interest in the work of Native theatre artists, but as a watchful observer of American pop culture, he said he’s seen these cycles come and go—one in the 1970s, another in the ’90s.

“It’s still at a fragile place,” he said about the current moment. “The press tends to gravitate around the same names, but excellent Native actors and playwrights are popping up all over the place.”

The cast of Two Worlds’ “Dancing With Fire.” (Photo by Kim Gleason)

Places like Mexican Springs, N.M., a Navajo community north of Gallup, population 1200, that playwright Jay Muskett calls home—a place he’s fled and returned to, a muse of a place that stirs his imagination like no other he’s found so far. Since 2013 Muskett has lived on his reservation in a hogan, writing every day, composing dozens of plays.

“Playwriting has saved my life,” he said. “It filled the hole I had always felt. It connected me back to my own culture. It helped me put two and two together. I finally understood why ceremony and performance are still important, especially being Native American.”

Like Eskeets, Muskett acknowledges the trauma of his people and lives with a sense of responsibility to tell their stories.

“There’s a lot of trauma on the rez, and people don’t really have the outlet to get things off their chest,” he explained. “In my writing, I don’t steer away from the bad things that happen to people.”

As Gleason put it, “We don’t have to pretend.”

For all its willingness to face uncomfortable truths, Two Worlds also loves to present fantastical works featuring zombies and other chimerical beings. In response to a recent call for 10-minute plays centered on the theme of Blue Corn, one submission was a sci-fi script, a delightful surprise.

“Plays were submitted by writers with six years of professional experience to no experience,” Gleason said. “We’re gearing up to bring on the new generation.”

In August Two Worlds will present a staged reading festival of three full-length plays, to be directed by film directors who want the chance to direct for the theatre. “They can find it to be a little intimidating—there are no second takes,” said Gleason, clearly relishing the differences between the two worlds of theatre and film.

She’s also hoping to stage a Native/Hispanic Romeo and Juliet and is keen to find ways to work with the increasing number of Native playwrights who are now approaching Two Worlds to stage their work. A black box features prominently on her near-term wish list, but her ultimate dream is a fully professional Equity theatre. Toward that aim, she’s been building her business skills and seeking resources to move forward, including attracting a strong, skilled board who wants nothing more than to help take her where she wants to go.

Lee Francis sees a bright future for Two Worlds under Gleason’s leadership.

“Our audiences aren’t coming because it’s an an exotic version of Native life; our shows are neither niche, nor novelties,” he said. “They’re coming because it’s good theatre, because they’ll experience solid performances, and engage in theatre that is not predicated on Western ideals for engagement.”

Like so much in Native country, progress is a marathon, not a sprint.

“I push little by little, year by year; we’ve been planting the seeds and people have been helping us grow more,” said Gleason, her hands resting lightly on her middle. “It takes so much energy, so much passion and dedication to see yourself fail and fail and fail. It’s only pushed me harder to make us exist. When doors keep shutting on us, I tell myself there’s going to be that one door that will open.

“It’s been so hard at times, there have been moments when I wanted to walk away. But then I’ll come out from backstage, and some woman will have tears in her eyes, our show affected her so much, so personally. That opens my eyes anew, changes my perspective of what I can do towards making a change for my community, which I’ve always wanted to do. Sometimes you have to sacrifice to keep that hope alive, because maybe that’s all they have.”

Navajo Heather Fleming’s Catapult Design Improves Lives on Reservations, Worldwide

Heather Fleming founded Catapult Design in late 2008 to provide design solutions to world problems.

Catapult Design brings innovative tools to people who need it most

Kristin Butler • March 7, 2017

Growing up, Heather Fleming, Diné, was intimately aware of the disparities experienced by people residing on the reservation, versus those outside its borders.

The “invisible boundary” that seemed to influence socioeconomic factors like “access to education, or whether or not you had running water in your home, or electricity,” baffled her. “If you live on the reservation, you expect this kind of life, and if you live off of the reservation, you expect a life of modernity, even though you’re the same family. That always bugged me,” she said.

Born within Navajo country in Tuba City, Arizona, she was raised on the outskirts near Gallup in Vanderwagen, New Mexico (the Chichiltah chapter of the Navajo Nation), just a few dirt roads away from the reservation border. “My mom is one of nine kids. The two families who lived off the reservation — mine and my auntie’s family — we had such different lives than those who lived on the rez. That was very defining for me,” Fleming said.

Her mindfulness of the pervasive challenges faced by her cousins on the rez, in contrast to her personal upbringing, informed her life’s work. “That was a big motivator for creating Catapult and essentially my entire career,” said Fleming, CEO and founder of Catapult Design, based in San Francisco.

Inspired by her cousin — a civil engineer for the Indian Health Service who drilled wells to supply water to Navajos, she decided to study product design at Stanford University. The program synthesized the “psychological/social side, fine arts and design, as well as engineering and business. How do you create things that have meaning for people? I wanted to take that and apply it back to the challenges on the rez, like my cousin,” Fleming said.

After graduating from Stanford, Fleming consulted companies in the Silicon Valley on product design. She also gained perspective through Engineers Without Borders. Ultimately, to design solutions to reservation problems, she launched Catapult Design in late 2008.

“I love the work that we do. We’re a mission-driven organization, and we’re trying to make quality design and engineering services accessible to the types of entrepreneurs that you would find on the reservation — people who wouldn’t typically have access to those types of services, people who are committed to improving their communities, people who are up for tackling some of these challenges that we face on the rez and around the globe,” Fleming says.

Today, Catapults’s core staff consists of five full-time employees, plus three board members and three advisors.

Catapult helps solve the world’s toughest challenges in mobility, energy access, agriculture, food insecurity, health, financial inclusion and more. The company’s primary focus is consumer products that serve a humanitarian purpose — like small solar lights for the home, water transportation devices between wells and homes, outdoor stoves to replace the firewood labor necessary for daily campfires built to prepare family meals, and meter devices to limit excessive LPG gas consumption.

Another primary challenge for entrepreneurs and startups, particularly in more rural communities, is convincing people to utilize a product or service. Influencing the ingrained, deep-seeded habits of a community resistant to new technology or processes — even when it leads to positive change — isn’t easy alone. “So how do you design products, or design services, or design policies for people that help them want to make that change and drive new behaviors?” poses Fleming. “That’s what we do when we’re talking about design.”

Catapult Design tackles global challenges. Recently, the nonprofit assisted an organization in Tanzania with creating a pay-as-you-go solar energy service model. But the work Catapult does on the Navajo reservation hits closest to home for Fleming. “That’s the work I’m most excited about,” she said.

Catapult has spearheaded at least three big projects on Navajo, including Change Labs, Build Navajo, and a Social Innovation Challenge with the Native American Business Incubator Network (NABIN). Catapult launched Change Labs in 2014. The initiative explores overcoming barriers to building new business on the Navajo Reservation, deemed “the last frontier for entrepreneurship” by The Economist in 2008. Change Labs examines new ways entrepreneurs are tackling these challenges in similar environments around the globe, and connects promising entrepreneurs with the mentors and resources they need to succeed.

“It’s been amazing to see that community grow, and to hear people’s ideas for small business, or for an initiative within their community,” Fleming said.

Catapult also debuted Build Navajo in December 2016. The website’s goal is to decrease the timeline associated with starting a business and to encourage individuals to establish their business by visually simplifying the steps.

“There’s a department that’s responsible for that, but if you go to their website and try to figure it out, it’s impossible,” Fleming said. “I consider myself a relatively intelligent individual, and I couldn’t figure it out by looking through their website or calling their offices. We spent almost a year researching the process and trying to get it all mapped out, and then turned it into a visual tool that other Navajo entrepreneurs or small business owners can use to make it through that process.”

buildnavajo.org

Catapult worked with entrepreneurs and agencies on the reservation to dissect and understand the process and steps, as well as the relevant policies, to start a business on the Navajo Nation.

Most recently, Catapult co-developed the innovation challenge with NABIN — promoted at nativestartup.org — which encourages creative thinkers from tribal communities in New Mexico and Arizona to pitch and develop their socially conscious business ideas with the underlying goal of improving living conditions on reservations and pueblos.

Fleming sees design — a visual art, and a strategy for solving complex societal issues and challenges — as a powerful tool for change. Watch Fleming’s TedxTalk on overcoming the barriers to economic development on the Navajo Nation:

This NM nonprofit landed $1.2 million Kellogg funding to help Native Americans with workforce training

Albuquerque-based nonprofit New Mexico Community Capital has landed a $1.2 million from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to expand its workforce training program to Native Americans in the state.

The new Financial and Business Basics Program will be delivered in partnership with at least six tribes in central/northern New Mexico, according to Peter Holter, managing director of entrepreneurial services with NMCC.

“Native Americans living on tribal lands face great challenges trying to start or expand businesses to achieve profitability and financial security for their families,” said Holter. “Most lack access to affordable financial products. Many struggle to prepare competitive business plans and funding applications. They lack access to consistent business expertise, free support services, and peer networks.”

Holter said the program is for Native adults age 18 and older in low-income households with at least one child under 8 years of age.

The new program is an extension of NMCC’s Native Entrepreneur in Residence program, created in 2014. Holter said 24 graduates from that program have created 84 new jobs and $7.36 million in new gross revenues.

“Since its start, the program has expanded to serve participants not only from New Mexico, but also from Oklahoma, Montana, South Dakota, Arizona, and California,” Holter said.

In 2015, NMCC created a $2 million fund for its residence program.

In 2014 NMCC ranked No. 5 in the state by total capital under management at $14.65 million, according to Business First’s Venture Capital Firms list.

Peter Holter is managing director of entrepreneurial services with NMCC.

PHOTO COURTESY PETER HOLTER

By Rachel Sapin  – Reporter, Albuquerque Business First

Nov 15, 2017, 2:28pm

Program lifts NM Native businesses

By Kevin Robinson-Avila / Journal Staff Writer

Friday, November 24th, 2017 at 2:08pm

NMCC program graduate Lisa Foreman manages a health beverage stand for her startup Mahadevi, which also provides an online support network for new mothers. Photo courtesy of Mahadevi

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Dozens of New Mexico-based Native American businesses are getting a huge boost from a novel program that’s focused exclusively on building tribal entrepreneurship.New Mexico Community Capital, a nonprofit that started out as a local venture investment fund, has expanded and blossomed into a bustling center in Downtown Albuquerque for existing and aspiring Native American entrepreneurs to get the assistance they need to launch and grow businesses.

Backed by about $5 million in federal funding and grants, the NMCC’s flagship Native Entrepreneur in Residence Program has helped more than two dozen companies since launching in 2014, many of which are now flourishing. The program functions as an incubator and accelerator for tribal enterprises.

“At last count, the 26 companies that have graduated from the program have generated 84 new jobs and over $7 million in gross revenue,” said NMCC Managing Director Peter Holter.

New Mexico Community Capital

Managing Director Peter Holter. Courtesy NMCC

“That includes pre-revenue startups that launched through the program, early-stage businesses looking to grow, and established firms seeking to expand.”

The program provides a culturally appropriate, supportive place for Native American participants to gain confidence, grow and become successful, Holter said. It offers intensive, one-on-one mentorship stretched over six months to dive deep into every aspect of a business.

That includes essential skills of financial and cash management, marketing, sales, production and administration, plus supportive mentoring to manage the unique pressures entrepreneurs face.

It also includes a $12,000 stipend and modern office space for companies that need it. In addition, financing from the federal Community Development Financial Institution allows NMCC to invest up to $150,000 in businesses graduating from its program.

A new, $1.2 million grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in October will also allow NMCC to launch a financial literacy and business basics program in January for Native American parents with young children. And, the program is now supporting a new Native Women Business Summit that held its first conference in October, with another one planned for February.

Program graduates say NMCC provided critical support.

Mahadevi, a combination health beverage business and support network for new mothers, is now expanding its reach online through a new website and email system NMCC helped build, said founder and owner Lisa Foreman, a Shawnee who grew up in Albuquerque.

“The program taught me the nuts and bolts of everything I need to succeed,” Foreman said. “They helped me talk through my ideas, get clear what I actually wanted to do, and then break things down into doable, bite-size pieces.”

Cochiti Pueblo member Phoebe Suina, co-founder and owner of environmental consulting firm High Water Mark LLC, said NMCC helped her create a “growth action plan.”

“I expect to expand from eight employees now to 20 to 30 in the next three to four years,” Suina said. “I can’t say enough about all the knowledge, skills, mentoring and support NMCC has provided.”

Native American Entrepreneur Program Expands

From the Native Entrepreneur in Residence program website.

November 15, 2017; Albuquerque Business First

Last week, New Mexico Community Capital (NMCC) announced that a $1.2 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation will allow it to expand workforce training for New Mexico’s Native American population, which has the highest poverty rate in the state, at 34.6 percent.

The grant program is an expansion on NMCC’s Native Entrepreneur in Residence (NEIR) program, which started in 2014. Peter Holter, managing director of entrepreneurial services with NMCC, said that “24 graduates from that program have created 84 new jobs and $7.36 million in new gross revenues.” However, he added, “Many struggle to prepare competitive business plans and funding applications. They lack access to consistent business expertise, free support services, and peer networks.” The added funding will help NMCC address that problem.

NEIR began because, as the Kauffman Foundation pointed out, Native entrepreneurs rarely have access to the same kinds of capital and investment that others do. Emily Fetsch at Kauffman explained that “Because Native Americans, especially those residing on reservations, tend to be geographically isolated, they are unlikely to have connections to potential equity investors.” A 2010 study from the Minority Business Development Agency at the US Chamber of Commerce reported,

“Minority-owned businesses [sic] are found to pay higher interest rates on loans. They are also more likely to be denied credit, and are less likely to apply for loans because they fear their applications will be denied. Further, minority-owned firms are found to have less than half the average amount of recent equity investments and loans than non-minority firms even among firms with $500,000 or more in annual gross receipts, and also invest substantially less capital at startup and in the first few years of existence than non-minority firms.”

Because reservation land is often held “in trust” for American Indian nations by the federal government, American Indians don’t technically hold title to trust lands. This keeps the land from being sold to outside investors, but makes it difficult to finance business development, as land that cannot be sold also cannot be used as collateral for loans. As Naomi Schaefer Riley of the Atlantic explained,

“The goal of this policy was originally to keep Indians contained to certain lands. Now, it has shifted to preserving these lands for indigenous peoples. But the effect is the same… This prevents American Indians from reaping numerous benefits.

[…]
Indians have long suffered from what the Nobel Prize–winning economist Hernando de Soto has called “dead capital.” They may possess a certain amount of land on paper, but they can’t put it to use by selling it, buying more to take advantage of economies of scale, or borrowing against it.”

Based on research of similar past endeavors, the Kellogg grant is likely to be an excellent philanthropic investment. The same report from the MBDA noted, “Between 1997 and 2002, minority-owned [sic] firms far outpaced non-minority firms in terms of growth in number of businesses total gross receipts, number of employees, and total annual payroll.” A 2014 study in the Research in Business and Economics Journal found that “small businesses owned by Native Americans to employ somewhat more employees than businesses owned by small business owners representing other racial classifications,” meaning that a successful small business can lift multiple families out of poverty.

In October, NPQ reported on a program run by the Orton Family Foundation that found success by reaching out to communities where they were living, determining what assets already existed, and building engagement off that knowledge. It seems that NMCC is poised to work the same way, identifying needs they can fill and training people to build independent wealth. As President Trump’s administration threatens to cut programs that support Native populations, we are glad to see some nonprofits stepping into the void.—Erin Rubin

Girlzilla: Get outdoor gear without busting the budget

MALTA –Misty Kuhl loves being in the outdoors. She runs, backpacks, cycles, climbs, paddles and snowboards among other activities.

Kuhl, who grew up in Dodson and now lives in Malta, is excited to help other women get outside and try new things. That led her to design Girlzilla, an online business set to launch next summer.

Kuhl knows that there can be barriers to getting involved in outdoor activities and one is cost.

“I worked at an outdoor retailer for five years,” Kuhl said. “Sometimes people would come in and get really excited about trying something new but then when they saw how much a backpack or hiking shoes cost, their faces would fall. They couldn’t afford it.”

She experienced the same situation herself many times, one of which provided the seed idea for Girlzilla.

“When I first started out as a whitewater guide, I really wanted a dry suit because we trained in March.” Kuhl was in northern New Mexico and they were in the water when there was still snow on the ground. “I couldn’t afford a dry suit so I looked everywhere for a used one.” Kuhl ended up buying a man’s medium on a clearance website and it worked fine but the fit wasn’t the best.

“I remember thinking that there has to be other women in the United States that have this gear and want to sell it,” Kuhl said.

Another barrier she found was the intimidation factor. Through her retail experience, Kuhl realized that many women felt intimidated when asking questions at outdoor stores.

As she imagined what Girlzilla could provide, the knowledge of this sense of intimidation led Kuhl to think about a space where women could ask questions and get good information.

“At Girlzilla, we are going to try to change things by removing intimidation and the cost of stuff as barriers to getting outside.”

Girlzilla customers will have the ability to buy and sell used outdoor gear, clothing and footwear to each other. But, because Kuhl wanted something bigger than simply an online, used-gear store, Girlzilla will also be a social network of sorts.

“Women interested in outdoor adventure can communicate directly with each other, building a community based on trust,” Kuhl said. This communication could be as simple as asking what a technical term means, or it could be a potential buyer of a dry suit saying to the seller, “I’m going rafting on the Grand Canyon this summer. Will this dry suit work for something like that?” The website will also provide a place for gear reviews, advice and travel tips.

While the website is being built, Kuhl, like any new business owner, is finding herself immersed in a steep learning curve. Between the internet and networking, though, she has found an almost limitless number of resources. Kuhl has also benefited from the skills and knowledge of friends and acquaintances. She has been surprised to realize how many people she knew who could answer questions and provide guidance.

Another surprise has been the support from Montana organizations and from her rural community. “I just moved back to Montana with my husband and the Montana community has been just amazing,” she said.

“Rural Montana has a surprising amount of connectivity. There are some really exciting things happening in Montana in tech and in every industry. I feel part of a community where people want to support each other and people want to create jobs. I was surprised at how many people are excited about bringing businesses to rural communities.”

Kuhl said that online businesses in particular can be a boon for rural areas and they can also remove a lot of barriers that stand in the way of entrepreneurship. As a member of the Fort Belknap Reservation, she is especially interested in what this could mean for rural and Native American communities.

“What has been really rewarding about building an online business is the amount of information available to anybody. It doesn’t matter where you are from, who you are, your age, color, gender, your socio-economic background. None of that matters. There is a bottomless amount of information available for everybody. That changes the game.”

Yet, Kuhl admits that the other side of this is that, with so much information, it can be overwhelming to figure out what you really need to know and what isn’t necessary. “I’ll chase the rabbit pretty far down the hole before I realize, ‘Maybe I don’t need to become an expert in this,’” she said.

In addition to being overwhelmed by information, Kuhl has run into the snags in development that many business starts face. Because she sets high expectations and is driven, it has been hard to deal with those bumps, yet she’s realized they are part of the process.

“I’ve met people who have their own start ups and they all say there are always setbacks. There are a lot of moving parts that have to move in the same direction.”

Having to slow down, though, has given Kuhl a chance to think even more deeply about Girlzilla and has given her the chance to dream a little bit.

“Girlzilla is in the parking lot, but while it’s in the parking lot, I can evaluate what we bring to rural Montana. I don’t want to limit the potential, but maybe thinking of building a business that can provide jobs in this community. It would be an honor to join the ranks of other Montana businesses who have set examples of what can be done in rural communities.”

Once Girlzilla is launched, Kuhl hopes it can be an inspiration for others to start their own businesses.

“I would like to emphasize that it is possible. Anyone can do it. If getting this out inspires anyone, that would be awesome.”

Creating Robust Business Development Support Systems for Native American Entrepreneurs is on its Way in Albuquerque

“All of the four types of entrepreneurs, beneath their titles there are many people of many cultures. As a Native American woman, I’m concerned about having those people at the table to align and organize so we can get resources, tools and financing, and make the right next decisions.” – Vanessa Roanhorse, Principal, Roanhorse Consulting, LLC

The time to create robust systems for Native American entrepreneurship is ripe according to Vanessa Roanhorse, the principal at Roanhorse Consulting, LLC. Vanessa, who is originally from Window Rock, AZ, the capital of the Navajo Nation, is one of the key people working with and for Native American entrepreneurs, governments and organizations to motivate positive social change through sustainable design, innovative financing structures and technical expertise. Since returning to New Mexico after a fifteen-year stint in Chicago, Vanessa has been busy; not only has she opened her own firm to support Native social enterprises, she has completed a residency with New Mexico Community Capital and is now working to support and expand their highly successful Native Entrepreneur in Residence Program — or NEIR — to cultivate both new and existing Native owned and Native run businesses.

The Albuquerque Living Cities Integration Initiative is dedicated to ensuring racial equity and inclusion in our entrepreneurial ecosystem. And Native impact investing, philanthropy and entrepreneurship are really coming to life and growing into maturity in New Mexico. “You can see that with Indigenous Comic Con, with the first Native-owned brewery and with folks like Charles Ashley with Cultivating Coders who is bringing coding classes to tribal communities across the state,” said Vanessa. “These kinds of business models and attempts to impact something that is socially and ecologically responsible is happening in quick succession here. And I haven’t talked to a Native American business owner, official or startup who hasn’t said ‘I want to positively impact my community.’” And while we have come a long way, there is work yet to be done to support the success of historically marginalized businesses.

New Mexico Community Capital is one of the cornerstones in supporting existing and new Native run and owned businesses that has a highly successful model we can learn from. They’ve graduated businesses like Cultivating Coders, Etkie and Girlzilla to name a few you’ve likely heard of locally. Located here in Albuquerque, NM, Community Capital currently has 20 entrepreneurs participating in their Native Entrepreneur in Residence Program (NEIR). Instead of taking the “let the cream rise to the top” approach that utilizes market drivers to determine what business succeeds, this program invests in the entrepreneur him or herself. Vanessa said, “The NEIR program has graduated numerous businesses that have gone on to create 70 new jobs and $7 million in new gross revenue.” This highly successful model is working, and Vanessa attributes that success to the program’s focus on investing in and supporting people, rather than the market. She said, “While market drivers are important, here we are not talking about the people who have a general leg up in society.” New Mexico Community Capital identifies participants, and takes hands on approach to helping entrepreneurs to succeed. “Financing,” Vanessa said, “is a huge stumbling point. For most Native entrepreneurs we don’t typically have exposure or access to the traditional financing mechanisms.” Collateral, credit score and access to financial investment are common challenges.

Through her consulting business, Vanessa works with native business owners to build sustainable business practices. Her approach focuses on systems thinking to assess and overcome challenges and help them connect to resources, tools and community that encourages business growth.

“We need to see more models like NEIR,” said Vanessa. “Flipping the model so that we are less focused on what the giving or funding institutions look like and are more focused on the individual and what they need. We also need to be building programs not focused on grants as a mechanism, we want to see investments.”

NEIR is currently accepting applications. “The NEIR Program houses, develops and finances innovative businesses and startups owned by Native American entrepreneurs. These participants can be either current business owners or entrepreneurs pursuing an innovative start-up business. Each NEIR goes through intensive business development training with the goal of building a fundable business. NEIRs must complete a boot camp style training experience to be eligible for NMCC funding. Upon successful completion of the program, NMCC may make an initial investment in the company of up to $150,000.” For more information or to apply click here.

Entrepreneur And Educator Henry Jake Foreman, The Digital Divide, Dr. Christopher Witt

New Mexico in Focus continues a series of profiles of Native voters, funded by Vision Maker Media and focusing on issues important to Native Americans and their communities. Over four weeks, NMiFpresents a 5­-part series, Elections 2016: Voting For Future Generations. The topics include: Education (Sept. 30), Economic Development (Oct. 7), Environment ­2 parts (Oct 14), and Justice (Oct. 21). This program is produced by New Mexico PBS for a presentation of Vision Maker Media with major funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This week: NMiF looks at Economic Development and the Native Vote. Entrepreneur and educator Henry Jake Foreman shares how he encourages young people to start businesses and become more civically engaged.

Also this week on NMiF, many families in rural New Mexico still do not have high speed internet access at home. NMiF teams up with the Solutions Journalism Network in a report from Farmington on the digital divide in education. Correspondent Megan Kamerick looks at how the public school district, a local college and nonprofits are closing the gap in the digital divide for students by addressing access to technology and the internet.

In our studio Producer Sarah Gustavus sits down with Dr. Christopher Witt, an associate professor who studies hummingbirds. Dr. Witt will discuss what he found on a research trip to Peru and how hummingbirds in our region are faring right now. Next week on NMPBS, the series premiere of “Nature” (Wed. Oct.12 at 7:00 pm on Ch.5.1) highlights the research of Dr. Christopher Witt.

NMiF host Gene Grant and the Line panelists also weigh in on important news topics of the week.

Guests:
Dr. Christopher Witt, UNM Department of Biology

Line Panelists:
Janice Arnold-­Jones, former state representative
Dan Foley, former New Mexico house minority whip
Sophie Martin, attorney and editor of DukeCityFix.com
Laura Sanchez­-Rivét, attorney at Cuddy & McCarthy, LLP

Correspondents:
Sarah Gustavus
Antonia Gonzales, co­producer of the Elections 2016: Voting For Future Generations series and producer/anchor of
National Native News
Megan Kamerick

Host / Commentator:
Gene Grant

This program is produced by KNME­TV/NMPBS for a presentation of Vision Maker Media

Watch the full episode, and previous episodes, here

New Mexico in Focus is New Mexico PBS’ prime­time news magazine show covering the events, issues, and people that are shaping life in New Mexico and the Southwest. Hosted by Gene Grant, New Mexico in Focus takes a multi­layered look at social, political, economic, health, education and arts issues and explores them in­-depth, with a critical eye to give them context beyond the “news of the moment.”

New Mexico in Focus regularly airs Fridays at 7 p.m. and repeats Sundays at 7 a.m. on Channel 5.1, and Saturdays
at 5 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. on Channel 9.1, except during Pledge Drives.

The Producer of New Mexico in Focus is Sarah Gustavus. Associate Producer is Kathy Wimmer. NM PBS Public Affairs Executive Producer is Kevin McDonald.

Funding for New Mexico in Focus is provided in part by the McCune Charitable Foundation. Involved, informed, in-­depth media: watch New Mexico in Focus again online at www.newmexicopbs.org shortly thereafter.

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