By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com
Chase for Business welcomed D.C.’s small business community to “The Experience” on May 8, a free, day-long event with marketing workshops, panel discussions and networking opportunities. The financial institution handpicked six local minority-owned businesses to exhibit their products in a pop-up marketplace during the occasion.
Kristina Sicard, senior business consultant for J.P. Morgan Chase, said the event gave business owners the chance to learn how to advance their enterprises regardless of their growth stage. It also allowed them to discover the resources the firm has to offer.
“We are the largest bank. We have a big reach, but we still have a unique, touchy-feely relationship with our clients,” said Sicard. “This is an opportunity to show D.C. who we are as a firm and how we show up while giving them resources at the same time. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Two of the businesses featured in the local marketplace were Brix Fitness, led by Robert Glover, and MahoganyBooks, owned by Ramunda and Derrick Young.
Glover started the online fitness brand after losing 160 pounds with an approach that leveraged mindfulness and emotional awareness alongside diet and exercise habits. It offers virtual group and one-on-one weight-loss coaching and personalized meal plans.
The Youngs, a husband and wife team, founded MahoganyBooks in 2007 to ensure readers across the country have access to books written by and about the African diaspora. The couple maintain an online bookstore, as well as two brick-and-mortar locations in the Greater Washington area.
The Youngs and Glover are participants in the Chase for Business Coaching for Impact program, which supplies free, one-on-one consulting and executive coaching to business owners regardless of who they bank with.
“It’s an intentional time to strategize with someone who’s in finance. It helps us look at our profit and loss statements in a different way,” said Ramunda Young. “It’s funny, you can be in business for 17 years and still not understand how cash flow works and how to optimize that. has helped us understand what we’re looking at and how the numbers speak to us.”
In Glover’s case, the logistics of entrepreneurship were tiresome. He established Brix Fitness out of a passion for holistic weight loss, not for business operations.
He said The Coaching for Impact program has helped him better understand the basics of running a business.
“I’m a passion-based business and understanding the logistics wasn’t super important to me. I need some help with that,” said Glover. “For me, it was about learning the intricacies of being an entrepreneur. They provided me with resources, and it helped me steer my business in a different direction where we’re poised to scale now.”
As he primarily operates Brix Fitness virtually, The Experience gave him the opportunity to meet community members face-to-face. He said most people that approached his booth were dancing around the idea of addressing their health goals.
Glover was able to share his personal journey with them—something he hopes proves they can meet any goal they set for themselves.
At MahoganyBook’s booth, Ramunda Young offered books by business leaders. The works included “I Am Debra Lee,” a memoir by the former Black Entertainment Television (BET) CEO, and “More Than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are (No Matter What They Say),” a memoir by award-winning fashion journalist Elaine Welteroth.
“As an entrepreneur, you can have lows and feel like you’re by yourself,” said Ramunda Young. “To have a book about someone who’s a millionaire or billionaire and see the struggles that they’ve gone through can help.”
Megan Sayles is a Report for America corps member.
