Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Grizel Ubarry. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Grizel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

Ever since I’ve graduated from college, I have worked in the nonprofit sector in various capacities, working in underserved and under resourced communities. Approximately 38 years ago, I moved into the community development space and became a full-time management consultant, primarily working with community development corporations that are engaged in affordable housing, small business development and economic development. I primarily work with CEOs and board of directors in restructuring their organizations, building their board capacity and talent to undertake physical development projects that require business skills to succeed. My reason for wanting to move into this space is because I don’t believe that just providing social services in poor communities will change much. What I like about my work is that the focus is primarily on helping organizations built assets that make them independent thinkers, enabling them to generate the resources needed to change neighborhoods without being dependent on government grants.
Majority of my clients are organizations that work primarily in brown and black communities that are economically distressed. The main purpose of my work is to help nonprofit organizations create socially minded business models that will help them generate income such as building affordable housing and commercial facilities, provide small loans and business development services as well establish other services they can charge fee to support their operations.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am a graduate of Rutgers University having received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a Master’s in Public Administration with a focus on organizational development. Prior to becoming an independent consultant, I served as an Executive Director of a nonprofit at 24. I also worked as a Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Human Resources in New York City and as a Director of Housing and Community Development for the County of Essex in New Jersey. The focus of my work lies in helping and coaching executives and their boards to rethink how they can become more sustainable long-term. My services comprise of both strategic planning and business planning. In many cases, it may also entail the restructuring or turnaround of an organization.
I’m most proud of my relationship was at least half a dozen organizations I have worked with for the last 10 to 30 years, helping them significantly grow their operating budget and net assets, many expanding beyond their geographic area making a significant difference in rebuilding neighborhoods and serving households. Poverty will never go away, and government is limited in how it can be an effective resource. Only through smart crafted partnerships between community-based organizations, government and the private sector can we build strong communities that overtime provide opportunities for its residents. This work doesn’t happen overnight. It is slow, full of obstacles, yet rewarding as it touches the lives of so many.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

The strongest advice I can offer new business owners and creatives in building a reputation within a particular market is the quality of your customer service. A significant number of my clients continue to use my services because I’m always willing to go the extra mile if necessary to make sure we achieve our goals. There are so many firms out there that don’t truly value their clients. When you’re working with small businesses or nonprofits, they have limited budgets and so you have to figure out how you can work within the scope of what you do, recognizing there may be some financial limitations. Working closely with my clients on how I can be of the best service to them has helped me build my reputation, allowing me to increase my referrals.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Before I decided to set up my consulting firm, I spent two years thinking and planning to allow me to self-fund my business without worrying about accumulating too much debt. Besides attending many workshops to learn on how to start a business, I immediately eliminated all of my debt, reduced my expenses and stashed away as much money as I could to carry me for an entire year. I connected with potential clients and was successful at securing two small contracts prior to leaving my full-time job. When the time came to quit my job, I felt pretty comfortable that I had a year to prove myself, knowing well that between my savings and the two contracts, I will have the time to look for other clients. To that end, I was able to use my contacts and relationships to secure several more clients. I actually didn’t use much of my savings carrying them over into the next year.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/GUbarryInc
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/GrizelUbarry

Image Credits
photos by G Ubarry