We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chantin Collins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Chantin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?
At times, I daydream about having a regular job. Waking up and only worrying about making it to work on time. Knowing whatever tasks are laid before me, I have more than likely done before. I probably know them like the back of my hand. I know the chain of command and am adept in all company protocol. I arrive around the same time every day, and I leave around the same time every day. Even have the same rotation of lunch spots to briefly enjoy before rushing back to the office for afternoon meetings.
While this lifestyle has always seemed tragically mundane and relatively unfulfilling to me personally, I can definitely appreciate the security of a 9 to 5. Knowing I get paid as long as I work. There are also tons of resources large companies have that are usually unattainable for small business owners. This could be machines, money, or simply a team of people to help divide tasks. There are great reasons to prefer and keep a “regular” job, and there are reasons to avoid entrepreneurship. Wearing a billion different hats, working tirelessly to keep businesses afloat, and constantly having to evolve to meet human and environmental demands can be IMMENSELY stressful for entrepreneurs… but the freedom and flexibility of speak to my soul. Setting my own goals and standards, scheduling business around my life without asking permission, paying employees/helping them feed and house their families, and working closely with my loved ones are a few or the more important reasons I continue to strive to be a successful business owner.
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.
After graduating from North Carolina A&T (A&T) with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, I was in love with HBCU culture and wanted to encourage everyone in the world to attend an HBCU. My older brother, Vic, graduated from A&T a few years earlier and was already working on ways to give back. He came up with the idea of starting a non-profit that would help tutor underrepresented youth, with the hope of increasing their proficiency in reading, writing, and math. The idea was to open more doors for higher education, and give students more paths out of poverty/financial hardship. The C.N.O.T.E. Foundation was born.
We quickly learned that a lack of financial resources often meant students and parents don’t see college as an option, regardless of how high they score on any standardized tests. We had to attack the issue at its source. We brainstormed with our younger brother, Daniel, and pivoted to fundraising model that would focus on establishing endowment funds at HBCUs. Although we have held a variety of fundraising campaigns, we primarily use music/arts events and partnerships with local businesses to raise money. We have managed to raise almost $80,000 for endowments at our Alma Mater, A&T, as well as our home city’s HBCU, North Carolina Central University. These endowments help schools preserve donations for academic scholarships as well as independent research. HBCUs have been historically underfunded and their students underrepresented. We believe while attacking that issue at its source, we can make a considerable impact on students and institutions.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
Being recent college grads, we barely had the capital to file our non-profit paperwork, let alone fund anybody’s endowment. We searched searched non-profit resources and realized without securing a large grant, we would need to put in A LOT of work to raise money to establish endowment funds. We submitted dozens of grants with no real responses. As an upstart non-profit ran be 3 young Black men, we weren’t expecting much.
After hearing about volunteering opportunities working concessions with the Durham Bulls, we quickly jumped at the chance. Besides, we all loved attending Bulls games anyway. Little did we know how different it would be behind the concession stands. We got to know every hot dog and black bean burger very intimately. We dealt with record breaking crowds, drunk fans, and endless lines of kids who never quite knew what they wanted or how much it would cost. At the end of each night, it was all worth it to see the money being donated to CNOTE. The three of us worked 30 games a summer over the first couple of years and were able to establish a bank account that would give a strong start to our first endowment at A&T. It also helped finance our first events that have grown to be staples of the downtown Durham arts scene.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Fostering healthy relationships with community citizens and businesses has helped launch The CNOTE Foundation into a reputable organization making a noticeable impact. Beginning with volunteering at Durham Bulls games, we established a reputation for being a hard-working, intentional organization. We have been fortunate enough to work with businesses like Durty Bull Brewing Company to collaborate on a beer. We have hosted yoga events downtown and even festivals at parks in Durham and Winston-Salem. Before any of our more popular events series were started, we were hosting community events in Mcdougald Terrace housing projects and shuttling kids to and from basketball camp who could not afford rides. Being genuinely involved in the community, for the good of the community, has been our most effective strategy for growth.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cnotefoundation.com
- Instagram: @thecnotefoundation
- Facebook: www.facebokk.com/cnotefoundation
- Linkedin: Chantin Collins
- Twitter: @cnotefoundation
Image Credits
I created all flyers shown