We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Felicia Jeffries. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Felicia below.

Felicia , 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.

Our business serves the underserved black and minority business owners not only in Texas but across the United States A particular client we helped in 2017 whose business was making over $250,000 a year comes to mind. I saw the potential for it to make seven figures, and I knew there must have been some structural concerns that had to be addressed in order for the business to get the funding it needed to grow. This would lead to the big contracts that would take it to that million dollar mark. The business had an account with a very prominent bank but couldn’t even get a line of credit for $10,000, even though the revenue was flowing through the business bank account each month. When we were hired to help the business owner with his corporation, the first thing we had to do was a deep dive into the structure of the company. We call these credibility assessments. The first thing we found was the company had been involuntarily forfeited by the state of Texas. Sadly, the bank allowed money to keep flowing through the account without ever notifying the client. Whether this was negligence or not is up to the reader to discern, We took that company by the hand so to speak and fixed every red flag issue it had and secured a contract with a multi-billion dollar home improvement company which did take the corporation to its multi-million dollar status approximately two years after we were hired to assist it. The underserved community is not told about various resources available to them. In my opinion, when a business owner opens a business bank account, the bankers should be allowed to tell the owners about various business resources. They do not, and the black and minority business owners suffer the most. Our company is part of the underserved business community, and we at one time were without the knowledge to properly set up a company and manage it. I was blessed after prayerful consideration to study law which led to me to work in law firms that properly established various business structures, assisted businesses with bankruptcy filing, and restructuring. Around 2015 is when I learned about business credit and the importance of establishing it. I found out what I did not know. Therefore, it is my duty as a woman and a person of color to inform other business owners that are part of underserved communities of what they do not know and assist them in repairing any issues that may be preventing their businesses from moving forward. Those who successfully work with us end up obtaining the funding they need, the grants they apply for, and the contracts they seek to secure much easier, because we are like the guide you need in a dark dark unfamiliar place.

Felicia , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Yes, I’m first a woman of faith, a mother, a grandmother, and I love people. I’m an author and a paralegal. I’ve been a paralegal for over 12 years. My favorite area of law is business law. I’ve worked in mass-torts personal injury, personal injury, business, and bankruptcy law. I’m also an award winning oil painting artist. Right now, I’m working on a series of paintings that reflect change and rebirth in life, when I’m not working in my business. Those will be ready for exhibit mid 2024. I’ve authored several books on business and making money. Some of which can be found on Amazon and others are found on my website www.feliciajeffries.club and our business website www.bizcreditmovement.net. My most recent book is, “Get Grants for Your Small Business How to Apply and Win.” I’m very proud of that book because its a limited edition book that tells people how to apply for grants for a for-profit entity, how to properly plan for applying. It tells where to find the grants and how to properly apply for them in order to increase your changes of being awarded. Most books on grants only educate about obtaining free money for non-profits. I’m a certified grant writer, a notary public, and I am a funding specialist as well a business credibility consultant. I help business owners get the funding they need instead of small amounts of funding that does not serve a significant purpose to grow the business. Many business owners are unaware that structural problems exist that prevent them from growing. When someone comes to us for funding that has not worked with us before, I encourage them to have an assessment done before going to the banks. I have oftentimes found the business has no credit, or even worse, it has no credit and has been involuntarily forfeited by the state. No bank will loan money to a business like that. So we repair the problems, build the business credit, and take them to the banks. We have built very solid relationships with many lenders, and being that I’m a business consultant and an independent lending consultant who is able to help companies get funding, I can notify business owners of certain red flags that may prevent them from obtaining the funding they need. Of course this is an extra service we provide, but its worth the minimal investment to have a business credibility assessment done. It’s like have a physical done on your business. In my opinion, businesses need to have these assessments done yearly because businesses change just like the human body changes each year. We have a full-service business consulting firm. If a business owner needs a business plan, we provide customized plans. If a business owner needs profit & loss statements, we provide those. We have a book-keeping service as well. We have a network of attorneys and accountants that can work with our clients in different states. We’re about to bring back our business memberships as well. This gives business owners discounts off their necessary business services. We want to make sure a business is built solid. This enables it to weather any storm, and take advantage of any opportunity presented. Our main objective is to help business owners get the quality time they want with their families and friends, the better quality of life, and the opportunities afforded to them as business owners.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My business partner is my daughter, DeJaneira Bailey. I started teaching her about business from a very young age. I remember many summers ago when she was a little girl, before we started FEDEKE, LLC and Moore Financial Services, we would sell incense and body oils together. People like to support little children; she would make a lot of money and was very savvy in how she conducted business. Once I learned the things I found out about business from college, I took her under my wing as an apprentice of sorts. I almost cloned myself with her. She recently started a transportation company with her husband, and I couldn’t be a more proud parent. She set the company up properly from the onset and is contracting with Moore Financial Services to build the credit on the company. I think having family businesses are important, and I couldn’t have chosen a better partner.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

This is a good question. Reputation is important, especially a good reputation. As I mentioned at the onset, I’m a woman of faith, and I give praise always to the Most High God, Jehovah (Yahuah). I wouldn’t be giving this interview if it were not for HIM. I am also a firm believer in what seems to be the theme of Proverbs, having wisdom. Without wisdom from above, a good solid reputation cannot be maintained. I’ve seen businesses with decades behind them fall seemingly overnight because of unwise decisions made by people who thought they were wise. Secondly, integrity is very important. A lack of integrity leads to a shaky foundation. A business is only as good as the integrity or lack thereof of its managers. Thirdly, the willingness to admit I don’t know everything and prayerfully ask for guidance to be led in the right direction has provided me with a good reputation. I don’t take it lightly. Its written that ‘a good name is better than fine oil.’ And good oil can be expensive. Also, my background in business law has assisted me in building my reputation. It’s an edge that is needed in order to serve those underserved ones.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bizcreditmovement.net
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/bus.matters
• Alignable: https://www.alignable.com/fort-worth-tx/moore-financial-services

Image Credits
Diamond Color Studio, LLC