Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to LeKesa “Kesha” Whitner & Elise Johansen Harvey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, LeKesa “Kesha” & Elise thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

Mrs. Lekesa Whitner became the first woman of color to run for Mayor of the City of Spartanburg in 2017. She may not have won that particular race, but her contributions to her city are undeniably the mark of an outstanding leader.

Mrs. Whitner is guided by the mantra and has coined the phrase: “If you build the people, you grow the city!”

Elise jumped into establishing an entrepreneurship program her first semester on campus at the University of South Carolina Upstate, and the first program cohort graduated the very next year. The program has grown dramatically over the past seven years.

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.

Start:ME Spartanburg is a community-based microbusiness accelerator that is a partnership between USC Upstate’s George Dean Johnson, Jr. College of Business and Economics and the Northside Development Group. Since its inception, the program, which focuses on developing entrepreneurship in the City of Spartanburg’s Northside neighborhood, has produced numerous business ventures. A majority of them are minority-owned businesses.

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

When Start:ME Spartanburg began in 2017, it was an uphill battle to find entrepreneurs to apply for the program. We had little to no brand awareness and even less evidence of the program’s effectiveness. That first year, we received 20 applications. In the years since, we received over 80 each year. We have worked to understand our target market and build awareness within the community. These efforts have included everything from going door-to-door to put door hanger flyers on every door in the target neighborhood to including announcements about the program in the school district’s automated calls to parents to attending community events. But the most significant aspect to building the reputation of the Start:ME program is providing a consistent, high quality service. After the first cohort graduated, multiple alumni entrepreneurs earned accolades in the community. One earned a contract to bring their services to the school district’s after school program. Another earned commercial cleaning contracts with local property management companies. These stories are the norm, not the exception. When the program graduates entrepreneurs who go on to become very successful in their market time after time, year after year, a reputation is built. The media pays attention. Local business leaders pay attention. And more importantly, the community pays attention. We have grown Start:ME into a household name in Spartanburg because the program produces astute, resilient entrepreneurs with the business acumen and community networks to be positioned for success.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Start:ME Spartanburg is a free 14-week microbusiness accelerator that runs each spring. The first cohort graduated in 2017, and since that time, over 100 entrepreneurs have gone through the program. We focus on three key pillars — knowledge, networks, and capital. One of the unique aspects of the service we offer, is that we support entrepreneurs beyond the 14-week program through workshops, pop up shops, networking events, pitch competitions, and tech trainings. In order to maintain relationships with our growing alumni base, we use a two-pronged approach — technology and personal engagement. In addition to traditional email newsletters and social media pages, we also maintain a Facebook group exclusive to alumni entrepreneurs as well as a parallel group for mentors and utilize text message services. Equally as important, we interact one-on-one with alumni by visiting their brick-and-mortar locations or other initiatives. And finally, we have found that the sooner entrepreneurs feel that they are members of the Start:ME family, the more engaged they are in alumni programs and the more likely they are to eventually come back in a mentor capacity for new cohorts of entrepreneurs. Ultimately, we want to be in touch with our alumni entrepreneurs in whatever ways they most respond to, and we are often pivoting to make sure our communication methods match the entrepreneurs’.     

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.startmespartanburg.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startmehubcity/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/startmehubcity
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startmehubcity
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR9IFrzRCJDtnJeXD68lL-Q

Image Credits
Smithalee, LLC