Small businesses are the backbone of our country, and I am so excited to have Sharon Miller here with me to talk, All things Small Business.
Sharon is the President of Small Business and Head of Specialty Banking and Lending here at BofA, She's been with the company for over 25 years and plays a pivotal role in helping small business owners across the country thrive.
Under Sharon's leadership, BofA's Small Business has grown to be the largest lender to small businesses. A position we've held for a number of years according to the FDIC.
Sharon, it's so good to see you and it's fun to be here at the Luminary For those of you who don't know, the Luminary is a global platform and professional networking cub created for woman entrepreneurs, based here in New York City.
Sharon: It's great to be here at Luminary, in fact, we launched our last small business owner report here in the Fall and so, it's great to be back.
Holly: Well, it's great to have you, so, thank you for joining Game Changers.
Sharon: Thanks for having me Holly.
Holly: So, this month is Small Business Owners Month, and congratulations on the release of your Small Business Owner report. I believe you said, we've done 11 of them, which is remarkable. And for those who don't know what it is, the report explores aspirations, concerns and perspectives of our small business owners across the country. So, it's a great way to get some insight to what our small business owners are thinking and feeling. So, can you talk a bit about the study and some of the key takeaways from the study this year?
Sharon: Well like you said, we survey our clients at least once a year and this is the 11th consecutive year of us releasing this report. And this year in particular, with everything going on in the economy and the environment, it's interesting to still see that business owners are optimistic about the future in fact, over 70% said, that they plan to increase their growth of their business this year even though inflation and the economy still remains a top concern.
Yeah so, that's really interesting and the Report also found that 80% of the business owners have digitally optimized their business and that's up from 70% at the last report.
Holly: So, we all know digital is really important. So, from your perspective, how do you think digital is going to help small business owners in the decade ahead?
Sharon: Well, it is, I mean it's through the pandemic` and so, just thinking about where we are today in the economy, so, we said, small business owners are absolutely thinking that their business is going to increase over the next 12 months. And three our of four said, I'm prepared for whatever is in front of me. So, a recession, they're prepared and that goes back to the pandemic, I believe, because during the pandemic many people were caught off guard and some of the lessons learned were "Get prepared." Digital and AI tools were one of things that did come out of this whole pandemic and making sure that you had the ability to conduct business across the globe, even if your store front is closed. So, it's becoming increasingly important in today's entrepreneurial journey. And we all learned from the pandemic for sure and digital was such a key piece, so, there's no walking away from that and I look at it as one of the positives that came out of that test for all of us.
Holly: So, just transitioning to a slightly different topic. The number of women and minority small business owners is growing at a really fast rate with black women growing 17% according to the research by the Harvard Business Review. That is faster than any other group that we have. So, how are we supporting women and minority business owners?
Sharon: Well, it's a priority for us at the Bank particularly we're women and so, it is to me just inspiring to see women, entrepreneurs, and their success. So, one with the BofA Institute for Women's Entrepreneurship and partnership with Cornell as you know, we have enrolled over 100 000 women into this program, it's the only IV League course of this kind that is a lot of women impacted. And then, the studies go even further to say, that women bring back nine out of ten dollars back to their community and to their children and to raising families. And so, more than their male counterparts. So, all of this just continues that cycle of investing in women, investing in entrepreneurship and there in turn, investing into their communities. And it really is the cycle and the circle of life, in many ways right, when you think about women giving back in those communities.
Holly: So, May is, Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and I know that we had a look into what that demographic is also looking for as business owners. So, what did we hear from them in the study?
Sharon: Well, we heard from them that we need to continue to focus on, helping them get access to capital for their businesses That they continue to need training and education. And really, this is no different than any other demographic, and so as we think about it as a company, we want to make sure that we give the tools, the resources, the education, and investing in capital. So, as you said, in your intro, we are the number one lender small business in the U.S. So, we continue to go down that path to make sure we're there for our clients in every community we serve. Yeah, and it's so interesting and important that you look at all these niches of small business owners and get their very unique perspectives and then we take that into consideration as we're developing our capabilities and how we interact.
Holly: So, you know better than anyone the resources that go into owning a small business you need good capabilities quality products you need great marketing and most importantly you need to deliver a great experience to your customers, whether you're a big business or a small business. But I think is a small business I think it's incredibly important So, from a BofA perspective, what do you think is the best thing on our shelf that we provide to our small business owner clients?
Sharon: I think for businesses that are managing their cashflow, we have the business advantage 360, which is a cashflow management tool and I hear more and more from clients as I'm sitting down with them "Wow, these capabilities really help me understand happening within my own business". And so, we know the number reason businesses go out of business because they're not managing their cashflow. And so, this was direct feedback from our client listening sessions, Understanding what do they need to manage their business and so, we continue to get better and better We upgrade that tool, we're adding more capabilities and so, it is online, it is digital, and it is complementary for our business clients.
Holly: That's great and that is incredibly important because it gives them that full picture and perspective. So, some people don't know, you're from San Antonio, Texas so, do you have a favorite small business in San Antonio that you keep going back to?
Sharon: Well, I have a lot of them, but I will say right now, in fact, you and I were just talking about this wall paper behind us and so, I am doing a little spring cleaning at home and so, it's a gift shop and a home décor it's called Lynn Marshay, and it's an amazing shop right near my home and so, I'm getting a lot of things there to make my home ready for Spring.
Holly: That's great and I also live in a small seaside community outside of Boston and there are a ton of small businesses. And it's so rewarding to me to go in and support those businesses and many of them female business owners. So, I think it's up to all of us to kind of, give back and include them and use those small businesses. So, in your seven years in running Small Business, and you know, interacting with so many of our Small Business clients do you have a memorable story that you can share?
Sharon: Oh my gosh, there's so many memorable stories. I mean to me I would say, it's about the journey of the small business owner. I mean when I came into this business seven years ago, I had no idea just how inspiring and resilient, and amazing, the spirit of the entrepreneur is, and so, I would tell you that every business that we interact with we can hear the same story. Their passion, they have grown this business when I think about Lynn Marshay, 1985 the business was founded by her mother she's carried on that tradition, as her mother has passed. So, there are just so many stories like that, of generational businesses of passion and of creativity that really fuels local communities.
Holly: Yes, is does. This has been such an incredible conversation, Sharon, thank you so much for joining us. It's so good to be here Holly, thank you for having me.
