Small Biz Tips with Ebony Sullivan - Black Women History Edition

Join me, Veronica Edwards, as we celebrate the remarkable stories of black female entrepreneurs who have electrified the business world and shattered glass ceilings. This episode honors the legacy of Madam CJ Walker and extends applause to Ebony Sullivan, COO of Cassie Electric, for her recent company accomplishments. You'll discover how Ebony's leadership since 2020 has sparked growth, innovation, and has set the stage for the company founder's graceful exit into retirement. Together, we shed light on the persistent challenges that women of color continue to face in business, while also drawing inspiration from pioneers who have laid the foundation for today's successes.

We then transition to a heartfelt tribute to the black women who have blazed trails in healthcare, from Dr. Evans, a medical pioneer in South Carolina, to the revered midwife Tempe Avery. The episode paints a vivid picture of their extraordinary contributions and the power of allyship in overcoming adversity. We also spotlight Cassandra Braboy's transformative work in electrical contracting and her dedication to supporting women in recovery from addiction and homelessness. Cap off your listening experience with a call to action, as we encourage the celebration of unsung heroes and the rich tapestry of black history. Ebony Sullivan's story, among others, will leave you moved and motivated to honor the profound impact of black female leaders in every field.

Links: https://cassyelectric.com/
FB & Twitter: Cassy Electric
IG: CassyElectric 

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Transcript

Veronica: 0:40

Welcome to the Veronica Edwards show where we have fun financial conversations that everyone listening can apply to their personal and professional life. I'm your host, veronica Edwards, and always excited to be back here on bizradious for season three, always want to thank the V team for spending their precious time downloading the podcast and providing feedback, and I want to be here without the support of all those that are listening to the show and today's show. I'm super excited because it is not only one of our quarterly segments but it is the black history version of small biz hot topics with co-hosts and friend to the show. So I'm going to be talking about the co-host of Cassie electric, which I always have to give the blurb, which is a part of black history because Cassie electric is the only minority female owned electrical business in the state of South Carolina, and also they just got named this best what the best small business for the Greenville Chamber. So, miss Ebony Sullivan, welcome congratulations.

Ebony : 1:51

Thank you, girl.

Veronica: 1:53

Thank you. I mean we were just talking yesterday. Wow, you've I mean ever since what? 2020? Since you've taken over the reins as COO at Cassie electric. You guys have always gotten small business of the month and always had your name in the hat to be small business of the year. So how are you feeling that, after really just three years, that you guys were able to achieve this?

Ebony : 2:18

amazing feat. This is like a full circle moment. I mean we are so excited and can't even believe it because we, like you said, have been trying year after year to grow the business and get our name in the hat for some really big awards, to just pat us on the back for the hard work and accomplishments that we've done and to actually win, because we competed last year and we didn't win the award, but this year we won and we're really excited to be able to receive this award. It just means a lot.

Veronica: 2:50

Wow, that's huge. So what else, before we get started on our black history segment? What else is in store for Cassie electric in 2024.?

Ebony : 3:01

Oh my God, I don't even know where to start. It's crazy around here. When you grow the company, it is insane to see how many things that you need to do. Every time you think you've got one thing done, man, it's something new that comes up. So this year we are we've shuffled some chairs, we're hiring an executive assistant we're also looking for we just hired a new electrical foreman. We are developing a sales team this year. So we've got a lot of work to do this year.

Veronica: 3:37

And shout out to Cassandra Brayboy, the owner of Cassie Electric we're also trying to retire mom. We're trying to get mom to ease on out to the sunset, correct?

Ebony : 3:46

Let's talk about mom who goes to pickleball three days a week child. You know how hard that was to get her there. So we are real excited to see that she's now blocking off her calendar and she's doing things for her and that we get her availability rather than having to constantly pull her up off the bench. So that was one of the biggest goals for our company was to get mom to retirement and to see that she is at least 60% there is real, real exciting for us.

Veronica: 4:14

Wow to me, outside of any of the words, that's. The biggest goal in a family-owned business is to retire the matriarch or the patriarch or whoever started the business, and now you're running it and your beautiful daughter, gylan, is following in your footsteps, doing an amazing job as well. So let's jump into today's black history edition of Small Biz Hot Topics, and we really wanted to focus on black female entrepreneurs because, ebony, as you know, sis, being a double minority in 2024, some people are like, well, things are better, we've had a black president.

Ebony : 4:55

The lies you tell me the lies. The lies aren't they lies?

Veronica: 4:59

If not, it's even harder. So we definitely wanna give these ladies their flowers and honor some of the women black women who paved the way for us. So, Ebony, can you kick us off with our first black female entrepreneur for black history month?

Ebony : 5:17

Yeah, I would love to. So our first person we would like to honor is Madam CJ Walker. I don't know if you've seen her Netflix special honey, but that thing was a whole woman. Okay, in 1967, she was born and into the world.

Veronica: 5:31

Well, not 1967. I'm sorry 1967.

Ebony : 5:35

Wow, we need to give her a whole lot of your back, right. I understand I understand, but in 1867, she was born. She was an entrepreneur, a philanthropist and an activist. Madam CJ Walker rose out of poverty from the South and became the first African-American woman to become a millionaire Can we talk about that a millionaire in 1800s?

Ebony : 5:58

That's insane, Miss. Madam Walker, if you have not seen her Netflix special, you should totally watch it, because it just shows the power in a determined woman who knew that her life was bigger than slavery or poverty, that she had a dream and a vision and she was willing to persevere and push forward to do that. And in doing that she started selling products for door to door. I mean, her hair had fallen out and she was trying to figure out how to get this thing to grow back from all the stress and the things that was going on in her life. And figuring out how to develop this product here started her expansion of her business. She went door to door and then she started to develop what we call a sale team. But she trained thousands of women on how to really become sole pernurse in a sense, and over by the end of 1917, she had trained nearly 20,000 women. Like that's 400 women a year that she employed and trained. Now, if that's not empowerment, now that's lost right there.

Veronica: 7:11

I was going to say let's talk about all that because you have to do a good job. A lot of jewels on that and I just want to throw some historical facts. And we have to remember the 13th amendment that abolishes slavery happened in 1865. So for her to be born in 1867, and to be just coming out of slavery which we know was still slavery it was just more like we were indentured servants. But to that, not only become an entrepreneur, to become a millionaire.

Veronica: 7:41

That's where sometimes I'm telling people in 2024, get out my face. Talking about you can't do this and you can't do that when you have internet opportunities. I mean, think about all the struggles and the you know resistance in the South that she had to deal with and she still rose out of it. So I'm just like Whoa, that's motivating in itself. And Ebony, I know you can definitely relate to now you growing your business and your focus right now is on sales and to hear that this woman had over 20,000 women, black women, that's crazy Trained. I mean, how does that make you feel when you're thinking about some of the challenges that you're going through now, just trying to find two or three or four salespeople?

Ebony : 8:25

Well, first I want to acknowledge that in 2020, 3% 3% of women owned businesses make over a million dollars. So a year was that again, that's current, that is making sure. Yes, yes, that 3% of small businesses women owned make over a million dollars, and that's now. So you think about really the impact of a million dollars in her era. That's insane, you know. And to think that selling to teach somebody else how to do that, like we, like you said, we're developing a sales team and that's just something that you've got to really have.

Ebony : 9:09

You know, you've got to. You've got to really want to be able to get in front of people and convince them that you've got a solution to their problem. And I think that in itself, that Madam Walker was able to show and prove to these women that look, it works, which then gave them buying power in on how to get out there and convince someone else on how to do that. And so we're currently developing a sales team, trying to get them acclimated with the language of electrical and empowering these young women and whomever else would like to join our team, because we are looking for sales reps. Yes, that you can. You can do this. That is not as hard as people think sales is. It can be challenging, but it's a very competitive market, just like anything else. But you got to really just want it. You know, you got to find this many women during that era who wanted it. That that's amazing.

Veronica: 10:07

Yeah, a true self starter and that's something that we've talked about quite a bit in recent Ebony with staffing is that, even within a small business, you want self starters in your business because everybody has to wear multiple hats so you're not able to just supervise people. Give them a script. This is what you need to do. There's going to be things that pop up, the toilet's going to break or the phones ain't ringing. You know all of these things that we have dealt with and we're like, okay, let's figure out what's going on, and you need to have smart people around you that are willing to just say, hey, let me think about this as if it's my business.

Veronica: 10:44

So she was very fortunate during that time to have that support. But it's something about when you see a leader that's working hard, it's infectious, so I think that had a lot to do with it. I feel like, madam CJ Walker, you know, talk to talk and walk the walk.

Ebony : 11:00

Absolutely, she definitely did that. She was an inspiration to other women to show them that they too did not have to depend on men or other circumstances to rise them up in wealth or out of poverty. And she did a really good job of not only just providing them with the economics, but just the empowerment, the self will, the beauty behind her cosmetics and her, her wanting to really make somebody feel good about themselves, like she did a lot.

Veronica: 11:28

Absolutely so I think I definitely want to transition into Miss Maggie Lena Walker another Walker, ironically. And Maggie Lena Walker was born in 1864. And was one of the first female business leaders well, first female business leaders in the United States, but she came to prominence by being the first woman to own a bank in the United States and with me being an accountant, this really caught my eye. Yes, because I don't know about you, ebony, I've never heard of Maggie, never. And so this is sometimes as black and brown people were like, hey, we always hear about and no shade Martin Luther King, malcolm X, rosa Parks, but there's a lot of other, so many, and especially black females. So I definitely, when I was researching this, it really intrigued me because I'm like, wow, this person opened up a whole bank and you know, maggie really focused her efforts on accounting and math and her first business endeavor was actually an insurance company for women.

Veronica: 12:42

And so, to think about both of these Walker ladies, they really had an emphasis on women and sometimes you'll hear, you know, in different industries music, sports they always want to pit women against each other and it just is a breath of fresh air to see. Even back then, it was all about women working together. And so, in 1903, she founded the St Luke Penny Savings Bank, and Walker was the first woman of any race to charter a bank in the United States. So again, hats off to Ms Maggie Lena Walker. I mean wow, and what? Also, what I like about what I found from researching Maggie is that she was all about, you know, interracial clients, you know she didn't just work with black folks.

Veronica: 13:35

Yes, it was segregated, but she worked with all kind of people, so that's really near and dear to my heart. And she also did a lot of mentorship. You know she helped a lot of people with understanding financial literacy something that me and Ebony both teach and coach about and we still see how important it is in 2024 and to see back in the 1800s and early 1900s, this was already happening. So again, those that are listening, you know you got to continue to mentor and to teach folks, because that's the only way that we're going to continue to, you know, survive. Really, what are your thoughts on this? Maggie, Lena Walker, Ebony.

Ebony : 14:17

This. Maggie is a boss and I really appreciate. You know, as you always say, I'm an honorary accountant.

Veronica: 14:24

Yes, you are.

Ebony : 14:26

I appreciate a woman who understands math and really leans into that, because it is power.

Ebony : 14:32

You know, understanding your finances and having the means to be able to support your family is the number one charge, right?

Ebony : 14:41

And so for her, at just during this time, I mean think, like you said, think back to what was going on and in this era, and these women were rising up and and, to your point, they were leaning into each other and they were empowering one another.

Ebony : 14:56

And for so long in our community, we talk about crabs in the bucket and how we don't support each other, and this is such historical information to let us know that. You know, that isn't that's not the narrative that we really want to continue to create. We want to talk about how we can mentor and inspire and really work together to help other women rise up out of their circumstances, whether it's poverty or dependency or whatever that may be. I think it's really important that we lean into what the work of Madame Walker and Miss Maggie Walker have done in the past to really empower other women, particularly black women, so that we can we can see our power in the community and how we really made a huge difference in shaping this world that we're living in, and so kudos to these two ladies right here. Miss Maggie is a boss.

Veronica: 15:50

Both walkers are, and for the next two ladies I want to talk about, one is was based in South Carolina, one in North Carolina. So, ebony, if you could tell us about Miss Matilda A Evans? Oh, miss.

Ebony : 16:02

Matilda. See, this was really exciting for me, because I didn't know anything about her either. You know, one project to just be reading up on these women. But Miss Matilda Evans. In 1897, dr Evans became the first board certified woman physician in South Carolina. Wow, pause Right, a board certified woman physician. We can't even find them now.

Veronica: 16:27

Come on.

Ebony : 16:28

You know how hard it is to find a black doctor in South Carolina. I know she fostered relationships between blacks and white citizens. She created two hospitals a nurse training facility and the Columbia Clinic, which provided free health care to African-American children. Evan specialized in surgery, gynecology, pediatrics and hygienics, caring for patients out of her home, and so she established the Taylor Lane Hospital in 1901, the first black-owned hospital in Columbia, south Carolina. Can we just clap for this?

Veronica: 17:07

I'm in the mic, let me do a clap, but you're at it. Because even now, in 2024, we, as black women, I always say we're the first one to get everything. We're going to get high blood pressure, diabetes, we're dying in childbirth. So this was huge to have someone that looked like you, that was intelligent, but not only was the doctor, but opening a whole hospital that you can feel safe, that you know that you can get the help that you need, that you can be heard and you can be seen, and I think that it is important for our listeners and people to know about this, because there's such a disparity there.

Ebony : 17:45

We need more black and brown folks in trade, and we need more black and brown folks in professional services like the health care industry. I mean, we're dying. We're out here dying giving birth to our kids and it's real unfortunate because there's no one there that can understand some of the challenges that we face in our community and that we can relate to, that can understand physically what we're experiencing. So kudos to Dr Evans. She too, she's a boss.

Veronica: 18:14

Yes, and that leads us to another boss in the health care profession, ms Tempe Avery, who's based right here in Asheville, north Carolina. Excuse me, as a young girl, she was purchased in Charleston in 1840. So that kind of was like ooh, because I'm from the Charleston area by Nicholas Wuffin and anybody that lives in the Asheville area knows that we have a whole area called Wuffin and so during that time she became a midwife and not only did she deliver babies for black folks, she also did it for white folks in Asheville. But after the Civil War, I thought it was great that Mr Wuffin deeded his property to Tempe and if you go there now, 26 Pearson Drive, it's in her honor. And in 2017, a century after her death, asheville named the Montfort Center after her, in her honor. So I think that's huge.

Veronica: 19:12

But I just love hearing, when I was doing the research, some of the historical parts of it, and in a local paper in 1914, it kind of said that it was this colored, professional nurse who has a large number of friends and sharing all these stories and all these amazing things.

Veronica: 19:30

And I think sometimes we take for granted that A lot of these accomplishments would not happen if there weren't white white counterpart parts. Even though there was segregation and all this stuff, you can tell that mr Wuffin cared and loved for this person and yes, we know part of our history with Slavery is a ugly thing, but at the same time a lot of beautiful things came out of it. We wouldn't be here today. We want to be able to do some of the things that we were doing if it wasn't for folks like Nicholas Wuffin that gave that Opportunity to Tempe. So sometimes we do have to kind of sit back and be like, hmm, clearly there were people along the way that helped these women, just like people have helped us along the way. But we want to definitely give the flowers to those ladies and Ebony.

Veronica: 20:16

We definitely have an honorable mention before we wrap up the show and I'll let you have the honors of this last Beautiful black woman that we want to honor during Black History Month.

Ebony : 20:26

So shout out and huge honor to Cassandra Braboy, my mother and Founder of Cassie electric. Not only are we the only Woman-owned minority electrical contracting company in the entire state of South Carolina, but my mother also is the founder and owner of just for today, women's recovery, where we help women who are dealing with the disease of addiction and homelessness. There's four homes we help 25 women on a rolling basis, where we provide them with housing and transportation and helping them to get their lives back in Ordered. She is an electrician, ladies and gentlemen. She stood over the backs of men who wanted her to go get coffee, learned the trade, but she insisted on it, she learned it and she grew her business doing that. And so shout out to the boss, cassie Braboy, because she too is a pioneer in a trailblazer in this space.

Veronica: 21:22

Absolutely. I want to personally thank Miss Cassandra. You know I'm on the payroll.

Veronica: 21:28

I do the books for I was on the board for just for today, for a little while, and it's just been an honor and a privilege To be able to provide accounting for Cassie electric and, just like Ebony stated, with there being some Changes in seats and changing things, I'm trying to move more in a strategic role and assisting Ebony more in like a fractional CFO, as well as providing bookkeeping. But again, miss Braboy is providing Income for so many families and for generations to come, so I thought it would be most fitting to Definitely end the show with shedding light on Cassie electric, over 30 years of experience, led by a beautiful black woman from New York. Shout out to New York All day. And you know, and she's right here in the Carolinas and Ebony, you know it's not easy to be, you know, in the boys club, the good old boys club, and you got to do it with class and you do it professionally. And again, I just there's nothing nobody could say bad to me about Cassie electric.

Ebony : 22:39

I Sure do appreciate TV. Thanks again for always supporting us and being here with us, absolutely Whatever you were to the end of our black history show.

Veronica: 22:50

It was great and I really appreciate you taking the time to Research. I will encourage all the listeners to do your own research. Try to research people that we haven't always been taught in school. There's a reason why we've only been taught certain things. There's a lot of amazing things that all people have done, but during this month especially, really research.

Veronica: 23:12

Some of the achievements of those that are of our melanin color, you know, are our black folks in black history month, because there's a lot of things that I feel like go Unsaid. A lot of times we want to point the finger or we want to say things that are bad, but this month I really want people to take time to really give flowers to those that have made a difference. So again, thank you, miss Sullivan, for taking time out of your busy day and I definitely want to thank the V team, all the listeners, for tuning into biz radio dot US for the Veronica Edward show on Wednesdays across all platforms and if you miss the live airing, you can listen to all prior shows at Veronica Edwards bus sprout calm.