Q & A

We recently sat down with Marie Peters to find out more about her passions, her calling, and generally dive in deeper to get to know her.

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What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your work over the last few years?

COVID-19 was super challenging. When social distancing restrictions were put into place, the economy essentially shut down, which impacted all of our small business clients. Honestly, at the time, the best service we could give was actually taking phone calls, responding to emails and listening to people’s situations, even if we didn’t have answers yet. Because of our role as a nonprofit, and our close partnership with the State of Colorado and the U.S. Small Business Administration, we were heavily involved with numerous government programs that rolled out. Our team really rose to the occasion. It was all hands on deck; a lot of our staff was working through the night because we were managing our families during the day. I was incredibly proud of our team; and personally, deploying emergency capital in such a short timeline was the hardest professional feat that I’ve ever overcome. We were all exhausted and our leadership chose to take a hard look on how to avoid burnout. We specifically asked ourselves, how can we be more efficient to give staff their time back? Last year, we started experimenting with a four day workweek, which was made permanent in 2022. People are able to get their work done so they can recharge. This shift has been huge for the team; I’m confident it will help us reach and impact more small businesses.

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Developing alternative business models to the startup status quo has become a central moral challenge of our time. These alternatives want to balance profit and purpose and put a premium on sharing power and resources.

Why is getting investments in this alternative model crucial for those who seek it?

When we’re helping businesses, it’s not just helping the business owners themselves. It also gives them the ability to grow and expand; to hire people in their communities and pay them a livable wage for meaningful work. This adds to the vibrancy of our local economies and its impact can’t be overstated.

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How do we shift the narrative about the role of capital in BIPOC communities and reframe the perceptions of the risk involved?

We have to keep doing what we’re doing with our loan programs, giving people the opportunity, showing that they can do it, collecting all that data and seeing how they’re successful. We have to turn around and start telling people those stories of success. Even if they don’t have collateral to pledge, don’t have strong credit, or even if they have never owned their own business before. Those are not necessarily the determinants if someone will be successful. We must amplify and flip the script on what it actually takes to be a small business owner. We need to continue to do the work, measure the impact and then show people they’re actually accomplishing what they set out to do. Also, it’s important to step away from perceived risks that are not actually risks; then focus on the real ones and build a system around them, so we can mitigate them.

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What are the top three pieces of advice you would give to BIPOC entrepreneurs, who are dedicated to both purpose and profit, as they are starting or scaling their business?

• Don’t do it alone–build a strong network and be real with them. People say it all the time, but it takes a village. You’re not going to be good at everything, so know what your strengths are and ask for help to fill the gaps. I think people would be surprised how the community will step up and help.

• I would encourage people to look at the habits that they build, but also don’t lose sight of strategy. I often go back to the James Clear quote, “If you haven’t started, then taking action is more important than finding the best strategy. If you’re already taking action, then ensuring you’re working the right thing is more important than working harder. Your efforts sets your floor. Your strategy sets your ceiling.”

• Don’t be afraid to “fail up”. Everybody makes mistakes, but if you have a growth mindset, you will use those mistakes to learn, iterate your process, and when necessary change or pivot your course. All of those “failures” can be important learning experiences, if you choose to see it that way. If you think about the most accomplished people in this world, they actually fail the most because they are the ones that try the most.

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What is the call to action for investors who seek to promote social justice through investment solutions?

Don’t shy away from organizations that are approaching solutions differently. In fact, I think that’s exactly what’s needed right now. Support those, financially or otherwise, who are brave enough to rethink the system. Focus on groups that have strong leadership, producing real results and impacting the communities that are in most need.