Funding a Small Business. 

Silva Harapetian explores how one woman is helping other business owners find funding to grow and scale their businesses. 

The pandemic, the protests, and conversation around systemic racism has raised even more questions about economic equality and progress. 

It is imperative that we have conversations about the real economic challenges black, brown, and minority communities face today and have faced for decades. 

It’s time to talk about ownership, control, and how to build generational wealth. 

In an interview with Arielle Loren Founder of 100kincubator, Silva Harapetian talk about what it’s going to take to survive the economy during the pandemic, how to find funding to help us sustain and how to position ourselves as a small business to take advantage of the downturn.

 Nancy, a Cuban woman finds happiness everyday despite what circumstances stands in her way.

Everyone has a story!  Shawn, an Uber driver and a realtor working to create a better life for him and his new wife. After a rough few years, struggling with depression, a suicide attempt and failure, Shawn shared with me how he stays positive even when things get tough.

How to overcome stress addiction is a subject many of us never even think about because...well why would we?  Most of us don't consider the time we spend on the non-stop speedy treadmill stressful let alone addictive. We justify it as our way of achieving success, being productive, showing up constantly no matter what, and being reliable.  It's not until something drastic happens to us when we are shaken to the core that we realize perhaps we need to reconsider the definition of stress and stress addiction.  I came to understand that I too was addicted to stress years after I stopped working in television news. Having worked inconsistent ungodly hours sometimes 18 hour days for almost 22 years, it was hard to sit still. It turns out I was addicted to stress something I didn't even understand until I had a conversation with a BNI member and friend Gillen from France. She talked about the French philosopher René Descartes who said "I think therefore I am."   She challenged his thinking by explaining that we are not only what we think. We are also what we feel, we are our bodies and our intuition. But we don't pay enough attention to ourselves as a whole being.   Gillen was a CEO that led a 500 person company. But when she left her position and decided to take some time off -- she realized taking time off came very hard. She felt restless and like a fish out of water. She felt unproductive but had a breakthrough.   "If I'm not stressed I have this false belief that I'm useless."   Once she realized she was addicted to stress -- she began to focus more on who she was rather than what we did. She says, focus on being rather than doing.   We are a mixture of what we do and who we are when we do it.

On Big Pine Key island in south fl, there is bar called the No Name Pub. the world Renowned tourist attraction is known for having its walls covered with $1 bills. For more than three decades,  visitors have left personalized messages written on $1 bills that they staple on every open surface of the bar. The employees don't consider what they do a job but it's what they love; Meeting new people, sharing stories and being part of history.

How to get over loss and grief: lessons from a man who has lost almost everyone he has loved.   William is a war veteran who watched his brothers in combat get killed.  The loss he has felt in his life is sometimes too much.  The loss he has felt in his life is sometimes too much. He struggles to find answers to life's most difficult questions.  "Why me?" He asks.   He relies on his faith to get through the day.   The tattoo of the word "believe" on his arm is a reminder that there is a reason for why he survived. He wants everyone to know that living is what he chooses to do despite his sadness and guilt. It's a choice we all have to make consciously every day in order to appreciate the gifts around us.   He relies on his faith and believes there is a reason he survived.

How to hustle in business in life.  

Silva Harapetian believes Hustle is a state of mind.  As an immigrant who escaped war, religions, and political persecution, I have always been actually aware of the opportunities that I've been afforded in this country. (Context is important here)  Being raised by parents who gave up everything they had ever known, everything they worked for, their home, their way of life, and their friends and etc...to give me and my sisters a chance at a better life, I've felt it my responsibility to make the most of all opportunities.  

It is not lost on me that while life has at times been challenging and I’ve often felt like I’ve been playing catch up, I’ve had more opportunities than most of my black and brown brothers and sisters.  The recent protests, conversations about racial injustice, and systemic racism have brought to the forefront the lack of leveled playing field in all facets of life including, education, legal, financial, and more…  

Many in the black, brown, minority, the immigrant, and underprivileged communities have had to work harder to have a shot at opportunities and the potential to make it. For that reason, Hustle runs through our veins developed out of the necessity for survival.  On this episode, we’re talking to John Henry the host of Hustle on ViceTV, co-founder of Harlem Capital, a member of Forbes Under 30 investor and proponent of generational wealth We talk about the definition of hustle and how it gets thrown around in business and entrepreneurial circles a lot but few have actually lived by its principles. Even fewer understand that The Hustle is a state of being and not necessarily something one does.  We speak about surviving the pandemic, the importance of ownership when facing racial inequality, and how to position oneself for success in business and life.

Promotional for Episode 1 with John Henry airing Sunday July 12th, 2020