Nicole Allen serves as the president and chief operations officer for Allen-Norris Permitting & Inspections located in Northeast D.C.
Allen’s firm is a full-service engineering and construction management firm specializing in comprehensive lifecycle planning, designing, constructing, and maintaining commercial and economic development projects. Her team of professionals have the capacity to manage projects of any size, from large commercial construction to tiny homes.
Despite her expertise, Allen participated intensely at the Greater Washington DC Black Chamber of Commerce (GWBCC) Open House that took place at the Anacostia Arts Center in the Anacostia neighborhood of Ward 8 in Southeast on July 30.
“I was a panelist for one of the seminars,” said Allen, 50, who participated in “How Mentorship Can Support the Growth of Your Business” panel. “I participated on behalf of the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development as a participant in its ELEVATE cohort program. I feel I had a responsibility to share my experience in building a business.”
Allen joined a number of entrepreneurs and community leaders at the event to learn more about programs and opportunities the District government and stakeholders such as financial institutions have to offer.
Corey Arnez Griffin, the chairman of the board of the GWBCC, said events such as the Open House are a way for Black businesses to learn how to participate in business in the District of Columbia.
D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At Large), who chairs the Committee on Economic Development, spoke at the luncheon, saying it is his goal to make the District more racially equitably when it comes to the city giving more contracts to Black businesses.
The Open House
A series of seminars were co-sponsored by the D.C. Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection. A popular seminar was “Personal Financial Preparedness,” with panelists Michelle Hammonds, director of the Office of Financial Empowerment and Education of D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities & Banking (DISB); Aaron Fenwick, DCBIZ Cap Program Manager of the D.C. Department of Insurance, Security and Banking (DISB); and Danielle Logan, vice president and relations manager of M&T Bank.
Logan told 30 attendees in the facility’s theater room that business owners should look at their credit reports on a regular basis.
“A good credit score for a business is 650 or higher with no collections or judgments,” Logan said. “When banks loan money, they want you to put skin in the game, meaning they would like for you to put up 10-20% of the amount of the loan you are seeking.”
Logan said banks also look at contracts that the business has, lease agreements and their tax returns. She advised the attendees to have an active relationship with their banker.
In addition, Logan counseled the attendees to have a business credit card that is separate from their personal card.
“There are tax advantages to having a business credit card,” she said, emphasizing that if business goes bad, banks have the right to go after personal assets in order to recoup their money.
Hammonds agreed with Logan on the point of having a relationship with their banker.
“A lot of businesses could not qualify for PPP loans during the pandemic because they didn’t have a relationship with a bank,” she said.
Fenwick said banks and other financial institutions offer funds to businesses with the aim of getting their money back and more.
He said business owners need a team of professionals that consists of a banker, legal support, a government agency contact, and accounting services.
There were also seminars on artificial intelligence for small businesses, the cost of doing business in the District, and the arts and business.
While Allen said she was not a member of the chamber, she said she hopes to become a member after attending the Open House.
“It is absolutely on my radar,” said Allen, citing GWBCC’s president and CEO Aisha Bond as a reason for joining the organization. “This organization is a space for minority-owned businesses to have advocacy and training.”
