ENTREPRENEUR GAINS IMPACTFUL EXPERIENCE FROM FOUNDERS FORWARD PROGRAM

Brenda Nelson, owner of Stitch Me Apparel, with Charlie Brownrigg, a Vice President in Information Security Management for J.P. Morgan Commercial Banking. PHOTO PROVIDED BY J.P. MORGAN CHASE.
Brenda Nelson, owner of Stitch Me Apparel, with Charlie Brownrigg, a Vice President in Information Security Management for J.P. Morgan Commercial Banking. PHOTO PROVIDED BY J.P. MORGAN CHASE.

ENTREPRENEUR GAINS IMPACTFUL EXPERIENCE
FROM FOUNDERS FORWARD PROGRAM

BY TIA CAROL JONES

Brenda Nelson started Stitch Me Apparel in 2010 as a hobby. Nelson and her husband would attend trade shows and they would come back with gifts from those events. Nelson thought creating custom apparel was something she could do and decided to buy a machine to use for her projects.

Eventually, she received the opportunity to create custom apparel for a school and Stitch Me Apparel became a CPS Vendor. Stitch Me Apparel specializes in custom branding and promotional items, which includes t-shirts, cups, mugs and banners.

Nelson was one of 10 small business owners who recently participated in JP Morgan Chase’s Founders Forward cohort. The eight-week program provides pro bono consulting to minority, women and veteran, as well as LGBTQ+ small business owners. The business owners in the program are assigned a team of volunteers from JP Morgan Chase who assist with a business challenge the entrepreneurs identify.

This was the first year the program, which was launched in Chicago in 2020, took place in person. The other two programs took place virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nelson was in need of more operational support for Stitch Me Apparel. What stood out to her was the operations process improvement piece. As a seasoned entrepreneur, Nelson saw the value in participating in Founders Forward because it was an opportunity for her to grow her business.

At the end of the program, Nelson walked away with a high impact solution, with recommendations, based on the mentorship from the JP Morgan Chase volunteers. She was able to implement software amd see changes in her business in the areas of workflow, as well as money and savings. She said those solutions were helpful and impactful in a short timeframe.

The mentors Nelson worked with had different backgrounds and were able to give her perspective and support. She said all of them impacted her, from the ones who worked with her after hours, to the one who gave her key leadership, as well as the one who put the bug in her ear. “It was like a group effort, us coming together. They all were very impactful,” she said.

The most valuable advice Nelson received was to stay resilient. In order for the mentors to help her come up with solutions to help her expand her business, she had to be transparent and open up to them about what challenges she was facing. She said they were engaged with her weekly to help her come up with a solution.
“I felt like as an entrepreneur I had to give it my all to make sure the outcome was successful,” she said.

Nelson believes programs like Founders Forward are important because the resources they provide are necessary for small business owners to sustain and grow their businesses.

“When you have these resources out here that are available, it’s important to grow yourself within and try to learn and grow your business,” she said. Her advice to other entrepreneurs who want to start a business is to do research, take advantage of resources, ask for help and advice and network. For more information about Stitch Me Apparel, visit www.stitchmeapparel.com.

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