Female Founders: Tierra Jae of New Beginnings Credit Consulting & Restoration (NBCCR) On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
As a successful woman founder, I know I wouldn’t have made it this far without being self-disciplined, organized, purpose-driven, persistent, and confident. Having self-discipline is the most important factor in success. In my earlier years of being an entrepreneur, I found that out the hard way. Without anyone to hold me accountable or tell me what to do and when to do it, I was just winging it and my business lacked because of it. I would have work to do but the moment my friends called me to hang out, I would put my work on the back burner. I got better at being disciplined and now regardless of how I feel, I get the job done.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tierra Jae.
Tierra Jae is a serial entrepreneur from Detroit, Michigan. As the founder of New Beginnings Community Consulting & Restoration (NBCCR), Tierra has helped hundreds of individuals across the country enhance their lifestyles and restore their hopes for the future. NBCCR specializes in credit restoration services, bankruptcy assistance, criminal record expungements, and felon-friendly resources. To date, with NBCCR Tierra has helped over 300 clients across the country and has launched the first Black-owned credit management planners, The Credit Calendar.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
From the moment I was old enough to answer questions about what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer has always been to become an entrepreneur! Creating my own business was always a goal but it wasn’t until I found myself fixing my credit that I decided to make a career out of it. I knew I needed to help others.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
The constant acknowledgment & recognition I get for my company is the most interesting thing to me! Over the years I’ve been able to receive accolades just for being me and doing what I love. Most recently I was featured on the cover of a magazine, 3 Reasons Why, and when the owner called me he told me I was referred to him by a friend who spoke so highly of me and thought it would be a great idea to showcase my company. It was completely random but I was so honored. I got the cover blown up and framed to hang in my office and gifted one to each of my parents.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The funniest mistake I’ve made early on was thinking I could be my own graphic designer while only having a basic skill level in designing. I often look back at my old promotional flyers and laugh with embarrassment. Since then, I have invested in advancing my graphic skills and formed a business relationship with a professional graphic designer.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I have a host of family and friends that I’m grateful towards for helping me get where I am today. The way they believe in me and encourage me to keep going contributes to my success and often drives my accomplishments. I want to continue to make them proud.
To be specific, however, I’ll have to say that my 13-year-old daughter is the person that I’m most grateful for! My determination to be the best example for her while providing the best life for her is the reason for who I am today. Knowing that I have someone who depends on me and watches my every move has helped push me all these years. Nothing makes me happier than knowing that my kid truly admires me and the work that I do. She began following in my entrepreneurial footsteps at an early age creating two of her own businesses and she’s already decided that she’ll be taking over my company in the future.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience, what is currently holding back women from founding companies?
In this day and age, the only thing holding women back from founding companies is ourselves! You have to just go for it regardless of the statistics and regardless of the lack of funding. We can’t be afraid to start somewhere and do it!
Honestly, I got in my own way a few years ago. I started my company in 2015 and did extremely well in the beginning but by 2019 I got intimidated by the growth so I gave up. I went and got a job at a luxury department store and started an online boutique until I figured out my next move. The transition from boss to employee was rough for me. I hated working for someone else and playing by someone else’s rules. Working there only made me realize that I was wasting my time. After six months of working in retail, I got back in my groove, revamped my company, and came back better than before. Five months after leaving that job, my company had over 50 enrolled clients and I was making four times what I previously made. Once I got out of my own way, it all worked out!
Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?
I believe it starts individually, if more of us are creating the companies then society will follow. Once society sees that there’s a vast amount of women-founded companies, then the pressure can be applied to get them funded. I don’t believe the government will do too much more at the base level. Women have to just take the initiative, utilize the resources we currently have, and figure it out, as we always do.
This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?
Other than my biased opinion that it’s one of the best career choices possible, there are lots of obvious advantages for women founders but here are a few:
- Avoid the typical inequalities in the workforce
- Take advantage of the freedom in time scheduling due to family life and raising kids
- Show those that come after us that anything is possible
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
One myth that bothers me the most about female founders is that our success is always somehow accredited to a man. People are so quick to assume that a father, a significant other or a relationship with any man in power is at the root of our wins and that is not always the case. I find it so disheartening that people credit a woman’s success to the men around her.
Another myth is that it’s easy to be a founder especially when you have a team that works for you. There is nothing easy about building a successful business. The lessons you learn early on; the mistakes you make along the way; the days you have to motivate yourself to stop from throwing in the towel and giving up; it can all be so difficult!
Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder, and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?
If you’re not driven, persistent and have the ability to lead, then you should just work for someone that does. To be a successful founder, you have to be driven. You have to wake up every day determined to succeed. Persistence is key when starting anything new and to achieve any goal you have to continue to keep working towards it no matter the obstacle. Being a leader is a quality not everyone possesses. Some people have it naturally, while others can be taught, but everyone isn’t cut out for it. If you are, take advantage of it!
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder?” (Please share a story or example for each.)
As a successful woman founder, I know I wouldn’t have made it this far without being self-disciplined, organized, purpose-driven, persistent, and confident. Having self-discipline is the most important factor in success. In my earlier years of being an entrepreneur, I found that out the hard way. Without anyone to hold me accountable or tell me what to do and when to do it, I was just winging it and my business lacked because of it. I would have work to do but the moment my friends called me to hang out, I would put my work on the back burner. I got better at being disciplined and now regardless of how I feel, I get the job done.
Being organized made it easier for me to become self-disciplined. My friends always compliment me on how organized I am when it comes to my business. Having the proper tools, systems and protocols help me run every aspect of my business smoothly. I believe that living my purpose is a big reason why I’m successful. I know that my purpose in life is to help people and because I’m aligned with my beliefs and values, I enjoy what I do and it barely feels like work. The fulfillment motivates me every day and continues to push me to achieve my goals. This also ties into the persistence I have to have in order to take my company to new levels.
Lastly, confidence is key! I hate when I hear a business owner doubt themselves or seem like they’re unsure of their product or service. You won’t get anywhere like that! If you don’t believe in yourself no one else will.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
Considering my line of work, I help people enhance their lifestyles and live a better quality of life. If that isn’t making the world a better place then I don’t know what is!
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I’m currently working on a movement as we speak. I created a product called, The Credit Calendar, a planner that focuses on credit management. It helps you improve and manage your credit scores by remaining in a routine and staying on track. I created the product for any and everyone who needs it, but most recently I realized that college students might also benefit from it.
Personal credit is not heavily taught in the education system, but your credit affects 80% of your life’s decisions as an adult. I want to prevent every college student from making the same mistake I made in college. My aim is to inspire them to start building their credit profiles now so they can benefit from it in the future.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
This might be a bit of a stretch but I would love to have a private lunch with Mark Lemonis. I admire him so much as an entrepreneur and I’m obsessed with his tv show “The Profit”. I’ve learned so much from watching his show to see the advice that he would give to other business owners and implementing it into my own practices. Having lunch with him would be a dream so please pass that along!
Thank you so much for this opportunity, answering your questions has been a pleasure!
Female Founders: Tierra Jae of New Beginnings Credit Consulting & Restoration (NBCCR) On The Five… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.