Daymond John (center), founder and CEO of The Shark Group Agency, founder of FUBU, and original cast member of the television series “Shark Tank” and Tracy Nicole (right), a Decatur-born business owner, clothing designer and author were interviewed by JPMorganChase Director of Community and Business Development Brigitte Killings on Wednesday night. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta VoiceAtlanta is known by many monikers the world over, but the one that seems to stand the test of time is the “Black Mecca” of the United States. On Wednesday night in Summerhill, inside the neighborhood’s JPMorganChase branch, the New York-based banking giant hosted a speaking engagement featuring a pair of Black business owners and entrepreneurs. The lobby and main room of the branch were full of guests, including journalist and television host Portia Bruner and T. Dallas Smith Principal and COO Dexter Warrior, waiting to hear from Daymond John, founder and CEO of The Shark Group Agency, founder of FUBU, and original cast member of the television series “Shark Tank” and Tracy Nicole, a Decatur-born business owner, clothing designer and author. “We don’t always talk about investments because we don’t come from legacy wealth,” said John, who hosted his own Black Entrepreneurs Day event on Friday, Nov. 22 at the Fox Theatre. The pair took questions from the evening’s moderator Brigitte Killings, JPMorganChase Director of Community and Business Development. One of the first things Killings asked John and Nicole was who their first role models were. John answered that boxing legend Muhammad Ali was his, while Nicole said her grandmother was hers. Asked if they could go back in time and give their younger selves any advice, Nicole said she would tell her younger self to “dream bigger”. John said that he would tell his younger self to spend more time pursuing “financial intelligence”.The main space inside the JPMorgan Chase Summerhill community branch was full of small business owners and entrepreneurs on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta VoiceThe fact that the discussion was taking place inside of a financial institution in Summerhill, one of Atlanta’s oldest neighborhoods was also worth celebrating alongside the forthcoming Black Entrepreneurs Day. Summerhill was once an All-Black neighborhood and could have been described as a bank desert for its lack of a bank branch during the past decade-plus. The JPMorganChase Summerhill community branch opened in March of 2023 along with a number of small businesses like Black-owned restaurant Grits & Eggs and a number of residential projects. There has been a renaissance of sorts taking place in the shadow of the former home of the late great Hank Aaron and the Atlanta Braves. Prior to the start of the event, Nicole told The Atlanta Voice that sharing information on wealth building and entrepreneurism is a necessary good. “Being an entrepreneur is all about business, and the only way to be a successful entrepreneur is to learn business and financial planning,” Nicole said. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta VoiceDuring a one-on-one interview with The Atlanta Voice, John said the “Easiest thing to sell is the truth”, so why not share business and entrepreneur tips to the public if you want to foster a better and stronger business community.“Money is a tool, wealth is a tool, and those tools help you change everything around you,” John explained. “The more wealth you have, the more you can employ people and make decisions.” John used examples of being able to donate to charities, or improve communities when money is being circulated throughout a community.About money, he said, “When you get it, you can make things move. If you don’t, you’re a customer. Either you’re selling it or you’re buying it. It’s that simple.”On investing money and building wealth, John spoke about the wealth management capabilities of banks like JPMorganChase. “When I first started, I wasn’t going into the bank,” John said. “As far as I was concerned the bank worked for the government.”John used a common example of misusing finances when he shared a story of cashing his paychecks or checks at a check cashing place. Though in small increments, the percentage of money over time added up. “I went and paid 10% of the check to the person next door at the check cashing place and I gave that money away,” he said. “We need to understand the power of investing. When people think about investing, they think about these big forms of investing.”Using a total of $1,000 as an initial investment, John explained that the $1,000 in the bank would accrue by 3%, while that same amount of money in Apple stock, for example, could make three or four times that money. He said that people can find out about how to invest their money the same way “You find out about what bag to buy, what trip to go on, on what new album is out and what concert is coming to town.”John said he invests in things that if they go away it would disrupt his life. He used Uber, Airbnb, Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp as examples of things that would interrupt his life. The same could more than likely be said for the people in that room on Wednesday night and throughout Atlanta and the United States as a whole. “We’re investing in Atlanta’s Black entrepreneurs because we want them to succeed professionally as well as personally. Too often, entrepreneurs will solely depend on the value of their business for their financial security, but a business is not a retirement plan,” said Mark Adams, Regional Director at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management.“We hope to empower more Black entrepreneurs as they work towards their personal financial goals and business goals,” Adams said.Nicole added to Adams’ point, saying, “Atlanta is the melting pot of talent, and entrepreneurship takes it to another level. Having your own business, to me, is the only way to grow. If you’re an entrepreneur then you can hire other people, support each other, and bring each other up.”The post ‘Easiest thing to sell is the truth’: Daymond John talks Black business at JPMorganChase business event appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.