[INSPRATIONAL MUSIC STING] - Hi, everyone, Steve Adubato here.

Let me set this up for you with my colleague, Mary Gamba, the co-host of our sister series, "Lessons in Leadership."

We sat down with Tai Cooper, the chief community development officer at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

Yes, we talked leadership; Yes, we also talked mentoring of young women, particularly young women of color as it relates to leadership.

But we also talked about economic development in the state, economic development in urban communities, small businesses, their struggles, what they're dealing with, how they can access government programs, and sometimes how complicated that can be.

This is an interview that Mary Gamba, my colleague and I did with Tai Cooper.

And it's worth checking out.

- Welcome to "Lessons in Leadership."

Steve Adubato with my colleague, Mary Gamba.

Mary, let's kick this program off with one of the strongest leaders you're gonna find anywhere.

We are joined by Tai Cooper, who is Chief Community Development Officer at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

Tai, good to see you.

- Good to see you too.

So happy to be here.

- Great, we've been in many meetings offline, particularly pre-COVID, and we look forward to being together again.

But in the meantime, do this.

As we put up the website for the EDA, tell everyone what the Economic Development Authority is and why it matters to the state.

- No, absolutely, The New Jersey Economic Development Authority is the economic engine for the state of New Jersey.

So when you think about the major developments that are happening all throughout the state, that is what we do.

The pivot, though, during COVID, was also to really start focusing intentionally on small businesses as well.

So we have economic engine with a heart.

- I like how you said that.

(Mary and Tai laugh) Before Mary jumps in, Tai, let me ask you, and we've had several interviews with Tim Sullivan, the CEO over at the EDA, but I'm curious, for small businesses, 1/3 of whom, they've closed.

small businesses have closed, 1/3, if not more of those small businesses in the state.

What are the greatest struggles in 2023 that small businesses in this state face?

- I mean, so we're doing a lot of work right now with the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, really focusing on those that are underserved and underbanked and being underserved, and underbanked is still a critical issue, especially for those who are in the BIPOC community.

One of the things that we are proactively doing at every corner is making sure that we're reaching out to small businesses at EDA, really, and making sure we reach them where they are, helping them to walk through applications that can be really, really daunting, and also meeting the need, right?

So if the big need is we wanna be able to buy our space as opposed to renting our space, we're working on a program for that.

If we're working on helping them get grants to redo their spaces through an improvement grant, that's something that we're also working on, and also providing micro businesses 'cause it's really those micro and home-based businesses that were hit especially hard during COVID.

And so for us, what's the best way to work with them?

And so it's through grants, it's through loans, it's through listening sessions and hearing exactly what they need, and building products to suit that need as well.

- Well said.

Mary, jump in.

- Yeah, I would love to talk.

We talk all the time on "Lessons in Leadership" about pivoting, grit, innovation, resilience.

I said, "Now three years into the pandemic, I think some of us probably don't wanna hear some of these words ever again," but it is so true.

From these small businesses and the small business leaders that you are working with, talk about that connection between grit and leadership, perseverance and leadership, and really, survival, especially in these challenging times.

- I mean, I have been blown away with the businesses we have come into contact with over the past couple years.

It's not just about them surviving, but helping them to thrive afterwards.

I mean, there were businesses that immediately went through COVID and they were hit with this storm.

And so when you talk about resiliency and their ability to pivot, their ability to really have that grit to push through has been remarkable.

So anything that we're doing on our side at EDA is a testament to what they've already been through, right?

So if we can provide some relief at the end of the day, that's what we try to do.

But there are no small businesses like the ones that are in New Jersey that have that grit, that have that fortitude and were constantly pushing us to change, to move the needle, and provide more resources and services.

But I gotta tell ya, New Jersey makes 'em tough, and these businesses have really been doing a good job in pivoting their perspective, in going to online, which is very different than having a brick and mortar business, but changing everything so you can have online sales as well.

So they have really been able to pivot throughout this storm and really afterwards as well.

- Quick follow up on that, we've had conversations with small business leaders.

We actually have a small business series we've been doing for a while now.

What do you say, Tai, to those small businesses who say, "Listen.

We appreciate that the state is attempting to make a difference, but we do not feel that the state is overly welcoming to business"?

And that's a real perception on the part of some, if not many.

What do you say to those folks?

- I push back immediately.

New Jersey is one of the best places, in fact, to start a business, I mean, everything from our robust startup economy that we have here for venture companies that are looking, or for VIPOC small businesses that are now coming to the state of New Jersey.

I mean, just last year in the budget, we had over $20 million that was earmarked for Black and Latino startups.

And so, again, in those areas where folks feel like they're not seen, they're not heard, we're actually putting resources there.

In addition to that, if you're signing a lease in New Jersey for five years or more, we're also offering, through EDA, up to 40% off to help with your lease payments.

And so, again, for the businesses that we've talked to, we've sat there, we've listened to them, we've heard about their pain points, but New Jersey is ripe and open for businesses.

The fact that we have several entities from the Department of Community Affairs to the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority who pivoted during COVID to really focus intentionally on small businesses, I would push back and just say, "We are doing a lot more than anybody anticipates to support businesses."

And again, not just with paying the rent mode, but with helping them to expand their footprint, with helping them to franchise, with helping them to go from online to brick and mortar businesses as well.

So I say that there's a lot to do in New Jersey, and that's exactly what we're doing.

- As we put up the website for people to find out more about how to access programs at the EDA, Mary, jump back in.

But we do acknowledge that for some, it's hard to navigate, Tai.

Even if programs are there, it is complicated for some to navigate that, and our job is to provide information so people know where to go.

Mary, jump back in.

- Yeah, to tie it back to leadership, obviously, we're both women leaders.

I like to see us both as women leaders.

For young women today that are watching this and say, "Hey, listen, you know, I'm not sure what direction I wanna go in, and it's a male-dominated world out there when it comes to the C-suite," talk a little bit about where you got your confidence from.

Obviously, it shows through today and in our previous meetings with you.

Talk about where your leadership and confidence comes from.

- I'll say a little phrase, "She get it from her mama".

(Mary laughs) But really and truly, it is true.

I've been so fortunate throughout my career from starting working with Senator Lautenberg where we had the FRL ladies where there was just a dynamic group of women who took me from the very beginning and held my hand and walked me through the process, to having a strong mother who said, "There is no glass ceiling that you can't break.

You can move forward."

And so for me, I feel fortunate for the mentors.

I've gotta mention, Michellene Davis, Marcia Brown, Nancy Cantor, these women who really wrapped their- (Steve applauds) - I know you gotta clap for these dynamic women.

But have literally wrapped their arms around me to ensure that not only do I not fail, but that I also create pathways for other women who are coming up because, again, it's not gonna be me here forever, and it shouldn't be.

We should be creating pathways and pipelines for women to get here as well, for other women to get here.

I want people that are gonna be way better than me, to put me to shame, actually.

That's what I want.

- Tai, you see that as a major responsibility of yours, do you not?

- If not you, then who?

It has to be.

It has to be.

I think it's so incumbent upon women who are in positions of power and positions of opportunity to reach back and to help because, again, but for other women that helped me, I wouldn't be here.

And I feel like I'm just getting to, like, the surface of what I wanna do, but, again, it's incumbent upon all of us who are in leadership roles, all of us who have been there and done that to come back and help other people, other women specifically.

- It's not enough for you to be on all the lists of most influential, up and coming- - Absolutely not.

- She's a great leader, which you are on all those lists.

It's not enough, is it?

- Absolutely not because you still have to move the needle and it's not gonna be one person.

They have this phrase, "If you wanna go far, you go alone."

If you wanna go fast, you go alone.

If you wanna go far, you bring others with you."

And that's exactly what you have to do, and I butchered that quote terribly, but the point being, it's a collective group.

It takes a group.

It takes a unit.

It takes the team and a family.

You cannot and should not do it alone.

- That's Tai Cooper.

(Tai chuckles) She's the Chief Community Development Officer at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

Tai, we thank you so much for joining us.

We appreciate it.

- Absolutely a pleasure.

Thank you both so much.

- You got it.

We'll be right back.

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