Making Small Business Ownership Happen

After 40 years owning Dixon Interior Finishing, a general contracting firm in Jackson, Mississippi, Frank Dixon figured it was never too late to learn something new, so he and his sons, who are gradually assuming control of the company, enrolled in a HOPE pilot program intended to break down barriers for Black-owned businesses.

Dixon now says that HOPE will be his company’s “go-to” financial institution for loans and lines of credit. And as the founder of Jackson’s Minority Contractors Association, he urges others to think the same. “After you’ve been turned down so many times from other banks, it discourages folks from seeking out loans. But I’m a living witness that HOPE will work with you,” Dixon said. “I have a pretty good relationship with them, and that’s what it’s all about, creating relationships.”

Small construction and general contracting companies owned by people of color in the Deep South face a dual set of obstacles in procuring large-scale contracts. They face more barriers to obtaining capital and loans than their white peers, which in turn makes them less likely to have the capacity to bid for and execute large-scale contracts.

With funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, HOPE initiated the Supplier Diversity Program to attack this challenge from both ends, strengthening the operations and capacity of firms owned by people of color while encouraging municipalities and higher learning institutions to actively consider issuing contracts to these businesses.

Twenty construction and contracting firms in and around Jackson and New Orleans enrolled in the program. For nine months, HOPE’s expert staff worked with business owners to prepare them to compete for larger contracts and apply for capital by shoring up fundamentals such as financial statements and licensing. HOPE guided participants through the process of negotiating and closing large contracts, as well as having sufficient capital on hand to be in a position to expand. Owners that completed the program became eligible for forgivable, zero-interest loans as well as other services from HOPE. Dixon’s company received $10,000.

At the same time, HOPE worked with the city governments of New Orleans and Jackson, as well as Jackson State University, Tougaloo College in Mississippi and Dillard College in Louisiana, to address obstacles to hiring contractors owned by people of color and to encourage these institutions to consider contracting with participants in the Supplier Diversity Program for future projects. HOPE is now creating a Supplier Diversity Guide as a roadmap for business owners of color to position themselves for larger and ongoing projects, and for institutions to consider changing policies to open contract opportunities for these firms.

Dixon said that even after 40 years in business, during which he has “worked in almost every major building in Jackson,” the Supplier Diversity Program was helpful to his company’s operations. “A lot of minority businesses have the skills to do the work, but we don’t have the organizational skills we need,” Dixon said, such as keeping financial records and filings updated. “That’s where they were really helpful.”

As he transitions his company to his sons Christopher and Maurice, Dixon sees even more opportunities for them to expand than were open to him. “I started with two checks for $400 each, and I didn’t get a loan from a bank for my first 20 or 25 years. But I never missed payroll. I’ve never been bankrupt” Dixon said. “So God has blessed me, and has been with me ever since. There have been some hard times and some tight times, but we always came through. And then I met HOPE, so I’ve got hope again,” Dixon said, laughing.