Biz New Orleans May 2020

MAY 2020

May VOLUME 06 ISSUE 08

EVERY ISSUE

PERSPECTIVES

FEATURES

FROM THE LENS

06 EDITOR’S NOTE 07 PUBLISHER’S NOTE

REAL ESTATE+ CONSTRUCTION. . .......... 20

Local professionals discuss the changes during COVID-19 and what lies ahead MARITIME+PORTS....... 24

Created in New Orleans to support women in maritime professions, WIMOs has experienced rapid growth

GREAT WORKSPACES.........................................................56

Who has the best home office setup? We asked readers to submit photos of their new workspace and vote for their favorite

BANKING+FINANCE. . ... 26

IN THE BIZ DINING........................... 10

Hospitality sets a longer table in the time of Covid-19 TOURISM. . ...................... 12

Coronavirus disrupts the music economy of New Orleans SPORTS .. ....................... 14

Collegiate and pro leagues are fighting the same battle

Is it possible to have financial security during COVID-19?

GUEST PERSPECTIVE.... 28

Lessons we learned following Hurricane Katrina can benefit New Orleans’ education system GUEST PERSPECTIVE.... 30

You need to embrace the new normal to be a business that survives and thrives GUEST PERSPECTIVE.... 32

ENTREPRENEUR.......... 16

Small startups have their own challenges in this new landscape

Startups and emerging tech companies are falling through the cracks

WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?. . .....................................58

34 42 Women Leading through COVID-19 While the nation struggles with a new normal, these local women are among those leading their companies and organizations to provide help wherever they can

What Will a Re-Start Look Like?

Leaders share thoughts on what the future may hold

Simone Spence is revolutionizing the fight for unpaid child support MAKING A MATCH: BUSINESSES + NONPROFITS. . .....60

Local physician’s foundation is meeting the varied needs of at-risk youth ON THE JOB..........................................................................64

OPA Signs & Graphics

ON THE COVER Leah Sarris, RD, LDN, executive director of New Orleans Culinary and Hospitality Institute; Shelby Sanderford, founder, DOCPACE; and Margo Cory, co-owner, Sparkle City Select portraits by Cheryl Gerber

PUBLISHER Todd Matherne

EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Errol Laborde Managing Editor Kimberley Singletary Art Director Sarah George Associate News Editor Rich Collins Contributors Jon Atkinson, Drew Broach, Rich Collins, Michelle Craig, Adrinda Kelly, Keith Loria, Pamela Marquis, Ashley McLellan, Chris Price, Jessica Rosgaard, Jennifer Gibson Schecter, James Sebastien, Poppy Tooker, Keith Twitchell ADVERTISING Vice President of Sales Colleen Monaghan (504) 830-7215 Colleen@BizNewOrleans.com Sales Manager Caitlin Sistrunk (504) 830-7252 Caitlin@BizNewOrleans.com Senior Account Executive Brennan Manale (504) 830-7298 Brennan@BizNewOrleans.com Senior Account Executive Jessica Jaycox (504) 830-7255 JessicaJ@BizNewOrleans.com MARKETING Director of Marketing & Events Jeanel Luquette Event Coordinator Abbie Dugruise DIGITAL Digital Media Editor Kelly Massicot Digital Operations Manager Sarah Duckert PRODUCTION Traffic Assistant Jeremiah Michel Production Manager Emily Andras Production Designers Rosa Balaguer, Meghan Rooney ADMINISTRATION Chief Executive Officer Todd Matherne President Alan Campell Executive Vice President Errol Laborde Office Manager Mallary Matherne Distribution Manager John Holzer Audience Development Claire Sargent For subscriptions, call (504) 830-7231

2016 Bronze: Best Feature Layout 2017 Bronze: Best Daily Email 2017 Silver: Best Recurring Feature 2018 Gold: Most Improved Publication 2018 Silver: Best Recurring Feature 2019 Gold: Best Recurring Feature 2019 Gold: Best Explanatory Journalism

110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123 • Metairie, LA 70005 • (504) 828-1380 Biz New Orleans is published monthly by Renaissance Publishing, LLC, 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005; (504) 828-1380. Subscription rate: one year $24.95, two year $39.95, three year $49.95—foreign rates vary call for pricing. Postage paid at Metairie, LA, and additional mailing entry offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Biz New Orleans, 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005. Copyright 2020 Biz New Orleans. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of the publisher. The trademark Biz New Orleans is registered. Biz New Orleans is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos and artwork, even if accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. The opinions expressed in Biz New Orleans are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the magazine or owner.

BIZNEWORLEANS.COM

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MEET THE SALES TEAM

Caitlin Sistrunk Sales Manager

(504) 830-7252 Caitlin@BizNewOrleans.com

Brennan Manale

Senior Account Executive (504) 830-7298 Brennan@BizNewOrleans.com

Jessica Jaycox

Senior Account Executive (504) 830-7255 JessicaJ@BizNewOrleans.com

Colleen Monaghan Vice President of Sales

(504) 830-7215 Colleen@BizNewOrleans.com 4

BIZ NEW ORLEANS

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Uncharted Waters BUSINESS OWNERS PREPARE FOR A LOT OF “WHAT IFS,” BUT I THINK WE CAN

safely say “what if there’s a global pandemic and nobody is allowed to leave their homes,” has never been one of them.

There is no precedent here. There are no best practices, and as of the time I’m writing this — mid-April — there is no solid end date in sight. And even when there is an end to the stay at home order, what will we be returning to?

What will this new normal look like? Nobody knows, and nothing can be scarier than the unknown.

Just like every other business, in mid-March the team at Renaissance Publishing came together to ask ourselves, “Where do we go from here?” Those first two weeks of nonstop emails announcing closures and cancellations felt like the sky was falling. What do you write about when you don’t know what the world’s going to look like tomorrow, nevermind in six weeks when the next issue comes out?

I’m from the Mr. Rogers generation, and there’s a popular quote of his that I love where he talks about how when he was a kid and he would see scary things on the news, his mom would tell him to “look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” That’s what this issue is all about. We looked for the helpers, and fortunately, there are no shortage of them — in every industry.

As this is our annual women’s issue, you’ll read about just a few of the women in our community that are stepping up to this challenge in many creative ways. You’ll also find more contributed articles than we’ve ever published in one issue. Why? Because we’ve had an unprecedented number of local professionals reaching out in an effort to help others with whatever wisdom they may have.

There have been so many helpers in the nonprofit realm, in fact, that we’ve temporarily halted our monthly feature in favor of a weekly blog. I invite you to check it out every Thursday at BizNewOrleans.com. And, speaking of our website, I’m so proud to say that now, more than ever, it is THE source for everything related to business in Southeast Louisiana.

This is a time to rethink, renew and reimagine, and on our end so far that means reaching out to our readers in new ways — with fun contests (see page 56) and a new podcast to start.

Thank you so much for continuing to let us know how you’re doing and for reaching out to be a helper. It is a scary time, but if there’s one thing you can always count on, it’s the resilience of this community. We will get through this.

Stay Safe and Sane and Thank You For Reading,

Kimberley Singletary, Managing Editor

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PUBLISHER’S NOTE

Thank You THIS MONTH’S PUBLISHER’S NOTE IS ALL

about gratitude and thanks.

I want to first thank the medical community, and all those on the front lines helping to keep our region moving forward. You are true heroes.

During this time, like you I have relied on trusted people and organizations that are providing valuable information and direction to help move us forward. I sometimes feel like I am Zoomed out, but then realize this is a valuable piece of technology we can no longer live without.

I am grateful for so many organizations that have been so crucial to the business community and want to highlight Greater New Orleans Inc., who has been a true leader for the region.

For me, our front line is our employees, who are working hard to provide you, the reader, with trusted and award-winning content to stay informed and connected. We are so grateful for our clients who continue to market their businesses during this time using our portfolio of magazines that reach directly to the offices and homes of Greater New Orleans.

I am so appreciative to all of them.

If you have not seen our resources, here is a link: myneworleans.com/covidresources I am personally so grateful to so many for their help during this time. Until we can gather around the table face to face, stay safe and well, and thank you.

Todd Matherne

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In The Biz

AP PHOTO/GERALD HERBERT

BIZ COLUMNISTS SPEAK OUT

DINING Hospitality sets a longer table in

the time of Covid-19

TOURISM Coronavirus disrupts the

music economy of New Orleans

SPORTS Collegiate and pro leagues

teams are fighting the same battle

ENTREPRENEUR Small startups have their own challenges

IN THE BIZ DINING

Stronger Together Hospitality sets a longer table in the time of Covid-19

BY POPPY TOOKER

industry friends in need. While running take socially distanced group of employees from out and delivery from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. to his five restaurant operations in the sani- keep salaried employees working, the 3 p.m. tized ballroom of the Astor Crowne Plaza mealtime had ballooned into more than 200 Ballroom on Canal Street. The meeting was meals daily by the end of March. strictly voluntary, but Brennan was adamant Toups began accepting donations of food about facing his colleagues and coworkers and cash from vendors and customers alike. directly.

“Our vendors have been great,” said “It was extremely painful to me as I’ve Amanda Toups. “NATCO sent 50 pounds never had to furlough and lay off an entire of beef tips. We’ve received donated seafood staff,” he said. “I wanted an open and honest from Inland, and both Port Orleans and conversation with them all.”

Dixie donated beer.”

In subsequent days, all French Quarter Still, the conditions have been taking their operations were “mothballed,” completely toll. sterilized and plastic-sealed in anticipation “It’s breaking my heart,” said Toups, “Isaac of when they could safely reopen. carries the food out to cars, and recently he Brennan’s operations manager, Levi handed dinners to laid-off Ritz-Carlton Janssen, was able to find paid work for employees with little kids in the back seat. many furloughed kitchen staff at Volunteers It reminded us of our two little girls at home.” of America, where Dickie Brennan & Co.’s Committed to providing meals for as next generation — Sara Brennan, Richard long as they could, they began accepting Brennan III, Matthew Pettus and Geordie donations through their Venmo account, Brower — voluntarily lent a hand on the @toupsmeatery. food lines.

ON MARCH 15, DICKIE BRENNAN FACED A

ROUSES BRINGS IN RESTAURANTS

Early in the mandated shutdown, local grocery store chain Rouses made broad Marv Ammari, CEO of Creole Cuisine offers of employment for laid-off hospitality Restaurant Concepts, said he felt as though workers, hiring 600 in the first two weeks. his life’s energy was being sucked from his The company then reached out to members soul as he laid off over 1,300 employees. of the restaurant community with a new “This is the conversation that goes on in idea designed to help keep local businesses your head and heart,” Ammari explained. “I afloat. Why not offer to-go menu items from pray every morning and evening that I’m popular restaurants at Rouses Markets? able to do the best for everyone.”

Commander’s Palace and Saba were Scaled down from over two dozen first to jump aboard with turtle soup and businesses to a single take out location at hummus respectively. Before long, shopBoulevard restaurant in Metairie and two pers at selected Rouses locations were able Westbank Daiquiri Paradise drive-throughs, to bring home popular dishes from local Ammari is holding tight by taking care of favorites like Galatoires, Mandina’s and Ye his people.

Olde College Inn. “When taking families into account,” he “When Rouses came on board, we were said, “each of our employees actually repre- able to hire back one employee,” said Alon sents three or more hungry mouths.”

Shaya of Saba.

Ammari committed to feed each of his For some restaurants, it became their only team members three meals daily through stream of income. either the Boulevard or Broussard’s in the Rouses is turning over 95% of the French Quarter. proceeds from the sales directly to the “We’re prepared to handle up to 5,000 restaurants (minus sales tax), charging a meals a day,” Ammari said. “We’re going to mere 5 % handling charge. feed our families as long as we can.”

Although things may change, it is clear that, no matter what comes, New Orleans TOUPS MEATERY REACHES OUT food culture will survive thanks to the deterTO LAID-OFF WORKERS Long before the mandatory shutdown mined diligence and boundless creativity occurred, word spread through the tightly and heart of our people. n knit New Orleans hospitality community that Isaac and Amanda Toups of Toups Catch Poppy Tooker on her radio show, Meatery were extending their daily 3 p.m. “Louisiana Eats!” Saturdays at 3 p.m. and staff “family meal” to any newly laid-off Mondays at 8 p.m. on WWNO 89.9 FM. CREOLE CUISINE COMMITS TO FEEDING ITS TEAM

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A native New Orleanian, Poppy Tooker has spent her life devoted to the cultural essence that food brings to Louisiana, a topic she explores weekly on her NPR-affiliated radio show, Louisiana Eats!

From farmers markets to the homes and restaurants where our culinary traditions are revered and renewed, Poppy lends the voice of an insider to interested readers everywhere.

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IN THE BI Z TOURISM

Keep the Beat Coronavirus disrupts the music economy of New Orleans

BY JENNIFER GIBSON SCHECTER

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Economy Relief Fund to support and provide financial relief for those impacted not only by the rescheduling of French Quarter Fest, but by all of the closed businesses and lack of tourism.

On April 4, FQFI raised money for the fund by co-hosting a virtual concert, “Live from the Porch.” Madero said it was a small way they could provide paid performance opportunities to a few artists and bring together a community of music lovers. The event raised over $10,000 for the fund and more than 32,000 viewers participated.

One artist who performed was the Songbird of New Orleans, Robin Barnes.

Barnes, along with her husband and fellow musician, Pat Casey, were excited to participate.

“We thought it was such a great idea and so special for us to be a part of an event that was helping to raise money for fellow musicians and gig workers,” said Barnes.

Barnes and her husband are both fulltime musicians and performing is their sole source of income. With festival bookings canceled and venues closed, they are seeking other sources of income. Barnes said she is constantly applying for grant money, to the point where she considers that her full-time job for the moment.

She said the most important thing people can do today to support musicians is to buy their music and their merch, watch live streams and tip if you can.

“It’s the only income full-time musicians have right now,” she said. “We’re trying to make the best of it.”

For the time being, Barnes is playing a “Songbird at Home” livestream show on Monday evenings at 7 p.m. with her husband, Pat Casey, playing bass. They stream from Facebook @Robin Barnes Music and Instragram @NewOrleansSongbird.

As for the future, Barnes is staying positive.

“I am so excited that French Quarter Fest was able to move their date to October and I cannot wait to celebrate at that show,” she said. “There’s nothing like a hometown show, and hopefully we will be celebrating with lots of visitors to the city! I also can’t wait to be back at my Sunday night residencies at Spotted Cat!” n I L LU ST R AT I O N BY T O N Y H E A L E Y

Jennifer Gibson Schecter was once a tourist in New Orleans herself and is now proud to call NOLA home. She also writes the Wednesday Tourism Blog on BizNewOrleans.com.

L I V E M U S I C I S I N T R I N S I C TO LO U I S I A N A

culture, and as such, a major draw for tourists. Our festivals and venues attract millions of people each year and the impact of COVID-19 has been felt deeply in the music community. For world-famous events like French Quarter Festival, how do you reschedule a logistical behemoth?

For musicians dependent on income from playing such gigs, how do you pay your rent in the meantime?

I recently spoke with Emily Madero, president and CEO of French Quarter Festivals Inc. (FQFI) about rescheduling the festival from April to October, and singer Robin Barnes “Songbird of New Orleans,” about how the rescheduling and cancellation of performances are impacting her and her colleagues.

Madero said she and her team watched other organizers around the country respond to the pandemic with their own event in mind.

“The situation evolved so rapidly,” she said.

“By the time other events began to cancel, our hearts were already broken. But seeing the impact on our industry colleagues in other parts of the country moved us from a state of grief to action. It was the moment we knew it was time to shift focus from ‘how do we host a safe event in April’ to ‘how do we reschedule?’

“Rescheduling a 25-stage, four-day event in a public space is a herculean task! Our team, and all of our partners, moved mountains to lock in our October dates. We work with dozens of stakeholders — sponsors, artists, vendors, volunteers and community partners.

We communicated with each to ensure they supported the decision. We vetted possible dates with all our sites and worked with our industry colleagues to ensure the new dates were the best for the community.”

Even with the rescheduling of the event to October, there is still the risk of cancelation and the certainty of cash flow challenges.

Madero said they are exploring all options regarding fundraising and possible loans.

“Right now, our focus remains on the health and safety of our team and our community,” she said. “We’re doing what we can to address the immediate needs of our community and to support each other, our partners and our city through this tragedy.

When the time is right, we will need the support of our community and the city to rebound.”

In the meantime, FQFI has partnered with New Orleans Business Alliance on the Gig

IN THE BIZ SPORTS

Sports Sees Losses Across the Board Collegiate and pro leagues teams are fighting the same battle.

BY CHRIS PRICE

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I L LU ST R AT I O N BY T O N Y H E A L E Y

Chris Price is an award-winning journalist and public relations principal. When he’s not writing, he’s avid about music, the outdoors, and Saints, Ole Miss and Chelsea football. Price also authors the Friday Sports Column at BizNewOrleans.com.

“Impacts from the loss of the NCAA Men’s BILLIONS. THAT ’S WHAT ECONOMISTS AND sports executives across the country are Basketball Tournament, American Athletic saying the losses will total when asked about Conference events and elimination of games the suspension and cancellation of sporting on our campus combine to make the impact events and seasons across the country due particularly significant,” Dannen said. “The economic impact for the future still remains to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With just the loss of winter and spring unclear, and we continue to plan contingensports so far, it’s difficult to precisely deter- cies based on every possible scenario.”

While some athletic departments are facing mine how devastating the effect will be. If fall sports are impacted, the losses — especially cutting sports because of the economic slowin a city like New Orleans where Monday down, Dannen said he’s confident that Tulane morning moods hinge on the outcome of “is prepared to navigate these uncertain times the Saints game the day before — will grow through our risk management strategies.”

A study by Forbes noted the sidelining of exponentially greater.

“The economic impact will be devasting. major leagues and events into June could No other way to say it,” said University of mean the loss of $5 billion in revenue South Carolina associate professor of sport through lost ticket sales, concessions, sponand entertainment management Tom Regan. sorships and TV rights fees, with Major Across the world, the number of canceled League Baseball losing more than $2 billion, or postponed sporting events is at its highest the NBA missing $1.2 billion, the NCAA since World War II. From the major leagues about $1 billion, and the NHL, NASCAR to little leagues, it’s uncertain when sports and MLS losing a combined $900 million. seasons and calendars will return to normal. If the NBA and NHL cancel the rest of the The NCAA’s cancellation of the remaining season and the start of the 2020 baseball winter and spring sports, including the season is delayed until July, that figure could Women’s Final Four, has already affected rise to $10 billion.

Fall sports are being planned as if they New Orleans.

“We estimated that the 2020 Final Four would go on as usual, but physicians still would have generated more than $50 million know very little about the novel coronvirus, in economic impact, which is probably including how long it could continue to conservative,” said Sam Joffray, the Greater spread, and how soon it could be under New Orleans Sports Foundation’s senior vice control. In interviews and press conferences, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National president of communications.

“We can really only account for the loss Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, of hosting the Final Four at this point,” he has said it’s impossible to predict when that said, “since the NBA, college, high school will happen.

“The virus itself determines that timetable,” and amateur sporting event cancelations are abundant and ongoing, and we have no he said. “It’s such a moving target that you mechanism for estimating a total impact to could so easily be wrong and mislead people.” n date, or what impacts we will see moving forward.”

College athletic programs across the state are dealing with the economic fallout, however, athletics directors say that is not their focus right now.

“While we are working proactively on the financial impact this may have, it is not our primary concern,” said LSU Athletic Director Scott Woodward. “We won’t know the full extent of that impact for some time.

Our focus right now is on the health and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches, staff and our communities. We will work through and address the financial issues at the appropriate time.”

Uptown, Tulane Athletics Director Troy Dannen said the shutdown of intercollegiate athletics has had a significant economic impact.

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IN THE BIZ ENTREPRENEUR

Entrepreneurism Meets Pandemic Small startups have their own challenges in this new landscape.

BY KEITH TWITCHELL

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crossed our minds. Three weeks later, we were done.”

Espiritu provided takeout and delivery long enough to run through its perishable inventory, froze the rest and closed. Sesser said she feels that even these limited services have too much potential to exacerbate the virus spread. “Yet we are stilling paying all our expenses. We will be applying for relief.”

She is not certain Espiritu will reopen.

There will ultimately be an end to all of this, but what will we see on the other side?

“There will be significant entrepreneurial opportunities,” predicted Quentin Messer, president and CEO of the New Orleans Business Alliance. “But getting to the other side will be incredibly tough for small businesses and scaling growth stage companies.

Messer pointed out that many conferences scheduled for New Orleans have been postponed, not canceled, and restaurants that manage to survive will likely be filled with customers. Looking at new or expanded opportunities, he cited disaster mitigation consultants, especially firms that can enhance their clients’ abilities to work remotely. IT support firms will be a part of helping to develop a new, more resilient landscape. Telehealth is likely to see considerable growth.

“People need to think about how do we adapt,” said Messer, “because we will make it through. I am a relentless optimist.”

That’s a tough perspective to maintain right now, but it’s also probably the secret to our collective survival. Be well.n

I L LU ST R AT I O N BY T O N Y H E A L E Y

Keith Twitchell spent 16 years running his own business before becoming president of the Committee for a Better New Orleans. He has observed, supported and participated in entrepreneurial ventures at the street, neighborhood, nonprofit, micro- and macro-business levels.

IT’S ABUNDANTLY CLEAR THAT THE ECONOMIC

fallout from the coronavirus is going to hit small businesses very hard. Since a significant majority of entrepreneurial enterprises in our area are small businesses, this landscape is going to emerge looking very different than it did before. Yet, as in all epic disasters, there will still be some businesses that will experience an increase in demand, and new opportunities will emerge.

The federal government’s $2.2 trillion relief package includes many items targeted toward small businesses, and every business owner should absolutely maximize what they can get from it. However, one of the top priorities in the package — quite understandably — is job protection, and most entrepreneurs, especially in the earlier stages, do not have large staffs. While business owners should do everything they can to help their staffs benefit, the reality is that the relief doesn’t provide compensation for the owners themselves unless they are paying themselves a salary. Further, with so many other operating expenses not addressed, the package falls well short of being an entrepreneurial lifeline.

For a firsthand perspective on the worst and best of the situation, I spoke in late March with local entrepreneur Amanda Sesser. Sesser has a Ph.D. in biology and is an internationally recognized expert on climate change. Her consulting firm, 21sustainability, is currently experiencing more requests for consultations than she can handle.

Sesser is also co-founder of Espiritu restaurant in the CBD, which is now closed indefinitely.

“Business is booming. I’m actually looking to hire,” said Sesser, referring to 21sustainability. “I have clients looking for linkage between climate change and the virus. This is not the first change in disease outbreak that is linked to global change.”

Sesser sees the virus as a good analogy for climate change, one she hopes to get through to policy-makers going forward.

“With the virus, we need to act now, before we have all the data,” she said. “This is equally true for global change.” Sesser said she hopes the current situation will be a wake-up call that will enhance her and her clients’ ability to achieve results going forward.

As for the restaurant, “Where do I start?” she said. “Everything moved so quickly. At the beginning of March, closing down never

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Perspectives HOT TOPICS IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA INDUSTRIES

REAL ESTATE + CONSTRUCTION Changes

during COVID-19

MARITIME + PORTS

BANKING + FINANCE

GUEST PERSPECTIVE

GUEST PERSPECTIVE

GUEST PERSPECTIVE

Making maritime more female friendly

Banking professionals offer tips during Covid-19

Businesses are falling through the cracks

Be a business that survives and thrives

Lessons for education moving forward

PERSPECTIVES RE AL ESTAT E+CONST RUC T ION

The State of Real Estate Local professionals discuss the changes during COVID-19, along with what lies ahead.

BY JAMES SEBASTIEN

COVID-19 IS CHANGING THE WAY ALL OF US

live our lives, from daily routines to how we conduct business.

The effects of the virus on the real estate industry, both locally and nationally, began shortly after the stock market plunged at the end of February, worsening locally when the “stay-at-home” order was issued by Gov. John Bel Edwards on March 22.

“As soon as the stay-at-home order was issued, impacts were visible,” said Karl Landreneau, CCIM, SIOR, director of commercial sales and leasing at NAI Latter & Blum. “Construction was halted pretty immediately, property showings had a significant drop, and even contracts were delayed for fear of contamination. It appears the entire pipeline of new business was severed and future projects are now mostly on hold.”

Realtors are experiencing a drop in showings, and a reluctance amongst some sellers, who still occupy their properties, to allow potential buyers into their homes.

“Some of our sellers are uncomfortable with individuals in their homes,” said Leslie Perrin principal partner with the Francher Perrin Group at Gardner Realtors. “I can understand this as my mother, 94 years young, lives with me and I am not letting anyone in my house other than my husband at this time.”

Social distancing is a hard concept for Louisianans to grasp, as it goes against our culture, our way of life. It’s especially hard for those in the real estate game.

“Since the pandemic, home buying has been, at times, awkward,” said Jacques Alfonso, owner and agent of St. Bernard Realty. “It’s odd for a buyer to not shake hands and keep 6 feet apart upon meeting, but we all understand the circumstances for right now. Some clients have even shown up to showings and closings with masks and gloves. I have been placing small hand sanitizer bottles at all of my listings for agents

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Remote viewing is essential in our industry, especially now.

This allows us to keep with business as usual.

Karl Landreneau, CCIM, SIOR, director of commercial sales and leasing at NAI Latter & Blum

to use during their showings. I’ve also been focusing on transitioning my new construction listings to 3D layouts.”

THE UNKNOWN

A major fear factor during COVID-19 is the unknown. Many people have lost their jobs, small businesses are losing their income, and experts do not agree on when the shutdown will come to an end.

“The fabric of our neighborhoods could change drastically after this is over,” said Perrin. “We may see an increase in vacancies across the city for our little boutiques and mom-and-pop stores. I just received an email from commercial tenants who have a

boutique with men’s and women’s clothing requesting a rent reduction or elimination of rent for April and possibly May. They had stocked their stores with merchandise for French Quarter Festival and Jazz Festival.

With these stores being their only source of income, I am totally sympathetic to their situation. It affects them, as well as the landlord, and the community as a whole. We are in a state of economic distress.”

What’s next? No one seems to know, but preparing for a variety of scenarios may be the smartest move for small businesses.

“Right now, everything seems to be changing daily on restrictions due to the coronavirus,” said Alfonso in early April.

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“Next week could be a full quarantine, and the real estate market could shut down. My advice to buyers is it’s a great time to buy with rates being so low and with less competition.

Buyers are in the driver’s seat right now. As for a seller, we have to get creative to market and sell your home for the highest price in the shortest amount of time. If at this time you do not need to sell your home, then don’t. The market will likely rebound later this year and rates will continue to stay low.”

But with 50-year record low-interest rates, some buyers see an opportunity too good to pass up. That said, they should proceed cautiously.

“It is more important than ever to use a qualified, experienced and knowledgeable real estate professional in order to help guide you through the real estate process and to be their advocate,” said Jessica D. LeBlanc, owner of CPA Realty. “Also, a real estate professional can help reduce risks associated with scammers, as well as to ensure that the appropriate paperwork and available options are discussed with [buyers and sellers].

“Whenever there is a crisis, scammers find ways to take advantage of those in times of need, which could involve the real estate industry in terms of offering places to rent or sell that are not actual listings in order to defraud the consumer for financial gain.”

TECHNOLOGY

During this time of social distancing and stay-at-home orders, technology is coming into play more and more. Agents have many tools available, such as 3D layouts, Facebook Live walk-throughs, and digital marketing to help buyers and sellers.

“At NAI Latter & Blum, we have and are continuing to use Matterport technology to offer our clients 360 virtual walk-throughs of property interiors,” said Landreneau. “Drone videos and 360 aerials offer other angles.

Remote viewing is essential in our industry, especially now. This allows us to keep with business as usual.”

Wit h more dig it a l me et ings v i a GotoMeeting, Zoom and Google Hangouts, the real estate industry might be forging a new path.

“We’ll see a new normal for office leasing and acquisitions because people and businesses will learn that they can work remotely and be just as productive,” said Landreneau.

“This could change the office footprint and the amount of office space needed to conduct business.” n

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Since the pandemic, home buying has been, at times, awkward. It’s odd for a buyer to not shake hands and keep 6 feet apart upon meeting, but we all understand the circumstances for right now.

Jacques Alfonso, owner and agent with St. Bernard Realty

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PERSPECTIVES MARI T IME+P ORTS

Making Maritime More Female Friendly Created in New Orleans to support women in maritime professions, WIMOs has experienced rapid growth.

BY KEITH LORIA

WOMEN IN MARITIME OPERATIONS (WIMOS)

launched in the summer of 2017, championing women who are actively employed in the maritime industry.

In less than three years, the organization has expanded in both size and scope.

“What started here in New Orleans has grown across the country,” said Anna Whittemore, vice president of sales and logistics at Marquette Transportation and president of the WIMOs’ Southern Louisiana chapter. “We have even had interest around the world. We now have official chapters in southern Louisiana, western Kentucky and Houston. We also have seed chapters in the Ohio Valley region, Pacific Northwest and Jacksonville, Florida.”

In addition, there are active memberships in many other places throughout the United States and Mexico. WIMOs currently has just over 400 members and more than 100 member companies. A 501(c)(3) organization, the organization has benefited greatly from contributions from individual donors and grants from trusts and maritime companies.

According to the International Maritime Organization, the maritime industry is only 2% female, which is why Whittemore said WIMOs is so important.

“As many in the industry know, we struggle to recruit for maritime jobs,” she said. “We also struggle with hiring and retention of a diverse workforce.”

WIMOs helps with both by showing women that they can and do succeed and thrive in maritime operations roles, opening the doors for women who didn’t think they

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I think the number of women employed in the industry is steadily growing, but we are still the minority. As such, it’s nice to have an organization like WIMOs where you can lean on other women for support and feedback.

Jenna Gaudet, CFO of Garyville-based St John Fleeting, LLC, and WIMOs executive board treasurer

could fit in, and helping retain women who may be struggling with a “boys club” atmosphere.

“As women start to take on maritime operations jobs, we have found that support and mentorship leaves something to be desired,” Whittemore said. “We wanted to create an environment where women can learn about their industry while also being supported to grow in their careers. We believe we have created this environment and plan to continue for years to come.”

Jenna Gaudet, CFO of Garyville-based St John Fleeting, LLC, and WIMOs’ executive board treasurer, was one of the founders of the organization.

“When Kasey Eckstein and I first had the idea for this organization, we wanted education to be a goal of WIMOs,” she said.

“Let’s face it though, we wanted the social aspect of meeting different women from

the industry more, but now I think the educational aspect of WIMOs is the thing of which I am most proud.”

WIMOs hosts Lunch & Learn programs for women at different facilities in their area.

During the programs, attendees are able to tour the host facility where they are able to witness different aspects of marine operations that they may not have otherwise been privy to.

“I think the number of women employed in the industry is steadily growing, but we are still the minority,” Gaudet said. “As such, it’s nice to have an organization like WIMOs where you can lean on other women for support and feedback. At its core, this association is about how we can help retain, advance and promote women in the industry.”

WIMOs mentorship programs appear to be working: In 2019 alone, more than 20 members accepted promotions.

As membership expands, so does the diversity of members, which can include individuals who own, operate, charter, dispatch or provide other types of logistical, operational and emergency management services on the water.

“Our expansion to so many companies and areas alone shows our growth, but we have also developed our programming drastically as our members define what they need,” Whittemore said. “We have started hosting more Lunch & Learn educational opportunities. Last year, we hosted a three-part leadership seminar in New Orleans, and this year we are hosting leadership seminars in our three largest regions.”

WIMOs also has its own golf program, which allows members to learn the game and get on the course with others.

“Some very early feedback from women was that they were missing out on the important career- and deal-building golf games because they were not confident in their ability to play,” Whittemore said.

Holding simple, informal events, such as an evening at Top Golf or drinks after work, also helps the organization spread best practices and keep women networking in the industry.

“We are very excited about offering selfdefense lessons this year,” Whittemore added.

“The anticipation for this event has been high.”

Caroline Ham Zimmermann, sales and marketing associate at Wood Resources, said she appreciates the opportunity.

“My mother was a female pioneer in the maritime industry and would have loved to have had such a great peer group,” she said. “We get to explore each other’s businesses through our Lunch & Learns, and bounce ideas back and forth.”

Gaudet said a main concern for the industry is a lack of young people entering the workforce which translates into a labor deficit.

“We have an aging work population staffing the boats, the cranes and the shipyards right now,” she said. “We need young people to discover the opportunities that are available to them in this industry. This is why WIMOs works very closely with an organization called River Works Discovery. They host events for [high school] juniors and seniors all over the country to teach them about the job opportunities available to them right out of high school.”

The future will bring continued expansion for WIMOs. Over the next few years, the organization plans to set up boards in the Ohio Valley, Pacific Northwest, and Jacksonville regions and start chapters in New York and the upper and central Mississippi River regions, as well as down the West Coast.

“We plan to continue building our Lunch & Learn program,” Whittemore said, “as well as continue to build our leadership programs that launched in 2019.” n

We wanted to create an environment where women can learn about their industry while also being supported to grow in their careers.

Anna Whittemore, vice president of sales and logistics at Marquette Transportation and president of the WIMOs’ Southern Louisiana chapter

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PERSPECTIVES BANKING+FINANCE

Financial Security During Covid-19?

Is it possible? Local banking professionals offer their top 5 tips.

BY JESSICA ROSGAARD

M A R K E T V O L AT I L I T Y, S K Y R O C K E T I N G

unemployment and uncertainty about how long businesses will be shuttered have many individuals and business owners wondering how to manage their financial security.

“Right now, most every business that I know of is in crisis mode, trying to figure out how they’re going to sustain themselves for the next couple weeks before things get back to normal, if they ever do,” said John Zollinger, senior vice president at Home Bank, speaking in early April.

While these are scary times, there are some things both individuals and business owners can do to navigate the current financial landscape.

1. TALK TO YOUR BANK.

“Communicating with your banker is No. 1,” said Jamie Sablich, senior vice president at Fidelity Bank. “Banks in general should be positioned to facilitate our customers’ needs during times just like this.”

Many banks are offering loan deferrals on mortgages, personal loans, business loans,and lines of credit for up to 90 days.

In most cases, customers will owe interest, while any principal amount that was due will be tacked onto the end of the loan.

“It’s not a structure that’s going to just kick the can down the road and hit them harder 90 days from now,” says Sablich. “It’s a structure that really will allow them to get to the next 90 days and then, in theory, allow them a minimal amount of payment to get their business back up and running.”

It’s really difficult to make decisions in these times.

So take your time and think about the pros and cons — really think it through — because if you don’t, you could miss something and really hurt 2. DON’T PANIC. your financial This might seem easier said than done, but future.

Sablich said it’s important to be calm and realistic.

“Everyone is in the same situation — whether you’re 30 years old, 40 years old,

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John Zollinger, senior vice president of Home Bank

we’re all getting hit and the reality is that it’s almost resetting the normal,” Sablich said.

“When we come out of this, everybody’s going to be affected in the same manner.

We’re all going to have the same challenges and we’re going to have to work collectively to recover from them.”

The sudden roller coaster of the stock market has many people concerned about their retirement investments, which is understandable.

“If you’re a long-term investor, I wouldn’t be worried,” said Zollinger. “Try and design your investments to match your time horizon. The longer you’re out there and the longer you have to retire, the more risk maybe you’re willing to take, so you can be invested in equities.”

If you’re planning to retire in the next couple of years, chances are you’re already invested in funds that are more stable. And while the immediate situation is uncertain, there is some hope long-term.

“The underlying fundamentals of our economy are still very, very strong,” said Sablich. “By no means am I a financial guru or stock analyst, but I do feel that the minute that we get past this COVID-19, most of our

net worth through the stock market is going to recover rather rapidly.”

The key takeaway is that now is not the time for drastic or emotional financial decisions.

“It’s really difficult to make decisions in these times,” Zollinger said. “So take your time and think about the pros and cons — really think it through — because if you don’t, you could miss something and really hurt your financial future.”

If your plans for 2020 included buying a home, both Sablich and Zollinger said you don’t necessarily need to put that dream on hold.

“I think the economy needs things like that to continue to happen to keep it moving forward,” said Sablich. “If you have lost your job, you may want to put those things on hold. But if you are one of the fortunate ones where your immediate source of income isn’t in jeopardy, I would recommend [buying a home].”

Zollinger agreed.

“Interest rates are at an all-time low,” he said. “If you can find the right rate and you find the right house for you, I would say it’s a good time to buy.”

3. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FEDERAL RELIEF.

The CARES (Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic) Act, passed by the federal government in late March, contains economic provisions to help individuals and small-business owners.

Kathryn Pittman, an associate tax director at Postlethwaite & Netterville — a Louisiana-based accounting and business advisory firm — said the main relief for individuals in the CARES Act is what the bill calls a “recovery rebate.”

In an additional piece of good news, the $1,200 for qualifying individuals, plus $500 per qualifying child being provided is tax exempt.

“It’s operating as an advance tax credit for the 2020 year, so it’s like a credit mechanism that the government is giving.”

And while refund checks are getting most of the attention, Pittman advised individuals to also take advantage of any additional unemployment insurance opportunities.

“The [CARES Act] has expanded the availability of unemployment insurance payments,” she said.

“Self-employed individuals, and others who might not normally pay into the system should check their eligibility.”

(For more information visit: irs.gov/coronavirus)

When we come out of this, everybody’s going to be affected in the same manner. We’re all going to have the same challenges and we’re going to have to work collectively to recover from them.

Jamie Sablich, senior vice president of Fidelity Bank

4. IF YOU HAVE A SMALL BUSINESS, CHECK OUT THE PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM.

Another big provision of the CARES Act is relief for small businesses called the Paycheck Protection Program.

The PPP is a loan that small-business owners can apply for through their lender. The loan can be used to cover up to 2.5 times a business’s average monthly payroll costs for eight weeks after the date of origination. Money spent on qualifying expenses — like payroll and existing mortgages or rent — will be eligible for loan forgiveness.

Offering loan forgiveness incentivizes businesses to keep people on payrolls for the immediate future without having to worry about future payback.

“It’s going to allow businesses to make it through this time,” said Pittman, “and then, as the economy recovers, not be as debt-laden as they might be if there wasn’t a forgiveness piece.”

5. TAKE WHATEVER YOU CAN GET.

Rissi Lovern, founder and CEO of BATON Financial Services, advises small-business owners to make sure they understand the requirements of whatever they sign up for but to take advantage of every relief option available, whether it’s personally or for a business.

“Any kind of freeze on interest expense, any kind of freeze on fees, mortgage deferrals — even if you don’t feel you need that in the long run, you may want to take advantage of it,” Lovern said. “For smallbusiness owners, a business is an extension of their personal finances, so I advise taking advantage of as much help as you can to stockpile cash as much as possible.” n

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PERSPECTIVES GUEST PERSPEC T IVE

There is No Levee We Can Build Here However, lessons we learned following Hurricane Katrina can benefit New Orleans’ education system, we just have to act now.

BY ADRINDA KELLY

AS NEW ORLEANS MOVES FURTHER INTO THE

COVID-19 quarantine, the comparisons to Katrina have grown louder — and there is an eerie similarity. Once again, we are seeing the compounded challenges of our high poverty, under-resourced city placed on national display for public judgment.

Once again we’re seeing a flat narrative of culpability make the rounds — ‘They should have canceled Mardi Gras!’ — attempting to recast the national failure to act as a problem of laissez faire local leadership.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleanians learned a heartbreaking lesson about the government’s neglect of its most vulnerable citizens. This is the trauma that simmers just under the surface as we grope our way through COVID-19. But unlike Katrina, there is no levee to build or an exact time frame for when our city will get back to business as usual.

We need to stop thinking of this moment as a natural disaster after which we will return to life as normal — there is no normal that we are returning to. And while that is a scary proposition, it is also an opportunity. So far, in the education realm in New Orleans, COVID-19 has brought many new lessons.

We are learning in real-time that it is possible to be a system where schools share resources and collaborate to support students regardless of their OneApp assignment. We are learning that it is possible to get students to college without high stakes testing.

So, what will we do with these new insights?

Will we treat them as a momentary blip in a system of winners and losers where competition, scarcity, and extraction reign, or will we treat them as a portal inviting us to rethink the fundamentals of how we fund, support, participate, and hold accountable all of our public institutions and workplaces, including

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The last time we were here, 15 years ago, we dreamed a big dream to create a “world-class education system” but left behind a lot of people who were still trying to catch their breath.

The gift of this moment is to practice another way.

school? These questions are especially urgent for New Orleans education, as we have some significant challenges ahead of us.

When we return to school, educators are going to have to make up for at least three months of lost learning in a system where even pre-COVID only 26% of Orleans Parish students are scoring at grade-level on state assessments. The loss of sales tax revenue and readjustments to home values as vacancy rates increase during social distancing will have a negative impact on the minimum foundation program (MFP), the main funding vehicle for our public schools. This means a perfect storm of increased pressure to accelerate learning with fewer resources to do so. And all of this will disproportionately impact black and Latinx children from impoverished communities who constitute the majority of our public school system. Also vulnerable are black educators who disproportionately lead smaller, stand-alone schools attended by students with the highest concentration of needs and the lowest access to non-governmental dollars to address them.

Fortunately, we are doing some good things to prepare the way for thoughtful solutions

to these challenges. NOLA Public Schools has purchased thousands of wifi hotspots to distribute to schools to ensure that our most vulnerable families have access to the internet at a moment when we don’t know when in-person instruction will resume. As of early April, the Louisiana Senate Education Committee was reviewing a bill that, if passed, would enable school districts to electively opt-in to Louisiana’s fiber infrastructure so that every student in Louisiana can receive increased access to technology-supported learning.

This is a good start. But if we are willing to cross the portal, and seize the opportunity of this moment, we should hearken back to lessons learned from Katrina and do three things now: 1. COMMIT TO STABILITY.

In the fall of 2020, more than 25 schools are up for renewal or extension. Every year this high-stakes review process leads to a set of recommendations on which schools to keep open and which schools to close. For the next 18 months, we need to put these decisions on hold in the name of stability and give educators the support and flexibility

needed to focus on accelerating learning for every child. Additionally, we can learn from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s response to COVID-19, and look for ways to share resources and surge support to the schools and students who need it the most.

2. STRENGTHEN AVENUES FOR PUBLIC VOICE.

Now more than ever we need a nimble school board able to respond to community needs. That means listening deeply to a broad, diverse range of stakeholder voices, but it also means centering the voices and experiences of those most impacted by our challenges. And where there is dissonance we need to lean in, not silence. We can pave the way for this deep listening by ensuring that public meetings don’t proceed without the opportunity for public participation and temporarily suspending the school board’s supermajority voting requirement on certain issues in favor of a simple majority.

3. SEEK GROUNDWATER SOLUTIONS.

Many well-meaning individuals peddled a flat narrative of who was responsible for failing our children in the aftermath of Katrina, advancing solutions that could only ever be partial because the root causes weren’t adequately named. Let’s not do that here. In the parlance of equity work, we need “groundwater” and not “fish-level” solutions. In other words, the educational inequities we face, exacerbated by the COVID crisis, cannot be addressed with programmatic interventions alone. We need solutions that address what Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings calls the “education debt,” or the cumulative impact of fewer resources and other harm directed at students of color. That means seeking interventions that build assets in communities of color, engage families and communities, and shift policies and practices towards acknowledgment and repair of harm.

The recently passed CARES ACT will be an interesting test case for our willingness to step through the portal and apply the lessons learned from Katrina. Monumental in breadth and scope, it provides $13.5 billion in K-12 emergency aid to schools impacted by the COVID crisis. It also gives significant latitude to state and local education agencies to determine the best use of those resources. The last time we were here, 15 years ago, we dreamed a big dream to create a “world-class education system” but left behind a lot of people who were still trying to catch their breath. The gift of this moment is to practice another way.

Our organization has spent 100+ hours working in schools this year, alongside some of the most committed black leaders in our system. We have heard from over 200 black education stakeholders across the city about their hopes and dreams for our education future. One thing is certain: Now is not the time to recreate a system of winners and losers or shore up what isn’t working. COVID-19 is teaching us that none of us are well until all of us are well, and we need to keep that front and center as we move forward. n

Adrinda Kelly serves as executive director of BE NOLA (Black Education For New Orleans), an organization whose mission is to support black educators and black-led schools to provide a quality education to New Orleans children.

Immediately prior to BE NOLA, Kelly was the national managing director of staff diversity, equity and inclusiveness strategy at Teach For America.

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PERSPECTIVES GUEST PERSPEC T IVE

Want to be a Business That Survives and Thrives?

You need to embrace the new normal.

BY MICHELLE CRAIG

DURING THESE DIFFICULT TIMES, COMPANIES

will either thrive and survive or stay stagnant and eventually fold. Those that survive will do so because they will immediately create a new workforce and work model that embraces the lasting changes that will come with this new normal. Embracing the new workforce means you need to do three things.

1. UNDERSTAND THAT THE REMOTE MODEL IS LIKELY HERE TO STAY.

This pandemic has forced many of us to work from home for a pretty significant period of time. For those that thrived on being in an office setting, the change may have been a difficult one. For others, it answered, in a strange and unsettling way, a question that may have been on their minds for many months or years: “Why can’t I work remotely in this position?” Several experts predict that this forced remote-work situation will fundamentally change the way we work forever. Many positions that employers insisted must be performed from an office setting are now being performed, regularly, from the home of the employee.

One important way to be the employer who thrives instead of simply surviving is to be open to this new way of working. A large number of employees will likely now value being able to work remotely instead of in an office setting. If your employees indicate that they want to continue to explore remote work as a permanent or semi-permanent solution, listen to and work with them. A rigid approach to this request could force your organization to lose exceptionally talented individuals. Your ability to take this new reality and make it work for your business can be the difference between having an all-star staff that will help rebuild with you and having a staff that is simply doing

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Right now, rebuilding your workforce with the finest team is the best way to position your organization for success.

the job to bide time until something else comes along.

Now is the time to learn from those businesses that have been using a remote model for years. Craft a policy that works

for your business, make sure it is legally sound by engaging legal counsel and then work together with your employees to find a remote or semi-remote environment that serves everyone’s needs.

2. ADOPT AN ORGANIZATIONAL CHART REFLECTIVE OF YOUR NEW REALITY AND REFLECTIVE OF THE ORGANIZATION YOU ARE REBUILDING.

While, it may be easy to look at the state of the organization and lament how things have changed so quickly, now is a great opportunity to build a distinctive, impactful team.

Ask yourself a series of questions: From a workforce perspective, where were my biggest liabilities? Did I have too many people performing the same job or several people performing a job that one person could do?

Did I have employees who should have been moved into positions that better reflect their skill sets? Is there anything I could streamline or automate?

This is a time of reflection; when the time for growth returns, you can take the lessons of the previous months and move in the direction that makes sense for your organization in this new reality.

3. ADDRESS ANY HARD CONVERSATIONS BEFORE YOU ARE FORCED TO HAVE THEM.

Because COVID-19 hit so heavy and fast, many employers were forced to suddenly and unexpectantly have difficult conversations with employees about their future at the organization. Too often these conversations unfortunately involved terminations and layoffs: Many good employees were caught in these layoffs, but some underperforming employees probably should have been removed from the payroll months ago.

Now is the time to take an inventory of how you handle your workforce moving forward. Performing consistent and honest employment evaluations is imperative.

Communicating your expectations and needs as an employer clearly, with kindness as well as authority, is essential. Right now, rebuilding your workforce with the finest team is the best way to position your organization for success.

This can only be accomplished by understanding what you want your business to look like, knowing the necessary qualifications of your ideal employee, and putting the correct mechanisms in place now to ensure you are moving toward a plan that makes sense for your business.

These are hard times, but many employers will weather this storm and come out with an efficient, more cohesive workforce. Regrowth of your team will happen again, but you need to be prepared. Understanding the new work/life reality, being honest about your company’s needs, and building the most productive team are a few factors that will be instrumental in repositioning your business as an industry leader and positioning it for continued growth. n

Michelle D. Craig is the owner and managing attorney of Transcendent Law Group. With more than 17 years of experience as a lawyer and business advisor to her clients, she resolves legal matters for small and large companies, charter schools, nonprofits, colleges and universities.

Her firm primarily focuses on labor and employment matters, education, litigation, economic development issues and transactional matters.

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PERSPECTIVES GUEST PERSPEC T IVE

Startups and Emerging Tech Companies Are Falling Through the Cracks

AVERAGE TSR OF CHINESE INDUSTRY GROUPS TSR (indexed on base 21st Jan 15 10 5 0 -5

Critical gaps in the CARES Act could keep our region from a successful recovery.

-10 21Jan

BY JON ATKINSON

24Jan

31Jan

WHILE THE FRONT LINES OF THE COVID-19

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14Feb

21Feb

First 2 Weeks

Next 4-6 weeks

Market decline across industries

Differential paths of recovery

High Performing industries (+12%) e.g. software and services, healthcare equipment and services

pandemic are in healthcare, and the initial economic fallout is most acutely felt in hospitality and retail, these unprecedented events represent a fundamental shift in how we do business and an existential threat to all businesses that don’t adapt.

At The Idea Village, we work with emerging technology-focused startups in an aspiring market. We believe these companies represent our future, are a down payment on longterm economic vitality and a critical pathway to wealth creation for our community. As an organization, we have spent the last 20 years working to catalyze a movement and champion innovation in New Orleans — an unlikely place for such activity by most standards — and can tell you from this experience that sustaining a robust pipeline of startups is a fragile endeavor on a good day. It is also something that is driven by momentum and density that once lost, is very difficult to rebuild.

We also know from the experiences in China and elsewhere that, broadly speaking, “tech” is a leading indicator of recovery, which is going to be critical in the coming economic “restart.” Tech companies can bounce back quickly, are digitally native, provide highimpact jobs with strong economic multipliers and are generally run by people accustomed to navigating to where the puck is going in a changing environment. China is literally seeing tech companies pulling the rest of the economy out of the ditch.

The graph above shows the performance pre- and post-COVID-19 of high performing industries (software) vs. the rest of the economy:

7Feb

Others (0%)

28Feb

4Mar

Low Performing industries (-7%) e.g. transportation, consumer durables and apparel, retailing, energy

NOTE: Top 500 Greater China companies as of Jan 1 2020 considered for analysis; High Performers comprise 6%, low performers comprise 21% and others comprise 73% of the 500 companies in the consideration set; Average TSR of the three clusters - High Performers, Low Performers and Others is the simple average of all TSR of all companies in the cluster. Source: Capital IQl BCG Henderson Institute Analysis

What do we want New Orleans to look like in an era of $30 per barrel oil and the possibility of an extended moratorium on travel?

COVID-19 has also taught us that layoffs hurts the team and the business’ economic diversification is more impor- momentum. It also can have a devastating tant now than ever. This is a city whose impact on families and communities as economy has historically been driven by individuals are left hanging financially oil and tourism — two supposedly highly and high-impact jobs with pathways to uncorrelated industries where certain upward mobility may be slow to come back. external threats can undermine our pre- Additionally, on a community level, we run a substantial risk of not retaining this talent. existing assumptions. What do we want New Orleans to look like in an era of $30 per Early stage businesses are also especially barrel oil and the possibility of an extended vulnerable as they may have started to build moratorium on travel? This moment in time teams despite tenuous revenue and a limited underscores the importance of the bets we operating runway. Customer’s attention is have placed to put some other irons in the now elsewhere, non-essential spending has fire in fostering industry leading companies, been curtailed and investment capital — not indexed to our core, and to invest in typically the lifeblood of these businesses net new industry clusters that once looked — is nowhere to be found. like a crazy idea. This could now become a The entrepreneurs running these early saving grace. stage companies need the full set of tools This is why it gives me grave concern available to all business owners in this time that certain types of startups and emerging of crisis. Unfortunately, the CARES Act, and technology companies seem to be at risk of specifically the Payroll Protection Program falling through the cracks of the CARES (PPP), leave out startups and emerging technology companies in a number of important Act legislation designed to help support ways: businesses in this time of unprecedented uncertainty. Building a team is one of the • AFFILIATION RULES This is the big one. most important activities that an emerging Because of legacy regulation in the SBA company — particularly one in growth 7(a) program on which the PPP is built, most startups with venture or angel mode — undertakes. It also means technology companies are most extended in funding are at risk of being deemed not eligible for PPP funding because their payroll and don’t have much else to cut investors are considered a “controlling when confronted with survival decisions.

The unwinding of this brain trust through interest.” Therefore, only the controlling

parent company is eligible if it is also deemed to be a small business. In the startup world, most investors make lots of investments and most startups have lots of investors. This network effect creates a lot of confusion that slows banks down and ultimately penalizes companies with larger blue chip investors, which are also the ones that create the most jobs.

• MAX LOAN AMOUNT FORMULA By using the prior year average as the means of calculating the maximum amount that can be borrowed, and thus ultimately forgiven if used on payroll, the program discounts companies that have hired rapidly or recently. If a business is hiring 50 to100 people per year, that company’s average payroll over the prior 12 months is dramatically different than its actual payroll need today or projected need three months from now. This is handicapping companies that might be able to hire today to take up some of the slack in the employment market. Similarly, if a company has just turned the corner from a handful of people to bringing on a full team, they are similarly stuck.

• FOCUS ON DEBT Most startup and emerging technology companies are funded through the sale of equity, not debt, as debt can be dangerous when you don’t know where your revenue is coming from. The PPP and the adjacent EIDL program, designed to catch the overflow not covered by PPP, are both exclusively debt based. This leaves out a whole generation of pre-revenue companies that could be our next industry leaders.

• T O O B I G T O Q UA L I F Y; N O T T O O B I G T O FA I L Successful emerging companies, which are the cornerstones of many aspiring innovation clusters, are stuck in the middle of a “donut hole” in the CARES Act’s support structures. They don’t qualify as small businesses ­— often prematurely due to the affiliation rule issues discussed — but they are not the Fortune 1000 protected under the too big to fail provisions of the legislation.

This is a dangerous place to be, and risks putting some of our biggest job creators on the chopping block of this crisis.

These issues urgently need to be worked through, and the overall PPP needs to be sufficiently funded such that money remains available by the time they are resolved. The opposite would represent an unimaginable setback to a critical sector of the economy and vanguard of the future.

Like all our business owners, we need to buy our most successful and innovative entrepreneurs time to adapt. We also need to focus on protecting early-stage companies that represent our pipeline of innovation over the long term. Short sightedness, now, and a poor understanding of the specific needs of startup and emerging technology companies and how they are different from other businesses, risks killing the very horse most well positioned to help pull us out of the ditch. n

Jon Atkinson is CEO of The Idea Village, a nonprofit organization created to identify, support and retain entrepreneurial talent in New Orleans and the surrounding region.

The organization runs two startup accelerator programs — VILLAGEx for highgrowth technology companies and ENERGYx powered by Shell Gamechanger, a collaboration with Shell to spur innovation in the energy, industrial and offshore industries.

The Idea Village also co-produces the annual New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW) presented

by J.P. Morgan Chase along with the A. B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University.

Atkinson also runs a local, early-stage investment group called Lagniappe Angels and is an active startup investor.

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WOMEN Leading Through 34

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While the nation struggles with a new normal, these local women are among those leading their companies and organizations to provide help wherever they can.

BY D REW B ROACH PORTRAITS BY CH E RYL GE RB E R

COVID-19

Not long after Gov. John Bel Edwards issued the statewide stay-at-home order on March 22, New Orleans emerged as one of the first “hot spots” for cases in the nation. By mid-April, Louisiana had over 21,000 confirmed cases and climbing, and over 277,000 residents had filed for unemployment in the midst of what has become “the great shutdown.” Amid the turmoil, businesses and organizations in every industry are doing all they can to survive with no known end in sight.

In this, our annual women’s issue, Biz New Orleans is honored to share the efforts of six local women who are leading their organizations with the goal of not just surviving, but helping others weather the storm. Whether its pivoting to provide protective gear, petitioning lawmakers for change, or gathering the efforts of a whole industry to help some of the hardest hit, these women are leading with compassion, courage and ingenuity in a time that’s trying not only our region, but the world.

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Using Tech to Lower the Threat Shelby Sanderford has a goal that’s particularly relevant right now. The 28-yearold New Orleans native wants to keep patients out of doctors' waiting rooms.

To do this, her company, DOCPACE, is launching a text-messaging system that integrates with scheduling software at clinics.

After testing it with two New Orleans clinics, Sanderford went public with it in mid-April.

Patients sign up to be automatically alerted to delays and wait times — much like airline passengers do now with flights. This helps

“[Medical staff] can text patients exactly when the exam room is ready so they can wait in their car and come in when it’s time to be seen.”

people avoid both the tedium of the waiting room and the threat of infection from other patients.

For physicians, DOCPACE provides data to help improve the process of scheduling appointments and, potentially, eliminate wait times. That could mean the ability to see more patients per day while improving patient satisfaction.

A graduate of Isidore Newman School with plans to become a physician, Sanderford changed course while a student at Southern Methodist University. During a college internship at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, she learned about barriers to patient satisfaction, and that not only do providers not only want satisfied patients to return if necessary, their Medicare reimbursement depends on it.

“That was what triggered it,” Sanderford said.

Sanderford formed DOCPACE in 2014, envisioning the product as a mobile phone application. But after earning a master’s degree in business administration at Tulane University and raising some money, she transformed it into its current form. The company has five employees and contracts with a software developer.

Sanderford said COVID-19 has prompted her to add screening questions for patients (e.g., have they traveled to a coronavirus hotspot recently?) and more texts about avoiding infection.

The current climate, she said, has made her technology even more valuable. “[Medical staff] can text patients exactly when the exam room is ready so they can wait in their car and come in when it’s time to be seen,” she said.

Amid C OVID-19, D O CPACE is providing its service for free.

“This is an interesting time to have a healthcare startup,” Sanderford said. “I think a lot of opportunity will come out of it.”

Shelby Sanderford, Founder of DOCPACE

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“... I really felt there was an opportunity to build what I call a B2B invoice payments network.”

After a 30-year corporate career focused on the financial side of small businesses, Rissi Lovern founded her own New Orleans company, Baton Financial Services Inc., in December 2017 to help solve a common challenge that, especially now, can be particularly impactful on businesses trying to get by.

A small business selling products or services to another business or the government typically invoices to be paid in 30, 60 or 90 days. One study, however, found the average lag for U.S. small business, prepandemic, was 51 days, essentially putting the vendor “in the business of lending,” Lovern said.

“It causes a slowdown in the company’s cash operations flow,” Lovern said. “The average small business has only 27 days of cash reserves.”

A financial technology company, Baton Financial aspires to create a network of banks that will pay small B2Bs almost immediately on delivery of a product or service to customers, much as Visa and MasterCard do for credit card merchants.

The banks, instead of the B2B, shoulder the delay until the customer pays.

Lovern, 53, conceived the idea after a long career at Hibernia National Bank in New

Orleans, where she helped build the small business line into a $3.5 billion asset, and at Equifax Inc. in Atlanta.

“I became passionate about it — so obsessed with it that I really felt there was an opportunity to build what I call a B2B invoice payments network,” she said.

Product development and marketing were well underway when COVID-19 froze the U.S. economy, but that hasn’t deterred Lovern from looking out for small businesses.

Shortening the Payment Wait for Small Businesses

Rissi Lovern, Founder and CEO of Baton Financial

Baton Financial and its investors are now working to impress on the Trump administration the challenge that many small B2Bs, closed by the pandemic, will face when they reopen, which includes hopefully helping to close the nail-biting gap between the time a business invoices a customer and the time it gets paid.

“The solution must not be debt,” she said.

Baton Financial currently has 18 employees and an office in the Central Business District. It recently signed its first contract with a bank to sell its product to small businesses.

Meanwhile, Lovern is working to keep the conversation focused on the needs of the small businesses that make up so much of the country’s economy.

“I don’t know where the discussion is going to go,” she said.

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Selling Homes Without the Handshake Open house tours for gaggles of agents and prospective buyers? Forget about it.

Real estate agents now count among their tasks disinfecting doorknobs and surfaces after house showings, now taking place by appointment only. Home inspectors might now visit a house under contract one at a time, instead of simultaneously. One closing attorney even ventured out to collect signatures separately from the seller and buyer, instead of convening the group around the conference table at a law office.

Those are among the changes that Leslie Perrin, principal of the Francher Perrin Group in New Orleans, has noticed while operating during COVID-19.

“Contracts can be signed digitally, deposits can be made virtually, and lenders can get over 75% of their documentation signed by borrowers digitally,” said Perrin. “Title companies are taking the paperwork to both buyers and sellers to complete the transaction and close on the property. We are all adapting to this new way of doing business. Everyone is open to doing whatever the buyer and seller want,” she said.

That “whatever it takes” approach, she said, typifies the Francher Perrin Group, a boutique firm under the Gertrude Gardner Realtors umbrella. She and fellow agent Bryan Francher formed the group 20 years ago.

Perrin started working in real estate after a home-buying experience of her own showed her the need to educate buyers on how the process works. She took a real estate course, got licensed, signed on with Martha Ann Samuel Inc. and, amid selling houses, started a class for first-time buyers.

Notwithstanding this year’s pandemic, she said, “now is an excellent time to buy.”

Chief among the reasons: Interest rates in mid-April remained as low as 3.25 percent, below even 2019 levels.

These days, buyers can virtually tour a house via photos and video, and still arrange a personal visit with the agent and

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client wearing gloves and masks. It’s fairly easy for vacant houses, but Perrin said some owners of occupied houses don’t want their property shown until the coronavirus threat has passed.

“That could put a damper on selling a house,” she said.

Closings, too, can be a bit slower if the plumbing inspector, electrical inspector and other specialists prefer not to do their work at the same time.

In working with agents, Francher Perrin now holds virtual office meetings instead of having people gather in one room. Gardner has also been pushing more training webinars instead of seminars. The Francher Perrin Group continues to advertise in print and on streetcars, but has found social media referrals have jumped.

“Contracts can be signed digitally, deposits can be made virtually, and lenders can get over 75% of their documentation signed by borrowers digitally.”

Leslie Perrin, Principal partner of Francher Perrin Group

“This has pushed social media to the max,” she said.

While the pandemic has hammered many retailers, Perrin said real estate has been holding strong.

“We’re very fortunate,” she said.

“We’re still busy.”

Sports team apparel can be so dull. But Margo Cory of New Orleans and Jaime Glas of Baton Rouge have teamed up to put some bling into game day.

Their 18-month-old company, Sparkle City, takes a team’s name, or perhaps its mascot, adds style and sparkle in the team colors and sells the original design on T-shirts, tank tops, knit sweaters and other pieces.

“We pride ourselves on being the unlicensed brand,” Cory said.

As COVID-19 shut down the United States, the company pivoted quickly by creating a glittering “Wash Your Hands” T-shirt, from which 19 % of the proceeds were donated to local food banks. The shirts sold out so fast that Sparkle City pivoted again and started making fanciful face masks, too. Sparkle City masks include a tiger’s face option for Louisiana State University fans, a mask that mimics the faux stained-glass chalk art that homebound children have been making on fences and sidewalks, and a third that sports an image of a handlebar mustache.

“A lot of nurses and doctors reached out to us,” Cory said of the company’s masks. “[The masks] bring us joy and bring their patients joy.”

For every $20 mask sold, Sparkle City is able to donate five standard N95 face masks to Homeland Security officials for distribution where Louisiana needs them most.

The company acquires N95 masks from its regular merchandise manufacturers, both of which are in China, Glas said.

Sparkle City’s two owners, both 31, first crossed paths while students at LSU. Although they ran in different circles, they

were aware of each other because “we both wore bright, sparkly things,” Cory said.

Cory and Glas started the company in 2018 with 120 shirts: half themed for LSU and half for the New Orleans Saints. “We sold them in, like, a day,” Glas said.

At one point they received an email from LSU, not a cease-and-desist order for selling unlicensed merchandise, however, but a sales opportunity.

“We ended up outfitting the entire LSU sports operations office and the team’s parents, too,” Cory said.

Prior to the COVID-19 shutdown, Sparkle City had already expanded to creating team apparel for colleges across the South. The company now has merchandise in 80 stores from Florida to Texas.

“Boutiques reached out to us before we ever thought about wholesaling,” Cory said.

The next targets are fans of the other 31 NFL teams and the huge Dallas Apparel & Accessories Market “Our whole thing is just creating brand awareness at this point,” Cory said.

From Sports Fan Gear to Protective Gear

(top) Margo Cory and (bottom) Jaime Glas, co-owners of Sparkle City

“A lot of nurses and doctors reached out to us. [The masks] bring us joy and bring their patients joy.”

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Hospitality in the Time of COVID-19

“Our ‘Cooking in Quarantine’ classes have been wildly successful. These payas-you-can classes are every Tuesday and Thursday at 5 p.m. I am leading them, demonstrating meals and working with people to adapt and eat great food on a budget using what is on hand.”

Two top leaders offer insight on how the industry in banding together and getting creative in this difficult time.

BY JE N N IFE R GIB SON SCH ECTE R

Restaurants, bars, hotels — these jobs make up a big part of our economy, representing over 36,000 jobs in New Orleans alone, and all have been deeply affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic. From the Why is philanthropy for tourism first closings, the industry has been banding and hospitality workers important together to support workers and make every during this time? effort to hold on until brighter days arrive.

Recently, Biz New Orleans spoke to the two Kelley: I know we say this all the time, women leading top organizations within but it’s true: We are different than the this industry — the Louisiana Hospitality rest of the country. Our local economy Foundation and the New Orleans Culinary isn’t built like other parts of the country and Hospitality Institute — to catch up on and lacks diversification. This pandemic the multitude of different efforts in place to hit our workforce really hard. It’s very try and sustain one of the top tourism and important to consider how we can culinary destinations in the world. provide support to the members of Jennifer Kelley, executive director of our community who have never seen Louisiana Hospitality Foundation, has anything like this, even with previous always worked within the organization’s disasters such as hurricanes. So many mission to support hospitality workers in of our residents are living near or in times of need through workforce developpoverty, do not have savings or “rainy ment as well as need-based grants. Those day” funds, and are struggling to piece grants have taken on a new urgency in the together basic living resources such as time of COVID-19, and Kelley has been shelter, food and medicines for their endeavoring for weeks to source new funds families. Now more than ever, we need and donors to support workers. philanthropic efforts to provide help to For Leah Sarris, RD, LDN, executive these people. director of New Orleans Culinary and Hospitality Institute (NOCHI), leading the Sarris: The hospitality industry is lowrelatively new culinary training center in margin and cash-reliant; bills are paid this time has required flexibility and new pretty much by people coming in the ideas to serve students and generate donadoor. So, obviously the industry is tions. Her students and staff are pivoting to struggling to simply pay the overhead, keep the momentum moving forward. let alone their employees. Hence, there

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have been massive layoffs as we have to balance the longevity of business with the short-term costs of payroll. Getting us through this spot is not only necessary for us to be able to re-open our doors once this has passed, but also to be able to keep paying our workforce when they really need it. Most people in the hospitality industry live paycheck to paycheck, and this is the “busy season” in New Orleans that gets many people through the year. Even if this improves

by August (if there are not still social distancing measures in place, which seems doubtful), that is a slow time in New Orleans, so our industry will not be able to make up for lost revenue.

(Top) Leah Sarris, RD, LDN, executive director of New Orleans Culinary and Hospitality Institute (Bottom) Jennifer Kelley, executive director of Louisiana Hospitality Foundation

How do you see the people and businesses of New Orleans stepping up to help right now?

Is LHF considering increasing the per person grant amounts now or in the future?

Kelley: Louisiana Hospitality Foundation

Kelley: You are referring to the

(LHF) is working with so many different support initiatives that make me proud to be from here! Neat Wines is donating $1 per bottle sold across the state of Louisiana, Dirty Coast has a T-shirt fundraiser, Fish Fry Fridays will conclude this week on Good Friday with an outstanding lineup of restaurants offering a $15 fish plate (entree and side) and $2 from every plate gets donated – and matched by Tabasco. New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno rallied together New Orleanians to share their voices to encourage supporting the LHF fund for hospitality workers, Demario Davis of the Saints and his wife, Tamela, provided a $25,000 matching challenge, and there was a major gift from Peyton and Ashley Manning. These are just a few – the list is growing. We get excited when the phone rings from someone who wants to get involved. They also trust the fund and are encouraged to learn that 100% of each gift goes directly to awards!

Sarris: Wow – people are amazing! I see small restaurant owners preparing free staff meals for those laid off or in need simply by their own giving and asking for donations from those that are able, and succeeding (check out Palm & Pine, Toups Meatery and Blue Oak BBQ, to name a few)! I see massive efforts from nonprofit organizations to prepare food for everyone from hospital staff to the elderly and hospitality and gig workers.

Check out Feed the Frontline NOLA from the Krewe of Red Beans. Talk about innovative! Their model supports everyone from restaurants to laid-off musicians and those on the frontline. World Central Kitchen has been working with Hands on New Orleans, Revolution Foods and NOCHI to distribute food to seniors in need, free of charge to them. Crescentcity.com is doing similar outreach with food, and my friend Sarah Manowitz even helped launch a virtual tipping system for bartenders (have a drink, tip a random bartender out of work!). The way people are stepping up really is amazing.

Hospitality Cares Pandemic Response Fund, our partnership with United Way of Southeast Louisiana. At this time, we are not considering increasing the amount per person.

We are actively working within the fund’s program parameters and identifying eligible applicants to receive the awards. We are pleased to report that awards are going out daily. The responses have been heart-warming.

Here’s some feedback we received from a recipient: “I am a single mother who is in night school and now has lost her job because of the COVID-19 virus. I have my bills still coming and a young son to feed,” said a Hospitality Cares Fund grant recipient who wishes to remain anonymous. “I have been sitting here for two weeks wondering what I am going to do. As soon as I received this [notification] email, I cried instantly for I am so grateful there are such gracious souls out there that are willing to help us. People like me still have hope!”

Can you share any details about the impact COVID-19 is having on NOCHI specifically?

Sarris: It’s been challenging. Much of our revenue comes from events and public-facing classes, which have obviously abruptly stopped. As a nonprofit startup, there wasn’t a lot of padding to begin with. However, we are doing our best to be innovative and get through it, and we have a lot of supporters.

With our certificate program, we’ve had to move as many of the classes as we can online, quickly, as many schools have had to do. It has been especially challenging since learning to cook is very hands-on. However, our staff has done a wonderful job of making things happen, and our students have been incredibly flexible.

We’re definitely looking forward to getting back into the kitchen. We’re not sure how this is going to affect us going forward, and for the rest of the year, but we’re rolling with the punches like the rest of the world.

What else should we know about your work?

Kelley: The 100% part [of gifts LHF receives] seems to be very uncommon in this field of relief work. We might not always be 100% toward the fund, with no administration fees, but this time we were able to set it up that way.

Our fund began issuing award emails on March 27, which was important timing for the recipients. We are still in the process of daily application review and awards for the fund, but the timing of being able to get the funds moving into the community before the first of the month – the first time people had to deal with their basic living expenses like rent – was so important. People are dealing with fear of the unknown, they don’t know how they can pay their bills when social distancing has closed down their employers, and federal stimulus money hasn’t yet made its way to individuals in our community. We are definitely providing a hand up when they need it most.

Sarris: We have been challenged to find innovative ways to teach and engage the public. Our 'Cooking in Quarantine' classes have been wildly successful.

These pay-as-you-can classes are every Tuesday and Thursday at 5 p.m. I am leading them, demonstrating meals and working with people to adapt and eat great food on a budget using what is on hand. It’s actually been a very bright spot amongst all of this! You can learn more at nochi.org/shop, and I also recommend following us on Facebook. n

By the Numbers

New Orleans Culinary and Hospitality Jobs 207,800 Total number of jobs in New Orleans in 2017 11,647 are in the hotel industry (161 hotels) 14,804 are in full-service restaurants (564 restaurants) 5,308 in limited-service restaurants 3,276 in bars 2,060 are food service contractors Total of 36,915 jobs or 17.76% of all jobs in New Orleans SOURCE: Data Center Research, 2017

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WHAT WILL A RESTART LOOK LIKE? Leaders share thoughts on what the future may hold

G

ov. John Bel Edwards and New Orleans officials say that the social distancing efforts of the last few weeks have been successful in reducing the number of new patients needing medical care due to COVID-19, but it will be a long time before the city gets back to business as usual. So, while local business leaders adhere to recommendations, they are making plans for when it’s time to restart the city’s economy and begin life in the “new normal.”

THREE PHASES

Michael Hecht, the president and CEO of GNO Inc., one of the city’s biggest business boosters, said there will be three phases to bringing the city’s businesses back online.

“The first is the health crisis and that’s about flattening the curve,” he said. “The numbers at least on the south shore are starting to look better (as of early April, 2020).

BY RICH COLLINS PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHERYL GERBER

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Hecht said the second phase is about getting America back to work, but under new protocols and with new procedures. This would include new science like serological tests to show who is immune to coronavirus along with new workplace rules like frequent hand washing and more telecommuting.

The third phase, as he sees it, will come months from now when business leaders have time to reflect on the coronavirus crisis and consider its implications for workforce policy, supply chain strategy and healthcare strategy globally. Businesses will learn from this experience and be able to make changes to mitigate future events.

“We are hopeful that we are beginning to move into the second phase right now,” said Hecht. “The bridge to that second phase is federal programs like the Paycheck Protection Program, which is intended to inject liquidity into the market and allows people to remain employed and businesses to remain open until we get back to work in the new normal.

“That, of course, has been happening, and now the president and congress are talking about doubling down on the program. There will be some wrangling but the program that was originally $350 billion will eventually double in size. If we want the COVID-19 recession not to turn into a depression then we need to get the cogs of the economy turning sooner rather than later.”

FIRST INDUSTRY, THEN HOSPITALITY?

Tulane business professor Peter Ricchiuti said he thinks manufacturing and related industries will be the first to “snap back.” He thinks hospitality will follow suit even though the number of visitors to the city won’t be up to full strength.

“Even though they won’t get the guests for a while, they’re going to be bringing employees back, to be ready when it does come,” he said. “It would be awful to not be ready. That’ll happen for a couple of months before people get on a plane.”

Meanwhile, as Hecht points out, there are some essential service providers, like grocers, that never closed and some sectors, like construction, that have already adjusted to new rules by installing adequate handwashing facilities on site and ensuring that people are working 6 feet away from each other.

“A major factor is whether they’re business-to-business companies or business-to-consumer,” said Hecht.

“Someplace like a chemical facility that is B-to-B and doesn’t really rely on customers is clearly going to be less impacted by stay-at-home orders, whereas if you’re talking to a restaurant now, even if they get money from the Paycheck Protection Program, they don’t have customers. It is a bridge, but it might be a bridge to nowhere.”

PROCEED WITH CAUTION

When the state does relax stay-at-home guidelines, Ricchiuti said that people are going to be naturally cautious. As a result, he doesn’t think it’s going to be a V-shaped recovery for concerts, festivals and the other big gatherings that are synonymous with New Orleans.

“Once the gates open again, I’m having trouble visualizing myself going into the Superdome sitting next to

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80,000 people,” he said. “Younger people will jump right back, and for people my age the confidence will have to dribble in over a longer period of time. Someone gives you a Saints ticket and you think, ‘Well, you get real great closeups on TV, you know?’”

John Zollinger, vice president at Home Bank, said this caution could lead to some noticeable changes in behavior.

“You see how many people are wearing masks on a Japanese subway,” said Zollinger. “They have been doing this for years and years. They understand a little better that the mask is not necessarily there to keep you from getting an illness but to keep you from giving it. There will have to be more education around that here. You’ll have to be conscious enough to not give it to someone else. If up to 80 percent of us are infected, then going out in public is like walking around shooting guns in the air.”

SURVIVAL OF FITTEST

Ricchiuti believes the companies that will rebound the most quickly are the ones who have maintained their workforce throughout the crisis.

“It’s like the oilfield industry [during a downturn],” he said. “In cyclical situations, companies would keep employees much longer than they should from a business sense because they were so fearful that the turnaround comes so quickly that they won’t have the workers to do the job,” he said. “Somebody told me once that the second worst thing is having too many employees on the books; the worst thing that happens is you get calls for business and you have to turn it down because you don’t have the staff to do it.”

There’s also an advantage for businesses who have enough capital to make improvements during this time.

“The key to who’s going to do well on the other side depends on what they do during the down times,” said Ricchiuti. “The ones that have enough resources during this time to do things like remodel, reestablish bank relationships and things like that are going to come out way ahead on the other side in terms of market share.

“The ones who have the resiliency to stay on top-ofmind with customers through social media and keep the doors open even at a loss are going to be rewarded. The restaurants who have been doing takeout and delivery even below break-even are going to see a payoff.”

STOCK MARKET WILL REBOUND

Suzanne Mestayer, a managing principal at ThirtyNorth Investments, said her industry will have an easier time transitioning than some others.

“In my company, an investment firm, much of the work is done electronically,” she said. “Our ramp-up is going to be simple: we’re going to move from our homes to our office. Others will have to adapt more to what the consumer and customers are looking for. The hospitality industry will, of course, have other issues to deal with as they convince the public they have safe places to visit.

I think this will be part of our consciousness for some

CHAT IT OUT Recovery will come, but in the meantime, anyone experiencing anxiety can access a new chat line called #GetYaMindRight created by the Metropolitan Human Services District and The Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies (IWES).

The chat line is free and available to the general public on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. The line is hosted by IWES mental health professionals including psychiatrists and licensed master social workers and offers helpful tools and tips for self-care and wellness. For more information, visit mhsdla.org or call (504) 568-3130.

time. Measures will have to be taken to allow for more space around people … and New Orleans is a hugging and handshake kind of place.”

As for the stock market, Mestayer said she’s not going to say it’s hit the bottom, but she is certain it will rebound.

“The old saying is it takes the elevator down and the stairs up,” she said. “This was the quickest, biggest drop in the shortest period of time ever, but it will return and rebound. It’s a matter of doing it gradually. It won’t be a straight line, but we had strong market and good economy before this happened and we will return to positive momentum. This is for many people an opportunity if they have the courage and resources.”

CHANGE IS GONNA COME

The most obvious change to daily business life during the COVID-19 crisis is that everybody has learned how to use Zoom or one of the other video-conferencing platforms. But there have been a lot of other modifications that could become permanent.

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Zollinger of Home Bank said that his customers’ habits are changing and the effects could be long-lasting.

“We’ve already seen a drastic increase in online banking, mobile banking and more payment systems – people aren’t taking in cash now, so we’re not seeing cash coming in to be deposited,” he said. “There are a lot more electronic transactions. People have been saying for 30 years that cash is going to be obsolete, but we still have ATMs. This event might be the thing that pushes us toward more electronic transactions.”

Ricchiuti said many businesses may finally have learned the benefits of telecommuting.

“This work-at-home thing is going to change dramatically,” he said. “It used to be that if you were in a progressive law firm they’d give you an option so you could work from home and all the bosses secretly thought you didn’t get as much done. And now people have been more productive, so I’d be surprised if this doesn’t become a much bigger thing.

The same goes for online learning, which Ricchiuti joked has become “the most expensive pay-per-view event in the history of the world.”

“It works,” he said. “Especially for people who are part time and for graduate students. Maybe not undergrads — those four years might be about something else …”

Another possible beneficial change of the COVID-19 crisis? It’s put a spotlight on income inequality.

“It’s really clarified the difference in jobs,” said Ricchiuti. “You’re not going to say, ‘I’m a waiter and I’ve been working from home and it’s been pretty good.’ No, they’re going to have to go back to the front lines. I think income inequality is a huge issue and this is shining a light on it. There are two major different classes that people find themselves in.”

TWO POSSIBLE TIMELINES

Experts agree the best way forward is to be thoughtful and cautious.

“There are two potential futures here,” said Hecht.

“One is where we flatten the curve now and enjoy pent-up demand in the fall. If we do that, there will be economic damage but it will be a culling, not a killing.

But If we have a double dip and have to stay at home through next year, then all bets are off and it would be a totally different situation.

“For all of us, it’s about striking a balance between being safe and being productive and figuring out how to get back to work in the new normal in a way that’s responsible but allows the economy to begin breathing on its own again.” n

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SPONSORED

SPONSORED

Every year, Biz New Orleans dedicates its May issue to the women who are propelling businesses, industries, communities — and the workforce as a whole — to new heights.

The number of women-owned businesses is on the rise, and female professionals are leading initiatives and innovations that bring continued prosperity to our region. As the achievements of these women grow in impact and magnitude, so does our focus on celebrating their wisdom, tenacity and dedication.

Our inaugural class of Women to Watch is comprised of the movers and shakers who are paving the way and raising the bar for professionals everywhere. Although their talents and careers take many forms and span several industries, they all hold one thing in common: They are just getting started.

BIZ NEW ORLEANS 2020 WOMEN TO WATCH JANET COLLEY MORSE Dupuy Storage & Forwarding, LLC KIM NGUYEN Magasin Kitchen, Magasin Vietnamese Café and Magasin Table KATHERINE TORRES Postlethwaite & Netterville JENNIE M. CAMPBELL “The Stewart Lodges” VICTORIA ADAMS PHIPPS New Orleans Business Alliance TRACY DUHON Giving Hope/Women of Hope Unite

SPONSORED

JANET COLLEY MORSE VICE PRESIDENT, DUPUY STORAGE As a fourth-generation representative of the family business, Janet Colley Morse grew up looking, listening and learning how to be a successful business leader.

Since her early days in customer service, she’s worked through nearly every facet of operations at Dupuy Storage, developing an intimate understanding and appreciation of her industry. She’s learned the ropes of warehousing, transportation and new business recruitment, and as Vice President, Colley has now turned her sights to innovation. In fact, she became instrumental in developing the Container Examination Station in New Orleans alongside the local office of Customs and Border Protection.

The best part, she says, is that she gets to work side-by-side with the same people who knew her as a child, including her dad. Even now, they continue to challenge her as both an individual and as a professional.

“The people I work with on a daily basis make coming to work fun and challenging. Even on bad days, I always laugh,” Colley says. “The relationships I’ve developed are truly priceless. Ultimately, these relationships are the central focus of business.

Remaining empathetic and treating everyone I meet with respect and dignity….I take great pride in that.”

Outside of work, Colley is a dedicated mother and keeps her love of the arts alive as a part-time dance teacher. It might sound like an impossible workload, but Colley wouldn’t have it any other way.

“At the end of the day, I try to remain humble and grateful. Find balance and breathe, because our personal well being is critical to professional success.

Empathy, grace and a few minutes of quiet time all go a very long way.”

HER BUSINESS

DUPUY STORAGE & FORWARDING LLC HER MISSION Through wisdom and kindness, we can do all things.

CONTAC T 4300 Jourdan Rd., New Orleans (504) 245-7600 | Dupuygroup.com

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SPONSORED

KIM NGUYEN OWNER, MAGASIN VIETNAMESE CAFÉ, MAGASIN KITCHEN, MAGASIN TABLE One of the most important lessons Kim Nguyen has learned from her career in the restaurant industry — and the lesson she encourages others to live by — is to trust the journey, no matter where it begins.

“I got started in the restaurant business in my late twenties,” she says. “I began with restroom duties and worked my way to the front of the house. I believe in starting from the bottom and working your way up. You’ll be more grounded if you remember where you started.”

A New Orleans native, Nguyen’s dream was always to open a Vietnamese restaurant, following in the footsteps of both her mother and grandmother. After relocating to Houston following Hurricane Katrina, Nguyen decided it was time to take a big risk, and she moved back to New Orleans to make her dream a reality. The risk paid off: Magasin Kitchen and Magasin Cafe have enjoyed several years of success and even allowed Nguyen to open another location, Magasin Table, in Oklahoma City.

“My greatest achievement is being able to build multiple locations and that I’m still in business after ten years,” says Nguyen. “My love in life is to grow a strong foundation for myself and my family. I strive every day to do the best, be the best and, most importantly, learn from my failures.”

Mistakes and missteps, Nguyen believes, are as necessary to growth as victories. In the end, it’s all part of the process to becoming stronger and more resilient.

“While navigating this life, we all need to learn to fall, get up and repeat. We grow as a whole and as a family.”

HER BUSINESS

MAGASIN VIETNAMESE CAFÉ, MAGASIN KITCHEN & MAGASIN TABLE HER MISSION While navigating this life, we all need to learn to fall, get up and repeat. We grow as a whole and as a family.

CONTACT Magasin Vietnamese Café 4201 Magazine St. New Orleans, LA 70115 504-896-7611 Magasin Kitchen 611 O’Keefe Ave. New Orleans, LA 70113 504-571-5677 Magasin Table NE 8th St. Oklahoma City, OK 73104 405-212-2751 Pictured: Kim Nguyen, River Tran 50

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SPONSORED

VICTORIA ADAMS PHIPPS CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER NEW ORLEANS BUSINESS ALLIANCE Victoria Adams Phipps is all about positive impact: for New Orleans, its community, its economy and, most significantly, for its people.

“As a graduate of Loyola University New Orleans, I believe deeply in the values outlined in the university’s mission: being welcoming of diverse backgrounds, leading a meaningful life with and for others, and working towards a more just world,” she says. “These values have shown up in the way that I’ve built my career and in the way that I show up with others on a daily basis.”

This philosophy is evidenced by the impact Phipps has already made. For eight years, she led and scaled New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, driving $4.3 million in funding and resources to local startups. She has guided and supported local nonprofits including Good Work Network, Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans and the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center.

Her greatest accomplishment, however, is also her most recent. When the economic effects of COVID-19 threatened the livelihoods of gig workers in the city, Phipps launched the Gig Economy Relief Fund and secured over $650,000 in funding to provide more than 1,200 gig workers with relief grants. It’s a move she felt was crucial: by linking arms and ensuring the stability of our neighbors, she says we can emerge victorious and united.

Ultimately, Phipps hopes that her professional journey can inspire other women to make an impact on their respective communities and industries.

“To the future female leaders, particularly those forging paths in unchartered territory, don’t be afraid to answer the call. You’re so much more capable than you know, and sometimes, you really are the one you’ve been waiting for.”

HER BUSINESS

NEW ORLEANS BUSINESS ALLIANCE HER MISSION To inspire, empower, and equip others to embrace the possibilities.

CONTACT 1250 Poydras St., Suite 2150 New Orleans, LA 70113 NOLABA.org 504.934.4500

SPONSORED

KATHERINE TORRES, CIA DIRECTOR OF CONSULTING SERVICES, POSTLETHWAITE & NETTERVILLE In a profession where no two days are the same, each challenge must be met with confident leadership, creative strategizing and a strong focus on communication — all of which are second nature to Katherine Torres.

As a Director of Consulting Services at P&N, Torres guides clients through a broad spectrum of advisory projects, including internal audits, business valuations, strategic planning, process improvement and disaster recovery. No matter the client’s industry or size, Torres challenges her team to design workable solutions to complex problems, and she constantly strives to achieve the highest impact possible.

“I love to see both short- and long-term results of our team’s collective efforts, ranging from watching a client overcome obstacles and achieve goals to observing members of our internal team develop personally and professionally.”

Torres says especially in times of disruption, such as the business impacts of COVID-19, striking a balance between short-term viability and long-term opportunity is critical.

It’s a dynamic undertaking, but Torres says the key to her success — and to success in any career — is simple: “Listen and be heard.”

“Most professionals naturally excel at one or the other, but having the courage and self-awareness to strike a balance between the two helps others place confidence in you as a leader, advisor and mentor,” she says. “This is especially pertinent to women in business, not only as it relates to leading teams and being a community servant, but also in openly communicating to your organization what you need to drive your professional path.”

HER BUSINESS

POSTLETHWAITE & NETTERVILLE HER MISSION Uncompromising Quality. Innovative Services. Clearer Paths.

CONTAC T One Galleria Blvd. Suite 2100 Metairie, LA 70001 Tel: 504.837.5990 www.pncpa.com

Pictured: Katherine Torres, CIA

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We are with you.

As we all continue to deal with the effects of COVID-19, having accurate, relevant information when it comes to your business is more important now than ever.

That's why Biz New Orleans has increased its online efforts with more news, more blogs, and a special section just for COVID-19 Alerts and Updates where you can stay up-to-date and share your business news with others. We've also started publishing a new weekend edition of our Biz New Orleans newsletter.

Plus, check out our new weekly podcast, Biz Talks, where every Tuesday we'll sit down (virtually, of course) with a top local business leader to get their insight in this rapidly changing time.

Find it all at BizNewOrleans.com.

Biz New Orleans is proud to continue to serve as your source for all that is business in Southeast Louisiana.

We WILL get through this — together.

From The Lens SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA BUSINESS IN FULL COLOR

WORKSPACES Reader work from home contest winners

WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT Don’t get

mad, get paid.

NONPROFIT Robottom Foundation

ON THE JOB OPA Signs & Graphics

FROM THE LENS GRE AT WORKSPACES

FIRST PLACE - PEOPLE’S CHOICE

Interior designer Maureen Stevens — of Maureen Stevens Design — is currently working from the sunroom of her house in New Orleans’ Marigny Triangle. The room overlooks a courtyard that Stevens said is in rare form. “My plants and flower beds are looking more beautiful than ever as I’ve had more time to take care of them,” she said.

“And yes, sometimes I have long chats with them too.”

BIZ STAFF FAVORITE

Home is Where the Office Is Who has the best home office setup? Readers submitted photos of their new workspace and voted for their favorite.

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WITH THE STATEWIDE CALL TO SHELTER-IN-PLACE, SOME

Louisianans are now taking their work home with them.

Even juggling distractions from family members, roommates and four-legged coworkers of all shapes and sizes, however, we’re getting it done.

In April, Biz New Orleans celebrated the rise of the new workplace with a reader photo contest. From massive Zoom screenshots to, well, goats, we enjoyed every single entry.

Thank you to all that participated!

SECOND PLACE

THIRD PLACE

The 5,000-square-foot Spa at the Windsor Court recently underwent a renovation that included the addition of new showers with body sprays to the mens and womens locker rooms and treatment rooms.

(Staff Pick) New Orleans native Malayne Schmidt shared her Virginia Beach, Virginia sunroom office where she works as a designer for an architectural firm. (Second Place) Accompanied by her goats — Marco and Greta — at her Bywater home, Angelique Thomas continues her work as Innocence Project New Orleans’ client services specialist. (Third Place) Working in what used to be her bedroom in her late mother’s house, Charlotte Piotrowski enjoys the company of a feline coworker while handling the marketing for local IT company Rent-A-Nerd.

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FROM THE LENS WHY DIDN’ T I THINK OF THAT ?

Don’t Get Mad, Get Paid Simone Spence is revolutionizing the fight for unpaid child support.

BY ASHLEY MCLELLAN PHOTOS BY CHERYL GERBER

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OF THE MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WHO qualified for the recent stimulus checks, there’s at least one group that will not be receiving money — those who have been reported to the U.S. Treasury Department for owing back child support.

And that’s not a small number. As of January 2018, there were 13.6 million custodial single parents living in the United States, and approximately half have some type of legal or informal child support agreement in place.

According to the most recent report on child support by the U.S. Census Bureau, however, only 43.5% of custodial parents reported receiving the full amount due from noncustodial parents. In 2015, the amount of outstanding child support for the year reached $33.7 billion.

New Orleanian Simone Spence knows the struggle all too well. During her own efforts to track down child support for her daughter 25 years ago, Spence spent years researching

the ins and outs of child support collection and quickly became, in her own words, the “kitchen table expert,” with friends and “We have what we believe is the fastest other moms reaching out to her for help and collection process advice. in the country and can get our After writing two books, testifying in front customers through of Congress, and conducting speaking tours the entire process across the country on the subject, Spence within months,” said transformed her know-how into a propri- Simone Spence about her proprietary etary technology platform called Athena technology platform designed to streamline the process for she named Athena. parents looking to collect. The result was the creation of a new business last fall that Spence called Don’t Get Mad, Get Paid.

“I had been a private child support consultant for over two decades,” Spence said. “During that time, I had helped more than 10,000 women to collect more than $15 million in back child support, and I had an 87% success rate. I never had to market and never advertised because my customers found me on their own, were referred [or] read one of my books, that type of thing. At some point, I began to realize that this business was much bigger than I am and that the type of service that I provided needed to become more accessible to women across the country. It was then that I began to design the product that we have today.”

With an initial investment from PowerMoves.NOLA, an organization that helps launch minority tech startups, Spence debuted Athena in October 2019. The technology, said Spence, makes collecting spousal support less traumatic and traumatic.

“I can’t say too much about the technology without giving away some of our secret sauce,” she said, “but I will say that at a high level, it works like TurboTax meets LegalZoom. We gather the critical data about our customer the way that TurboTax does, questionnaire-style. We find the paying parent and his assets and income streams and then, like LegalZoom, we generate legal

BY THE documents for our customers. The docu- NUMBERS ments are state-specific, customized and ready to use.”

87% In addition to local investments, Spence of DGMGP clients was able to gather a team of tech-savvy supporters through a global accelerator collected unpaid child support program called Techstars, whose mission is to help founders through mentorships and $30,000 partnerships.

“I earned a spot in Techstars last year average amount of child support and participated in their Impact Cohort collected in Austin, Texas,” said Spence. “Over 1,000 companies in 10 countries competed for those spots. They selected 10 companies, $10 MILLION total collections and my company was one of them.” received

Spence said the program also helped her who has had a problem collecting back child build her tech team. support. If you don’t think so, start shaking “One of my engineers was the former your family and friend trees and see who co-founder of the App Store, lead engineer falls out.” for Inmobi and has built for companies like Athena’s technology works best by taking Samsung, Comcast and LegalZoom,” she the guesswork out of the process for parents said. “My other engineer was lead engineer who are trying to locate and collect child for Webroot. They both have 10 to 12 years support. of software development and startup experi“We have what we believe is the fastest ence in Silicon Valley.” collection process in the country and can Don’t Get Mad, Get Paid is being designed get our customers through the entire process with three levels of membership. Currently within months,” she said. “We find the payor the only option is the Athena Gold level, and their assets, transfer any paperwork to which provides an array of support such as another state, if necessary, place liens and a library of necessary documents, document guide our client through the collection of prep guidance, skip tracing to locate the their money within that time.” other parent and more. Membership at this With the launch of her company, Spence is level is a $1,200 flat fee, or $100 per month, hopeful that her years of work will continue with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. to help parents even beyond her time as Additional membership levels, Athena CEO and reach beyond what she had been capable of doing by herself as a consultant.

Silver, for $20 per month, and Athena “A few years ago, I realized that this work Titanium, for $999 per month, are still in the works, but will offer differing menus of that I have been doing is much bigger than resources for each client’s varying needs. me and much bigger than the 10,000 moms “Athena Silver is currently in development that I have helped over the years,” she said. to meet the needs of parents that may not “There are millions of women who need this need the full Athena platform,” said Spence. help. So, realizing this need and being able “It is projected to launch this summer. to build something to address it is a good Production of Athena Titanium will begin feeling,” she said. “I chose the name Athena after that.” for our product because Athena is the Greek Spence said her client base is mostly goddess of wisdom, war, law and justice. Our women and spans across all 50 states. “They product democratizes the child support fall into every socio-economic bracket — collection process for back child support from wealthy to middle-class and lower- and enables women to access an otherwise very inaccessible system.” n income,” she said. “Though many people don’t like to admit it, we all know somebody

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FROM THE LENS MAKING A MATCH: BUSINESSES AND NONPROFITS

Spreading the Health Local physician’s foundation is meeting the varied needs of at-risk youth.

BY PAMELA MARQUIS PHOTOS BY CHERYL GERBER

Dr. Kya R. Robottom,

founder of the Robottom Foundation, is also the owner of Ideal Health New Orleans. Through both ventures, she seeks to encourage New Orleanians of all ages to make informed, healthy choices.

IN 2014, NATIVE NEW ORLEANIAN KYA R.

Robottom was returning home on a plane from Chicago, where she had lived and practiced obstetrics and gynecology for many years, when she met a young family of five.

“They had two girls and a boy,” she said, “and the children were so mature and composed for their ages. I was so impressed by them. They took such good care of themselves. It made me think that we in New Orleans need to do a better job sending children out into the world and I wanted to do something to help.”

Robottom knew that many families in the inner city lacked resources and decided it was time to use her passion as an advocate for health and wellness to help.

With the help of her family, she began the Robottom Foundation in 2017 with the goal of educating area youth on topics including fitness, health, nutrition and wellness.

Health is a topic Robottom knows well. She is the owner of Ideal Health New Orleans, a clinic in Lakeside that provides health and wellness consulting to clients who wish to make healthy changes including fitness and weight loss. She frequently advises clients on topics like calorie consumption, making positive food choices and how to manage insulin and maximize nutrition. These are some of the things she also shares with Robottom’s mentees.

“The desired outcome is to predictably give our young people options for better and optimal health and wellness in adulthood,” she said, noting that wellness is about more than just a healthy body.

The Robottom Foundation works with about 75 youth and children ages 5 through 17 in and around the Greater New Orleans area every year. Robottom is currently partnered with two high schools, Warren Easton and New Harmony, where she works

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I believe small acts of generosity inspire more small acts of generosity, which creates the society in which we all want to live.

with school guidance counselors to identify at-risk kids.

For some, the needs are as simple as providing a backpack — the organization holds a backpack drive every August. For others, one-on-one mentoring or seminars are utilized, all through the work of volunteers. Over the past three years, about 50 people have volunteered with the foundation.

“Penny Hamilton, of Fidelity Bank, hosted a financial wellness educational session to some mentees,” said Robottom.

“Her session introduced financial literacy language, i.e. ‘savings,’ ‘net worth’” and so on. Mentees who participated in the session were able to open a special bank account at Fidelity Bank with no monthly fees.

One-on-one mentoring is a large part of the Robottom Foundation’s work. Mentors meet with students once a week to provide not just guidance on healthy choices, but financial, intellectual, spiritual, social, environmental and emotional help. Educational workshops are also conducted periodically at public places like area libraries and offices.

“I’ve had the privilege of being a mentor for The Robottom Foundation on six occasions and it has been invaluable,” said retired pharmacist Annetta M. Walker. “I quickly learned the difference between being a role model, having knowledge and having the ability to impart it in a transforming way.”

Besides the seminars, the foundation has offered a variety of special events for mentees, including its first children’s fair in 2018, which included a kid-friendly mix of food, smoothies, information, health screenings and karaoke.

Robottom has also formed what she calls “Club Robottom,” — gatherings of students at New Harmony and Warren Easton high schools that participate in service projects.

One group of mentees from Warren Easton High School cooked dinner for the families at The Ronald McDonald House.

She said the power of mentoring can lie in the simplest things. One of her fondest memories is when she helped a young man learn how to tie his tie.

“He’d never had someone show him how to do it,” she said. “He was so appreciative of this one simple thing. I believe small acts of generosity inspire more small acts of generosity, which creates the society in which we all want to live.” n

THE BASICS MISSION

To educate, engage, and exemplify better and optimal health and wellness to children aged 5 through 17.

HOW BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS CAN HELP

Consider volunteering as a mentor.

Teach a life skill at a seminar.

Participate in the annual August backpack drive.

NEXT BIG FUNDRAISER

The Robottom Foundation’s Annual Founder’s Day Gala is held in the beginning of October to raise money for scholarships.

Last year’s event included dinner, dancing, a silent auction and 50/50 raffle.

CONTACT

Dr. Kya Robottom (888) 406-6595 info@robottomfoundation.org

THE FASTEST GROWING CHAPTER IN THE GLOBAL EO NETWORK IN 2019 EO Louisiana is a chapter in the Global Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO)

which is a peer-to-peer network of more than 14,000+ influential business owners with 195 chapters in 61 countries. Founded in 1987, EO is the catalyst that enables leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow, leading to greater success in business and beyond.

To learn more about EO Louisiana visit us at EOLouisiana.org

STRATEGIC ALLIANCE PARTNERS WHO SUPPORT EO MEMBERS

EOLOUISIANA.ORG BIZNEWORLEANS.COM

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PUBLISHER’S NOTICE: All real estate advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Ace and the Louisiana Open Housing Act, which make it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination. We will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. For more information, call the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office at 1-800-273-5718.

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FROM THE LENS ON THE JOB

Cutting the Risk OPA Signs & Graphics is putting its skills and equipment to use to provide masks and gowns for those on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19.

PHOTO BY CHERYL GERBER

FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS, OPA SIGNS & GRAPHICS HAS BEEN

providing Southeast Louisiana with business and architectural signage, digital graphics and film and TV props and set decorations. Now they can add personal protective equipment provider to their list of skills.

In partnership with GoodWood NOLA and NOLA Couture, OPA has crafted over 30,000 face shields and 25,000 gowns for medical providers at Ochsner Health System since March 25.

Shown here, an employee uses a fabric cutting jigsaw to cut 160 layers of waterproof material at one time. OPAGraphics.com. n