Among her memories from childhood, Inez Long 鈥�98MBA most vividly recounts two. In the first, she鈥檚 playing in the yard with her cousin. The cousin tells Inezshe鈥檚 really hungry. They go inside and find only a single banana to eat as a snack. Inez cuts it in half and keeps the smaller piece for herself. Later, Long鈥檚 mother asks, 鈥淚nez, why did you give your cousin the bigger piece?鈥�
鈥淏ecause,鈥� little Inez says, 鈥渟he was hungrier than me, mom.鈥�
In the second memory, Long is looking at a bookshelf inside the same home. The shelves sag under the weight of the encyclopedias her parents have purchased for Long and her brother. It would take years for Long to fully understand the reason for all those books.
鈥淚t was not easy for us to go to a public library as it was built on the 鈥榳hite鈥� side of town, so my parents found other ways for us to expand our knowledge. That鈥檚 how they invested in us.鈥�
These two precepts 鈥� recognizing the level of hunger in people and investing in them 鈥� are cornerstones in Long鈥檚 work as president of the Black Business Investment Fund (BBIF). Long has made such a positive impact in her 32 years with BBIF that Orlando Magazine named her one of the city鈥檚 50 Most Powerful People in 2021. In April she will be inducted into the 麻豆原创 College of Business Hall of Fame.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always a blessing to not just enjoy whatever comes my way,鈥� Long says, 鈥渂ut to help others get the most out of life, too.鈥�
鈥淪ometimes, an opportunity is all that a person needs.鈥� 鈥� Inez Long 鈥�98MBA
With BBIF she paves the way for Black, minority and underserved small businesses to receive management training and financial backing. Under her leadership to date, 1,061 businesses have been approved for more than $81 million in loans, allowing them to support nearly 14,000 jobs, often after they鈥檝e run into unscalable walls at traditional lending institutions. She鈥檚 also brought in $148 million in New Market Tax Credit, which attracts private capital investments into low-income communities allocations, and has leveraged more than $350 million in economic development projects.
And that leads to perhaps the most prominent statistic of all: More than 96% of the business loans through BBIF have resulted in investment gains. Traditional bank executives can only wish for that kind of success rate.
Let鈥檚 just say those banks had their chances.
鈥淪ometimes,鈥� Long says, 鈥渁n opportunity is all that a person needs.鈥�
Growing up in Winter Garden, Florida, young Inez James would ride bicycles and play marbles, football and baseball with her big brother and boys in the neighborhood. She never thought of her mother and father as being poor. Both parents had similar backgrounds, being raised by their grandparents, uncles and aunts, after their own parents died when they were very young.
鈥淢om and dad never made excuses,鈥� Long says. 鈥淭hey were determined to work hard and create their own opportunities as a young couple.鈥�
At that time, home loans were not made available to Black people. So, each of Long鈥檚 parents worked several jobs and saved enough cash to buy land and build their own home. They stocked it with love and books, and with a love 蹿辞谤听books.
鈥淢om and dad taught us that knowledge could open a world of possibilities.鈥�
Long had thoughts about attending law school while studying at the University of South Florida, but when her father died suddenly, she knew the financial resources and support that she needed wouldn鈥檛 be available. A classmate, Fitzhugh Long, encouraged her to try a few business courses to see if anything clicked.
鈥淚 never expected that I would fall in love with accounting,鈥� she says.
She also fell in love with Fitzhugh. They married and moved around the country for a few years, as Fitzhugh landed a corporate job with Kmart Corporation. Later they landed in Orlando where Inez began a career in banking while also raising their first two children. After a while, she recognized sexism and racism pervading the business environment. Long would need a source of leverage to push through it.
鈥淭he people at 麻豆原创 encouraged me to be a mom, work and grow my skillsets. I鈥檒l always be grateful for that.鈥� 鈥� Inez Long 鈥�98MBA
鈥淢ore knowledge would be my strongest tool,鈥� she says, explaining why she enrolled in the executive MBA program at 麻豆原创 during the busiest time of her life. 鈥淭he people at 麻豆原创 encouraged me to be a mom, work and grow my skillsets. I鈥檒l always be grateful for that.鈥�
In her job underwriting loans for the big banks, Inez also noticed one obstacle after another whenever she tried to get funding approved for Black-owned businesses.
鈥淢y bosses would literally tell me to pull loan policy books off the shelves,” she says. “I knew what was going on. They were finding reasons to deny the loans necessary for these Black people to grow their businesses.鈥�
So, Long would go to the Black business owners in person, after work, and share her knowledge about developing strong financial statements. She also met the president of BBIF, who offered Inez a job. Friends said she鈥檇 be foolish to leave a great banking job for a not-for-profit organization.
鈥淚 prayed about it off and on for a year,鈥� she says, 鈥渦ntil it became clear that at BBIF I could help a lot more people. What I saw during the loan underwriting process at the banks still motivates me today to continue to work to break down long-standing barriers in the financial industry.鈥�
She鈥檚 helped owners of IT firms, restaurants, hair salons, child-care centers. They鈥檙e engineers, attorneys, contractors, manufacturers, and builders of commercial properties and affordable homes. One young graduate of 麻豆原创 started a garbage service and needed a loan so he could hire people and expand. This business is now a million-dollar business.
The entrepreneurs receive other assets from BBIF that they won鈥檛 receive directly from a traditional bank: training and counselling.
鈥淲e spend time with the owners for two reasons,鈥� Long says. 鈥淔irst, we can help them to become stronger managers. Plus, if I see a person every month, it鈥檚 very difficult for them to not pay back the loan. That鈥檚 important, too, because we have investors to repay.鈥�
Major corporations, including Starbucks and Google, have recently partnered with BBIF. They see value in an organization with a 96% success rate. They also see what Long has seen all along: an opportunity to invest in hard-working people. The partnerships reflect progress. Some of the business owners that BBIF supported 25 years ago have passed the companies to their children, creating second generation owned businesses.
鈥淢y parents had instilled in me the lesson, or obligation, of sharing. I鈥檇 like to think I鈥檝e done that, as they taught me.鈥� 鈥� Inez Long 鈥�98MBA
鈥淭hat鈥檚 extremely satisfying,鈥� Long says.
As for the children she bathed and fed while pursuing her master鈥檚 degree at 麻豆原创, all three have also graduated from 麻豆原创. 聽So has a nephew and the niece that she and Fitzhugh raised after Long鈥檚 brother passed away.
鈥淎s a child, I watched my mother give clothes to less fortunate people in our neighborhood, and my dad share the fish he鈥檇 caught,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 could have remained in banking and made a very good living, but my parents had instilled in me the lesson, or obligation, of sharing. I鈥檇 like to think I鈥檝e done that, as they taught me.鈥�
