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THE DAUGHTER OF A KING

The Reverend Doctor Bernice A. King carries the legacy of one of Atlanta, GA’s most important families. She is often identified as the CEO of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change. But that’s not why she is interviewed for this podcast.

Business ownership and financial independence are not usually discussed as being planks in the civil rights platform. Dr. Bernice ties them together and shares her thoughts about how a cultural trait she identifies as “I want to have my own” may be at odds with the ability to grow sustainable global enterprises.

Dr. Bernice is a small business owner and has made United States history in the field of banking. While being the primary keeper of her father’s legacy and the field of traditional finance seem far removed from each other, Dr. Bernice explains why they are more closely linked than most people realize. She also tells listeners that Operation Breadbasket, one of the last programs established by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. before his assassination, was an important component in the civil rights movement. Operation Breadbasket was operated by the S.C.L.C (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) It involved home ownership and business development in the African American community.

This podcast shows how much her father, the man she never got to meet as an adult, has shaped her aspirations in life. It also highlights the influence her mother, Coretta Scott King, had in building her youngest daughter’s clear-headed approach to problems.

Rev. Bernice King holds dual juris doctor, ( J.D.) and divinity degrees from Emory University. She is also an ordained minister. She takes her calling seriously and in this podcast, shares her belief that the hand of the Supreme Being has guided all of her choices in life which include where she got her education, how she met her business partner, Ashley Bell and the opportunity that allowed her to pray for a Catholic Pope.

If you have ever had questions about the woman tasked with interpreting the concept of non-violence for current generations, listen to this podcast. It will leave you enlightened and uplifted.

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LISA M BORDERS: THE OMNI-PRENEUR

There are legacy families in Atlanta, GA. Some are internationally known for the influence they have had on Georgia based businesses. Others have made different types of contributions to the metro area for generations, but most people only know the name of one family member. One of the goals of this podcast series is to look under the hood of success and examine some of the lesser-known components. That’s why you’ll learn a lot about family dynamics when you listen to the podcast episode about Lisa M. Borders.

If you’re from Atlanta and older than 70, you might identify her as the granddaughter of the late Wheat Street Church pastor, Reverend William Holmes Borders, Sr. If you’ve lived in town since the 1980s, though, you might remember her as a former President of the Atlanta City Council and Vice-Mayor. People who are long-term members of the area’s health community will know Lisa as the first person to lead a capital campaign for Grady Hospital and the person credited for financially rescuing the hospital system. In the world of sports, she’s known as a former CEO of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and she’s closely tied to leading endeavors for women’s rights. She’s also chaired a global division for the Coca-Cola company.

Each of those accomplishments is noteworthy. Collectively, they make Lisa an omni-preneur. It’s a word she used to describe herself during the 90-minute interview she participated in for this edition of Atlanta Business League’s TELLING OUR STORY episode.

Lisa tells stories that most people have never heard about several of her high-profile positions. But she does something more. She explains the motivation for choosing to endure verbal abuse, such as being called a racial slur every single day, during one phase of her education journey. She describes why she allowed herself to be treated like a chess piece by one of the most powerful business leaders in the city. She also recalls, with joy, how what looked like projects likely to fail, turned into some of the biggest blessings in her life – to date.

The guiding factor in many of Lisa’s decisions is a chorus of voices that come from the elder members of her family. They taught leadership by the lives they lived, fortitude by the challenges they conquered and the benefits of loyalty based on a foundation of love by simply supporting each other to the best of their abilities.

One of the most incredible facts about the life of Lisa Borders is that it continues to evolve. The podcast ends with one of the projects she is developing in 2025.

The conversation with Lisa Borders is mind-changing in many ways. It explores education, corporate C-suite leadership, sports, politics and health care from the personal perspective of a woman who has made unique and powerful contributions to each industry. What you will learn at the end of this podcast is that she has set her sights on doing even more in the years to come.

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The purpose of this audio podcast series is to introduce listeners to successful African American business owners based in Atlanta and Georgia. This episode is different. You’re introduced to one man, Lonnie A. Saboor. But his passion for the last 50 years has been to help small business owners become successful. Most know him as the man who led the City of Atlanta’s economic development department for more than 40 years. The people in that department, rebranded as Invest Atlanta and because of Lonnie produced more than 1,000 profitable business owners.

But Lonnie’s track record of helping small business owners actually started before he became known as the Invest Atlanta “Money Man.” He created an incredible financial infrastructure for the city’s Nation of Islam businesses when he was younger than age 25. In this podcast, you’ll learn what he did to stymie the Internal Revenue Service by making decisions that were absolutely genius.

However, instead of applying his ability and access to resources only for himself, he shared his information about building credit, learning how to write a functional business plan and understanding the cyclical process of being an entrepreneur with anyone willing to learn. That created a list of commercial wins that boosted commerce in Atlanta. This podcast gives specific examples of the people behind those accomplishments. Lonnie tells the story of how African American business owner, Howard Spillar brought the first Wendy’s franchise to the area. He also explains why a man who came to him as a first-time business owner was able to grow sizable companies in two separate industries: food and real estate.

The story Lonnie tells about two brothers who started a business with three brick-and-mortar Atlanta locations based on their mother’s recipes from India shows how inclusive the opportunities are in Atlanta, GA.

What may really impress and surprise everyone though, is how long Lonnie has shared information with Atlanta’s community of new business owners. Here’s a hint – he first took the job with the city in the 1970s.

Although this podcast episode doesn’t focus on the success of one business owner, it does explain how Atlanta’s legacy of working collectively has spawned a foundation of economic stability that few other cities can mimic. Lonnie’s professional life story also showcases how opening the doors of opportunity to hard-working people from multiple cultures can create an entire eco-system based on sound financial principals that will grow and thrive for decades.

This episode helps any listener understand more about why metro Atlanta, GA provides a unique template for entrepreneurial success.