Today we’d like to introduce you to Barbra Boeta
Hi Barbra, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I grew up in El Paso, Texas, where my parents instilled in me to always give back to my community. I moved to Austin to attend St. Edward’s University. After graduating from St. Ed’s with a Psychology degree, I still didn’t know what I was going to do. Grad school? or Start my career? But what I did know was that rent needed to get paid I needed to get a job to help me with my bills until I figured things out. A friend asked me to send him my resume not knowing why I did, then 30 minutes later I got a call asking to come in to interview for an office manager position. Two days later I was offered the position of office manager at a small non-profit organization called Austin Community Development Corporation (now PeopleFund). PeopleFund creates economic opportunity and financial stability through small business lending. It was here where I truly began to understand the impact small businesses have on our community. Here is where a job to help me pay my bills turned into a passion of helping people live their dreams to provide a better life for their families. Within three years, I moved from office assistant to community lender. I stayed at PeopleFund for eight years before leaving to become the program director at the Economic Growth Business Incubator (EGBI). EGBI was going through some organizational changes and I knew I would be able to make an even bigger impact here. EGBI provides training, coaching, and support to aspiring and existing business owners who face barriers to growing a successful business. Many of those barriers include education, language, and finances. I took what I learned at PeopleFund and created a curriculum that would help small business owners understand how to grow their businesses. One of the main reasons small businesses fail is a lack of capital. But what happens to the businesses that get capital and don’t know what to do with it. As a lender, I saw many small businesses that had an opportunity but didn’t know what to do. At EGBI, I knew I would be able to help these individuals capitalize on these opportunities. In 2017, I became the Executive Director of EGBI. Since then, we have increased our capacity, revenue, and staff. In 2011, when I came to EGBI we had served 67 individuals, today we have over 2,000 clients
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One of my biggest struggles throughout my career has been understanding the difference between serving the community and being subservient. This meant I had to be okay with telling people no. Making time for myself by drawing lines between work and personal. Understanding that although I wanted to, I couldn’t help everyone with everything. This has been a hard lesson to learn. When I talk to my colleagues, they tell me the same thing. It’s hard to tell people no. And I wish I could say that I have completely overcome this obstacle, but I can say I have gotten much better.
We’ve been impressed with Economic Growth Business Incubator, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
EGBI believes all businesses should be profitable, sustainable, and an asset to the community. With this in mind, our mission is to provide training, coaching, and support to aspiring and existing business owners who face challenges to growing a successful business. EGBI specialized in traditional mom and pop businesses such as food trailers, construction, beauty salons, and janitorial services. We help our clients throughout their business life cycle to overcome any obstacles they may face. EGBI offers services both in English and Spanish. We are most proud of our customer service. Our clients understand that we are with them until the end. We try to connect our clients with resources and information they may not readily be accessible to.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I definitely do not consider myself a risk-taker. I envy those who are, I wish I was a little more adventurous. I think this is one of the things I admire most about my clients. Some of them risk everything they have for their families. They do this not knowing if things are going to work out but they still try. Why? Because they believe in the what-if and how it can improve their lives and the lives of their children.
Contact Info:
- Email: barbra@egbi.org
- Website: www.egbi.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EGBIofAustin
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