Brain Power with Dr. Eko

EP. 26 | Empowering Foster Youth Through Entrepreneurship with Erica Myers

• Dr. Hokehe Eko • Season 1 • Episode 26

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Ever wondered how resilience born from hardship can be transformed into entrepreneurial success? Erica Myers, the dynamic founder of Fosterpreneur, joins us to share her inspiring mission of guiding young adults who have experienced foster care toward starting their own businesses. Erica delves deep into how her trauma-informed, holistic approach not only supports these budding entrepreneurs in their business ventures but also ensures their overall well-being. By focusing on resilience and adaptability developed through challenging life experiences, she reveals how these intrinsic qualities can be powerful assets in the entrepreneurial realm.

In our conversation, we also stress the necessity of addressing basic needs, such as housing and food security, before venturing into entrepreneurship. We explore how specialized, targeted support both in community and one-on-one settings can make a significant impact. You'll hear about our exciting drop-in series for those curious about entrepreneurship and our visionary "Hope Homes" initiative designed for aged-out foster youth, aimed at breaking cycles of poverty and fostering financial independence through entrepreneurial and workplace skills. Tune in to be moved and motivated by Erica’s unwavering dedication to transforming lives through the power of entrepreneurship.

Connect with Erica:
www.fosterpreneur.org
Instagram: fosterpreneurs
Liktree: Fosterpreneur

Find the full episode on your favorite podcast platform and check out the video version on our YouTube channel!

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Dr. Hokehe Eko:

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Brain Power with Dr Eko. I have an amazing guest and I know I say that every week, but I mean it because all my guests are amazing. So I have with me Ms Erica Myers and she's the founder of Fosterpreneur and I'm going to let her introduce herself and tell you all about her amazing organization and how she is helping foster youth heal from their trauma. And so welcome, Erica Myers.

Erica Myers:

Thank you so much, Dr. Eko It's such a pleasure and honor to be here with you today. Like I just think about how we like organically met through LinkedIn and just fast forward to how we've been able to support one another with our work, so it's so great to be here, yes.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

Welcome, welcome. So please tell our listeners about Fosterpreneur and really what you do for foster youth.

Erica Myers:

Yeah. So I'm on a mission to strengthen and support the business ideas of young adults who've experienced foster care, and how Fosterpreneur aligns with that is that we empower young people who've had foster care, and how fosterpreneur aligns with that is that we empower young people who've had the lived experience of being in foster care to help them start their their own businesses. And you're probably wondering how does Dr Ech mention trauma and and I just shared about my our whole vision of business what the reason why business, trauma and foster care youth all go together is because foster care youth and foster care alumni have incredible strengths, completely different narrative than what is youth Like if you just search the grim statistics that just say all the maladaptive outcomes of foster care youth. I have a more of strengths-based approach to that, and our team does too, because all of those things that are bad like foster care statistically foster care alumni, foster care youth end up having higher rates of incarceration, higher rates of abusing drugs, higher rates of homelessness, higher rates of unplanned pregnancies, like all the things we don't want to happen in society are exacerbated in this particular group. However, the strengths with foster care youth is that they're resilient.

Erica Myers:

In this particular group, however, the strengths with foster care youth is that they're resilient. Imagine having to live in multiple different living experiences and having to adapt to different cultures Like that's something that you have to do really quickly in order to survive. Imagine having to switch multiple, go to different schools and have to make new sets of brands and learn a new system. All of that stuff. That's a skill that you have to have right. Also, too, comes down to like that whole resiliency and resourcefulness totally aligns with entrepreneurship, because the reason why a lot of people are really nervous about entrepreneurship even though everyone wants to you got to be willing to be flexible, you got to be willing to deal with the unpredictability of the whole experience, and those are things foster care youth have been able to do, like I think about all the incredible young people I've had the privilege of meeting over like the past 10 years and I'm like I think that if I were in your situation, I don't think the outcomes would have been the same for me. I don't think the outcomes would have been the same for me.

Erica Myers:

You know, just thinking about what it would have been like to be unhoused for a certain period of time or having to deal with certain types of abuse you know, from physical to sexual abuse, all of these things and you're still standing here and you're still able to make it day to day and navigate all these different things like that is a real go, yeah.

Erica Myers:

So the reason why we have like a trauma informed approach to it is because, even if we come from the healthiest of family situations, we all have certain degrees of trauma, like whether that is trauma of letting making sure that you uphold your family name or you're not disappointing your family or trauma from oh, my parents were dealing with certain things as they were raising us and how that affects a personality, or how you react to certain things. But one of the things that we do, we call out the things that our young people have experienced and provide them a space where they can come and authentically be themselves and we can talk about that. And then we think about in our approach we don't just care about what you're doing business wise, we care about you holistically.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

Right.

Erica Myers:

Another business accelerator, whether that is something like from tech stars that has an international presence to accelerators that you can find at universities in any city or state. That really thinks about the experience from a holistic perspective?

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

I love that you go from a strength-based approach, because that is critical, because it's like I tell the parents of the kids I take care of with ADHD and autism you got to find the strengths of your kid, because every kid has a strength and when we find that strength, we boost it. Because I love, I love the narrative around the fact that you've had to live in different places, the fact that you've had to be flexible. That builds resilience and that's what you need. As an entrepreneur Me too I have found by force, the resilience point, my practice and all the things I'm doing, because, like, wow, we can no longer. You no longer have the crutch of I'm employed and I'm waiting for a paid check, because now you have to go and serve the people that you see you're gonna serve and and make it work. So I love that.

Erica Myers:

Yeah, no absolutely like I just I just think you know from you know American or even Western perspective. Like we have as many challenges as we have Right, one of the things that I really value is the fact that you can start your own business here and it doesn't matter what your background is. Like no one is checking for your credentials to be like, hey, you're qualified to do this. I'm like I am a living witness. Like when I think about the origin story of Fosterpreneur, it's when I believe, just thinking from a faith approach, like God gives you a vision or idea. He's going to help you see that through. Right. k when I had the initial idea of Fossipreneur, it was I didn't know anybody. I didn't know anybody who's on my team right now. I knew the young people that I served before, but I had no idea how I was going to do it. But part of it was doing the research, part of it was putting myself out there intentionally and the right people came along on the journey to support. So obviously, business is not that simple, right, there's. F

Erica Myers:

So depending what avenue you decide to pursue, depending on the resources that you have. Like Prreneur not somebody who's trying to minimize the journey and say, oh, you need to have a vision and be able to execute on it. No, you do need capital, you do need support, and that's why we have a team, and that's why we think about it holistically. And I'm so grateful for you, dr Echo, because like you're someone who's believed in the work that we've done and just I'm like you are someone that has been a volunteer and also just contributed to our work and you helped fulfill part of what my initial vision was now, almost 10 years ago, before I even did the final stuff to make Boss Newer what it is today. So, yeah, we recognize you need access to a resource, you need a village, you need people who are going to be willing to invest in you, and not just financially invest in you, but also invest in you emotionally, because this is not an easy journey, even with the best of support. Yes, you're absolutely right. So walk us through what you do with the youth in Foster Printer, like what are their resources? How do you teach them?

Erica Myers:

So I am a full proponent of someone who is you do not have to do it all. So one of the things that I have done is establish a team that has strengths, where I have maybe a little bit of gaps or they're just not as great as those things. So, the way we approach it, we have a virtual cohort model and that virtual. We have two models. With the virtual space, we have a virtual model that is approximately eight weeks long that we meet with our students now once a week, and with the beauty of that is that, being virtual, we're not just limited to Baltimore. Because we're based here in Baltimore, We've been able to have young people like be a part of our program who've been in every region of the country. Now, when I say every region, I mean the West Coast, I mean the Northeast, I mean the Midwest, I mean the South. So one of those that's one of the beauties of it and the way that we approach the work is for that trauma-informed lens.

Erica Myers:

Check in how are you feeling? What are you bringing to the environment today? And then there's specific topics that we go along the way. So it's not oh, you just need to have this business plan. It's what is your target customer? How are you finding your target customer? What does marketing look like? And then, beyond that, we're like are you a basic need?

Erica Myers:

Because what we do know is that it is extremely difficult to run and create a business if you can't pay your cell phone bill, if you don't have adequate housing, if you do not have access to food. Like I constantly think about Maslow's hierarchy, and if those basic needs aren't met, then we can't go any further here. Or I should say it's extremely, extremely difficult to go further without having those basic needs met. And then, when it comes down to, we have our community one-on-one group support and then we have our community support and then we have our one-on-one and really the one-on-one is catered to where each student is Like.

Erica Myers:

What we have found is that if our students really maximize the one-on-one support with William, who is our business coach, and William's credentials are he's an MBA, he also is an attorney, ran Entrepreneur Institute through the Baltimore Urban League. Also ran Baltimore City Chamber Commerce for a while, served countless entrepreneurs from underserved backgrounds and underserved communities between Baltimore and the DC metro area. So he knows, he knows his stuff and and I have chosen to have him lead the business curriculum side of it because, as much as I care about business, I do not have the technical expertise. Well, right now I'm not chosen to expand in those ways and focus on the big picture things that we need as an organization for foster pre-work. So I mentioned the one-on-one coaching.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

That's the strength, recognize where your strengths are and find the people who can complement you and move the vision forward. So congratulations on that one.

Erica Myers:

No, exactly, and you know what Dr Eko like, one of the things I'm grateful for is the fact that I become more comfortable and confident in the things that are like my areas, my areas of genius right, or zones of genius, and those were like, yeah, I need some support with that and that's been really comforting for me. Like I'm great with building relationships, I'm great with that, I'm great with I'm just great with people as a whole and helping to support a little bit more on the holistic side of things. But right now I'm not choosing to pursue to get the technical expertise on. Let me make sure I can adequately share all the business principles and all the stages and make sure that you know all the language tied to MVP and all of the business jargon. Like, I'm not interested in that and I don't think that's a valuable use of my time for what we're doing. So just for those of you guys who are thinking about starting something, obviously you need to start where you are, but don't get bogged down on things that may not benefit you long-term to put that investment And Eko dr Echo, actually before the last time we really spoke, we have another part of our cohort model where it's a drop-in series, so it's for those that are kind of curious about entrepreneurship but aren't ready to make that full commitment, and that's something we have once a month, and we started that at the end of 2023. And it's been great for us because it's been another way for young people to discover us, but also just drop in and learn about different business subjects and have their questions answered, still using that trauma-informed approach, but like being able to do it on their own time. So that's what. Yeah, that's where we are right now, and just I'm really excited for what's in store for us, because there's some great things that are happening in front of the scenes and behind the scenes as well.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

And I'm just going to put this out there into the atmosphere. My big dream and my big vision is to have 100 Hope Homes where foster youth that have aged out can have a safe place to be, and I can see how Fosterpreneur will come alongside and help the youth in those homes, help them start their businesses and get on their feet and learn the things that they need to be to learn so that they can be financially independent.

Erica Myers:

so one of the things that I I'm so grateful for is there's so many people in this space that want to see young people thrive, and you know the system isn't necessarily designed to do that, but I believe there are ways that we can operate outside the system to be able to do that.

Erica Myers:

What really feeds me and just reminds me of I'm on the right path here is when I see how entrepreneurship can transform families. If we're providing you with the resources so that you can not only have the entrepreneurial skills to grow and expand your business, we're also providing you with some entrepreneurship skills. So, if you do choose to not pursue business, totally fine, you have certain skills that you can advocate for yourself in the workplace. And, when it comes down to it, if I can provide, if we can provide these opportunities for our students, which we have to allow them to change their financial situation, that means, when they choose to start having families, they don't have to think about their children potentially ending up in the same system that they were put on. We can disrupt communities in a positive way. We can disrupt communities in a positive way.

Erica Myers:

We can disrupt families in a positive way because we're keeping them together. Yes, the number one cause of children entering the foster care system is neglect. What is that neglect from Lack of resources and poverty. Not that parents don't care about their kids, but, yes, there are cases where that happens.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

So I'm not saying that, but the number one reason is poverty.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

It is, and I was shocked when I found that out. I was like, oh my goodness, so that's how the system is so broken. Instead of us using the resources we have to help these parents out of poverty, instead we just yank the kids and inflict trauma that just goes for generations. So I am so glad you're looking at it as being a positive disruption, because that's absolutely it. We're breaking the cycle of poverty, of continued trauma for generations to come, so that is such important work.

Erica Myers:

Yeah, yeah, you know, and it's so interesting because I think one of the things I'm grateful for I realized that when you start, no matter what business you start, there's a level of naiveness that you have. Yeah, and I'm grateful that I don't know. I did not know everything I know today, like 10 years ago, when I first got the vision of a fosterpreneur because I would have done it I think I would have been like, oh, so that's going to be a challenge. Oh, this is something else we need to address here, or there's going to be a global pandemic and I can't do the thing that I initially set out to do.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

But on the way around it got now much, and now you're serving. You can literally serve the whole world. Yes, ultimum.

Erica Myers:

And I'm so delighted to share that last week we launched our seven virtual cohort and it's so funny because I literally remember being like we can do this work effectively. virtual because our students need to see and feel us and know the atmosphere and the space and not even thinking about oh, the world is actually changing and this is going to be an everyday thing right and it took a little a global pandemic for me to realize out of that virtual space and how we can still do the work Right Without, and in fact most of our pastpreneurs, dr Echo I've never met them in person.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

But you will someday. And so for anyone listening I hope you've heard through Erica's story is that she started with what she had in her hand. She didn't wait for it to be perfect, and often that's the thing that stops us in our tracks is oh, I need everything to to look beautiful. Before I start, we'll start with the vision. She just had a dream. She had a vision in her heart and she started and everything else has come together and it continues to come together as she continues to pivot. So that's the big thing you start where you are and with what you have in your hands, and don't negate the dreams that you have that God has given you in your heart.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

To just do it, because it's like she could have said I've never been in foster care. Why in the world am I running a foster care organization? Because that thought stopped me too, because I'm like never been a foster parent, never been in foster care. What in the world do I think I'm doing? Saying I want to start a non-profit doing this. But God doesn't choose the obvious people. He chooses people who are willing, and that's that's what we are saying.

Erica Myers:

So if you're listening to this and you have a dream in your heart just start where you are, and the rest will fall into place so, yeah, and and I will say and I feel like I can speak on your behalf, dr Echo like we are people who are advocates, right, like we've never, ever pretended, like we understand, like I tell my students all the time like I'm not going to understand your situation, but it doesn't mean that I don't care, doesn't mean I'm not willing to help advocate for you.

Erica Myers:

They see that, because I demonstrate. I demonstrate that. So I used to feel like, oh, you know, like people would assume that I was a foster care alum and like would say, like why do you care so much? And it's like, when you have had the experience of reading people's stories and seeing the work and seeing that here's a problem and there needs to be a solution for this problem, then you can do that. And you know, and I think part of it is the authenticity, like when you're authentic in that like hey, this is not my story, but I'm here and not having a savior complex, because I'm very clear on that, then people trust you in the space.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned the savior complex because, yes, we can't do it by ourselves, we can't do it alone. We still need. We need. We're just coming alongside people with the lived experience to say how can we lend well the strengths that we have to you to help you along your journey? What you're doing is so amazing and and I'm so proud of you and I'm so glad I passed Cross on LinkedIn Can you please tell our listeners how they can find out more about you and support the work that you're doing?

Erica Myers:

Absolutely so. I will start with the social. So you can find us on Instagram at Fosterpreneurs with an S, and you can also find us on Twitter same URL fosterpreneurs, LinkedIn. If you type in fosterpreneur, you can find us there, and then our website is www. fosterpreneur. org.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

Wonderful. So please go support. It's a nonprofit organization and they're doing mighty work. So please go support the nonprofit organization and they're doing mighty work. So please go support and share with people that you know that will be happy to support Erica and the vision that God has given her that she's carrying out every day. So, erica, it's such an honor to talk to you. Thank you for saying yes to coming on.

Erica Myers:

Dr Eko, once again, thank you so much for creating this space to talk about just the impact of the brain and having such innovative guests here, and thank you for your partnership, thank you for your support, thank you just for everything that you have done behind the scenes and in front of the scenes and your willingness to be a thought partner, and I appreciate you so much.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

I am thankful for you too, so I can't wait to see the amazing work we're going to do together to break, to disrupt the cycle for our young, amazing people, and to everyone listening, thank you so much for sticking with us this far. Please share this episode with your friends and your family and have an amazing day.