Sam Cho and Ollie Garrett Discuss the Liberty Project, a Program Focused on Generating Growth for Small Businesses in Seattle
Watch the full interview below
Recently on The Day with Trae, host Trae Holiday sat down with Sam Cho, the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Office of Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, and Ollie Garrett, the President and CEO of Tabor 100. Both the City of Seattle and Tabor 100 are core partners in Seattle's Liberty Project, a program and component of Mayor Harrell's Downtown Activation Plan created in 2023 that focuses on aiding local businesses from underrepresented communities, particularly BIPOC, to grow in revenue and expand both business ventures and properties.
"We know that Seattle and the greater Seattle region has seen tremendous growth in the last, let's say, ten years, right? But we also know that growth, that economic growth, has not been distributed equitably among communities," Cho said. "So the Liberty project is just one of many initiatives that the mayor has come out with that will reallocate resources to make sure that those BIPOC communities and BIPOC businesses are thriving in this community."
The program, with partners including the Albers School at Seattle University, the Foster School at the University of Washington, and Tabor 100, is a collection of all their resources to aid businesses using the M^3 model.
"The first one is money or capital. The second is management. How do you effectively manage your business so that it runs on its own or you can scale right, scale higher," Cho said. "And that's really important for businesses. The last one is market access. We're talking about how we grow the pot or the pie so that those businesses can access new markets and new customers."
Additionally, Garett highlights why a program such as the Liberty Project as well as Tabor 100, an organization focused on bringing economic growth and social equity for the Black community, is so important for BIPOC business owners throughout Seattle.
"I am a small business owner. So everything a business goes through, from startup to lack of capital, from feeling like you're out on the island by yourself and no one to talk to when you're going through trying to build a business. I live that," Garret said. "What we're trying to do is when businesses find themselves in that, they're not alone. They now know they can come to us, we can talk to them and see what they need, and we're their partner in helping them feel not isolated from their challenges in starting a business."
Cho also highlights the personal drive to work with the Liberty Project and help businesses reach economic success.
"On a personal level, I'm also the son of immigrants who are small business owners, and I distinctly understand the challenges that minority business owners face when it comes to running a business. In the case of my parents as immigrants, they didn't even speak fluent English in this country. So language access was another thing," Cho said. "At the end of the day, you know, the majority of us who are in the small business entrepreneurship world, we face hurdles that others don't, that the white majority don't, and so for us to be able to provide these resources and help them get a little bit of a leg up in the process of growing their business is what this is all about."
The Liberty Project, which will announce the second round of business applicants it will be helping, is set for March 18. This process is rolling and happening throughout the year, so business owners who wish to fill out an application can apply here.
To hear about more local news happening in the community, tune in to The Day With Trae live at 11 am Monday through Friday on all Converge Media platforms and The Day With Trae's YouTube Channel.
