Mental Health Champions: Why & How Wells Fargo Foundation’s Jenny Flores Is Helping To Champion Mental Wellness
An Interview With Michelle Tennant Nicholson
I am very intentional. I find time to work out consistently even when I am on the road and I get acupuncture every two weeks. It keeps my body and mind in good shape allows me to be resilient. One strategy the De-Stress Guide calls out is scheduling time for self-care, just as you would clear space for an important meeting or other health care needs.
As a part of our series about Mental Health Champions helping to promote mental wellness, I had the pleasure to interview Jenny Flores.
Jenny Flores is Head of Small Business Growth Philanthropy for the Wells Fargo Foundation, one of the largest corporate foundations in the U.S.
With more than two decades of experience in banking, impact philanthropy, employee engagement, and corporate citizenship, Flores is responsible for combining financial resources with business expertise to help underserved and diverse entrepreneurs expand their contribution to the economy and their ability to provide jobs. She also leads Wells Fargo’s $420 million Open for Business Fund to support the immediate and long-term needs of small businesses that were negatively impacted by the effects of COVID-19.
She received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of California–Berkeley and an MBA from the FW Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! How has your personal journey informed your mission to support the mental health of small business owners?
My grandfather and mom were entrepreneurs, so I grew up around the daily struggles of growing a small business. I saw my mom pivot from owning a day care center to a furniture store and other ventures and how stressful it can be to build from the ground up. Yet, our family saw small business ownership as a path to economic mobility. Every day, I witnessed the resilience and optimism of entrepreneurs in my community and took that forward with me into my career in the banking industry. For the last two decades, I’ve worked to increase access to capital and expertise to help alleviate some of the key sources of stress, particularly for historically marginalized small business owners. It’s so important for entrepreneurs to know there is an ecosystem of support; they are not alone.
What are the most common stressors for small business owners in today’s economic environment?
Access to capital as well as the rising cost of capital tops the list of concerns for entrepreneurs. It can be overwhelming to know where to look for financing options, particularly low cost or patient capital. In many cases, the requirements to secure capital — whether it is collateral, credit score, years of operation or revenue — are barriers to the process or lead to a daunting amount of paperwork in an already time-pressed day. This frustration leads many to tap into or overextend their personal finances, which adds more mental strain. Closely following the need for capital is finding and keeping good employees. Small businesses are the biggest drivers of sustainable employment in local communities.
Entrepreneurs are always pressed for time. Why is it so important for them make time for their own mental health? What are consequences if they don’t?
When small business owners don’t prioritize their mental health, they begin to lose the ability to make effective and strategic decisions for the business or spiral toward burnout. That puts everything they have worked for at risk. The sweat equity, financial commitment, customer experience, employee retention, wealth building that comes from ownership of a business — it can all fade away. Taking care of your mental health as a small business owner allows you to better care for those who rely on you like your employees and family. I’ve heard so many people say they just don’t have the time, but I’d ask you, what is the cost of not managing your mental health?
What advice or resources would you offer entrepreneurs in managing their mental health?
By nature small business owners are self-starters, optimists, problem solvers. They thrive when connected with others who can help them grow or offer perspective. I often tell entrepreneurs to find a friend or mentor who is just ahead of you on the journey of owning a business. So if you are two years in on your business, look for someone who is at the five or seven-year mark. The idea is that they have walked through some of the milestones and challenges you are facing and can accelerate you faster to solutions. Often, a local chamber of commerce or small business resource center can help you make those connections. Wells Fargo supports a mentoring program for women founders with the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center that pairs women for group coaching and business growth. This program has already reached 1,200 women-owned businesses in 47 states. I’d also point people towards the De-Stress Guide from Small Business Silver Lining, which Wells Fargo funded to help create access to practical advice from mental health professionals and a free hotline. I particularly like the advice on being conscious of how your time is utilized and focusing your energy on your top priorities or drivers of success. This organization also helps small business owners build profitability, which in turn, can alleviate some stress.
How do you manage stress in your life? What works for you?
I am very intentional. I find time to work out consistently even when I am on the road and I get acupuncture every two weeks. It keeps my body and mind in good shape allows me to be resilient. One strategy the De-Stress Guide calls out is scheduling time for self-care, just as you would clear space for an important meeting or other health care needs.
You must meet a lot of small business owners. What is one story that has inspired you?
One of the great joys of my job is that I get to engage with small business owners or those who serve them every day. I’ve been exposed to so many inspiring entrepreneurs across practically every industry of our economy. I think of Ruby Taylor, who is on a mission to close the racial wealth gap with her Financial Joy School, and how she didn’t let a traumatic brain injury from a car accident stand in her way. Then there’s Esmeralda Espinoza, who got her love of jewelry making watching her father work with metals in Mexico, inspiring her to open a store called Esmeralda Fine Jewelry not once but twice after the first burned down. These women are thriving and represent so many small business owners who have triumphs big and small.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
About the Interviewer: Inspired by the father of PR, Edward Bernays (who was also Sigmund Freud’s nephew), Michelle Tennant Nicholson researches marketing, mental injury, and what it takes for optimal human development. An award-winning writer and publicist, she’s seen PR transition from typewriters to Twitter. Michelle co-founded WasabiPublicity.com.
