Micae Brown works to support entrepreneurs and small business owners as a Business Access Advisor for U.S. Bank in Chicago and Milwaukee. With a career that spans marketing, small business lending, and media, she’s a force of nature who’s all about empowering business owners with the tools they need to thrive: capital, connections, and know-how.
Brown adds a huge helping of common sense for knowing how to navigate in the financial world, particularly for people who are trying to get loans and don’t know how best to approach their needs. For example, banks are looking for a business that has built a track record before making that first loan.
“The bank is going to be more likely to lend to you when you have sufficient reserves/liquidity, a cash cushion, or skin in the game, in the form of a down payment,” she said.
But when you have an advisor like U.S. Bank, your chances improve substantially. Brown is always on the go, a master multi-tasker always helping business owners put their best foot forward.
Sometimes I feel like I do a million things,” she says, “but some of the top three are that I help provide business owners with access to capital, community, and connections to help their businesses grow and thrive in the community.”
From her early days at LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation), launching the Entrepreneurs of Color Fund, to running her own sales agency and creating the Chicago Sun-Times’ Minority Report video series, Brown’s journey is one of grit and impact. Now, she’s dropping game-changing insights on how to navigate the banking system like a pro. When she’s not mentoring high schoolers or advocating for STEM scholarships with Calculated Genius, this DePaul grad and Chicago native is jetting off to new destinations with her Doberman Pincher Hugo in tow.
Brown tries to make sure all her clients are prepared, so that U.S. Bank can benefit them best.
“An accountant, an attorney, and a banker, those are your top three people that you need to have on your squad, and you need to tell them everything,” she said. “I can’t stress this enough. We can’t have your back unless we know what everything looks like behind the curtains. So, if we’re trying to work for you, set us up for success so that we can put you in the right programs, and we can’t do that without knowing all the details.”
Brown strongly advises entrepreneurs to forge relationships.
“Even if you don’t have someone like me in your market, a Business Access Advisor, those relationships start at your branch,” Brown said. “All you have to do is just walk into the bank and ask for a business banker. If there’s no business banker, then you ask for the branch manager, and you just say, ‘Hey, I want to start a relationship with you, I’m a customer or would like to be a customer,’ and you give them your elevator pitch.”
