After 25 years in telecommunications and a corporate reorganization that changed her trajectory, Nia Fields transformed her extensive marketing and sales expertise into a mission-driven role. Now serving as Western Region SBC Supervisor for Oakland Thrive, she combines her corporate experience with her entrepreneurial family background to empower small businesses across Oakland County and create inclusive economic opportunities.
What inspired your transition from telecom and entertainment to nonprofit work?
I have been with telecom over 25 years, enjoying the hustle and bustle and the communication with the clients. What happened was there was a reorg. I had dodged reorgs for years, and sometimes you make it, sometimes you don’t. Well, at this particular time I didn’t make it, and I was too young to not work.
I had so much knowledge in the industry. I had so much knowledge just being able to network with my clients that I was forced to pivot. I was forced to say, What do I want to do? And so I went back to my roots. I call myself [being from a third] generation entrepreneur family. So I thought I would do something that could help serve others, that I could help have an impact.
First, I went into substitute teaching, which was a thrill, and then, while I was there, the opportunity came about where, once again, being from an entrepreneur background, I was able to say, the mission of this organization is going to further develop me, I’m taking it personal. So that’s how I ended up working with Oakland Thrive.
How is your region specifically helping women, minorities, veterans, and LGBTQ owned businesses break through barriers?
So first I want to say, Oakland Thrive, we support all small businesses. We have an emphasis on the minorities, the women, the veterans, the LGBTQ, but we support all. We’re all about the community, but what we do is we just help.
We bring resources to businesses that they may not have ever been able to know about. We have resources, starting with business strategy, IT, legal, HR, accounting, marketing, we host workshops and different educational events.
We present that because a lot of business owners may know their craft, but they don’t know the background. They’re working in the business and not on the business. We present these resources, and some of them are free resources, and some of them are some that we afford them to attend.
What’s one simple but powerful strategy you recommend small businesses implement immediately for marketing and visibility?
First thing we do when we meet with them, when you have a discussion, and you can see their passion, you let them tell their story. That’s when people get to know what the business is about.
They get to know the background, they get to know that you are here as a pillar in the community. So that’s the first thing, we help them develop what their story is, and people will buy into that.
Can you share a success story from your work that truly captures Oakland Thrive’s mission?
Out of privacy sake, I won’t mention the business, but the thing is, it’s not just one business. It’s all the businesses, when they share, you can see their passion. I’ve had small business owners tell me, before I learned of you I was ready to shut down the shop.
I was ready to throw in the books. I was ready to go back to corporate. I was ready to just start all over, because they did not know that the resources were there. So yeah, that’s one of the biggest. I’ve had several businesses tell me that. But then, just with the conversation with one of the small business consultants, they were able to see the light, they were able to see that there are resources put in place.
But once again, if you don’t have that knowledge, or if you don’t know, you don’t know. So that’s been a lot of the success stories. The fact that people said, I’ll give it another shot, and we can introduce them to the pillars that we offer.
How do people find out about Oakland Thrive?
We go out, we are at events, we try to steer everybody to our website because our events and our workshops are free. We work with the Chamber of Commerce, we work with Legal Aid Society, Michigan Works! We’re getting out there. We’re only a 2 year old organization.
We were first connected to Oakland County, then we branched off to be a nonprofit, so we just made 2 years old this past March. We are out there, feet on the street. We go knocking at the facilities we are letting everybody know. They say, run, go tell the good news, the gospel! That’s what the mission is with Oakland Thrive.
What are the top 3 challenges facing small businesses in Oakland County right now?
I would say knowing that we’re there, because we bring a lot to the table, we want to be an ear for these small businesses. So it’s just them getting the knowledge, them being open to making changes. A lot of times in conversations we have to tell them, you have to be honest with us.
If we’re asking certain information, you have to be honest, and you have to be willing to pivot. You have to be willing to tell your story, tell it with feeling, and be open to any changes that any of the consultants give you, or any of our B2B providers.
Now, what our B2B providers are, we have about 75 small businesses who serve as mentors. They serve as the experts and they really work with the clients to address whatever want or need that they need.
What advice do you have for other women in leadership navigating fast-paced mission driven roles?
First thing I would say would be to be bold. Just be curious, be intentional, lead with purpose and passion, follow your heart and be inclusive, but at the end of the day always remember to reach back and give back.
I say that with such passion, because I had a mentor pick me up, and they instilled in me the importance of remembering when you get to where you want to be or if you see somebody that’s trying to get there, feed into them.
How is Oakland Thrive helping business owners adapt to new technology and stay competitive?
Once again we offer free resources. So when we have a conversation with the client, it’s almost like we want them to be part of the solution, therefore, let’s have a conversation. Tell me about your business. Once you tell me about your business[,] [n]ow, where do you want to go, or where have you been that you don’t want to go? What are your challenges?
Once we assess the situation, we say, if we can service them, fine, if not, we can service them along with the resources that we have, as well as what we call our B2B providers. Our business to business providers, and you have to be willing to do the work.
So that’s pretty much the bottom line to this because nothing comes easy. So if you have a passion for your business, if you have a drive for your business, you’re going to want to put in the work. So that’s pretty much how we keep everybody on top. Because every business is different.
What does thriving mean to you, both professionally and personally?
For Oakland Thrive, it stands for together helping realize inclusive and vibrant economies. So when I think of Oakland Thrive and thriving, I think of us making this local economic ecosystem. We have empowered these [75], our B2B providers, to work with the clients, any client that comes to us, we don’t discriminate.
We want to help all the clients to be successful in the community. So now we have created this local ecosystem and not only does it work for the economic basis, but it’s also revitalizing the neighborhood. Everything is just growing, it’s just thriving. So that’s what thriving means to me, just seeing everything work together hand in hand, and basically making a statement.
For more information about Oakland Thrive’s free workshops, cohorts, and business resources, visit oaklandthrive.org. The organization continues to seek sponsors and donors for upcoming events, including their annual golf outing and spotlight events celebrating local businesses.
