Building the Future with Neighborhood Entrepreneurs

A sponsored series spotlighting Capital One’s commitment to the community.

Melissa Chinwah is a shining entrepreneur building her community, but she recalls many days of struggling and offering cleaning services just to make ends meet. Throughout college, she cleaned homes to earn extra cash — and when she found herself raising her baby alone, she returned to cleaning to pay the bills.

Then, in 2014, a friend asked her to clean a rental building he had recently renovated. Chinwah’s eyes were opened to the world of pre- and post-construction cleaning for industrial, commercial and corporate facilities, and Melissa Chinwah Enterprises was born.

As Chinwah worked to build her industrial cleaning business, she learned about Sunshine Enterprises — a nonprofit organization that offers technical assistance to neighborhood entrepreneurs in Chicago. Through a 12-week Community Business Academy (CBA), a rentable co-working space, events and a suite of professional coaching services, Sunshine serves small business owners, helping them grow their companies, create jobs and strengthen their communities.

“We cover everything from marketing to cash flows to break-even analysis,” said Robin Simmons, Director of Innovation and Outreach at Sunshine Enterprises. “We cover personal finance and credit because small businesses need solid budgeting practices.”

“Sunshine was there for me,” remembers Chinwah, “but I needed to do the work. A lot of people can clean; a lot of people can show up on time — but business is more than that. It’s contracts, it’s insurance, it’s licensing. Sunshine taught me to see my shortfalls — and they taught me to follow through.”

When Capital One, a partner of Sunshine Enterprises, began construction on its new Hyde Park Café, they reached out to Sunshine for help.

“Connecting local contractors to the Hyde Park Café just made sense,” says Jamie Lutton, Senior Manager for Community Development Banking at Capital One. “When we meet with nonprofit partners, we repeatedly hear that what people really need are jobs. They want a tangible opportunity to learn, network and grow their businesses. So, the more jobs we can create, the more impact we can have. Capital One has been lucky to work with Bulley & Andrews on our Café builds who also feel strongly about creating job opportunities for local contractors.”

Sunshine Enterprises connected Capital One to Melissa Chinwah, who had just graduated from Sunshine’s CBA. The CBA — which primarily supports minority entrepreneurs — brings together small business owners to provide peer support, intensive course work, mentoring and more.

Chinwah bid on the project, was hired, and immediately got to work preparing the new Café for its grand opening on November 16^th, 2019. The Hyde Park Café joins the existing Southport, Lincoln Park and State Street Cafés. Capital One Cafés are specifically designed to facilitate experiences centered on discovery, conversations, hospitality, education and community events. The Café is a place where people can get help with their accounts, learn about new digital and financial tools, use ATMs, access free Wi-Fi, or simply grab a cup of Peets coffee or a pastry from a local bakery. Capital One cardholders also receive 50% off on their Peets beverages. The space features semi-private spaces and meeting rooms for anyone to use and is open to everyone, not just Capital One customers.

“Capital One could have called anyone in their network,” says Simmons. “But they thought enough about the work Sunshine is doing and our neighborhood entrepreneurs to call us. Sometimes all we need to give entrepreneurs is one opportunity for them to see what they’re capable of. Capital One allowed and supported that opportunity for Melissa — and now she has the confidence to bid on similarly sized projects.”

Julie Rakes, Program Lead for Capital One’s Supplier Diversity Team, added, “We are always looking to add diverse-owned businesses to our supply chain. Connecting with nonprofits in our community is a great way to do it. Who are the businesses looking for an opportunity? How can we help them grow and build their capabilities? How can we create opportunities as they grow?”

“Small businesses run the world,” Chinwah added. “If you can be an entrepreneur, you can pull somebody else up with you. It’s a way of helping others — not just yourself. It’s about growth and opportunities — for women, for minorities, for entire communities.”

Sunshine Enterprises agrees. “When businesses start or are strengthened, all of a sudden you are creating jobs and increasing household incomes,” noted Jair Pinedo, Sunshine Enterprises’ Managing Director of Development and Communications. “As we are able to move the needle forward on household income for our talented but underserved entrepreneurs, we are seeing generational transformation and direct impact on local communities.”

Simmons adds, “We have graduated about 700 entrepreneurs and their businesses are growing — so we need to grow along with them. We are outgrowing our space and we need more coaching staff. Our graduates are excited — our challenge is just keeping up with them!”

Melissa Chinwah is the perfect example of this excitement and transformation. “I’ve already been back to the Capital One Café twice,” she said. “Once on opening day and once a week later to enjoy a cup of tea. I saw it when it was full of tradesmen and boxes — and now it’s a fully functioning Café. I am so proud. It makes me look at my community and see where we might be able to go. It’s really an amazing place. You walk in and you feel like you’re a part of something.”

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