Shining a Spotlight on Minority-Owned Businesses

Exit Planning Institute will celebrate Women’s Month all month long by spotlighting incredibly talented women in the CEPA community. Today we celebrate Sheila Simmons, Vice President and Financial Advisor with Executive Wealth Partners of UBS. Sheila became a CEPA in 2019 and specializes in helping business owners exit their Minority-Owned Businesses successfully.  

Learn more about Sheila and her impressive work below. 

What women have served as role models to you?

Sheila: My mother-in-law was my first role model. She taught me style, etiquette, and femininity. My second role model was a woman by the name Patrina Pettry. She is fierce, well respected in the financial industry, and has one of the most infectious spirits I’ve ever encountered. She helped me find my voice and even more, taught me how to use my voice in a meaningful way. My final role model was Virginia Kuertz. She is such an influential woman in the wealth management community. Virginia believed in me before I believed in myself and ultimately hired me into my first six-figure position from a career perspective. She is also responsible for offering me the opportunity to begin my journey in the wealth management industry. Virginia (Ginny) had some tough yet honest conversations with me that have stuck with me to this day. I’m truly thankful for each of my role models as they have each shaped how I think about being a role model or mentor to others. 

How have you acted as a mentor for young women?

Sheila: I have made myself available to young women who are new to the wealth management industry. This is a male-dominated environment and can leave young women struggling to find their voice in the workplace. I’ve helped my mentees gain more confidence to ask their colleagues for meaningful engagement in client presentations. 

One of the tips that I’ve shared is to not just be a face around the table but always find a way to add value to the conversation. At some point, they’ll be able to lead the entire conversation both because they’ve grown comfortable doing so and because their colleagues have gained confidence in their capabilities. I’ve also had some of those difficult conversations with my mentees about professionalism, work ethic, how to negotiate their employment contracts, etc. I pour into them and likewise, they pour into me as well.

What do you wish someone had told you before you entered the business world?

Sheila: I wished that someone told me about how to both strive for excellence yet create boundaries for your personal time. It took me close to ten years to learn this. I remember vividly when it finally dawned on me. I worked Monday-Saturday for an entire summer, taking only one day off and that was to throw my son a birthday party. As a result, I was completely drained and was mentally unavailable to my family. 

My manager was thrilled that I worked so hard and never nudged me to slow down or take some time off…in fact, that manager continued to add more responsibility onto my already overflowing plate. Learning boundaries early on would have helped me better navigate through that burnout moment. I was a mother, wife, friend, and high-performing manager. Balancing all that takes proper planning and execution of establishing boundaries.

How do you utilize your position to empower women and champion equality in the business world? 

Sheila: Interestingly, I just had a conversation with a mentee of mine who shared with me that her advisor team doesn’t give her meaningful assignments that will further develop her skill set as an aspiring advisor. She is newly series 7 licensed and was ready to hit the ground running but her team only had her essentially making copies and binding client reviews. My advice is always objective, so I shared with her that her advisor team is used to her being a service associate and that now she has to be proactive in asking for more responsibility. I also encouraged her to ask her advisor team questions that will show them that she is interested in putting her license to work.

What inspired you to become a CEPA? 

Sheila: I had a meeting with a very large prospect several years ago. I did my research and read every piece of publicly available information about this prospect and realized that he was beginning to think about what an exit would look like for him and his family. I secured a meeting where he invited one of his trusted advisors. This person was not competition, but rather a business professional that this prospect respected. Of course, I went back to the internet to learn everything I could about his trusted advisor. I learned that he was a CEPA! 

I realized that my prospect valued his insight around the topic of exit planning because he was a CEPA. Naturally, I quickly realized that if I wanted my voice to be heard and trusted…I too needed to obtain my CEPA. I’m so glad I did. I am as of Feb 3, 2022…the only African American CEPA in the Cincinnati area. What does that mean? It means that minority-owned companies have access to a minority advisor who’s got close to 20 years in the financial industry who has made it a point to make myself a subject matter expert on one of the most important decisions of their lives! 

Can you tell us a little about your involvement with the National Minority Supplier Development Council? 

Sheila:  I leverage the NMSDC as a resource for intellectual capital and content as well as for networking with other minority-owned businesses. I aspire to be on their board at some point in my career so that I can affect change from an exit planning perspective. I appreciate all that the NMSDC does to help drive revenue to minority-owned businesses, but I do believe that with the right people at the table to articulate the challenges that MBE’s face when attempting to exit their companies, we can perhaps find amenable solutions. 

How does the exit planning process differ for Minority-Owned Businesses or MBEs? 

Sheila: While the exit strategies are available and accessible to all business owners, minority business owners experience additional complications. The NMSDC is the governing organization that issues the MBE designation. By their definition “Minority businesses must be at least 51% minority-owned, managed, and controlled.” Having this designation provides access to increased revenue-generating contracts from companies who either have a mandate towards diverse spend or who simply have taken a position to allocate a portion of their spend with minority-owned suppliers. This practice has become increasingly prevalent in the corporate community and there is now an entire department at some of the largest companies that is tasked with sourcing diverse suppliers. Being an MBE company puts them on the radar to be eligible to benefit from the corporate mandates. 

Now that I’ve covered the benefit of being an MBE, the drawback occurs upon the exit. A new buyer may question the sustainability of revenue that has been used to calculate the value of the selling company if that new buyer is unable to maintain that MBE status by also being a minority. NMSDC’s recognition of the term minority is very specific. “A minority group member is an individual who is at least 25% Asian-Indian, Asian-Pacific, Black, Hispanic, or Native American.” A new buyer who does not fit within those categories may make a buying offer that is a discount from the stated value. Many times, that owner is not happy with the idea of selling the company they worked hard to build, at a discount. Additionally, as ESOP’s have become more popular in the MBE landscape the NMSDC has not gained comfort with allowing that MBE to maintain their designation post ESOP transaction.

What advice would you offer an owner of a minority-owned business when researching their exit options?

Sheila: I advise my clients and prospects to be open-minded, explore each of the exit strategies, and marry their goals and objectives to the strategy that best solves for such. This helps to remove any bias towards one exit strategy over another and allows them to make a fully informed decision. 

What advice do you have for women looking to start their own business? 

Sheila: Do It! While I am a professional exit planning advisor working in the wealth management industry, I also own an interior design company. As with anything, research the marketplace to understand the competitive landscape, understand any potential barriers to entry, build a strong foundation with proper documentation, and then go and execute on your plan!

Are you involved with any philanthropic organizations?

Sheila: Yes, I currently sit on 3 boards. Represent-which is comprised of business professionals and business owners with the sole mission of helping minority-owned businesses create sustainability. I’m also on the Parks Foundation board, parks have always been near and dear to me; I go to parks to just enjoy the beauty of nature! Lastly, I sit on the Family Nurture Center board. This organization provides support to children who come from abusive home environments.

As we continue to celebrate Women’s Month, we encourage you to learn more about the other amazing women in the EPI Community.