Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Nathan Hall, Award-Winning Business Leader, Keynote Speaker, Educator, and Anti-Racism & Inclusion Practitioner located in Ottawa, ON, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Culture Check is an award-winning social enterprise that empowers individuals and organizations to address racial inequity in the workplace. We accomplish this through a combination of training, coaching, peer networking, research, best practices, and tools.

We provide two categories of offerings: 1) Free or subsidized services for racialized professionals to help address many of the common issues that are faced in their careers. 2) Services for organizations, leaders, and teams, to help foster more inclusive and equitable cultures. Currently, Culture Check works with clients of various sizes and across sectors–including governments, public companies, non-profits, and higher education.

Tell us about yourself

In June 2020, upon receiving the honour of being named one of Ottawa's Forty Under 40, Nathan shared the news on his Linkedin. In the comment section, one individual left the message that "no one respects people with a criminal record; you and your "bros" need to respect the law and society." To his surprise, hundreds of people began commenting and tagging the individual's company, emailing, Facebooking, and calling them, demanding answers for the behaviour of their employee.

Through the experience, Nathan received many private messages saying things like, "I can't believe someone would say something like this in a professional setting." To which he would explain that these types of comments are made to Black people and many people of colour in the workplace all the time, but it just doesn't get any attention.

Following the experience, Nathan put out a survey to help quantify the experiences of people of colour in the workplace to bring more awareness to this issue. 80% of the 420 respondents said that they had the expectation of experiencing racial discrimination while at work. That is a huge mental and emotional tax that is perpetually draining, and companies do not know how to address it. Many of those who experience racial discrimination at work never report it due to a long history of nothing ever happening when they do. Moreover, the fear of being labeled as a "troublemaker," making day-to-day life more difficult for the individual, remains a difficult barrier to cross. As a result of these things, companies develop a false sense of security, thinking that the problem isn't as bad as it really is within their organization because they have no visibility of what actually goes on.

Culture Check has created a safe space where racialized professionals will not only be able to share their experiences but will be supported, encouraged, and educated in the process. In turn, we support our Corporate Allies by leveraging the stories and experiences to bring greater awareness and serve as training material.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

While there have been many accomplishments that we are very proud of, whether it be working with large established organizations or winning awards, the heart and soul of our company are people. So when we receive messages from individuals who have used our services and they share how much it impacted them, there is no greater sense of accomplishment. Whether it be from racialized professionals who tell us that they finally feel seen at work or that they were able to overcome a situation that they were facing. Or, hearing from white leaders who used to feel like all this talk about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion was nonsense, but after engaging with us, they developed a whole new mindset and understanding.

Since our launch, over 10,000 people have been in direct contact with our services, and when we think of the network effect, you quickly realize how far-reaching our impact truly has been.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

For Culture Check in particular, because the nature of our work is so personal and intimately tied to our identities and lived experiences, engaging in this work day in and day out can be emotionally taxing. So learning how to monitor and manage your own energy so that you can help others with theirs has been difficult.

Another difficulty is loneliness. As a business owner, you carry a lot. Thoughts of the future, concerns of the present. Managing clients, managing employees. The weight of your aspirations, the intricacies of the little details. Keeping it all in balance while not necessarily having someone who understands the full breadths of what you are dealing with can feel very isolating.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Start. There will never be a perfect time. You will never have it all figured out; you will never have all the money you need. But, you can still start.
  2. Taking the leap into entrepreneurship is not a one-time thing. Every day you will be faced with decisions that can feel increasingly as scary as that first leap. So it's not about taking THE leap; it's about making the decision to take A leap every day.
  3. Build with intention. Everybody will have an opinion about what you should do and how you should do it. Don't lose track of why you are doing what you are doing.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://culturecheck.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Culture-Check-106626827955905
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrnathanhall/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrnathanhall/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrnathanhall/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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