Upbeat music plays.

A woman with braided dark hair and wearing a green suit coat and white blouse is seated on a couch in an office in a car dealership with hanging banners displayed through a window behind her. A dark-haired man in a blue suit coat joins her.

Shawn Hopkins:

I'm Shawn Hopkins, owner of Gulf Coast Dealer Services. We specialize in process improvement and inventory management in the automotive industry. And this is Robert Hines. He is my mentor with JP Morgan Chase, and has been integral in helping me establish my business. He can't get rid of me, he's tried.

Robert Hines:

It's not Elmer's glue. It's not Elmer's glue.

Shawn:

This is my story. And this is how I Chase. Now, I'm nervous.

Shawn:

We are a Consultative IT company, that go into dealerships and help them improve their processes and also help manage their inventory. And the goal is to continue to increase size and scale my business, to be able to expand into the entire Gulf Coast region from here all the way to Florida.

Robert:

Initially, we met at a fundraiser. Six to eight months later, she walked into a Chase location. We immediately recognized each other from the event, scheduled an appointment to sit down and kind of talk through the nuts and bolts of her business. And we've been going strong now for gosh, a year and a half?

Shawn:

Yeah.

Robert:

So, it's been some time. She's like a little sister to me. What can I say?

Shawn:

Starting a business is very scary, quite frankly. You might be the subject matter expert in what you're doing, but you may not know how to run a business.

Robert:

Part of what we do as business bankers here at Chase, is we get a real understanding of our clients' businesses. Once we get an understanding of it, we then get an appreciation for where they want to go and how they want to grow.

Shawn:

But having someone like Robert, he made me feel comfortable to ask the question. And then the thing that made me stick to him like glue, was that I could trust the answer. Robert is really good at helping me pace, at helping me understand that everything doesn't require...

Robert:

A hammer.

Shawn:

... a hammer.

Robert:

A hammer. Yeah.

Shawn:

Yes, yes. Some things require finesse, and sometimes I don't agree with that, but 95% of the time I listen. I may not agree with him, but I do listen. And about 40% of the time he's right.

Robert:

The one thing you didn't mention, is I'm free.

Shawn:

Oh, and he's free.

Robert:

Yeah.

Shawn:

Yes.

Robert:

I mean, I don't cost anything.

Shawn:

Right. And he's free, so that was kind of a big deal too.

Shawn:

Robert and I have a special relationship, and he understands that as a first generation minority business owner in my family, that it is a critical to me to be able to take what you've learned and apply it back to your community.

Shawn:

It was a shocker, because I didn't anticipate that it would be anything more than transaction based.

Robert:

When you have a mentor assigned to you that has an appreciation for what you're trying to accomplish, that's worth its weight in gold. I mean, the fact that we're sitting in Shawn's world right now, having a discussion about her business, her operations and things that need to happen, gives me a better perspective. And I also think it's what makes it unique and different from what some other institutions out there might be providing.

Shawn:

It was more than, "Hey, let's talk about your business and see how or if we can get you money." It was, "Let's see what we can do with that money." And then, oh, wow. I'm pregnant, I'm about to baby. Oh, and so how do you protect your child and how do you prepare for his future?

Shawn:

So as a business owner, he has created a 360 degree view for me, not just with respect to my business, but also with respect to my legacy.

Robert:

Proper preparation. That's it.

Shawn:

Preparation is the key to success, I think you told me that.

Robert:

Maybe once or twice. I didn't make it up. And it was free.

Shawn:

And it was free.

Robert:

It was free.

I'm Shawn. How do you Chase?

Narrator:

A logo, Chase for Business. JPMorgan Chase, N.A. Member FDIC. © {{copyrightCurrentYear}} JPMorgan Chase & Co. Equal Opportunity Lender.

On screen:

Chase for Business(R) logo.

The testimonials in this video are the sole opinions, findings or experiences of our customer and not those of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. or any of its affiliates. These opinions, findings or experiences may not be representative of what all customers may achieve. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. or any of its affiliates are not liable for decisions made or actions taken in reliance on any of the testimonial information provided.

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