Avanse Ansanm hosted a Crucial Conversation on Personal Wealth & Entrepreneurship on Thursday, November 16, 2017. Crucial Conversations is a forum style event that targets Haitian-American Millennials (ages 21-40) from the Tri-County area. The primary goal of this event was to bring together Haitian-American Millennials in an open dialogue, to discuss building wealth and successful entrepreneurship. Our esteemed guest were Bernard Fils-Aime, serial entrepreneur, and Ghislain Gouraige, Jr., Private Wealth Advisor of UBS Financial Services.

We know the following: 

• "The Haitian diaspora in the U.S. and elsewhere is largely a community of wage earners, focusing more on climbing professional occupational ladders and increasing incomes from their jobs rather than business ownership.” 
  • Source: Engaging the Haitian Diaspora by Tatiana Wah
• "Haitians are more likely to work low-wage service industry jobs, earn less money, and pay larger shares of their incomes on basic necessities.” 
  • Source: Migration Policy
• Haitian Baby Boomers are retiring and many without retirement funds and/or Medicare. 

Mr. Fils-Aime and Mr. Gouraige provided their backgrounds and their journey to financial wealth. Some key insights were as follows:

• Entrepreneurship is the key to building wealth. 
• Be disciplined about spending less than you earn. Save your money and then invest your money.  
• Flesh out your entrepreneurship ideas. What demand are you creating a solution for? Is it profitable?
• Grow your network and partner with people with shared values. 
• Reinvest in your community. Pull money together (create investment groups) and invest in small businesses and start ups in the Haitian Community. 
• Don't be afraid to take CALCULATED risks. 
• Know who are and why you do what you do. 

 
Mr. Fils-Aime and Mr. Gouraige remined the participants that if the Haitian community is to become a more resilient community, we have to increase our knowledge, partner with one another, and invest in our communities in the states and abroad. 

This Crucial Conversation was not meant to be a single event, but a starting point for the work that must be done. It is our collective efforts and practice that will bring us closer to a thriving Haitian community.