Black Money Series: A conversation with Willie Smith from Northwest Side CDC

Justin Minott from the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs interviews Willie Smith, Executive Director of Northwest Side CDC, focusing on his/her journey, mission, and the impact of his work. Here is a brief recap of this powerful conversation: 

Justin: Alright, LinkedIn Live! Justin Minot here from the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs. Today, I have the great, powerful, impactful Willie Smith in the building, Executive Director of Northwest Side CDC. Willie, it's so good to have you here.

Willie: Thank you, Justin. Happy to be here!

Justin: Awesome. Now, Willie, walk us through how you got into this work. I feel like there's a lot to learn from the journey that leads sharp-minded, big-hearted people into the CDFI space.

Willie: For me, it’s been a dotted line, to say the least. I actually started in real estate back in the early ‘90s as a salesperson, but quickly realized I didn’t enjoy chasing clients for home sales. So I shifted gears and became a mortgage loan officer, focusing on CRA loans at First Star Bank. That’s where I got my first exposure to commercial lending and small business lending, and it got me interested in the broader aspects of real estate and development.

I even started investing myself—buying properties, fixing them up. I didn’t think of it as ‘development’ at the time, I was just trying to improve properties. Over time, I learned how to navigate transactions, especially for clients from minority backgrounds who often faced similar challenges, like lack of equity or credit issues.

Justin: So your work evolved naturally into supporting people who were underserved by traditional real estate and lending models?

Willie: Exactly. That’s how I started offering more business technical assistance, helping others understand the process of real estate and commercial investment. It became clear that many folks in our communities haven’t had those family role models who’ve owned businesses or invested in real estate. They needed someone to talk to, someone who understood their situation.

Justin: So you were doing this even while holding down other professional roles?

Willie: Yes, that support was always there in one way or another, regardless of my job title. After stepping away from commercial real estate in 2008, I took a few years to watch the market, and then I joined the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, managing a $120 million economic development revolving loan fund for the state. Eventually, I left and took a position as Director of Housing during the housing crisis in Milwaukee.

Justin: And that’s when you took on the challenges in Milwaukee, right? The city-owned foreclosures, the out-of-state investors?

Willie: Yes, exactly. Milwaukee had thousands of foreclosed properties, many in such bad condition that banks didn’t even want to reclaim them. So, we worked to acquire these properties, either to assist homeowners to stay in their homes or to renovate them and offer them as affordable housing. It was critical for stabilizing neighborhoods.

Justin: Incredible. So from there, you moved up in the organization?

Willie: Yes, after a few years, I took on the role of Director of Lending, managing our small business lending. Then in 2020, I became the Executive Director.  It was quite a time to step in, but we’re here to serve and support our communities, and that mission only intensified. It's been a journey, but I’m grateful for it.

Justin: So, as Director of Lending, you noticed a lot of opportunities out there. Your predecessor was focused on what you could argue was more of a workforce program, right? The focus was on manufacturing companies that would hire local residents. That was the bulk of the lending—pretty limited, right?

Willie: Absolutely. It was a narrow scope, focused mainly on supporting manufacturing companies in their growth trajectory if they were committed to hiring from the community. So, if a business didn't fit that profile, we didn’t finance them. But there were plenty of other opportunities out there for small business lending. Whether we ended up doing the loan or not, I would still work with small business owners through technical assistance and refer them to other lenders if needed."

Justin: Then when you took over, things started to change pretty quickly. What was your first move?

Willie: I knew there were some great opportunities in the pipeline from my time as Director of Lending, so in my first year, we increased our loan volume to small businesses by 400%. A lot of those loans were to minority-owned businesses—something that hadn’t been happening before because we were mostly lending to manufacturing, where there’s not a high representation of minority owners.

Justin: You really shifted the focus there. Regarding your board and loan committee—how did they respond to these new types of deals?

Willie: Thankfully, they were very receptive, and things went really well. Over three years, we’ve lent about $15 million—quite a jump from the million dollars or less we were lending annually before. We financed significant projects, like the only Black-owned gas station in Wisconsin and a Culver's franchise. That’s something we’re proud of. And because we had a good amount of cash on hand when I took over, we could put that money to work in a meaningful way, supporting businesses with average loans of over $400,000.

Justin: Wow, so you were able to make a real impact. And I hear congratulations are in order—you recently became an SBA Community Advantage lender?

Willie: Thank you! Yes, we did. Finally having guarantees will be a game-changer for us. That $15 million I mentioned? No guarantees on any of it, but we've been fortunate. Only one loan in default, and it’s less than $100,000. We’ve been able to maintain that low default rate by focusing on post-funding technical assistance, which has been essential.

Justin: I'd love to hear more about that! How does your post-funding technical assistance work?

Willie: We have two consultants who reach out to our businesses on a monthly basis. Some businesses are doing great and need very little from us—maybe a check-in once or twice a year, like an 'oil change,' as I say. But for those who could use more support, it allows us to be proactive. They’re comfortable reaching out to us when issues arise. We work closely with them or bring in partners, like restaurant consultants, to address specific needs. This helps us mitigate risk and build a relationship where they know they can count on us beyond just the loan.

Justin: Right! I’s really about trust and support, not just capital. And that approach clearly helps grow wealth and equity in the communities you serve. Thank you so much for taking the time to sit down with me today. You could’ve been anywhere, but you chose to be here. 

 Willie: Thank you for having me here, Justin.

Thank you for reading! You can watch the full interview HERE. Be sure to connect with (Guest) and follow (LinkedIn business page) to stay connected to the impact.