Learning together: Newest Change Labs Kinship Lending Cohort shares business experiences and tips

By Stacy Thacker
Changes Labs

TUBA CITY – The Change Labs Kinship Lending program’s newest cohort includes a former Navajo Nation Council delegate, coffee shop owners, artists, silversmiths, and a fashion designer.

“We have a very, very unique group of business owners in this cohort,” said Kristine Laughter, the director of Kinship Lending.

This is the fifth cohort of the microloan program and the first cohort of three planned for 2024.

Change Labs’ Kinship Lending program is novel within Native communities. Launched in 2020, the program prioritizes Indigenous kinship or relationships to evaluate borrowers instead of calculating risk based on assets or credit. Similarly, the program leverages peer-based cohorts to build borrowers’ financial abilities. A typical cohort consists of 20 entrepreneurs, but this cohort comprises eight people. Because the cohort is smaller than those in the past, the networking opportunities will be more intimate.

“Even though (there are) eight members in the cohort, it’s about building the relationships with those in the cohort,” she said.

This can already be seen. Laughter was noticed after an in-person meeting when two coffee shop owners took time to sit down together and talk.

“I think that’s one thing that we try to communicate, is get to know people who are doing the same type of work you are because some people are just like open books and are willing to share everything,” she said. “That just seems to be something that our members do. They’re willing to share their stories with the people in their cohort. And I think that is just amazing.”

Laughter said that each entrepreneur has a different business model and a different way of running a business, but each entrepreneur can be successful despite their differences.

One entrepreneur, Daniel Tullie, runs Jinjééh Coffee & Roastery, a coffee pop-up shop. He started the business in 2022, and the concept allows him to travel around the Navajo Nation from community to community, selling coffee and meeting new customers and vendors. One day, he might be operating in Monument Valley at the junction, and the next day, he could be visiting a flea market in a different part of the Navajo Nation.

“I’m not here to create a community or anything like that; I’m here to take part in the community that already exists,” he said. “I really do appreciate meeting the everyday people, the regulars.”

Tullie said he tries to support and learn from other vendors when he encounters them in his business travels.

“I think it’s important that there’s some sort of relationship that we have and maintain with other vendors,” he said. “Because we’re all basically trying to accomplish the same thing at the end of the day, and that’s to support ourselves and our families.”

Through Change Labs, Tullie said he’s already learning how to round out his ideas as a business owner and learn more about managing finances. But Tullie doesn’t just roast coffee. He also gets up early to make blue corn doughnuts and is looking to expand his menu in the future. He is only one example of the talent in this cohort. While the last cohort consisted mainly of incubator alums, this cohort is new to the program.

“Our goal is to bring people through the Kinship Lending program so that we can emphasize the importance of understanding how our loan program works,” Laughter said.

They also want to continue improving their financial wellness, so entrepreneurs are considering their debt-to-income ratio or increasing their credit score, for example. It’s all about financial education, Laughter said, highlighting the entrepreneur’s relationship with money.

“The more comfortable we are about talking about our money. I think the more successful we can be,” Laughter said.

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