►
From YouTube: Pittsburgh Entrepreneur Spotlight - Ashley & Nick
Description
For more information on the City of Pittsburgh's Small Business Resource Fairs, please call Small Business & Redevelopment Manager Henry Pyatt at (412) 255-2945.
A
Hi
I'm
Henry
paya,
mayor
/,
due
to
a
small
business
and
redevelopment
manager,
I'm
here
with
Ashley
and
Nick
at
black,
forge
coffee
in
Allentown,
and
we're
here
to
talk
about
their
experience
in
starting
this
brand
new
business,
how
they
were
able
to
avail
themselves
to
some
of
the
resources
the
city
and
our
partners
have
to
offer
and
what
they've
learned
and
what
they'd
like
to
pass
on
to
other
small
business
owners.
Thanks
a
lot
for
joining
me
today,
Ashley
and
Nick
I
really
appreciate
it.
A
We're
trying
to
make
sure
that
everyone
in
every
neighborhood
realizes
what's
out
there
to
help
them
out
and
how
they
can
connect
with
those
resources
and
as
part
of
that,
we're
gonna
have
a
little
conversation
today
about
what
your
journey
was
like,
so
that,
hopefully
somebody
else
can
learn
from
it
and
find
their
success
as
well.
By
the
way
this
place
is
gorgeous.
Oh
thank.
C
B
We're
actually
doing
this
interview
on
top
of
our
stage.
So
when
we
have
events,
we
take
the
tables
off
the
stage
and
then
we
have
a
lighting
rig
and
full
on
PA
system.
So
we
can
have
any
kind
of
performance.
So
we
can
do
is
stand
a
poetry,
acoustic
to
live
bands
with
anson
drum
sets,
awesome
Holly
just.
A
C
Ellen
town
I
actually
used
to
live
in
this
neighborhood
back
in
2009
and
I
used
to
go
to
the
Art
Institute.
So
I
walk
this
warrenton
every
single
day
going
to
school
like
wow.
It's
really
empty
up
here.
It's
unfortunate
because
living
in
South
Side
was
not
feasible
at
the
time
and
being
further
away
from
school
would
be
a
lot
harder.
So
when
we
were
researching
places
to
open
up
our
business,
we
came
across
Valentine
again.
I
was
like
wow
okay,
and
we
saw
the
re
361.
C
A
Really
is
an
amazing
program
that
the
hilltop
Alliance
has
been
able
to
put
together
and
I'm
thrilled
to
see
the
progress,
because
not
only
you
guys,
but
we
have
Leon's
around
the
corner
that
was
helped
out,
and
now
we
can
have
delicious
Caribbean
food.
Here
we
can
have
our
social
media
campaigns
planned
out
by
a
bunch
of
local
residents.
We
can
have
coffee
in
a
place
to
work
and
a
place
to
to
show
or
B
or
appreciate
our
local
culture
right
here
on
your
stage.
A
It
is
really
amazing
all
the
activity
that
that
program
has
been
able
to
help
kick-start
I.
One
thing
I
always
wonder
about,
is
what
how
did
you
feel?
What
was
it
like
to
make
the
decision
to
be
an
independent
business
owner
as
opposed
to
working
for
someone
else
or
being
a
part
of
a
larger
group?
We.
B
Both
have
worked
for
other
people,
you
know
our
entire
adult
careers,
so
it
was
just
one
of
those
things
where
you
get
frustrated
with
owners
choices
in
the
way
that
they
want
to
run
things
and
you're,
just
like
man.
If
I
just
had
an
opportunity
to
do
with
the
way
that
I
see
it
should
be
done,
you
know
I
feel
like
it
would
work
a
lot
better
and
I
mean
countless
conversations
with
me
and
Ashley
sitting
on
our
front
porch
talking.
We
should
do
it
this
way
or
we'd
be
really
cool.
B
If
we
did
it
that
way,
you
know
now
we
have
that
opportunity
to
explore
what
options
are
available
to
us
and
how
we
can
do
things.
The
way
that
we
think
is
fair
to
everybody.
For
example,
we
spent
a
long
time
discussing
how
we
were
going
to
book
bins.
The
last
thing
we
want
to
do
is
have
a
high
school
band,
come
in
here
with
no
money
and
in
charge
them
to
play
place
yeah.
B
C
C
We
didn't
really
know
a
whole
lot
about
it
and
then,
when
we
actually
tried
it
was
like
wow.
The
support
was
unreal
and
you
know
most
of
the
people
that
donate
to
her
and
you
go
go
where
people
from
the
community
and
other
business
owners
that
saw
potential
what
we
were
trying
to
push
for
an
artistic
hub
in
this
mountain
town,
neighborhood,
yeah,
yeah,.
B
The
the
crowd
sourcing
campaign
and
working
with
the
organizations
in
Allentown
stuff,
like
that
was
kind
of
woke,
basically
alerted
us
to
the
fact
that
we
weren't
in
this
on
our
own.
You
know
like
like
we
were
before
when
it
was
really
scary,
taking
out
loans
and
being
afraid,
like
all
right.
If
we
fail
we're
financially
ruined,
we
did
the
social
media
campaign
to
raise
money
and
talking
with
organizations
and
they're
like
everybody,
was
willing
to
help
out.
B
A
So
much
or
might
not
be
interested
in
a
pastry
for
dessert,
but
they
are
used
to
having
dinner
around
the
corner.
It
might
come
walk
by
and
see
you,
and
vice
versa.
Somebody
might
come
in
here
to
get
some
work
done,
take
a
walk
and
realize
there's
a
great
restaurant
around
the
corner.
To
have
a
date
at
you
know,
works.
C
C
And
now
we
know
that
you
know
the
coffee
community
is
a
lot
larger
than
what
people
actually
thought
originally
and
we
we
have
that
support
and
everyone's
just
like.
Oh
you
know,
even
though
you're
not
up
here,
you
can
go
down
south
side
go
to
delaneys
or
if
you're
at
Lisa,
you
can
obviously
go
to
zekes.
A
One
thing
that
can
be
really
tough
for
a
lot
of
people,
sometimes
especially
folks,
that
have
such
great
community
and
support
and
knowledge
of
their
field
is
the
financial
and
business
planning
aspect
of
things
and
the
regulatory
environment
as
well
like
making
sure
you
have
all
the
requirements
and
that
the
health
inspectors
not
ticked
off
and
etc,
etc.
To
that
end,
I
want
to
ask
you
guys
about
the
small
business
resource
fairs.
A
C
B
Love
to
go
home
you're
very
much
in
the
dark
of
the
time
for
like
I
mean
when
you're
opening
up
a
performance
space
in
a
coffee
shop
is
a
lot
of
regulations
and
you
don't
know
who
to
talk
to
yeah
and
she
basically
email
Dustin's,
like
everybody,
you
need
to
talk
to.
You
will
be
in
one
room
and
you'll,
have
an
opportunity
to
sit
down
and
talk
with
him
yeah.
So
it
was
just
like
all
right.
Well,
there
was
an
opportunity
to
answer
every
question
they
have.
How
did
it
work?
It
was
fantastic
yeah.
We.
C
B
Sent
me
like
they
were
all
very
busy
you
know
and
like
it
was
you
can,
you
can
tell
that
there
was
a
lot
of
buzz
going
on
because
there
was
a
lot
of
people
attending
it,
which
was
also
very
helpful,
because
if
somebody
was
busy
talking,
you
can
talk
to
other
business
owners
and
other
people
that
were
perpetually
gonna
open
a
business
and
you
can
communicate
back
forth
I
go
what
are
you
struggling
with
what
you
working
on?
Oh,
this
is
who
I
talk
to,
and
it's
like
how
I
dealt
with
it.
B
You
know
and
like
that
was
really
beneficial
and
the
networking
that
came
out
of
it.
I
mean
the
information
alone
and
the
people
being
available.
To
answer
your
questions.
On
top
I
mean
like
that's
how
we
met
our
Baker.
You
know
what
ya
want
these
kind
of
things
you
know.
So
that's
really
hope
you
get
names.
People
give
you
names
and
they're.
Just
like
you
should
talk
to
this
person
who
this
person
just
open
up
here.
You
know
like
Vic,
here's
our
card,
email
them
that'd,
be
super
happy
to
work
with
you,
yeah.
C
They
were
resources
like
the
URA
there.
We
were
able
to
talk
to
them,
get
their
emails,
and
you
know,
even
though
we
didn't
use
them,
but
it's
still
nice
to
have
that
contact
same
with
the
health
department
in
knowing
all
those
people
we
got
to
talk
to
them.
Like
hello,
we
don't
know
anything
about
these
permits.
What
do
we
have
to
do?
How
do
we
know
we're
gonna
be
safe?
What
taxes?
B
Definitely
I
mean
when
you're,
when
you're
opening
a
small
business
the
government
is,
is
a
faceless
entity
that
you're
just
you,
you
just
are
terrified
the
tackle
and
then,
when
you
take
down
that
wall
and
even
for
your
introducing
like
this
specific
person,
will
handle
that,
for
you
contact
them,
it
takes
that
barrier
down
and
it
takes
away.
That
fear
makes.
A
Me
really
happy
because
I
was
sitting
this-
maybe
a
year
and
a
half
ago,
sitting
with
a
group
of
people
Emily
from
Cuba,
which
is
the
crowd-sourced
loan
program
that
doesn't
have
any
interest
yes
and
then
Josette
from
the
URA,
and
we
were
just
kind
of
brainstorming
about
how
do
we
help
people
in
neighborhoods,
like
Allentown,
realize
that
this
whole
cadre
of
support
services
is
available
to
them
ready
and
waiting,
and
we
it
occurred
to
us
it's
just
not
that
complicated.
We
just
need
to
get
people
face
to
face.
A
B
Pretty
much
so
I
mean
I
agree,
one
hundred
percent,
when
we
were
first
having
the
conversation
on
opening
something
of
our
own.
It
was
one
below
we
got
to
do
this
on
her
own.
We
had
to
do
this
ourselves
and
then
you
start
to
talk
to
people,
and
then
you
realize
that
the
city
of
Pittsburgh
is
we're,
ready
and
willing
to
help
open
new
businesses
around
the
city
and
as
long
as
you
reach
out
support
you
through
the
whole
thing
really.
A
Really
really
glad
to
hear
that
cuz
gosh
darn
it-
that
was
the
boy
well
I,
was
one
of
my
next
questions
was
what
distinguishes
Pittsburgh
from
other
places
to
open
a
business
but
you've
kind
of.
B
A
Really
awesome,
I'm
really
glad
to
hear
that
you
guys
are
here,
because
what
a
cut
of
the
space
that
a
coffee
shop
and
performance
venue
fills
in
our
modern
life.
It's
to
me
something
that
kin
to
the
place
that
a
grocery
store
filled
in
a
main
street
in
1950
right.
It's
an
absolutely
necessary
thing
to
make
sure
that
people
have
a
reasonable
quality
of
life
and
well.
A
The
mix
of
businesses
has
changed
over
the
decades
for
what
a
neighborhood
expects
wants
and
needs
we're
trying
to
be
nimble
enough
to
make
sure
that
has
those
new
patterns
develop
of
the
new
types
of
businesses,
we
need
to
have
we're
all
ears
and
ready
to
let
everyone
to
take
their
shot
at
filling
what
they
see
those
holes
to
be.
How
do
you
support
other
businesses
in
your
neighborhood,
meda.
B
Mesh
they're,
a
local
company,
that's
ran
out
of
the
hardware,
store
down
the
street
or
work
hard
PGH
now
and
we
contribute
to
their
mesh
network.
So
basically,
any
of
our
leftover
bandwidth
from
our
Wi-Fi
gets
contributed
to
that,
and
then
they
project
that
over
to
the
city,
to
try
to
provide
free
internet,
everybody
yeah,
you
know
it
didn't
cost
us
anything
and
they
were
totally
willing
to
come
up
and
set
it
up,
and
all
we
do
is
just
try
to
support
them
on
social
media
and
let
everybody
know
that
we
deal
with
yeah.
B
C
Must
pretty
much
everyone
at
work?
Hard
PGH?
You
know
there's
podcast
right
now
there
there's
you
know
technology
just
flourishing
and
there
and
those
people
they
need
caffeine.
So
they
come
down
here
first
thing
in
the
morning:
they
get
ready
to
go.
They
either
hang
out
here
just
to
get
out
of
their
workspace,
just
feel
comfortable
do
what
they
need
to
do
or
they
go
back.
Get
more
coffee
come
back
same
with
oh
sweet
peaches
like
we
don't
offer
brunch
or
anything
like
that,
but
we're
open
here
to
get
a
cup
of
coffee.
A
I,
agree,
and,
and
and
Beck
actually
I'd
like
to
point
out,
is
a
faithful
servant
of
our
main
street
committee
here
on
Warrington
Avenue,
helping
figure
out
all
the
little
problems
and
all
the
big
events
and
group
promotions
that
are
going
to
help
draw
more
attention
to
the
whole
cluster
of
businesses,
and
that's
a
really
powerful
volunteer
position
that
that
people
feel
all
over
the
city
and
I'm
incredibly
grateful
for.
So
what
else
do
you
think
the
city
can
do
to
help
small
businesses
and
entrepreneurs
like
yourself?
That's.
B
A
We're
gonna
have
I'd
say
by
sometime
around
next
summer,
you'll
be
able
to
apply
for
most
of
the
permits
that
you'll
need
online
with
a
credit
card
and
you'll
get
an
email
saying
if
we
need
additional
information
or
if
you
have
to
come
in
for
a
meeting
and
then
by
2017.
Our
goal
is
to
have
a
like
a
computer
program
within
a
web
page
that
asks
you
questions,
so
you
don't
even
need
to
know
we.
A
You
know
what
you're
doing
you
know
your
vision
is,
and
then
it
asks
few
questions
that
you'll
be
able
to
answer
and
then
it'll
spit
back
to
you
a
list
of
what
to
do
in
what
order,
and
again
you
type
your
name
in
once.
You
make
an
account
you
put
in
your
credit
card
information
and
then
the
beginning
of
all
the
forms
will
be
auto
filled
so
that
you're
just
kind
of
filling
in
you.
Don't
the
write
your
name
over
and
over
again
at
dress
over
and
over
again
and
all
that
stuff,
yeah.
C
B
A
C
A
B
Your
homework
do
homework,
sit
down,
read
the
business
plan,
contact
with
people
that
you
need
to
because
they
will
walk
you
through
it.
It's
a
very
I
did
not
go
to
school
for
business.
I
had
no
prior
education
on
this
I
with
the
right
people
in
the
right
contacts.
They
will
talk
you
through
everything
and
they
will
like
show
you
how
to
do
it.
The
URA
classes
that
we
took.
That
means
there
was.
It
was
page
for
page
there's
this
ed
season.
A
B
Also
gives
you
that
references,
you
know
there's
multiple
times
where
you,
if
you
go
in
for
an
interview
for
a
bank
loan
or
for
anybody
else,
you
don't
have
all
that
information,
your
head
24-7
a
lot
of
times,
you're,
very
sleepy
human
being,
if
you're
trying
to
open
your
own
business.
So
having
that
business
plan
in
front
of
you
to
be
like
all,
then
I
get
that
number
for
you.
You
can
pull
that
out.
So.
A
C
It
is
actually
a
lot
I,
wouldn't
say
a
lot
easier,
but
we
were
just
like
you
know
points
where
we
like
felt
completely
deflated.
But
again
there
was
someone
there
to
pick
you
back
up
and
honestly
yeah,
there's
nothing
really
that
we
would
change
because
it
taught
us
to
grow.
It
taught
us
to
keep
pushing.
It
taught
us
to
keep
rebuilding
the
business
plan
and
aim
for
higher
things
in
our
life,
and
here
we
are,
if.
B
Somebody
from
the
hilltop
or
somebody
from
work,
our
PGH
or
somebody
you
know
down
in
the
city,
was
able
to
be
like
well,
you
should
contact
so
and
so
that
they
might
be
able
to
help
you
out
or
I
mean,
like
you
know,
it's
a
long
shot,
but
maybe
if
they
can't
help,
you
don't
know
somebody
that
can
yeah
and
it
every
single
time
is
snow
balled
into
something
else
that
work
out
for
us.
That.
A
C
Definitely
the
classes,
the
SBDC
classes,
that's
I
mean
they
offer
from
starting
your
business
plan
to
mentors
to
everything
that
you
need,
and
you
need
to
just
go
to
the
first
class
of
building
your
business
plan
that
will
follow
you
into
learning
new
things
again.
There's
other
options
and
big
banks
and
stuff
like
that
out.
There
are
local
banks
here
in
Pittsburgh,
they're
willing
to
sit
down
with
you.
C
Have
a
one-on-one
conversation
treat
you
the
way
you
should
be
treated
and
help
you,
even
if
they
can't
get
you
alone,
they're
going
to
refer
you
to
other
places
again
the
Hebrew
free
loan
association.
We
were
referred
from
first
commonwealth
bank,
like
once,
you
try
this.
We
did
and
they
welcomed
us
with
open
arms.
They
we've
never
felt
just
so
loved
when
we
walked
in
there
and
having
that
one-on-one
communication
with
those
people
and
sitting
for
them
and
telling
them
what
our
dreams
were,
they
believed
in
us.
They
were
able
to
help
us.
B
And
neighborhood
associations,
they
have
associations,
neighborhood
associations.
If
you
pick
a
neighborhood
that
you
want
to
like
open
up
talk
to
whoever's
involved
with
that
neighborhood
because
they
will
go
to
work
after
hours
for
you,
they'll
bend
over
backwards
and
you
can
call
every
single
person
that
they
need
to.
And
if
you
have
a
question,
if
they
don't
have
an
answer,
they'll
tell
you
about
who
does
yeah.
A
I
couldn't
agree
more
I'm,
so
proud
of
our
main
street
managers
and
similar
people
all
around
the
city.
Well,
I
guess
we
can't
actually
say
Main
Street
managers,
that's
copyrighted
and
we
don't
pay
for
the
copyright.
But
but
you
know
all
the
business
district
managers
all
across
the
city
I
mean
the
way
they
tie
things
together.
A
The
way
they
serve
as
reference
librarians
to
help
people
find
the
resources
they
need
the
way
they
help
introduce
people
to
other
businesses
in
the
neighborhood
so
that
they
can
have
symbiotic
supply
relationships,
and
you
know
maybe
group
purchasing
and
even
really
super
cool
things
like
meta
mesh
that
you
referenced
earlier.
You
know
it
without
them.
I
just
feel
like
this
Renaissance
we're
seeing
on
our
commercial
corridors
wouldn't
be
achievable
and
I
really
appreciate
them.
My
last
question:
what's
your
long-term
vision
for
your
business?
C
B
It's
I
mean,
if
it's
possible
to
expand
on
our
brand.
That
would
be
ideal.
You
know
I
mean
we
would
love
to
spread
out
to
another
neighborhood
in
the
city
or
you
know,
maybe
try
our
hand
and
roasting
coffee
or
you
know,
maybe
getting
into
like
brewing
or
distilling
or
something
you
know,
yeah
just
being
creative.
You
know
trying
to
create
yeah.