Hidden Gems: Meet Rebecca English Williams of Fruit of Barren Trees LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca English Williams.

Hi Rebecca, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I am a Jacksonville native, born and raised on the Northside. My parents were both educators at Edward Waters University and transitioned to leadership through my father’s ministry as pastor of Ebenezer United Methodist Church, and my late mother was former CEO of River Region Human Services.

My brother and I were instilled with the values of faith, education, and service. After my mother’s passing, I decided to narrow my finance career from investment banking to the secondary mortgage market where I landed my dream job of working on the trading floor in Capital Markets for Fannie Mae.

Although I had over a decade of experience in real estate finance, I found myself in a unique position manging the cards life was dealing me. I was loving my career and the knowledge I was learning from day-to-day market activity. However, I was living a dual life; leaving the trading floor every day and managing a personal housing crisis with my family memebers.

My elderly aunt and uncle who lived on the same street as our aunts lived before their passing, which was also the street we spent every summer playing with my cousins, sat on porches with neighbors, and shot fireworks for independence day; had found themselves in a life changing situation. They had a leaking pipe that ran their water bill up thousands of dollars and we couldn’t get proper resources to assist them, nor could they pull the equity from their home due to credit barriers, and low appraisals. The entire block was blighted due to the heirs property issues from folks passing away, or folks like myself who moved away to pursue careers and opportunities. I spent approximately two years trying to pay for repairs myself to support their household, and troubleshoot to help them from Washington DC. After fighting with the city to help, and the banks to help my family, the damage caused by the leak, began to significantly buckle the flooring in their home. Both my aunt and uncle were bound to wheelchairs, making daily living impossible. 7 months shy of paying off a 25-year mortgage with no missed payments, my aunt and uncle were forced to relocate. The stress of this situation devastated my family and lead to the demise of my cousin’s health and ultimate death who was the primary person managing this crisis.

After pouring every dime in their home, traveling every weekend home to troubleshoot, looking for quality contractors who said “they don’t serve that zipcode” I was moved to start Fruit of Barren Trees LLC a neighborhood revitalization firm.

I chartered this journey because there was a clear gap between the types of neighborhoods that continue to get approved and ultimately financed for large-scale development, and those that have limited options through philanthropic giving.

Through the LLC and our 501c3 affiliate, FOBT Pipeline Inc. we take a holistic approach to community development through affordable housing, small business development, and workforce development and training.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Access to capital is by far one of the biggest challenges. Most entrepreneurs will tell you that getting seed capital is probably the hardest to do. This is an even harder feat as a BIPOC female developer because we oftentimes are not given the same considerations as our peers in industry, or our counterparts are hesitant to work with the female vantage points in construction management and development.

Additionally, it takes financial fortitude during the start-up phase between year 1 and 5 to self-fund and bootstrap. For example, I had to deplete personal savings to begin acquiring land,  build liquidity, solicit angel investors from close family and friends, then get a job to make payroll because I needed the help navigating the bureaucracy of actually securing capital. As you can imagine, it’s quite taxing to secure funding before you can even qualify for funding. Hence, I have learned to get creative with opportunities and manage my relationships to the best of my ability.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a neighborhood revitalization firm that does real estate development, small business support, and urban planning.

We specialize in the restoration and infield construction of Single Family properties, commercial spaces for next generation businesses, and helping municipalities revitalize urban core neighborhoods.

Our mission, organizational culture, and quality of building sets us apart. There is currently no developer working is census tracts such as the ones we serve who bring class and dignity back to these properties. We are also retrofitting our homes for with  smart functionality and solar microgrid technology.

Our customers are investors, local, state, and federal governments, and small business owners.

Our level of investment is unprecedented in the target areas and will pay off tenfold in the long run. Our competitors provide a bandaid solution that doesn’t tie in the legacy of the neighborhoods with the future of community sustainability, our ability to execute both will continue to set us apart.

Lastly, our organizational culture is unmatched. I have never worked with a more committed group of SMEs in their fields that help to pull all the moving parts together. My team is culturally competent on the social and economic issues that are barriers to development. They operate in a heart posture of gratitude everyday to this work, with high performance, and most importantly, we HAVE FUN. I would say my team of ordinary indivials accomplishing the extra ordinary is our brand at FOBT.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Every parcel we acquire, I visit alone and put my hands in the ground and pray over it so that I’m always building on a strong foundation. It’s a practice I will always do. It grounds me. It reminds me that this opportunity is only here because of my ancestors who built before me, and I pray that our projects bear much fruit for families and businesses that come after me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fobtllc.com
• Instagram: Fobt_llc

Image Credits
EnglishImagery