From flipping houses to a thriving business, Chicago couple finds solutions with U.S. Bank

Black Wall Design Co. took part in the ‘Small Business, Big Ambition’ campaign hosted by bank subsidiary Elavon 

When Ann and Dareon Woodard started their residential contracting and renovation firm in the Chicagoland area and needed to come up with a name, they thought back to a successful design choice they made with one of their earliest projects together.

“One of the earlier homes we flipped and sold had a fireplace and pop-out mantel so that when people walked into the door, it really captured them,” said Ann, who owns Black Wall Design Co. along with her husband. “That was really our first big thing, to paint the mantel and the fireplace black and decorate it. When we sat down and thought about making this a legitimate business, we thought about that black mantel and fireplace. Thus, Black Wall Design was born.”

That was years ago, back in the days of working their old 9-to-5 jobs during the day, renovating in the evenings and sleeping when they could amid the chaos of construction. It wasn’t long before the Woodards raked in five-star reviews by the dozens from homeowners who had hired them to make home repairs, renovate their spaces and more.

In those early days of launching Black Wall Design Co., however, they also faced their fair share of challenges.

“Right at the beginning, it was access to capital,” said Dareon, who left his corporate job to return to his family’s long history of construction. “For instance, we were not familiar with lending for our clients (to provide them options to help cover for the cost of renovations or other contracting work). We were building a brand, they did not know us, so to ask them for five to ten thousand dollars, that was an extreme amount of money. Access to capital, funding, lending… We didn’t know we needed to offer it.”

The Woodards found a solution for their clients with U.S. Bank, enrolling in Avvance, which empowers businesses with the ability to offer consumer financing during checkout with a quick application and instant decision. Black Wall Design Co. also utilizes talech, a point-of-sale system owned and provided by U.S. Bank.  

“U.S. Bank is fully integrated into our business,” Dareon said. “It matters to us.”

For business owners just starting out or facing roadblocks, they might look for additional help in solving for challenges.  It could be a local non-profit or a U.S. Bank Business Access Advisor, a service provided to small business owners to help connect them with capital, community partners and resources that can help them start, sustain or grow their business.

“Small business owners are the lifeblood of our communities, and being able to create or support access by building connections is key to helping businesses succeed,” said Micae Brown, a Chicago-based Business Access Advisor at U.S. Bank. “It’s something we are passionate and driven to do through all of our work.”

In the case of Black Wall Design Co., the Woodards also took part in the Small Business, Big Ambition campaign as a featured business. It’s a contest hosted by Elavon, a subsidiary of U.S. Bank and a global leader in payment processing, in which business owners have a chance to win a $2,000 gift card, a marketing package, a business consultation and a point-of-sale makeover. To learn more about the contest, which ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on March 28, 2025, and eligibility, visit the Small Business, Big Ambition homepage.

“We built this contest to fuel their success and to equip them with the right tools for growth,” said Gus Fernandez, a marketing leader at U.S. Bank and Elavon. “We share in their ambition to innovate, create jobs and impact their local communities.”

For Brown, said she sees ambition every day in the business owners she is coaching, connecting with resources and helping reach her goals. Aspiring business owners looking to harness their ambition and turn it into something tangible, the easiest place to start is by not being afraid to ask for help, she said.

“I always encourage my business owners to be curious, ask questions, and engage with the opportunities in front of them. You never know where it will lead,” said Brown, who has helped hundreds of business owners take the next step in their journey.

The Woodards shared what ambition – the drive they harnessed to turn their dream into a thriving business – means to them when they think about what it’s like to be small business owners with big dreams.

“Ambition means going, doing, making it happen with the ups and the downs, the ins and the outs, and the roller coaster that life and business can sometimes be, but not stopping,” Ann said. “(It’s about) finding a way to make it happen.”