LESSONS from LEADERS: Lonnie A. Saboor

The purpose of this audio podcast series is to introduce listeners to successful African American business owners based in Atlanta and Georgia.  This episode is different.  You’re introduced to one man, Lonnie A. Saboor.  But his passion for the last 50 years has been to help small business owners become successful.  Most know him as the man who led the City of Atlanta’s economic development department for more than 40 years.  The people in that department, rebranded as Invest Atlanta and because of Lonnie produced more than 1,000 profitable business owners.  

But Lonnie’s track record of helping small business owners actually started before he became known as the Invest Atlanta “Money Man.”   He created an incredible financial infrastructure for the city’s Nation of Islam businesses when he was younger than age 25.  In this podcast, you’ll learn what he did to stymie the Internal Revenue Service by making decisions that were absolutely genius.

However, instead of applying his ability and access to resources only for himself, he shared his information about building credit, learning how to write a functional business plan and understanding the cyclical process of being an entrepreneur with anyone willing to learn.  That created a list of commercial wins that boosted commerce in Atlanta.  This podcast gives specific examples of the people behind those accomplishments.  Lonnie tells the story of how African American business owner, Howard Spillar brought the first Wendy’s franchise to the area.  He also explains why a man who came to him as a first-time business owner was able to grow sizable companies in two separate industries: food and real estate. 

The story Lonnie tells about two brothers who started a business with three brick-and-mortar Atlanta locations based on their mother’s recipes from India shows how inclusive the opportunities are in Atlanta, GA.  

What may really impress and surprise everyone though, is how long Lonnie has shared information with Atlanta’s community of new business owners.  Here’s a hint – he first took the job with the city in the 1970s. 

Although this podcast episode doesn’t focus on the success of one business owner, it does explain how Atlanta’s legacy of working collectively has spawned a foundation of economic stability that few other cities can mimic.  Lonnie’s professional life story also  showcases how opening the doors of opportunity to hard-working people from multiple cultures can create an entire eco-system based on sound financial principals that will grow and thrive for decades.  

This episode helps any listener understand more about why  metro Atlanta, GA provides a unique template for entrepreneurial success.