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News & Inspiration For and About Black-Owned Businesses |
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| Photo Credit: Charlotte Observer |
At just 16 years old, Gabby Morrison, who is from Charlotte, North Carolina, has been appointed as the manager of Nana Morrison's Soul Food's newest restaurant location. Her parents gave her the responsibility to run the family restaurant where she will earn a $100,000 annual salary for her role.
Meet Sarah Mensah, the first-ever Black female President of Nike's Air Jordan brand, which generated $5.1 billion in revenue in 2022 alone. In fact, she is the first woman of any race to ever hold the prestigious position. This comes nearly two years after she made history as the first Black woman to lead Nike's North American business.
Meet Randy and Linda Davis, an African American couple from Denver, Colorado who are the owners of The Better Mattress, the first Black-owned and operated retail mattress store in the entire Rocky Mountain region.
Ansel Troy, an African American entrepreneur from Oakland, California, has found a lucrative venture as an Airbnb host and owner after acquiring two tiny houses and putting them in his yard. Now that his business is thriving, he has been able to quit his full-time job and Airbnb has become his primary source of income.
T.O.L. Barber College, the first Black-owned barber school in Toledo, Ohio, has opened its doors to aspiring entrepreneurs in the haircare industry. Its owner Antwan Turner, who is a barber himself, hopes that it will inspire his students to lead a path to a better life.
Edwin Jardin, a highly successful digital marketer with almost 10 years of experience in the industry, has collectively helped Black-owned businesses reach more than $75 million in sales. As the co-founder of Black Ads Marketing Agency, he specializes in scaling Black and other minority-owned brands by identifying their website problems, designing their sales funnels, and implementing effective social media ad strategies.
Meet Avante Price and Eli Taylor-Lemire, two young Black entrepreneurs who dropped out of NYU to launch POSH, an online event management and ticketing platform that is expected to rival ticketing giants such as Ticketmaster and Eventbrite. The startup recently raised $5 million in a seed round to further expand its operations.
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| Top Black Business Conferences, Workshops, and Seminars: |
Every year, many Black business conferences are held across the country that specifically cater to established or aspiring African American business owners, professionals, authors, bloggers, and more. Literally thousands of people travel to network and do business at such events. These events are usually held in cities like Atlanta, Chicago, and New York, and typically include extensive training workshops, powerful speeches, power networking sessions, grand hall expos, and more. [Find an event to attend...]
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| Top Black and Minority Business Grants and Funding Opportunities: |
From time to time, there are Black and minority business grants available to help African American and other minority entrepreneurs. Sometimes, they grants are offered by major companies, non-profit organizations, and even government agencies. Admittedly, such opportunities can be very difficult to find as many have been discontinued. Others in the past were offered as one or two year programs and did not renew. Despite this, such opportunities are real and are more often offered through local programs compared to national. [Get funded...]
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| Top Black and Minority Business Organizations: |
There are many non-profit Black and Minority business organizations that aim to be of assistance to African American business owners. They are very helpful resources that offer valuable assets including grants, seminars, literature, consulting, and professional networking opportunities. There are also several government agencies that aim to assist minority business owners, including Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, and even women of all ethnic backgrounds. [Find the right organization for you...]
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| Top Black Business Magazines, Publications and Blogs: |
Believe it or not, there are hundreds of Black business magazines - that is, business-focused magazines that target African American readers. There are also many publications that are focused on professional career development. Some are local, some are national, and some are even international. Many are even available as digital publications via your laptop, tablet or smartphone. There are also many blogs that can be very helpful and resourceful to both aspiring and established Black business owners. [Find a publication that meets your needs...]
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| Interesting Facts & Statistics About Black-Owned Businesses: |
Black-owned businesses accounted for about 28% percent of all businesses in Washington, DC, the highest ratio in the nation. Second, was the state of Georgia, where 20% of businesses were Black-owned, and the state of Maryland, with about 19% in Illinois. The state of New York, however, has the most Black-owned firms at 204,093 but this only accounts for 10.6% of the businesses in the state. Second is the state of Georgia, third is the state of Florida, and fourth is the state of Texas with the most Black-owned businesses but not necessarily the highest ratios. [Learn more...]
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