Black Business News | Directory of Black-Owned Businesses

July 8, 2020

Boss Lady Amazon Guru Teaches Her Students How to Net $12K Through COVID-19

At a time when many were trying to figure out how to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic, Yassin Hall has successfully taught over 100 people how to set up their online stores and has even celebrated when some of her students netted over $10,000 in one week. Hall’s social media pages show receipt screenshots and videos proving how some students have earned as much as $30,000.

July 7, 2020

Meet the Entrepreneur Re-Branding Black Women Founders, Helping Them Increase Revenue From Their Side Hustles

Brand Strategist, Author, and Speaker, Lavette Minn, transitions her business into a Brand Development Agency to help women in business increase their sales and leads through building their brand with Attraction Marketing and Universal Laws.

Lavette Minn is known as a “The Family Brand Educator,” with years of experience in helping many people and businesses reach their full potentials by harnessing universal laws. In line with her goal of sharing her wealth of knowledge and experience with as many people as possible, Lavette Minn recently transitioned her company, The Family Brand Movement, LLC into a Brand Development Agency to teach the art of building a brand with Attraction Marketing. Her objective with the agency is to achieve increased sales by leveraging the power of attraction marketing and the concept of universal laws.

15-Year Old Opens Black-Owned Cupcake Shop During Pandemic

Layla Wallace, founder of Layla's Cool Pop in Kalamazoo, Michigan

Meet Layla Wallace, a 15-year old teen baker and entrepreneur from Michigan, who is making boss moves with the launch of her new cupcake shop called Layla's Cool Pops. Her storefront is located in downtown Kalamazoo and is the result of what started years ago as an economics project in her 4th-grade class.

July 6, 2020

Meet the Black Woman CEO of the Tech Startup That Amazon Just Bought For $1.2 Billion

Aicha Evans is making history in the tech industry as a Black woman CEO of a self-driving car start-up called Zoox that has recently been acquired by Amazon for $1.2 billion. As Zoox remains a standalone business, she and Jesse Levinson, the company's co-founder and CTO, will continue their subsequent roles in the company.

July 3, 2020

Visa Launches Program Offering $10K Grants to Black Women Business Owners

African American woman business owner and entrepreneur

In an effort to specifically support Black women-owned small businesses, Visa is extending their partnership with IFundWomen through a new series of grants and educational resources. Ten $10,000 grants will go to Black women in the U.S. to help them run and grow their businesses.

Investors Buying Entire Blocks in Houston to Revitalize and Bring in Black-Owned Businesses

Black investors buying blocks in Houston to develop

Real estate developer Chris Senegal and broker Jay Bradley are teaming up to buy several blocks to renovate and revitalize in Houston. Together with Cocoa Collective Xchange, they are helping bring back Black-owned businesses into the Fifth Ward community through a Buying the Block campaign.

July 2, 2020

6 Black-Owned Beverage Brands to Support (Wines, Teas, and Energy Drinks!)

Nailah Ellis-Brown, founder of Ellis Island Sweet Tea

African American entrepreneurs are widening out and starting companies in all kinds of industries. They are no longer just owners of barbershops, hair salons, and restaurants. Nowadays, they are investing in bigger more global ideas like tech companies, investment firms, and global food and drink distribution.

Helpful Resources:

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]