 |
News & Inspiration For and About Black-Owned Businesses |
| Home | News/ Blog | Events | Publications | Organizations | Grants/ Funding |
CreativeSoul, an Atlanta-based Black-owned photography business, has been tapped to collaborate with Disney to launch a special edition artist series that features a beautiful collection of reimagined diverse dolls. All of them are inspired by the original Disney princesses.
Meet N’namdi Arinze, the founder and owner of Vegan Wangs, an Atlanta-based delivery and catering service that offers soy-free vegan chicken wings and gluten-free oyster mushroom wings along with side items and drinks. The Black-owned company has already pleased vegans and non-vegans alike with its various flavors including Buffalo, Thai sweet chili, Ginger teriyaki, Mango habanero, Lemon pepper, and more.
Earica Alexander Cole, an HBCU graduate of the Univ. of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and the first black multi-millionaire of Paparazzi Accessories, motivational speaker, philanthropist, financial advisor, and credit expert has written her first book. A memoir on her life’s journey thus far. Her book, Broken Pieces Created My Purpose, is filled with testimonials of experiences throughout her life. The release of the book is accompanied with a Self Guided Journal to Healing Your Broken Pieces.
Angel Gregorio, a serial entrepreneur and Howard University alum, has launched the first-ever Black-owned strip mall in Washington, DC with affordable commercial space specifically for other Black women business owners.
Meet Charis Jones, the founder and CEO of Sassy Jones, the nation’s fastest-growing Black-owned privately held retailer. What began as a part-time jewelry business has turned into an $80-million-dollar company. Even more, she just opened her company's very first flagship retail store.
Khat Rabbani and Ashley Williams, best friends and the founders of Hair Are Us, a successful line of hair extensions that generated $2 million in revenue in just two years, have launched a new curriculum to teach other entrepreneurs everything they need to know about the Black beauty industry.
Dr. Cameka Smith, founder and CEO of The BOSS Network, an online community of professional and entrepreneurial women who support each other through digital content, programs and event-based networking, announces the return of her organization's 2nd annual BOSS Impact Fund. The Fund focuses on investing in Black women led businesses and preparing these entrepreneurs to build scalable, growth aggressive companies. Its goal is to raise investment funding for 500+ Black women entrepreneurs over the next three years.
| 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...]
|