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News, Resources & More For and About Black-Owned Businesses |
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Meet Mike Bellot, the CEO and Co-Founder of Solo Bag - an innovative school backpack that provides light for reading and power for charging mobile phones and tablets. The backpack was cleverly designed with a built-in solar panel to help students in third world countries who have little to no reliable access to electricity.
Darnell Washington, a native son of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who has over 30 years of experience in television broadcasting sales, management, and ownership, has created a new streaming service called the Black Wall Street TV Network. He says he was inspired by the extraordinary success of the original entrepreneurs of Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the early 1900s.
Micah Harrigan, a 10-year old entrepreneur from Philadelphia who started selling lemonade on the sidewalk last summer, is ready to upgrade his business. In fact, he just purchased a school bus that he plans to convert into a food truck.
Vegan Fine Foods, a Black-owned all-vegan grocery store based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is planning to open locations in every major city across the United States by 2024. The expansion will happen by rapidly opening both franchises and company-owned locations.
Meet Venroy Joseph, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of veJov Design, LLC, a Black-owned graphic design firm based in Pennsylvania that has been creating funeral programs since its founding. However, when the pandemic began, the agency began to receive a much larger demand for funeral programs for loved ones.
In 2011, at the age of 26, Ashley Lamothe became the youngest franchise owner in Chick-fil-A history. However, her story with the company started many years before when she began working at a Chick-fil-A restaurant outside of Atlanta at the age of 15. It turned out that she liked the job, and when it came time to attend Spelman College, she began working at the Chick-fil-A restaurant near campus as a director on the leadership team.
Meet 37-year old Danita Johnson, who has been named the new President of Business Operations for the D.C. United soccer team making her the first-ever Black president in Major League Soccer (MLS). She is also one of the few women who are in the highest executive ranks in the league's history.
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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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