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News & Inspiration For and About Black-Owned Businesses |
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Mike Burton, a rapper and entrepreneur from Texas also known as Keybeaux, is earning over $82,000 a year writing raps that he sells on Fiver, a popular freelancer site. For nearly seven years, he racked up more than $500,000 from all his commissions.
Meet Delmar Johnson and Shayna Atkins, two African American women who are the founders of ExpandHR, the first ever Black woman-owned, user-friendly Human Resources platform. The two entrepreneurs have combined their professional experiences as business owners to change how entrepreneurs hire their next employees while staying compliant in their businesses.
Heavi Hitters, a local barbershop founded by entrepreneur Shannon Jackson in Omaha, Nebraska, has made history as the first full-service Black woman-owned and operated barbershop in the city. Even more, it has recently expanded to a newer and bigger location.
A group of Black investors led by Dr. Bernice A. King and Ashley D. Bell are purchasing Holladay Bank & Trust located near Salt Lake City, Utah. They are making history as the first Black American investors to ever buy a bank that was formally white-owned. Even more, once the sale is finalized, it will be the only Black-owned bank west of Texas, and the only one in the entire Mountain West region of the country.
Teasha Chestnut, the founder and CEO of Sugarholic Desserts, is shaking things up in her business starting with her infamous alcohol-infused caketinis (cake-martinis). She plans to do small batch collection drops of specialty dessert boxes with a limited-time order window. The collections will feature the brand's popular selection of individual-sized treats stuffed in reusable shakers with a shot glass.
Meet Mandy Bowman, the founder and CEO of Official Black Wall Street (OBWS), an innovative marketplace app that is now the fastest growing platform for finding and supporting Black-owned businesses in the United States. All in all, Mandy says that her app has already recirculated about $10 million in sales and business services back into Black-owned businesses. Now, she is focused on expanding her services to ten other countries including Canada, South Africa, France, the UK, and the Netherlands.
Meet Kaywanda Lamb, the founder and CEO of the Spanish for Black Girls™ program. As a seasoned certified educator with over 18 years of Spanish teaching experience, she is on a mission to help 10,000 professional Black women become bilingual with her program and international immersion experience.
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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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