Showing 16 results for:
Black Business Month
Popular topics
All results
Taking trips to the local beauty supply store is the norm for the majority of the Black community. Whether it be to pick up hair for a new protective style or to re-up on natural hair products, the store is the place for one’s needs. However, not many beauty supply stores are led by Black owners. According to a report, “Of the 9,000 beauty supply stores the Black Owned Beauty Supply Organization estimates are in the United States, about 3,000 are owned by Black people.” Closing out Black Business Month, AfroTech is highlighting a few Black-owned beauty supply stores.
Black founders are uniting to spotlight businesses in Harlem throughout Black Business Month. In conversation with Lawrence Phillips, founder of Green Book Global, he revealed why he has teamed up with founders Anthony Edwards (EatOkra ) and Marvin Johnson (Dashible). With Phillips’ efforts to empower Black travelers globally, the partnership is a reflection of a similar desire, starting first with restaurants in Harlem, NY.
Black women are the beauty standard, period. Janell Stephens — founder of Camille Rose — has taken her love of beauty beyond the small kitchen that was the birthplace of the natural haircare line back in 2011. “What I’m most proud about is the fact that I am able to provide jobs and a comfortable living for my family as well as others,” Stephens told AfroTech. Beauty is more than what meets the eye for Stephens. In fact, it is more about celebrating yourself and those around you.
In 1900, James Weldon Johnson penned the poem, “Lift Every Voice And Sing.” Later, his brother J. Rosamond Johnson would put music to that poem, which would be one day known as the Black National Anthem. Written initially to commemorate the birthday of President Abraham Lincoln, the anthem is now a song of pride for Black people and speaks to the audacity of hope and a future far beyond many people’s wildest dreams. For years, Black men and women have latched on to that audacity, and through innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit, they created a life and a future they could be proud of. As the United States celebrates Black Business Month in August, it is a time to reflect on the glorious past and strategize for a more promising future. LinkedIn is a partner in that strategic effort and collaborated with YouGov to gather data about the state of Black businesses that can help shed light on the great strides the community has made and the opportunities to advance. During its...
Look out — teen entrepreneur Gabby Goodwin in building an empire. Gabrielle “Gabby” Goodwin is the 14-year-old entrepreneur and “CEO of Confidence” behind GaBBY Bows and Confidence by Gabby Goodwin. She is also responsible for saving little Black girls across the world when it comes to losing hair bows as the mastermind behind the first patented and non-slip double-face double-snap barrette (her products can even be found in retail giants like Target). Courtesy of GaBBY Bows When she isn’t teaming up with her mother to run her business, Goodwin is just the normal teenager living life to the fullest while being all about her paper at the same time. In a recent interview with AfroTech, as the South Carolina native headed home from her first day of high school, she discussed her journey into entrepreneurship, a recent surprise from Gayle King, and what’s next for her company.
Who knew that entrepreneur Ja’Nye Hampton’s first high school job of working at a flower shop would present a full circle moment for her owning her own shop in Detroit? Even the Detroit native counted herself out of the flower business as a busy teenager just hustling to make a way. What started as an after school gig eventually led to Hampton discovering her passion for making flower arrangements and founding Detroit Flower Company. It’s that opportunity that’s helped her create more jobs for young girls in her local community and put small businesses on the map in her city.
Education may not be everything, but a strong work ethic is, and Darrel Harris is proof of that in the trucking industry. For Harris, formal education wasn’t in his plans when he sought a career, but making money and a life for himself was. Thanks to advice from his mother’s boyfriend at age 19, he landed a job as a dock worker where he says the money made was like a dream come true coming from where he was from, Yahoo! Finance reports. “I went down there and applied for the job and I’ll never forget they offered me $10.50 an hour as a part-time dockworker and where I come from that’s real money,” said Harris in an interview with Black Enterprise. “I remember at the time thinking if I can hang on to this job and make $10.50 a year for the rest of my career I’ll be happy.” Life had bigger plans for Harris, who over about two and a half decades managed to work his way up the trucking and shipping industry ladder to become Yellow Trucking’s first Black president. In April, Harris...
Ally Financial is supporting Black Business Month the best way companies can by investing money back into Black communities. In an effort to address issues of low capital and lack of access to funding for Black founders, the digital financial services company has pledged to make a hefty $30 million investment into venture capital funds created to support Black and people of color, a press release reports. A sum of $25 million will go toward SoLa Impact’s recently launched $300 million Black Impact Fund and the remaining $5 million will be invested into the Fearless Fund — a venture capital fund created by women of color for women of color. In addition to these investments, Ally Financial will also work closely with Fearless fund to develop a series of programs to promote more Black entrepreneurship and wealth growth. “Black-owned businesses are the backbone of many communities throughout the country,” Diane Morais — President of Consumer and Commercial Banking at Ally Bank — said in...
E-commerce is the future of retail experiences around the world, and it’s a common trend that many businesses and platforms are starting to pick up on. The last year-plus in the pandemic has taught consumers a valuable lesson when it comes to online shopping and has birthed an era of mass conversion for businesses pivoting to the digital landscape. To celebrate Black-owned businesses, it’s only right that AfroTech spotlights the handful of apps and platforms that exist to show how technology can be a helpful tool in the e-commerce space. There are hundreds and thousands of Black-owned businesses waiting to be discovered online, so it’s up to these platforms to streamline connections between brands and their potential customers. If you’re not sure where to go to find new Black-owned businesses, check out these digital marketplaces that are making the discovery process a lot easier.
The world of social media has grown to become an interesting place for influencers, where they can build communities and become their own business-owners. While some people establish careers as influencers with intention, others like Marley Mauvais stumble into it accidentally. But carving her own lane in the digital social space has allowed her to create an unconventional, yet successful brand through fruit content creation. Mauvais — a plant-based content creator and self-proclaimed fruit influencer from New Jersey — like many young people struggled to figure out what her career path would be after college. Even after earning a bachelor of science degree in entrepreneurship from Long Island University, she still hadn’t figured out if running a business was meant for her. “I always knew I was an entrepreneur,” she tells AfroTech, but after her first business flopped she moved back home to take a year off to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. At that same time, she...
PepsiCo and the National Urban League (NUL) are teaming up to provide financial support for Black-owned restaurants. According to a press release, the global food and beverage (F&B) leader has formed a partnership with the NUL to launch their Black Restaurant Accelerator Program, which has pledged to give 500 Black restaurant owners in 12 U.S. cities a total of $10 million over the next five years. Both entities’ support comes about following a tumultuous year for small Black-owned businesses that were impacted by the pandemic. “As the pandemic exposed existing disparities many minority business owners face, we saw a fundamental threat that could erase the decades of progress Black-owned restaurants have made,” C.D. Glin — Vice President, Global Head of Philanthropy at The PepsiCo Foundation — said in a statement. “This investment will help Black restaurateurs not only recover from the pandemic but set them on a path to long-term economic resilience. We are inspired by the progress...
For many Black entrepreneurs, the true path to economic freedom and independence starts with the launch of a business – but entrepreneurship doesn’t have to stop at one venture. Just take it from serial entrepreneur Ryan Fletcher, a former A&R executive juggling multiple thriving business endeavors. Fletcher — a Brooklyn native and graduate of Purdue University — grew up surrounded by music, so naturally he believed his calling was to get involved in the music and entertainment industry. After working at places like Def Jam Recordings and Downtown Records, he started dabbling in his own side hustles that quickly turned into buzzing businesses like Yacht Club Company — a Black-owned yacht experience based in Tulum — and ECOGAVE — a biodegradable straw company. In addition to helming his own businesses, Fletcher is also one of three co-hosts of the Guys Next Door Podcast — a show that details the experiences of millennial Black men today. All of these ventures are a part of Fletcher’s...
Supporting Black businesses has become a common practice for many over the last few months as people are demanding non-Black consumers to put their money where their mouth is. As we continue to fight for racial equality in America, Black businesses all over are working to create more economic opportunities that benefit all. In doing so, they also ask for customers to support their efforts to compete with the bigger e-commerce businesses of the world like Amazon, Walmart, Target, and others. In celebration of Black Business Month, check out the below list of Black-owned businesses to replace everyday essential shopping: Clothing, Shoes, & Accessories Nubian Skin View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nubian Skin (@nubianskin) Nubian Skin is an inclusive hosiery and lingerie brand that was founded specifically to cater to people of color and their skin tones. The brand offers intimates for both men and women, including bras, underwear, menswear, swimwear, and more. Kahmune View...
At Drexell & Honeybee’s in Brewton, Alabama, restaurant owners Freddie and Lisa Thomas-McMillan display classic Southern hospitality. With their business philosophy, “Feed the Need,” they operate on a donation-based system without turning anyone away reports Good News Network . Guests from all walks of life can come in and enjoy southern cuisine served family style. After their meal, tucked in the corner of the mom and pop soul food establishment, is a donation box where guests can leave a donation that fits their needs. These donations go right back into running the restaurant meaning the owners get virtually no profit, says Black Business . In a video by It’s a Southern Thing , Lisa explains that she learned the lesson of giving back to others as a young girl which has carried on into her adult life. “We don’t have any suggested prices, everybody gets treated the same,” she said in the video . “If you go to the box and don’t have one red cent— no one will ever know. And we won’t...