Negosentro.com | How You Can Support Black-Owned Businesses | According to the United States Census Bureau, black Americans who own their own business or are self-employed make up a very small portion of the demographic. In their most recent survey, the Census found that African Americans owned 124,004 businesses in 2017, which counted for 2.2 percent of the 5.7 million businesses in the United States.
Experts believe that these low numbers are due to systemic racism and inequalities that black Americans face today. Recent events have brought this issue to light even more, as 41 percent of black-owned businesses have gone under in the past few months. With the traction that the Black Lives Matter movement has gotten, many people are asking how they can support the movement and black-owned businesses.
Here are a few ways we can all fight the effects that systemic racism has on black-owned businesses.
Find Black-Owned Businesses and Support Them
The most important thing in supporting black-owned businesses is to purchase their products or services. There are many consumers who don’t typically think about the owners of the companies they purchase from, but more and more customers are wanting to buy from businesses that make a difference.
Challenge yourself to do some research on any business you plan to purchase from. Oftentimes consumers look for company characteristics such as if they give back to the community or use sustainable eco-friendly operations. Now more than ever, it is time for purchasers to look at who owns or runs the business they purchase from.
If you’re looking for businesses to support, there are multiple apps on the market that hold lists of minority-owned businesses to support. Applications like Official Black Wall Street, We Buy Black, and Black Nation are all different directories you can use to find and support different black-owned businesses based on your purchasing needs.
Write to Your National and Local Representatives
What many people don’t realize is that there are barriers for minority businesses at both the national and state levels. However, consumers can use the power of their voices to help black entrepreneurs at the local and national level.
Connie Evans, CEO and president of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity told Entrepreneur Magazine, “Business owners and businesses of color have more difficulty accessing new markets…and all governments, whether you’re local or state, have contracting opportunities. Oftentimes those contract opportunities go to very, very, very large businesses. So, you could petition your local or state government to break up these big bundle contracting programs so that smaller and black-owned businesses can have access. That’s a very important one, and it’s something that can be done easily if there is will and demand.”
On the national level, it is important for us to talk to Congress representatives about how the Small Business Administration decides which businesses get capital. Smaller businesses are lacking the funding they need and 90 percent of black-owned businesses consist of 10 employees or less. With this in mind, please consider writing to your officials to eliminate regulations that allow first-come, first-serve funding.
Donate Your Services or Money
So many smaller black-owned businesses go out of business due to the underlying costs of running a company. If you are in support of a black-owned business that you don’t want to see go under due to the current state of our nation, find ways to donate to them with your services or monetary donations.
If you are an electrician, plumber, carpenter, lawyer, accountant, cleaning service, or any other type of service that can be useful to a small business, please consider donating your time. Many of these businesses have been struggling in the last few months and any extra support like that may make the difference to help them stay afloat.
If you don’t have specific skills to offer, consider starting a GoFundMe page for your favorite black-owned businesses that might need a little extra love. For example, CNN reported a community in Minneapolis set up a page to support the popular Sammy’s Avenue Eatery, a black-owned business in their area.
Robert F. Smith, CEO and founder of Vista Equity Partners, has spoken about the importance of prosperous businesses within the black community. He said, “Success is only real if our community is protected, our potential is realized, and our most valuable assets, our people, find strength in owning the businesses that provide economic stability in our community.” With this in mind, it’s vital that we all take action to support the black community and its business owners through this trying time. Knowing that the sustained history of systemic racism has had a significant impact on black-owned businesses, it’s imperative that consumers step up to stay informed and supportive. With your help, black-owned businesses can be more successful than ever.
