Tag: Black owned businesses

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New Report Details Strategies for Development of Memphis’ Black-Owned Businesses

Photo by Microsoft 365 on Unsplash

A new report released by Heartland Forward says that 12,571 Black residents in the city of Memphis earn their income through self-employment. 

“Focusing on Shelby County alone, there are 10,613 Black business owners, 3,174 of which own an incorporated business,” the report said.

However, the city also has a disproportionate number of Black businesses without employees. 

This makes Memphis “one of the densest concentrations of Black business ownership in the United States.”

The report titled, “Black Business Opportunity Strategy: The Journey of Black Business Owners in Memphis,” examines data to “provide key insights regarding Black business ownership.” 

“The report examines the unique data and characteristics of the Memphis entrepreneurship ecosystem with the goal of identifying the key areas to focus on for developing programming and policies supporting and growing Black businesses across the country,” said the company in a statement.

Memphis was chosen as the city to focus on, not only because of the number of Black residents but also because the company felt that the city can “no longer afford to material invest in strategies that do not address the core issues facing Black businesses.”

Heartland Forward states that business ownership can be a positive tool for generational wealth. However, they also explain that the path to entrepreneurship is “complex and nonlinear.” There are also systemic inequities that can make this journey harder for Black business owners, compared to their white counterparts.

“For underrepresented populations, entrepreneurship is exponentially hard,” the report says. “While white entrepreneurs have numerous examples of successful business owners from their community, access to startup capital via friends, family, and personal savings …underrepresented populations do not have comparable access to these resources.”

The pandemic also brought to light the inability for Black business owners to pivot as easily as white business owners. According to research from the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, Black business owners suffered the largest loss during the pandemic.

“Black business owners still experienced a disproportionate negative impact on business earnings of 12 to 14 percent higher relative to White business owners,” said the study.

Heartland Forward said that this was likely due to systemic inequities such as access to innovative tools, as well as internet and digital literacy. 

The report also explains that a major issue for Black business owners is “a lack of understanding the innovation process and having little exposure to alternate business models.”

While the report goes on to list a number of issues that contribute to the struggles the Black business owners face, it also contains solutions dealing with technical assistance, material resources, and increasing the percent of contracts awarded to minority-owned businesses.

It also heavily emphasizes the importance of support and promotion in the success of Black-owned businesses.

“Promotion of contemporary and successful Black business owners is critical for the next generation to visualize what their businesses could become,” the report says. “Memphis needs to both promote and celebrate their Black business owners. This also provides exposure to opportunity entrepreneurship and cultivates ideas for business growth and development among necessity entrepreneurs.”

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Living Room to Host Fifth Black Dollar Market

(Credit: Love King Clothing)

The Black Dollar Market is returning for its fifth installment on April 23rd at the Living Room located at 495 Hollywood Street from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is $10.

The event will feature up-and-coming Black business owners from more than 20 cities. According to Christopher Craig, owner of Living Room, he had been doing pop-ups since 2020. However, he noticed that the spaces were not only predominantly white, but Black people seemed to be missing from the hosting aspect as well. He said there were never any events geared towards Black people.

The Black Dollar Market was the result of a drunken thought that Craig had after leaving a pop-up, he said. 

A business owner himself, Craig has always hosted events in his space because he not only  wanted to be a “bridge point” where people can be themselves, but he also wanted to provide a way for his own items to be showcased. He describes the Living Room as a “Black Ikea,” where everything is made by him, and is for sale.

“I feel like it’s hard for up-and-coming businesses to get the ball rolling and to keep it going,” said Craig. “The first year or two is going to be an uphill battle.”

According to a February 2023 report published by Pew Research Center, 58 percent of Black adults said “supporting Black businesses, or “buying Black,” is an extremely or very effective strategy for moving Black people toward equality in the United States.

Craig is currently still accepting vendors, but here are a few who will be featured at the event.

Love King Clothing

(Credit: Love King Clothing)

Larry Kelly is a Memphis native, and the head designer for Love King Clothing. The fashion designer runs an online boutique, and occasionally sells at pop-up events in areas like Nashville and Little Rock since he currently does not have a storefront.

According to Kelly, Love King Clothing is known for its unique designs. The brand was started back in 2013, but Kelly said he was recently inspired by other vendors to take his business more seriously, and to put his “best foot forward.”

Kelly said he has always had a “passion for fashion,” and that he’s a sneakerhead at heart. 

“I most definitely try to keep up with the latest trends, and I start the trends,” Kelly said.

Customers can expect to see new releases such as t-shirts, swimwear, and other special surprises alongside “good vibes.”

Olajide Ibitoye

(Credit: Olajide Ibitoye)

Olajide Ibitoye is a Memphis-based abstract contouring artist who mainly focuses on jewelry and alchemical fashion.

“Essentially, the fact that a lot of my jewelry doubles as other pieces is like a focal point in the creation process,” said Ibitoye. “The fact that it can be two, three, four, or five other things; that’s a really important thing that people who patronize my business know that it is really up to them, what they want their jewelry to be perceived of.”

Ibitoye has been in business for almost two years, and said that he actually began making jewelry after a friend sent him a TikTok of someone making a “really shitty” nose cuff. He said they went to Walmart and got pliers and wires, and he took it from there, making jewelry for every body part.

It’s a labor of love and curiosity, as he is always looking for ways to “remix” pieces. He operates atelier-style, making “one-of-one” pieces. “That informs my process,” said Ibitoye. “Everything is literally touched by my hand, so I feel like I infuse a different energy in my pieces as well.”

Sage Roses

(Credit: Sage Roses)

Sage Roses is “a holistic experience curated for the gworls,” said co-founder Destiny Janee.

The brand has been around since June of 2022, and is run by Janee and her business partner Dominique Berner. Janee explained they are a holistic lifestyle brand that specializes in making organic products.

They primarily focus on herbal health, selling bath teas, drinking teas, and herbal smoking blends.

“Herbal health isn’t talked about,” said Janee. “We started out as a CBD/THC business, and we don’t feel like women aren’t represented in that industry. Our tagline is ‘for the gworls, by the gworls,’ because everything we create is targeted for women. Especially women of color, and Black women like ourselves.”

Janee said they don’t believe in “putting stuff out just to put it out.” She added they can’t be a holistic lifestyle brand if they don’t know the benefits of their own product, and they pride themselves on knowing what every herb in their product does.

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Beauty Supply Store Owner Hopes To Reclaim Black Beauty Industry

Chasity Monroe (Credit: Raphael Baker)

The Black Owned Beauty Supply Association (BOBSA) estimates that the Black hair care and cosmetics industry is estimated to be worth $9 billion. However, it also estimates that less than 5 percent of the beauty supply stores in the United States are Black-owned.

This information can be shocking, as beauty supply stores carry products not found in retailers like Ulta Beauty or Sally’s that are essential for the upkeep of textured hair. 

“If we’re not driving the decisions, that just suggests to us further discrimination. Just really being on the short end of the stick,” said Chasity Monroe, owner of Pink Noire Beauty Supply and Cosmetics, located at 152 North Avalon Street in Memphis, Tennessee.

Pink Noire is one of the few Black-owned beauty supply stores in Memphis, and opened its doors in April 2022.

“If there are people making products for us, that don’t really know about our hair, but are trying to get a profit, that’s never going to end well,” Monroe said. “We’re literally financing generations of a whole other community, and that dollar is not going to come back to our community.”

According to BOBSA, a majority of the beauty supply stores in the country are owned by Korean immigrants.

Monroe started her career in beauty about 15 years ago when she worked for Procter & Gamble. In conducting market research and working on consumer insights, she found herself having several conversations with Black women. Monroe pinpoints these moments as the beginning of her understanding of the Black beauty industry from a corporate perspective.

However, as a Black woman, Monroe also had an understanding of the Black beauty industry from a consumer perspective.

“Obviously, as a Black woman, I’ve been going to beauty supply stores my whole life,” she said.

According to Monroe, one of her biggest takeaways was that Black women were overwhelmed with what the market currently had for beauty supply stores. Pink Noire seeks to remedy this, and Monroe likens the store’s layout to that of a grocery store.

“That is a big point of differentiation,” said Monroe. “We even have and highlight a Black-owned section.”

Monroe said that her decision comes at a time where Black-owned brands are not only celebrated because of their ownership, but because consumers prefer to buy from a company that understands their specific needs.

“Obviously folks who look like us tend to understand what our needs are,” said Monroe. “A lot of the time those products are also really great quality versus some of those bigger company brands that are just trying to get a profit.”

While some stores prioritize the profit aspect of running a business, Monroe hopes to also make shopping an experience.

“I wanted to have something that’s not like ‘the price of having Black hair,’” Monroe said. “It’s not a problem at all. It’s a gift that should be curated by a great experience.”

She recalls being in one beauty supply store on a rainy day, and as she was perusing products, she could feel the rain hitting the products as it leaked through missing ceiling tiles.

“It was a deplorable situation, and there were tons of Black women shopping in there.” 

This is just one situation that propelled Monroe to act. She recalls the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, and seeing videos of Black women being harassed by non-Black beauty supply store owners, as calls to action.

“Being able to sit still, having those experiences really made me say ‘this is something that the market is missing, and this is something that Black women deserve,’” Monroe said.

“There’s been this whole push for Black women, for us to say ‘it’s just not okay for us to be resilient, or for us to be the strong people, or for us to get the wrong end of the stick all the time,’” Monroe said.

Pink Noire heavily emphasizes a “Black girl luxury” aesthetic, because Monroe said she feels as if it’s time for Black women to be celebrated.

“I felt it was important to have a place, even if it was just for a few minutes, where you feel important, and you feel valued, and you know we got your back.”

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DeMoir Books & Things Provides ‘A Seat at the Table’ for the Community

Credit: Demoir Books And Things

As a Black man with locs, Jeremy DeMoir remembers the first time that he saw a book character that looked like him. He recalls the moment that DC Comics debuted the character Static Shock, and he was able to say “hey, he kind of looks like me.”

This memory represents two themes that would remain prevalent even in his adult life: his love for reading and the importance of representation for Black and brown children.

DeMoir is the owner of DeMoir Books & Things at 739 North White Station Road, Memphis’ only Black-owned, brick and mortar bookstore. Through reflecting on his experiences as a child growing up, as well as his career as an educator, DeMoir realized that there was a lack of book accessibility in Black and brown schools.

“When I was growing up we had a few Black-owned bookstores, and they slowly dwindled out as Barnes and Noble came into the neighborhood,” DeMoir said. “With the rise of Amazon, a lot of independent bookstores closed in general. So now in the city, there are four independent bookstores. I realized that in a city that is predominantly African American, there was a need, and when you see a need, then you realize you should feel that gap.”

Accessibility was one issue, but after serving as a teacher in traditional, charter, and urban schools, DeMoir also realized that there was a lack of representation in reading material. He didn’t want his remedy to only exist within the walls of his classroom. As an adult whose passion for reading extended through childhood, he wanted to offer this gift to adults as well.

“Just having experiences where you can recognize yourself in literature is such a rarity, even to this day,” said DeMoir.

DeMoir says that at DeMoir Books & Things, they pride themselves on “giving everyone a seat at the table.” The store allows for local and independent authors to apply to have their books placed on shelves through consignment agreements. People are also able to rent the spaces for events such as book signings and community gatherings.

“We’re not just a bookstore, but a community hub,” DeMoir said. “We donate free books to schools, to teachers, and to any child who comes into the store that is under the age of 17. Most companies, bookstores included, are trying to make that sale. Not that making sales and paying payroll isn’t important, but we want to make sure that we are providing kids with additional opportunities to access books.”

While outreach is a major component of DeMoir’s purpose, he explains that it isn’t always a “beautiful balance” between making sales and meeting the needs of children.

Challenges remain in not only accessing book titles to sell on their shelves, but in meeting “their own needs.”

“People do read, it’s just they’re not reading as much as we would like them to due to inflation, to rising costs and everything,” said DeMoir.

He said while people want to read, some are tasked with the decision of either putting a meal on the table, or keeping their lights on over buying a book. To combat some of these challenges, DeMoir set up a GoFundMe account to help keep the store afloat as rent prices have “soared astronomically” alongside taxes and light bills.

While challenges are inevitable for any business owner, DeMoir says he knows he is needed, and that’s what allows him to keep going. He explains that the pandemic created several missed opportunities for children, thus providing “gaps.”

“When there’s a need, you try to provide it,” he said.

DeMoir is also the parent of two children, and he says he constantly making sure that they feel supported with literacy.

“It’s super important to find books for my boys with characters that look like them. My boys definitely play a huge part in representation and wanting to have more access to books with kids of color and storylines outside of the stereotype.”