{"id":14749,"date":"2023-09-15T17:55:08","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T17:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/presspay.ng\/news\/?p=14749"},"modified":"2023-09-15T17:55:13","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T17:55:13","slug":"6-ways-to-offer-allyship-to-black-entrepreneurs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/presspay.ng\/news\/6-ways-to-offer-allyship-to-black-entrepreneurs\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Ways to Offer Allyship to Black Entrepreneurs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The number of Black entrepreneurs is rising in the business world. The latest numbers estimate there are\u00a03,115,000 Black-owned businesses<\/a>\u00a0in the United States alone, and\u00a0the number is steadily growing<\/a>. But despite their increasing presence and impact in the business world,\u00a0Black entrepreneurs<\/a>\u00a0still struggle with finding funding, making the right professional connections for growth and feeling embraced by the general entrepreneur community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

August is Black National Business Month which means there’s no better time than now to embrace the growth and expansion of Black entrepreneurship in your community. Here are six practical and meaningful ways to support Black entrepreneurs<\/a> this month and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Do business with Black entrepreneurs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Actions speak louder than words when it comes to supporting Black entrepreneurs. Saying that you support Black-owned businesses is one thing, but actually<\/em> putting down the money to partner with them<\/a>, buy their goods or services and do business with them is another level of allyship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea is to identify what your business needs (e.g., business cards from a printer, a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) consultant, a construction company for renovations, etc.), and see if there is a Black-owned provider in your area who would be a good fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A significant challenge new Black entrepreneurs face is getting the business they need early in their growth stage to sustain themselves and eventually scale. Offering to\u00a0partner with a Black entrepreneur<\/a>\u00a0is a great way to support them in their most critical stage of growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Connect Black entrepreneurs with your network<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you <\/em>aren’t looking for a particular service or product that a Black-owned business provides, do you know someone who is? Make meaningful connections and invite Black entrepreneurs into your inner circle to help boost their business and expand their professional network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making referrals and meaningful connections is a tried and true way to grow a business. One survey found that 65% of companies’ new business comes from referrals.<\/a> The same can be true for a budding Black entrepreneur. Receiving recognition and referrals from others can support their growth in powerful ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Refer a Black entrepreneur’s work to colleagues, partners and connections that may be interested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Share their work on social media<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For those businesses that don’t have a direct relationship with a Black entrepreneur, one easy way to support them is to share their work on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can be done in countless ways: lifting them up in a LinkedIn post, sharing their business page on an Instagram story or tagging their business on Facebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With more than 850 million<\/a> people on Linkedin, roughly 1 billion<\/a> active users on Instagram, and 2.93 billion<\/a> active monthly users on Facebook, even one<\/em> post or mention can go a long way toward increasing the visibility of a Black entrepreneur’s ideas and offerings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The end result could lead to\u00a0greater recognition of their work<\/a>\u00a0and increased opportunities. Most importantly, sharing on social media costs your business nothing. In fact, it might even raise\u00a0your<\/em>\u00a0profile \u2014 and that’s a budget line item your CFO would approve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Invite them onto your podcast<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many Black entrepreneurs have something valuable to offer that the world might not know about. Having the opportunity to engage in a podcast or online interview can bring visibility and a voice to their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With more than one in four Americans<\/a> being active listeners of podcasts in the United States as of 2020, evenone episode featuring a Black entrepreneur can help them get in front of audiences that they otherwise wouldn’t have access to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether your podcast has a high listener count or not, inviting a Black entrepreneur to share their story, connect with your audience and gain visibility is a priceless way to support their growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Fund their ideas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some Black entrepreneurs can have a great business model but limited resources<\/a>. The struggle to get the funding they need to sustain themselves, and their businesses is a real threat to their success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, only 1% of Black-owned businesses<\/a> get the loans they apply for. There are several reasons why this could be the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For decades, financial institutions have practiced unfair\u00a0lending discrimination<\/a>\u00a0that has impacted the ability of Black entrepreneurs to secure loans. To this day, Black entrepreneurs still face a plethora of funding challenges stemming from the unjust practices of the past. A lack of diversity and unconscious biases at companies contributes to the\u00a0racial funding gap<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your business is connected to angel investors or organizations that offer funding, consider connecting them with a Black entrepreneur in your community. Removing the funding barriers for Black-owned companies can help new solutions, products and services to reach the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Offer mentorship<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the most overlooked ways of supporting any entrepreneur is through mentorship<\/a>. One report showed that 92% of small business<\/a> owners said mentorship had an impact on the growth and survival of their business, yet less than 40% of Black entrepreneurs<\/a> in one study said they had access to a mentor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mentorship is a symbolic passing on of knowledge that can help an entrepreneur reach greater heights in their business, avoid mistakes and create a vision for growth. Without mentorship, some Black entrepreneurs are left struggling unnecessarily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are inspired by a Black entrepreneur and find there’s a connection between you, your business and theirs, consider offering to mentor them. Generously sharing your knowledge and experience to support a Black entrepreneur on their success journey can make a world of difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Resources for minority-owned businesses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you are a Black entrepreneur seeking more resources to grow and develop your businesses, consider the following list of resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n