WEBVTT - Mandy Bowman, Official Black Wall Street 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:03.880 Afrotech is a global gathering where inclusive tech companies meet innovators. 0:00:04.080 --> 0:00:06.280 It's the only tech event you need all year. Get 0:00:06.280 --> 0:00:09.600 ready for Afrotech twenty twenty three in Austin, Texas, November 0:00:09.680 --> 0:00:11.720 first through the fifth. We built a whole temper you 0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:13.760 can use to help you get your employer to sponsor 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:16.960 your trip and enjoy experiences built for every stage your career. 0:00:17.120 --> 0:00:19.640 Whether you're a college student looking for your next internship, 0:00:19.760 --> 0:00:21.479 or if you're work in a venture capital looking for 0:00:21.520 --> 0:00:23.759 your next business to invest in, and if you're looking 0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:25.639 for a co founder or people that's join your team, 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:28.360 there's no better place to be. The massive corporate layoffs 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:30.520 of twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three have affected 0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:33.040 our community in a big way. An Afrotech wants to 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:35.200 help you get back on your feet with skill development, 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:37.800 making it easier to switch industries. If that's your route. 0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:40.120 In an afro tech you'll make connections to help you 0:00:40.159 --> 0:00:43.640 get your next opportunity. Visit afrotech dot com slash conference 0:00:43.640 --> 0:00:47.279 to learn more. I'm Will Lucas and this is Black Tech, 0:00:47.320 --> 0:00:52.040 Green Money. Mandy Bauman is founder and CEO of Official 0:00:52.080 --> 0:00:55.280 Black Wall Street. The marketplace ad that is the fastest 0:00:55.320 --> 0:00:58.760 growing platform for finding and supporting black owned businesses in 0:00:58.800 --> 0:01:03.400 the United States. Internal reports say her app has recirculated 0:01:03.440 --> 0:01:06.720 about ten million dollars in sales and business services back 0:01:06.760 --> 0:01:10.600 into black owned businesses. Now, she's focused on expanding her 0:01:10.600 --> 0:01:15.240 services to ten other countries, including Canada, South Africa, Friends 0:01:15.280 --> 0:01:19.399 in UK, and the Netherlens. When you're starting something like this, 0:01:19.520 --> 0:01:22.560 you don't always intend to be a techie. What did 0:01:22.640 --> 0:01:25.240 she have to learn to get this idea off the ground? 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:27.160 Yeah, that is a good question. 0:01:27.360 --> 0:01:32.160 I'm a non technical founder, So I started out my 0:01:32.240 --> 0:01:35.120 career in the digital marketing social media space, and I 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:37.720 think that's what helped me grow Official Black Wall Street. 0:01:37.720 --> 0:01:40.479 But on the tech side, you know, I had taken 0:01:40.560 --> 0:01:44.560 some some web development classes, very very different from building 0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:47.520 an actual app, and so for. 0:01:47.440 --> 0:01:51.040 Me it was a major learning curve. 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:54.360 I definitely had just have a lot of mentors and 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:58.600 advisors to help them to help me actually interview you know, 0:01:58.680 --> 0:02:02.600 developers and you know, our a CTO just to make 0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:04.920 sure that we were considering. 0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:06.160 The right things. 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:10.120 So yeah, we, I say we at that point, it 0:02:10.160 --> 0:02:13.800 was just but I had even back then, I was 0:02:13.800 --> 0:02:15.840 so accustomed to saying we all the time. But I 0:02:15.880 --> 0:02:19.000 had launched the app, the website for Official Black Wall Street, 0:02:19.240 --> 0:02:21.720 the first one in like twenty fifteen, and that one 0:02:21.760 --> 0:02:22.760 I had built myself. 0:02:22.840 --> 0:02:23.840 I knew for a fact that. 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:26.480 I did not want to do any of that again 0:02:26.600 --> 0:02:28.919 for the app or something even bigger, because it took 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:31.840 a lot, and so for me, it was it was 0:02:31.880 --> 0:02:34.400 literally just all about trial and error and finding the 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:37.240 right people who had the right skills, which again was 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:38.680 a lot of trial and error. 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:43.080 Yeah, when you think about, you know, organizing this database 0:02:43.160 --> 0:02:48.040 of black owned companies, a lot of our companies' businesses, unfortunately, 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:53.400 are not supertect happy. There's you know, a category of 0:02:53.440 --> 0:02:55.320 them are, but a lot of us have mom and 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:58.440 pops and et cetera. So I wonder how you go about, 0:02:58.639 --> 0:03:01.600 you know, engaging them to the directory when they already 0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:04.120 have some issues just getting their technology up. 0:03:05.639 --> 0:03:06.880 Yeah, that one was tough. 0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:11.440 Like you said, I've noticed when it comes to technology, 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:14.800 a lot of our businesses are way behind. I mean, 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:17.440 you know, we have other businesses talking about taking advantage 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:21.080 of you know, VR technology and AI, and we're still 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:24.160 trying to get our business owners online, like just a 0:03:24.200 --> 0:03:29.400 website first. So for us, even with our platform, you know, 0:03:29.440 --> 0:03:31.919 there's like an application process to be approved, and we 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:34.440 want to make sure that the businesses on there are prepared, 0:03:34.920 --> 0:03:38.080 you know, for traffic, you know, the the aesthetics and 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:43.040 everything else. So for us, we have different partners that 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:45.200 we work with. So when we come across the business 0:03:45.200 --> 0:03:48.600 that doesn't have the right infrastructure, doesn't have the right 0:03:48.640 --> 0:03:51.120 website in place, we pass them along to those partners 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:53.880 so that they can help them. A lot of times 0:03:54.000 --> 0:03:57.600 there's just a major there's just a major gap when 0:03:57.640 --> 0:04:01.400 it comes to the education and resources, especially when you're 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:02.640 talking about technology. 0:04:02.720 --> 0:04:05.400 So for us, it's all about kind of holding their hands. 0:04:05.480 --> 0:04:07.640 We have, you know, two different type of customers and 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:11.480 for those we hold their hands and we you know, 0:04:11.920 --> 0:04:14.760 we refer them to our partners to help them with 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:15.360 with all of that. 0:04:16.440 --> 0:04:20.839 You know, many have tried to organize black companies onto 0:04:21.040 --> 0:04:24.760 a platform but have not reached the success you have. 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:27.120 I remember even Diddy, you know, like a year ago, 0:04:27.360 --> 0:04:29.920 was talking about building you know, some things to help 0:04:30.040 --> 0:04:33.320 organize us. But you've you've found a lot of success here. 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:38.960 What would you say differentiate you or your offering or 0:04:39.200 --> 0:04:42.520 was different about your strategy or your value prop like 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:46.400 what made you the one to shoot out of the crowd? 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:52.200 I like to say I was a secret sauce. Outside 0:04:52.200 --> 0:04:55.200 of that, I think my like I said. 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:58.400 Before, my background was in the digital marketing social media space. 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:01.560 Before we even had a website, I had a community 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:05.000 that I was growing online. So before we had a 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:06.599 websit or anything like that, I was like, you know, 0:05:06.760 --> 0:05:09.120 let me create some social pages and share the businesses 0:05:09.160 --> 0:05:12.920 that I'm coming across. And in doing that, we had 0:05:12.960 --> 0:05:17.840 literally built a community of over one hundred thousand followers 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:21.839 before we even launched a website. So I think building 0:05:21.839 --> 0:05:25.599 that community and you know, fostering that community, and you know, 0:05:25.680 --> 0:05:29.400 this is a social impacts tech company, and the fact 0:05:29.440 --> 0:05:31.520 that we were very big on social in the very 0:05:31.560 --> 0:05:35.359 beginning definitely helped us pick up steam, especially when you 0:05:35.400 --> 0:05:38.040 think about all the different social movements that have that 0:05:38.120 --> 0:05:41.039 we've experienced over the past couple of years alone, Like 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:42.600 we've been in position. 0:05:42.360 --> 0:05:43.080 And ready to. 0:05:44.880 --> 0:05:48.080 You know, ready to take the lead in those areas 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:51.159 because of our social media presence and the community building 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:52.960 that we did before we even had a product. 0:05:53.560 --> 0:05:55.280 Yeah, I mean you said a couple of things you 0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:58.800 said that I think are necessary to highlight you know, 0:05:59.360 --> 0:06:01.480 you know, just because because you have you know, a 0:06:01.520 --> 0:06:05.000 well funded, you know, initiative doesn't mean you're gonna go. 0:06:05.120 --> 0:06:07.560 Like you talked about, you built a community first. And 0:06:07.560 --> 0:06:11.359 what people so often missed is if you haven't engaged community, 0:06:11.680 --> 0:06:14.440 people who really believe you can almost sell them anything 0:06:14.480 --> 0:06:17.159 because you've already earned the trust. So can you talk 0:06:17.160 --> 0:06:20.120 about what kind of things you did to nurture that community, 0:06:20.120 --> 0:06:22.440 because I'm imagining you had the community before you had 0:06:22.480 --> 0:06:24.560 the idea. 0:06:24.800 --> 0:06:30.000 Yeah, well, yes, I don't know that, correct me. I 0:06:30.520 --> 0:06:33.960 don't know that was a good guess though I had. 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:37.240 When I first, you know, started the idea for official 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:40.120 Black Wall Street, I was creating a resource my my background. 0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:43.240 I went to school for entrepreneurship, and kind of this 0:06:43.400 --> 0:06:45.800 evolved into a business. So I didn't in the very 0:06:45.800 --> 0:06:48.920 beginning see this is, you know, being a business. 0:06:49.560 --> 0:06:52.160 But I lost my train of thought. 0:06:52.839 --> 0:06:54.960 No, yeah, I mean I just imagine when when you're 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:58.159 building a community, people will follow you anywhere. And so 0:06:58.320 --> 0:07:00.640 when you've built this community, like, what the things that 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:04.679 you do to get people interested in joining your group? 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:08.479 Yeah, it was all about trial and error and with 0:07:08.600 --> 0:07:11.040 social media, there was a lot of that, so figuring 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:14.760 out what our customers actually wanted, what our users wanted 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:16.560 to see. So at that point in time, they wanted 0:07:16.560 --> 0:07:18.160 to learn about different black owned businesses. 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:19.600 Well where are they in the US. 0:07:19.640 --> 0:07:23.800 We had a lot of users who were in New York, Atlanta, La, Houston, 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:27.280 so you know, highlighting the different businesses in those areas, 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:30.640 you know, doing different community events in those you know, 0:07:30.680 --> 0:07:35.440 local community events in those areas, also collaborating with local organizations. 0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:37.000 So all around the country. 0:07:36.680 --> 0:07:41.520 There there are you know, different black professional groups than 0:07:41.560 --> 0:07:46.280 black entrepreneurial groups, and so connecting with those people. But 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:49.320 really it was all about I think one of the 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:53.760 biggest mistakes me and other entrepreneurs make starting out is 0:07:53.840 --> 0:07:55.600 creating something and being like, Okay, this is what I 0:07:55.640 --> 0:07:59.320 would want to see, uh but for for for this, 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:02.400 in the very beginning and building that community, it was like, okay, well, 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:06.120 who is who is you know in our community? What's that? 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:10.960 What is that persona like? And what exactly do they 0:08:10.960 --> 0:08:13.720 want to see? And so we began you know, producing 0:08:13.760 --> 0:08:18.600 content around that. In the very beginning, I was I mean, 0:08:18.640 --> 0:08:20.800 I wore all the hats, so you know, we did 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:23.760 a lot with content as well, and that helps, you know, 0:08:23.880 --> 0:08:29.040 just circulating different businesses in different areas, all of the 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:35.160 small nuances of social media commenting, following, you know, following 0:08:35.240 --> 0:08:39.840 up with people, congratulating people for anniversaries, posting about it, 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:43.160 different things like that definitely helped to build an if 0:08:43.200 --> 0:08:44.120 off of that community. 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:48.360 When you are building something that helps people find, you know, 0:08:48.520 --> 0:08:53.160 actual physical locations, rick and mortar locations, I imagine you've 0:08:53.160 --> 0:08:55.079 got to do a lot of work in a particular 0:08:55.200 --> 0:08:59.120 area in order for there to be enough in said city, 0:08:59.280 --> 0:09:04.160 said town. Did you find it an imperative to be 0:09:04.280 --> 0:09:07.439 hyper local first and wherever that may have been? 0:09:09.440 --> 0:09:13.600 Yes, uh so we didn't exclude other businesses in other areas. 0:09:14.520 --> 0:09:18.080 But it's when you have a marketplace you you. 0:09:17.480 --> 0:09:19.360 You come across that, you know, the chicken and the 0:09:19.360 --> 0:09:20.840 egg problem, which one comes first? 0:09:20.920 --> 0:09:22.720 Which one do you focus on first? 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:25.320 Uh So for us, the easiest thing to do was 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:27.200 to figure out which cities you wanted to zero in 0:09:27.320 --> 0:09:30.960 on first. You know, I had already built that that community, 0:09:31.000 --> 0:09:32.280 so it was like, okay, where are. 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:33.320 Most of these people located? 0:09:33.400 --> 0:09:38.080 They were in New York, La Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, and 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:41.440 so then it was drilling down into those specific areas 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:43.240 to find the businesses and find the people. 0:09:43.960 --> 0:09:45.880 Very similar to like Uber and a lot. 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:48.280 Of those companies, and you know, when they first started, 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:52.600 they were just in specific locations and then expanded outwards. 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:55.240 And you were doing you know, social media for major 0:09:55.280 --> 0:09:58.000 brands before you did this, Like, what did you learn 0:09:58.480 --> 0:10:01.760 about how all things work in those brands that might 0:10:01.800 --> 0:10:05.160 have helped you, you know, scale Official black Wall Street. 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:10.120 I think the biggest thing so I had out of college, I. 0:10:10.160 --> 0:10:12.000 Worked in the music industry, so I was at Atlantic 0:10:12.040 --> 0:10:15.360 Records in digital marketing. Then I went to Complex Magazine 0:10:15.400 --> 0:10:18.199 and Essence Magazine and Social and. 0:10:18.200 --> 0:10:19.880 I think being at. 0:10:21.080 --> 0:10:25.880 Being at those companies, especially the digital online publications Essence 0:10:25.920 --> 0:10:29.480 and Complex was super helpful because it I learned content 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:33.520 and content is king. So when it comes to marketing 0:10:33.559 --> 0:10:36.559 Official black Wall Street, when it came to growing our platform, 0:10:37.360 --> 0:10:43.679 even going viral in different areas, you know, being for example, 0:10:43.720 --> 0:10:45.760 being at Essence, it taught me the type of headlines 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:47.920 that people look for. So I was able to write 0:10:47.960 --> 0:10:51.960 our press releases when we first started, I you know, 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:55.160 had a good idea of you know, a similar audience, 0:10:55.160 --> 0:10:56.800 so I got a good idea of what people clicked 0:10:56.840 --> 0:10:59.280 on versus what they didn't click on so much when 0:10:59.320 --> 0:11:02.719 it comes to the images and the headlines, so I 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:06.679 was able to create articles on a consistent basis that 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:09.480 would literally go viral and bring more attention to the 0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:14.120 businesses on the platform. So I think that and when 0:11:14.120 --> 0:11:18.320 it comes to social media, just being consistent, which is 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:22.920 a tall order because you know, social media can be 0:11:23.000 --> 0:11:29.120 a lot, and knowing knowing when to sit out of 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:32.440 you know, the new thing that's happening, or knowing when 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:36.160 which platforms you need to focus on so that you're 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:39.600 not spreading yourself tho thin. But I think those two things, 0:11:39.720 --> 0:11:42.480 especially content, was a major. 0:11:42.320 --> 0:11:42.840 Key for me. 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:46.040 Afro Tech is a global gathering where inclusive tech companies 0:11:46.080 --> 0:11:49.000 meet innovators. It's the only tech event you need all year. 0:11:49.200 --> 0:11:52.160 Get ready for Afrotech twenty twenty three in Austin, Texas, 0:11:52.320 --> 0:11:54.760 November first through the fifth. We built a whole temper 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:56.440 you can use to help you get your employer to 0:11:56.480 --> 0:11:59.520 sponsor your trip and enjoy experiences built for every stage 0:11:59.559 --> 0:12:01.840 your career, whether you're a college student looking for your 0:12:01.840 --> 0:12:04.520 next internship, or if you work in avention capital looking 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:06.679 for your next business to invest in, and if you're 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:08.760 looking for a co founder or people that's join your team, 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:11.520 there's no better place to be. The massive corporate layoffs 0:12:11.520 --> 0:12:13.640 of twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three have affected 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:16.120 our community in a big way. An afro Tech wants 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:18.319 to help you get back on your feet with skill development, 0:12:18.480 --> 0:12:20.920 making it easier to switch industries. If that's your route. 0:12:21.000 --> 0:12:23.400 In an afrotech, you'll make connections to help you get 0:12:23.440 --> 0:12:26.839 your next opportunity. Visit afrotech dot com slash conference to 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:31.520 learn more. Have you found that knowing that black vendors 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:36.000 exists is enough? Like what other keys to them thriving 0:12:36.040 --> 0:12:38.760 and us supporting them are necessary? 0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:43.120 Knowing that they exist definitely not enough. 0:12:43.960 --> 0:12:46.560 I think when it comes to support, there has to 0:12:46.600 --> 0:12:48.520 be it has to be intentional. 0:12:49.040 --> 0:12:50.480 One thing that I've found is. 0:12:50.440 --> 0:12:54.120 That there is always this massive energy towards buying black 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:57.839 when something happens, you know, when there's you know, some 0:12:58.000 --> 0:13:00.840 like police brutality, or there's a large you know, luxury 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:05.200 brand that does something that it is always reactionary. So 0:13:05.240 --> 0:13:07.800 I think for us, in order to move things forward, 0:13:07.800 --> 0:13:11.080 at least on our end, it has to be a 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:14.440 more intentional push where we're not just doing this as 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:19.640 a reaction to something else. One and then two, there 0:13:19.760 --> 0:13:23.200 is you know we can talk about you know, systemic 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:27.439 racism and the different challenges business owners go through when 0:13:27.480 --> 0:13:29.400 it comes to that, and that is a whole different 0:13:29.400 --> 0:13:33.240 ballgame that we can't even I believe that it's it's 0:13:33.320 --> 0:13:37.400 up to the powers that be to change that system. 0:13:37.520 --> 0:13:42.160 And you know, the when we talk about access to capital, 0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:46.280 and you know, there is a stat that black women 0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:48.960 receive less than one percent of VC funding. You know, 0:13:49.000 --> 0:13:51.520 when it comes to bank financing, you know, even when 0:13:51.520 --> 0:13:53.920 we're equally qualified, we still get shut out of those loans. 0:13:53.920 --> 0:13:57.720 So I think there is a heap of work that 0:13:57.800 --> 0:14:00.959 needs to be done on that end. And I think 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:04.920 when it comes to us, there is I think supporting 0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:07.040 or knowing that they exist isn't enough. I think that 0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:10.079 we need to be intentional about supporting them. 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:10.480 Uh. 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:12.400 And number two, I think we need to be intentional, 0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:17.319 intentional about giving grace when it comes to black businesses, 0:14:18.480 --> 0:14:21.640 and not just not just when it comes to the 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:25.080 day to day supporting, but also you know, when there 0:14:25.280 --> 0:14:28.440 is a black business that gets acquired, you know that 0:14:28.560 --> 0:14:32.120 is that is being an If you are an entrepreneur, 0:14:32.160 --> 0:14:36.560 you know that that is an amazing accomplishment. So being 0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:39.520 you know, having some grace and understanding how things work 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:41.480 on the other end would definitely help. 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:45.760 Yeah, along those lines, I was reading this article when 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:48.880 you said buying black should not be a trend, it 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:52.640 should be a habit. And with that said, like, it's 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:55.160 not always easy to buy black, Like, how do you 0:14:55.280 --> 0:15:00.560 discuss this being a responsibility in that sometimes we probably 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:02.880 should go a little bit out of our way to 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:07.080 support black owned businesses. You know, what would you say that? 0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:13.600 I would say that it's it's necessary. You know, we 0:15:13.600 --> 0:15:18.000 we don't have the same access we we also don't 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:22.840 have the same the same number of businesses, uh, the 0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:24.800 same variety in our communities. I mean you go to 0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:27.720 some even some black communities and you know there are 0:15:28.640 --> 0:15:31.520 Asian owned businesses on every single corner, and that we 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:34.000 we don't have that all the time. So I think 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:36.600 it's necessary for us to, you know, even if it 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:37.800 made you got to go out of your way a 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:40.440 little bit to support I mean, how else are we 0:15:40.480 --> 0:15:44.840 going to get it done? I know something that there 0:15:44.920 --> 0:15:47.560 is one one I guess you can call it a 0:15:47.560 --> 0:15:50.600 complaint that I hear a lot with people like you know, 0:15:50.960 --> 0:15:53.760 the the price points when it comes to black businesses 0:15:53.800 --> 0:15:56.680 are a lot higher than others. Uh. And it ties 0:15:56.760 --> 0:15:59.520 into you know what you just said and and us 0:15:59.560 --> 0:16:02.720 going out of our way to support a lot of times, 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:06.840 these small black owned businesses don't have the same contracts, 0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:09.200 they don't have the same demand that these larger companies 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:13.800 have to sell things at a steep discount, and they 0:16:13.840 --> 0:16:14.640 can't get to that. 0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:17.760 Point unless we actually go out of our way to support. 0:16:17.400 --> 0:16:20.360 Them so that they have the demand to do so. 0:16:20.360 --> 0:16:22.680 So yeah, it's it's like an ongoing cycle, but the 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:25.240 only way for us to actually push through. 0:16:25.360 --> 0:16:30.240 And I mean, we've been doing this for god knows 0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:30.680 how long. 0:16:30.720 --> 0:16:32.640 You know. I have an advisor who you know is 0:16:32.680 --> 0:16:34.600 old us with my dad, and he talks about, you know, 0:16:34.640 --> 0:16:36.520 we were in college, we did something like this too. 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:39.000 So at some point we have to do something different 0:16:39.040 --> 0:16:40.480 if we want to see something different. 0:16:41.280 --> 0:16:44.040 Like I said this on a different episode, but like 0:16:44.160 --> 0:16:46.960 I don't shop at Target because I believe in the mission, 0:16:47.000 --> 0:16:49.160 Like I shopped there because they have what I need. 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:52.960 And it's purely just that, how do we get more 0:16:53.000 --> 0:16:55.680 black owned businesses and black owned companies to just be 0:16:55.800 --> 0:17:01.240 utilities to where it doesn't necessarily matter to even communities 0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:03.480 outside of our community, to where it's not just us, 0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:05.399 but they just simply have what you need. 0:17:05.840 --> 0:17:11.320 Yeah, I think that you said businesses being purely utility. 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:15.719 Yeah, in that we're not necessarily I don't support Target 0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:18.840 or I don't support Walmart. I just go there because 0:17:18.880 --> 0:17:21.199 they have the thing, you know what I mean. And 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:24.760 so in that way, they purely are the tools because 0:17:24.760 --> 0:17:27.200 they're the vehicle who have the stuff on the shelf 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:31.520 that I need. Now to your point about specifically black 0:17:31.560 --> 0:17:33.800 owned businesses, we do need to support and I agree 0:17:33.840 --> 0:17:35.959 with that, but I wonder how do we get them 0:17:36.000 --> 0:17:38.679 too the place to where we as a community and 0:17:38.800 --> 0:17:43.160 other communities are frequenting these places black owned businesses particularly 0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:44.840 just because they have the think. 0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:49.640 Yes, that is a great point. That is a really 0:17:49.640 --> 0:17:50.119 good point. 0:17:50.359 --> 0:17:52.679 I feel like we, especially in doing this, we have 0:17:52.800 --> 0:17:58.120 so many basically businesses that are necessities every day necessities 0:17:59.680 --> 0:18:03.320 and terms of you know, getting more businesses into that space. 0:18:03.440 --> 0:18:08.280 I think it's it's all knowledge and resources and a 0:18:08.320 --> 0:18:13.040 lot of you know, there's that education gap and a 0:18:13.040 --> 0:18:15.639 lot of our communities. We don't have an example of 0:18:15.680 --> 0:18:18.399 someone who has done this before. I mean, it's a 0:18:18.400 --> 0:18:20.960 lot easier now because we have the Internet, so you know, 0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:23.480 you can google something or go to YouTube university and 0:18:23.760 --> 0:18:28.840 figure it out. But I think, you know, letting people 0:18:28.840 --> 0:18:31.280 know the benefits of it so that you know, everyone 0:18:31.320 --> 0:18:33.720 doesn't have to have a skincare or not that anything 0:18:33.760 --> 0:18:38.440 is wrong with that, but creating things that people actually need, 0:18:39.119 --> 0:18:42.840 and sometimes they're not the sexiest businesses. I remember someone 0:18:42.840 --> 0:18:46.879 had told me about there's this company that sells like ice, 0:18:47.680 --> 0:18:49.720 and I was like, I did not even think about that, 0:18:49.840 --> 0:18:53.159 but you know, businesses continuously need ice, and you know 0:18:53.200 --> 0:18:56.400 they sell directly to restaurants. But anyway, I think it's 0:18:56.680 --> 0:18:59.400 it's I think for a lot of business owners, we 0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:01.800 create the businesses out of a need or out of 0:19:01.840 --> 0:19:04.800 a passion. So like, hey, I can cook really well, 0:19:04.880 --> 0:19:06.800 so I created a business from it. Or I can 0:19:06.840 --> 0:19:10.119 sell really well, so I created something from it. So 0:19:10.160 --> 0:19:12.000 I think I hate saying that we need more knowledge 0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:14.439 because I also think even more than that we need money. 0:19:14.880 --> 0:19:17.480 But I do think that there is an education gap 0:19:17.520 --> 0:19:21.320 where we need to understand, you know, the benefits when 0:19:21.320 --> 0:19:24.320 it comes to profit. I think I've seen a lot 0:19:24.359 --> 0:19:29.560 of business owners who are creatives and not necessarily savvy 0:19:29.680 --> 0:19:30.960 in the business sense. 0:19:31.680 --> 0:19:35.119 Yeah, you know, I was reading a posts about you 0:19:35.119 --> 0:19:38.600 guys having you know, you've recirculated about ten million dollars 0:19:38.600 --> 0:19:42.600 in sales and business services back into black owned businesses. So, 0:19:42.680 --> 0:19:45.639 first of all, congratulations, and you know we salute you 0:19:46.480 --> 0:19:52.080 for that. What are some of the best effective messages 0:19:52.280 --> 0:19:57.240 or best effective methods of encouraging black people to spend 0:19:57.280 --> 0:19:59.840 their dollars with black owned businesses? And here's why. I 0:20:00.320 --> 0:20:02.200 I don't know the numbers. You may know these numbers, 0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:06.400 but it talks about, you know, the white dollar may circulate, 0:20:06.440 --> 0:20:09.840 you know X amount of times, the Jewish dollars circulates, 0:20:10.040 --> 0:20:13.840 why amount of times? And whatever it is ours, once 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:19.720 we have it, it's immediately out of our community six hours. 0:20:20.280 --> 0:20:24.520 So how what are some of the best messages you've 0:20:24.600 --> 0:20:30.360 found to be effective in inspiring black owned business support. 0:20:32.960 --> 0:20:35.040 That is a good point when the staff that you 0:20:35.080 --> 0:20:39.760 have mentioned the dollar in the black community circulates. 0:20:39.160 --> 0:20:40.240 For six hours. 0:20:40.320 --> 0:20:43.480 In Asian and Jewish communities is a month and twenty 0:20:43.560 --> 0:20:48.159 days on average. But I think the best message that 0:20:48.200 --> 0:20:53.440 I have found is the benefits of supporting black owned businesses. 0:20:53.720 --> 0:20:56.520 You know, when it comes to one circulating our dollars 0:20:56.560 --> 0:21:01.480 back into our community, creating more jobs, and creating more conglomerates. 0:21:01.560 --> 0:21:05.440 You know, when we talk about you know, anytime there 0:21:05.520 --> 0:21:07.919 is a black owned business, I gets acquired you know 0:21:08.040 --> 0:21:08.840 social media. 0:21:11.000 --> 0:21:12.280 You know social media is. 0:21:12.880 --> 0:21:16.400 Yeah, people are usually pissed about it, and it's like, no, 0:21:16.520 --> 0:21:18.080 this is this is how it works. 0:21:18.080 --> 0:21:20.639 This is how we generate more wealth. 0:21:20.880 --> 0:21:23.520 We always talk about generational wealth in our community, and 0:21:23.560 --> 0:21:25.560 this is like a major way that we get to 0:21:25.560 --> 0:21:30.199 that point. So I think I think the best the 0:21:30.240 --> 0:21:33.600 best messages making it personal. You know, this is the 0:21:33.640 --> 0:21:36.359