How can you help Black-owned small-scale businesses?
GOBankingRates interviewed several Black business owners and entrepreneurs in order to discover how customers can help these businesses.
Write Positive Revi news.
Examine whether the small-scale business has a Yelp or Trustpilot account. If you discover that they do, leave an honest review on the site. The study should be up to three paragraphs in length. Include in the review why you were satisfied with the product or service and how you would recommend the product or service.
Tiffany Obeng, owner, principal editor, and principal author of Sugar Cookie Books, said reviews could help small-scale businesses, specifically black-owned companies, gain credibility and increase visibility. This is especially true of crowdsourced reviews on websites because they aid businesses in becoming the top local search result for their goods and services.
Post About the Business on Social Media
After you’ve completed writing your review, think about sharing your review and tag the company on your own social media profiles. It is also possible to share images or videos from the company on your accounts and include the company’s handle to help boost the shape of the business and make it more visible to the general public.
If you don’t have many fans? Make sure to give the business a shoutout regardless! Victoria Jones, the founder of Curriculum and Culture, said that even when you don’t have many fans, your content will help the company build its image and attract new customers. (Don’t forget to join the company on its social media platforms and like the content and share it.)
Contact Your Local Media
Are you looking to get the word out beyond social media? Kristy Will. Gilbraith MBA and the CEO and founder of FLOH Wear by UndiesLoft, are adamant about reaching out to any local news outlets.
“Email your local paper and share the great work a Black business is doing,” Gilbraith stated. “This will support in obtaining exposure for the business and build their credibility.”
Also, go to the website of the company’s “about” page on its website. There are often details about the CEO or the company’s founder, as well as an overview of their history. Gilbraith suggested that you tell the details of the founder’s story to get your friends to look into the business.
Visit Your Local Black Chamber of Commerce
“You can also visit the Black Chamber of Commerce to find numerous businesses across various commerce interests,” Gilbraith added. Perform a quick search in Google to determine which Black Chamber of Commerce is within your region.
Look for Black/BIPOC-Owned Badges
If a company sells its services online, search for websites that have the Black BIPOC or Black badge. These badges can help consumers discover Black-owned businesses online. They can be sure they’re in business and tell them that Blacks proudly own the company.
Alongside searching for emblems and badges, Kirby Wilkerson, PR strategist and co-founder of The Impact Kind, said to search for relevant hashtags such as #blackbusiness on social media platforms. These hashtags can direct you to other services and products from black-owned businesses across different industries.
Build Relationships With Black Entrepreneurs
Alex Mitchell — Esquire, the director and founder of the black-owned law company Cumberland Law Group — suggests establishing a relationship with a Black small-business owner or an entrepreneur.
Make sure you learn about the people who run Black-owned companies. “Ask them about their needs,” Mitchell stated. “After identifying a Black-owned business in your community, reach out to them and ask them about their products and services.”
From this point, customers can begin to support Black-owned businesses in a variety of ways, such as getting potential customers to the company to buy their products or services and lending support to social media and providing money to the business.
Understand the Difference Between Black-Owned Businesses and Other Businesses
It requires more than just the amount of money and social media posts for fully-fledged support of a black-owned company. Mitchell suggested that he study how the structure inside the company since every Black-owned business has its unique structural capabilities.
“Supporters should deliberately search for ways to balance the wishes of Black-owned businesses by listening to the owners’ needs and difficulties,” Mitchell explained. “You must put into practice the principle that changes the partial structure immediately, instead of doing nothing but watching these businesses struggle and eventually fold up.”
