Dozens of small business owners came together Saturday to show off their businesses to the community.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — On Saturday Black-owned small businesses from across Northwest Arkansas were able to come together to showcase their work in Fayetteville.
“It is an event where we bring together black owned businesses, service providers and community allies, and we just put them in one place, put on a marketplace to amplify and uplift those voices and just kind of get the community out, having them something fun to do,” J’Aaron Merchant, Co-Founder of Black Owned NWA said.
Every year, this event gives local consumers a way to discover the variety in businesses in Northwest Arkansas.
“A lot of the participating businesses that are here with us today, many of them don’t necessarily have commercial properties for their business, so this is kind of a one stop shop location for people to come shop with them, support with them, and kind of find out what black owned businesses are in the area and connect with them directly,” Co-Founder of Black Owned NWA Sierra Polk said.
According to Pew research, Black-owned businesses have grown a lot in recent years, but they still make up a small share of overall firms and revenue. Polk said they’re dedicated to building generational wealth for black families.
“There’s a projection right now that in 2053 the average black household will have $0 wealth. So this is just our little slice of trying to challenge that statistic; we hope and pray and do the work to make sure that it doesn’t come true,” Polk explained.
One entrepreneur at the expo, Tina Gilbert, loves coming to this event every year to showcase her business “Next Level Solutions.”
“I love it because in the Northwest Arkansas area, there are a lot of Black-owned businesses, and so this gives us exposure for the community to see what services are available and services they can take a part of,” Gilbert said.
This event isn’t always just a one-day exposure, it can last for months.
“Last year, I had the opportunity to meet an individual that works for an organization here in Northwest Arkansas and she called me back months later, and so I was able to do some work. So sometimes I think events like this are an investment down the road,” Gilbert said.
