Do what you love and make money at it
Just off of the bustling
intersection of 50th Street and France Ave. in Minneapolis, black
business owners, creators and influencers gathered for an event intended to
uplift entrepreneurship and creativity within Minnesota’s black
communities.
This event was a public
brunch and panel discussion held by Black Bloggers Minnesota (BBM) and Black
Minnesota Creators (BMC). “Our goal is to support black creatives, black entrepreneurs,
and black-owned businesses here in Minnesota and outside of Minnesota,” said
Hope James, founder and CEO of BMC. James recognized the need for a network
that connects black creatives and entrepreneurs with the resources they need to
be successful.
The panelists explored
the possibilities and shared practical advice on what it means and what it
looks like to create a professional career doing what you love. Panelists
included Karl Benson, president and CEO of the Minnesota Black Chamber of
Commerce; KMOJ host and event planner Kimberly Holifield; Jackson K. George Jr.
who works with Liberian and African immigrant communities; influencer and
social entrepreneur Nazsare English; and radio personality and public figure
Cearah Hamilton.
According to
ProjectDiane2018, since 2009 less than half a percent of raised venture capital
funds has gone to black women entrepreneurs. All the while, black women make up
the largest group of emerging entrepreneurs in the United States.
“It’s about solving a
problem that I’ve seen in Minnesota. If you do the math, [the black population]
in Minnesota is like a peanut. We need to do better in our communities. We have
to start using ourselves,” said James.
There are about 300,000
blacks in the entire state of Minnesota, which has a population of over five
million.
Bolstering black creativity
This notion was shared
by Karl Benson. He said the goal of the Chamber is to connect black businesses
in Minnesota to the resources they need to take their businesses to the next
level.
“Our population isn’t
that big. But if we at the Chamber can take this buying power and
strength-of-knowledge and put it in front of the Targets and the 3Ms, that’s
where we begin to move the needle. And the Chamber is the hub of that wheel,”
said Benson.
The Sept. 28 brunch and panel discussion was held at The Riveter, a co-working space started by women located in Edina. It has a bright, open floor plan for co-working and event planning space.
“In less diverse
communities, it’s important that we are actively engaging across communities of
color, or gender, of how people identify,” said Riveter community manager
Teresa Esler. “There is an awareness that we need to be more inclusive in the
professional community, because that’s how we are going to be the most
successful.”
While The Riveter is an
organization created with women in mind, their facilities are welcoming to
everyone. Although the industry of bloggers, influencers and entrepreneurs
is experiencing an influx of black women, black men are also a part of this
emerging group, although their presence has been less visible.
In an age where entrepreneurship
is on the rise globally, recognition of what it means to be an entrepreneur is
becoming more the norm. “As black men we’ve found ways to make money out of
what we love, whether that be photography or being a chef… We are now at a
point where we can make a business out of that, we can make money off of that.
It is work,” said Benson.
Together the panelists
symbolized the inevitable intersection of creativity and business and how this
intersection is maneuvered and leveraged within black culture. “When we [black
people] were forced to come here against our will and stripped of our culture,
we had to create a culture. That’s the most creative thing ever,” said
Hamilton.
Creativity as a means of
survival has birthed not only the work of Black Minnesota Creators and Black
Bloggers Minnesota, but also that of many of the brunch attendees and
undoubtedly many more black people in Minnesota.
“We as a people know how
to make something out of nothing,” said Holifield. “That is very creative.”
