Our Strength is in our Numbers... Our Power is in our Unity! 


Friday, March 24
7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Hyatt Regency Baltimore Inner Harbor 
300 Light Street 
Baltimore, MD 21202
Sports Business Forum

Sports in Greater Baltimore goes beyond cheering for the purple and orange. Whether it's at the professional or youth level, sports are an important part of the economy. Join us for our first annual BBJ Sports Business Forum and explore the industry's business opportunities and where the world of sports is headed over the next several years.


Speakers:
Coffee Sponsor:
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Black-Owned Popcorn Shop Offering Licensing Agreements

by IndieSoulMagazine

Springfield, IL — Pittman’s Popcorn Shop is now offering licensing agreements to individuals or companies that are interested in owning their own gourmet popcorn store.   “The gourmet popcorn industry is poised to become a $10 billion dollar industry by 2018,” says Michael Pittman, founder of Pittman’s Popcorn Shop. “We feel we have perfected a […]

Read more of this post

Attention Business Owners (and those who want to be):

 

You are cordially invited to attend the

 

2017 Business Networking Forum

Thursday, March 23, 2017

6:00 - 8:00 pm at

 

The Forum Caterers

4210 Primrose Ave.

Baltimore, MD 21215

 

***Please RSVP by March 21, 2017 to [email protected] in order to avoid the $10.00 per person admittance fee at the door.

 

This month our guest speaker will be William Honablew Jr., Director of the Raymond V. Haysbert Sr. Entrepreneurship Center located at the Greater Baltimore Urban League.  Mr. Honablew will be speaking about the variety of services offered at The Haysbert Center including:

         

  • Business Seminars
  • Workshops
  • One on One Counseling and Mentoring
  • Microbiz Incubation
  • Small Business Support Services

 

 

Light refreshments will be served.  If you have any questions, please call 410-358-1101.


 

Let's Do Business in 2017!

Economic Gardening: Helping Our Community Grow - Minority Business
3/28/2017
6:00 PM
Minority business owners and those interested in starting a business are invited to learn about the challenges and the unique opportunities available to them. Topics include access to capital, identifying opportunities and overcoming linguistic and cultural barriers. A Spanish-speaking interpreter will be offered. This program is sponsored in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
* Towson Meeting Room
Towson Branch

 

 

https://md.evanced.info/bcpl/lib/eventsignup.asp?ID=117780


 

 

 

MIKE'S MESSAGE:

Today we honor the legacy of Harriet Tubman and the tremendous impact she had on Maryland and on our nation with the official opening of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and Visitor Center. I am proud of the work that Maryland Commerce has done, in collaboration with many others, to make this center a reality. MORE

  Maryland is #8 in U.S. News' "Best States" rankings

  Ocean City named a top ten beach

  Maryland couple provides home care services

  Sign up now for farm-fresh local produce

  Home Depot adding 80,000 jobs this spring, including 750 in Baltimore area

  Governor honors history at J.M. Clayton Company

  DNR announces grants to keep Maryland beautiful

  Robotics can’t start too soon

 

MAR

14

ELLICOTT CITY: MD World Class Consortia Quarterly Meeting

 

MAR

21

GRASONVILLE: Economic Outlook Symposium 2017

 

MAR

29

TOWSON: Junior Achievement (JA) Leading Ladies

 

APR

3-6

BALTIMORE: Annual Craft Spirits Conference

Maryland Business Pulse is published by the Maryland Department of Commerce
401 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Larry Hogan, Governor | Boyd K. Rutherford, Lt. Governor
commerce.maryland.gov 
| 410-767-6300



Port Covington

Last week, community leaders, faith leaders, politicians and members of Sagamore Development joined together to announce an unprecedented $100 million city-wide benefits commitment, the largest benefits package in the City's history, and a turning point for Baltimore.

These groups came together to create a commitment that will support City-wide programs on education, workforce development, youth assistance, and empowerment. These benefits also include commitments to inclusionary and affordable housing, supplier diversity, and local hiring.

"We are dedicated to making sure Port Covington benefits the entire City. We are committed to being the best neighbors we can be, being the best stewards of the investment the City is making, and to ensuring Port Covington's success is Baltimore's success," said Alicia Wilson, Vice President of Community Affairs at Sagamore.

To learn more, watch this video and then share it with your friends.

Want more details about the commitment? Read more here.

Thanks,

--The Port Covington Team

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© 2016 Port Covington. 1000 E Key Hwy, Baltimore MD 21230-5122



Finance Expert Backs USBC's Bank-Black Card

 
William Michael Cunningham (aka Bill Cunningham) is an expert in Socially Responsible Investing. He works with pension fund trustees, investment managers, investment analysts, community activists, government agencies and financial industry organizations to create and implement social and community investing initiatives. 
Cunningham Outlines the Benefits of
USBC's Bank-Black Card
The USBC's Bank-Black Card is gaining waves of support from Black business experts and advocates including celebrity actress Kim Fields, basketball icon Lisa Leslie, and most recently finance expert Bill Cunningham. Take a look at Cunningham's brief breakdown of the the benefits of USBC's Bank-Black Card. Share this with your network of Black entrepreneurs. 
 

The USBC's Bank-Black initiative serves as a resource to help Black entrepreneurs gain access to much needed funds for business expenses and personal use.


 



Join Us, Bank-Black: www.USBlackChambers.org/bankblack
Connect with Us on Facebook & Twitter #USBCBankBlack
 
U.S. Black Chambers, Inc., 1050 17th Street, NW, Suite 810, Washington, DC 20036






Bank Black - It's Serious Business

 
By: U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. President Ron Busby
 
In the wake of the continued outrages of police shootings, the effort to raise awareness of the need for a sound financial foundation for Black America has gained momentum across the country. The USBC's Bank-Black awareness campaign, launched in conjunction with the National Bankers Association, has supplied much of the energy.
 
We feel especially gratified about the hundreds of thousands of new account holders at America's Black-owned banks. Since the USBC's inception as the "Voice of Black Business," increasing access to capital was incorporated into our mission statement. Increased deposits in Black financial institutions are critical components in alleviating this longstanding challenge to business growth and expansion.
 
 
At the same time, though, we are concerned that Bank Black will get pushed to the back corner of the nationwide Black conscience when the latest, hottest "hashtag" movement comes along. We cannot afford - literally - to fail to maintain/sustain the energy behind this hyper-important strategic plank.
 
We also cannot afford to understand the fact that the simple act of moving deposit accounts to Black banks is only part of the effort to grow Black-owned businesses. If Black America moved ALL of its trillion-plus dollars of income to Black-owned banks without changing our spending patterns we will have missed the single biggest opportunity to change Black America since the Civil Rights Era.
 
To our point, this is serious business. Without the availability of capital for expansion, businesses will struggle. There is ample evidence that Black-owned banks continue to lead the way in extending loans to Black business, despite the few numbers of them across the country. The giant, "too-big-to-fail" financial institutions have proved to be far better at lip service than at actually putting Black depositors' money to work in the communities from which they draw deposits. Our deposits in Black-owned financial institutions put tremendous pressure on big banks to change their lending patterns.
 
When we fail to make the connection between patronizing Black-owned businesses - even in the face of less than stellar customer service (a frequent complaint of those whose commitment is to the "fad" nature of social media activism) - we fail to understand the importance of successful, profitable Black-owned businesses. We at the USBC love to point out that if all Black-owned businesses in America were able to hire one new employee we will eliminate black unemployment completely.
 
Black-owned businesses - including Black banks - need our unqualified support! Understand that the customer service you've grown to expect is a function of your money at work. When we patronize Black-owned businesses at the same rate we spend at other businesses we will get the same customer experience. When we deposit our dollars in Black-owned banks at the same rate we currently deposit in big banks, we will see them able to provide online banking, expanded ATM coverage and more loans to black-owned businesses.
 
Access to a line of credit has long been an issue for Black business owners and individuals. We know first-hand the challenges and barriers facing Black individuals who are seeking business and/or personal funding. To remedy this problem we forged a partnership with one of the nation's most trusted and historic Black-owned banks, to offer access to a line of credit through Liberty Bank.

 
 
We have to understand that making history is difficult... ask U.S. Rep. John Lewis and other stalwarts of the Civil Rights Era. Read and understand the history of banking pioneers as early as 1888. (side note: Think about it - there were enough Black-owned businesses twenty years after the Civil War to need a Black-owned bank!) If Black America is serious about harnessing our ever-growing spending power...if Black America is serious about expanding access to capital for Black-owned businesses...if Black America is truly committed to building a sound financial foundation for our communities nationwide, then Bank Black is the most effective tool at our disposal.
 
It's serious business, y'all! Keep making those deposits in Black-owned banks and support black-owned businesses! Look for exciting news about USBC's groundbreaking new credit card program with Liberty Bank-- It's a game changer for our community.
 
 
In the spirit of success,
 
Ron Busby, Sr.
U.S. Black Chambers Inc. President      

Video: USBC Bank-Black Initiative 
Featuring Kim Fields
 
Press Inquiries:
USBC President Ron Busby is available for statements and press interviews.
USBC's Bank-Black Success Story

 
"Banking-Black can be a seed that with cultivation can increase Black personal wealth."
-Ed Swailes, USBC Bank Card recipient.
Black Business Owner Uses USBC Bank Card to Keep Business Financially Stable
Ed Swailes is the Founding Managing Director of The Syndicate Inc., an award-winning marketing agency. He currently directs corporate image-enhancement for major retail and tourism advertising, along with conference sponsorships and organizational resource development for the company's client list. Prior to founding The Syndicate, Mr. Swailes spent 15 years in national print advertising sales. Ed Swailes has successfully established himself as the "go-to" guy for advertising and sponsorship development.
 
As a long-standing business owner, Ed knows firsthand how important access to capital is for business sustainability. Ed was first introduced to USBC's Bank Card by USBC's President Ron Busby. When asked why he applied for the USBC Bank Card and how the card helping his business, here's what Ed had to say:
 
"I applied for the USBC Bank Card as a way to pay down higher interest credit cards. The USBC Bank Card is a great way to improve one's credit rating while taking advantage of the lower interest rate. Increased credit and a better interest rate to pay down existing business expenses helps my business stay financially stable."
 
Bank-Black is the single most powerful economic movement currently taking place in Black America. "Now" is the time to utilize our Black banks as more than a place to hold our money, but as a resource for securing capital. When asked about the importance of banking Black, here's what Ed had to say:
 
"Bank-Black is extremely important, it can be an economic engine used to finance every day needs in the Black community like mortgages, car loans, equity loans, etc.  As well as, business loans thus creating a more economically stable Black community, allowing Black businesses to grow, who can then provide more products and services and most importantly jobs."
 
In an effort to help Black entrepreneurs obtain capital for personal or business use, the USBC has created a Bank Card with one of the nation's most trusted and historic Black-owned banks-- Liberty Bank. Join us in banking Black. Apply here for your USBC Bank Card.

Learn more about the U.S. Black Chambers Bank Card by visiting:www.USBlackChambers.org/bankblack
Connect with Us on Facebook & Twitter #USBCBankBlack
 
U.S. Black Chambers, Inc., 1050 17th Street, NW,Suite 810, Washington, DC 20036



Some Black Businesses Strain to get Black Consumers

"There's a myth that's been placed on our communities for many generations: White people's ice is colder. White businesses are superior to black businesses," says Ron Busby, president of the U.S. Black Chambers, a national business organization for black-owned companies. "We have to change that mentality. We have to be better, conscientious consumers."


As published in the Salt Lake Tribune:


New York-- When Terina McKinney displays her leather bags and belts at events attended primarily by black women, they are often interested in her designs, and in her experience as an African-American business owner. But she seldom makes sales.


"They all ooh and ahh and ask a ton of questions, but don't necessarily make purchases," says McKinney, whose Jypsea Leathergoods products range from $20 to $325. Instead, her customers tend to be white or Asian women.

While calls have been increasing for black consumers to support black-owned businesses with their buying power estimated at more than $1.2 trillion a year, social media campaigns with momentum like (hash)buyblack are relatively new. And McKinney's frustration is shared by some other black business owners who say they can find it hard to sell to black consumers.

The factors can be logistical or practical, such as being located farther away or having higher prices than big chain stories, retail experts and civic leaders say. Scarcity can be a reason: It can be hard to find businesses owned by African-Americans. But other considerations might be emotional, like wanting a trendy design everyone is wearing, or the perception that national brands are better.

"There's a myth that's been placed on our communities for many generations: White people's ice is colder. White businesses are superior to black businesses," says Ron Busby, president of the U.S. Black Chambers, a national business organization for black-owned companies. "We have to change that mentality. We have to be better, conscientious consumers."

McKinney, who lives in Camden, New Jersey, outside of Philadelphia, says her lower sales to black shoppers don't seem to be a matter of money, since she finds that many will spend on well-known labels.

Designer Joede Brown has seen similar responses to her crocheted clothing, which sells under the Black Pearl Creations brand from under $30 to up to $500 for the most intricate pieces. She finds black customers sometimes say her products are too expensive, although they'll wear a big-name brand that costs the same or more.

Brown, who lives in Manchester, New Hampshire, recognizes that a preference for well-known brands isn't limited to the black community, but also wonders if buying them is a statement: "You've beaten me down, but look, I can have this too."

Consumers who do try to focus their spending on black-owned companies say finding them requires research, and it can take more time and effort to get there. But locating options is getting far easier, both through local and national social media campaigns and online lists from groups like the U.S. Black Chambers.

"This is the only way we as a people can generate wealth, by supporting our own," says Rebecca Briscoe, of Houston. Her grandfather's photography company was black-owned and focused on black customers from the 1940s onward because white photographers would not do business with them.

"If you don't support their business, they don't have a business," says Briscoe.

Campaigns like #buyblack and also #bankblack, which encourages people to use black-owned financial institutions, are having an impact. The #bankblack campaign got a boost last month from rapper and activist Killer Mike, who called on people to shift their money to these banks. OneUnited Bank has gone from 50 new accounts a day to as many as 1,000, says Teri Williams, president of the financial institution that has offices in Boston, Miami and Los Angeles and also operates online.

"It's opening the community's eyes to the many ways they're spending their dollars," Williams says of the campaigns.

Businesses that provide a service may have more success than those that sell merchandise, says Jerome Williams, a marketing professor at Rutgers University.

"Since service businesses tend to involve more people interactions, the people relationships should prove to be more important, compared to situations where the focus is primarily on the product," he says.

Small and medium-sized retailers can find it hard to compete on price and selection with giants such as Wal-Mart that can negotiate lower prices with manufacturers through their scale. And finding black retailers and service providers across a range of industries isn't always easy, Jerome Williams says.

"As a black consumer, if I wanted to buy from a black-owned merchant, there aren't enough to satisfy my needs," he says.

The nearly 2.6 million black-owned companies in the United States account for about 9 percent of the total number of businesses in a country where 13 percent of the population is black. The 2012 census of businesses found that black-owned operations made up about 6 percent of all U.S. retailers and about 7 percent of businesses that provide food or accommodation.

Financial counselor Harrine Freeman has black-owned beauty supply and clothing stores, a dollar store, shoe repair and other service providers not too far from her Washington, D.C., home. She has searched online or asked friends and neighbors to find other businesses. But other black-owned stores might be an hour's drive away.

"I'm willing to drive that far, but that's not to say I can go there every week," Freeman says.

Many stores in traditionally black neighborhoods may also have changed hands. In parts of Los Angeles, including the once-majority black South Central area, Hispanics have replaced many of the black residents, and many black-owned businesses have closed or moved, says Joe Hicks, vice president of Community Advocates Inc. in Los Angeles.

Black-owned businesses offer black consumers distinct advantages - especially if shoppers have felt discriminated against at other places - and can provide services tailored to their needs, says Geraldine Henderson, a marketing professor at Loyola University in Chicago. She cited health care providers who understand medical concerns that may be more relevant to black patients.

"You want to go to a provider with cultural competence," Henderson says.

Maggie Anderson, who lives in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, wrote a book called "Our Black Year" about her effort to buy from black-owned businesses exclusively. That included the stores where she and her husband bought food, clothing, household necessities and personal care items, as well as service providers like hair salons, auto mechanics and restaurants.

Sometimes that meant driving 50 miles to get things. Sometimes it meant going without fresh fruit because they couldn't find what they wanted at a black-owned store. It meant telling their daughters "no" when a toy or book wasn't sold at a black-owned shop.

"It was a message to our fellow black consumers that we have to be more accountable to what has happened to and what is happening to our community," Anderson says.

Anderson says she has sensed some wariness when she speaks with groups of black consumers about her project, because the audience understands the amount of work involved. She says she also knows that while she had the time and financial resources to devote to the endeavor, people with lower incomes, little spare time and lacking the means to travel might have difficulty doing the same.

"It is not that that black consumers will not shop with black stores, products or services," says Hicks. "Most American consumers are looking for the best buy, the most convenient, best quality within a relatively short distance from where they live."



Make an Impact!

Buy-Black, Bank-Black


 


Here's How: 


Step 1: Buy Black. Support Black-owned businesses. You can immediately download the USBC app for a nationwide list of Black-owned businesses. Search your mobile apps for "USBC Mobile App."


Step 2: Bank Black. Support one of the nation's most historic and trusted Black bank-- Liberty Bank. Bank-Black by securing a line of credit through Liberty Bank. Learn more about USBC's Liberty Bank-Black Credit Card. Take an economic stand, apply today.







Port Covington

Last week, community leaders, faith leaders, politicians and members of Sagamore Development joined together to announce an unprecedented $100 million city-wide benefits commitment, the largest benefits package in the City's history, and a turning point for Baltimore.

These groups came together to create a commitment that will support City-wide programs on education, workforce development, youth assistance, and empowerment. These benefits also include commitments to inclusionary and affordable housing, supplier diversity, and local hiring.

"We are dedicated to making sure Port Covington benefits the entire City. We are committed to being the best neighbors we can be, being the best stewards of the investment the City is making, and to ensuring Port Covington's success is Baltimore's success," said Alicia Wilson, Vice President of Community Affairs at Sagamore.

To learn more, watch this video and then share it with your friends.

Want more details about the commitment? Read more here.

Thanks,

--The Port Covington Team

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© 2016 Port Covington. 1000 E Key Hwy, Baltimore MD 21230-5122


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