I Am Empowered - I am the National Urban League

On Saturday, August 4th at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, the National Urban League’s Entrepreneurship & Business Development team hosted its 8th Annual Small Business Matters Entrepreneurship Summit (SBM) presented by title sponsor, Wells Fargo. Conference sponsors included: The Coca-Cola Company, AARP, Koch Industries, Georgia-Pacific, Facebook, and Media Partner - Black Enterprise. The goal of the Summit was to provide the 342 attendees the opportunity to network with industry leaders and successful entrepreneurs from all across the country and attend workshops that would help start or grow their businesses. The overarching themes of the Summit were Money, Management and Marketing segmented in tracks by stage of business- Start-up/Pre-Venture (0-2 years in business), Growth (2-5 years in business) and Accelerated (5+ years in business). 

New this year, was a Pre-Summit Reception hosted by the Central Ohio African American Chamber of Commerce on Friday night. Led by Executive Director, J. Averi Frost, several prominent business owners and valued partners of the Chamber attended to enjoy food and networking and reinforce the importance of entrepreneurship. The following morning opened with an introduction from Jodi Brockington, CEO of NIARA Consulting, of Nationwide’s Kristi Rodriguez. Ms. Rodriguez discussed financial wellness and the importance of building a legacy for the next generation and beyond. 

Remarks were heard from Stephanie DeVane, VP of Entrepreneurship and Business Development for the National Urban League, Cy Richardson, SVP of Economics and Housing for the National Urban League, Hugh Rowden, SVP of Community Relations for Wells Fargo & Company, Melinda Carter, Director of the Minority Business Assistance Center for the Columbus Urban League, Robert Scott, Regional Administrator-Great Lakes Region for the U.S. Small Business Administration, L'Quentus Thomas, Director for Stonehenge Capital Company, and Marc H. Morial, President & CEO for the National Urban League. President Morial announced two major partnerships with Facebook and Fannie Mae / Altisource that will provide support for the Entrepreneurship Center Program. Facebook will help to close the digital divide by training entrepreneurs to learn digital skills. The Fannie Mae initiative will connect the Baltimore and Philadelphia communities to career opportunities in the field of residential property appraisals. 

The morning featured Money and Management workshops including: Start-Up or Screw-Upsponsored by AARP; Capitalizing on Opportunities to Drive Business Growthsponsored by Wells Fargo; Doing Business Abroad- Opportunities and Resources presented by EXIM Bank; Turning Your Side Hustle into a Main Hustlesponsored by Koch Industries and Georgia-Pacific; Small Business Success Storiesand Are You Ready to Become a Corporate Supplier?Simultaneously in the Connection Zone, twenty-three private and public sector businesses were available to educate entrepreneurs about resources that could grow their business. 

The midpoint of the day was highlighted by the Luncheon and Pitch Contest sponsored by the Coca-Cola Company. Caron Washington, Director of Entrepreneurship and Business Development kicked off the luncheon with brief remarks, followed by Felicia Wasson, Director of Stakeholder Relations for the Coca-Cola Company. Jimmy Prude, Founder & CEO of Jimmy’s Vegan and the 2017 Pitch Contest Overall Winner, provided a testimonial about how he utilized the funds from last year’s Summit, the importance of attending events such as SBM, and offered great advice for this year’s Pitch Participants in preparation for the contest. 

Judges for the Contest included Laura James, Community Relations Manager for UPS; J. Brandon Neal, Managing Counsel for Wells Fargo & Company and National Urban League Trustee; Terrez Thompson, Vice President of Global Supplier Diversity for The Coca-Cola Company; L’Quentus Thomas and Jimmy Prude.                     

The Participants

Victoria Coker- CLRED Media 

Quinn Conyers- Purse Paparazzi

Riley Jones- BLOC

Angela Hadl- BB Bombs

Deidre Mathis- Wanderstay Hotels

Briana Owens- Spiked Spin

Andrew Suggs- Live Chair

Fa’lon Thomas- Onyx Ocean Technologies

The Winners

1^stPlace- Deidre Mathis-$5,000

2^ndPlace- Andrew Suggs-$3,000

3^rdPlace- Quinn Conyers-$2,000

While the judges deliberated, small business owners were selected by Pitch Contest Host, Jodi Brockington, to deliver a “Pop-Up Pitch” on stage to the audience for practice and exposure. Additionally, Jumpstart and Wells Fargo donated a Microsoft Surface Pro and an IPad, respectively, as raffle prizes. 

The day concluded with the afternoon Marketing workshops: Boost Your Business with Facebooksponsored by Facebook; Sisters Inc: Handling our Businesspresented by Black Enterprise and Pitching Your Passion into Profits. 

SBM continues to grow each year with diverse content, increased interest from potential partners and speakers, and countless testimonials from attendees. Be sure to save the date for the 2019 Small Business Matters Summit which will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana on Saturday, July 27^th!