As a business owner looking to promote your brand, you have hundreds of creative agencies to choose from, regardless of who owns them. But by working with a Black-owned agency, you’re strengthening the community in a way that offers measurable results now and in the future. Below are some ways you can support Black businesses over the long term:
- Promote diversity within your daily operations. Encourage internal conversations among colleagues with diverse backgrounds. Having different points of view is healthy and can help prevent your business from getting stuck in the status quo. It also helps broaden your marketing strategy so that you can reach more audiences.
- Support multiple Black-owned businesses, not just those you’re working with. Every dollar you pay to a Black-owned business enriches the entire community. Your buying power not only translates into immediate gain for that Black-owned business, but is also an investment in the future of the family that owns it and the community it serves.
Keep in mind that supporting Black-owned businesses is a critical way to close the widening racial wealth gap. According to the Economic Policy Institute, twenty-five percent of Black households have zero or negative net worth, compared with less than ten percent of white families. And the Institute for Policy Studies reports that if current trends continue, the median wealth for Black families will fall to zero by 2053. Reversing this trend is an urgent priority.
- Create strategic partnerships that make use of diversity certifications and other incentives. Because money is in short supply, many Black business owners turn to nonprofits and government agencies for help with working capital. For instance, the HUBZone program run by the Small Business Administration promotes the awarding of government contracts to companies located in areas that offer only limited opportunities for minorities. If you award government contracts, consider prioritizing businesses such as Badie Designs that operate in HUBZones.
Some business owners partner with Black-owned companies to utilize their minority certifications and enhance revenues for both organizations.
Do you want to increase diversity within your company and community? Start a conversation with us.