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Thanks to a number of innovations in the world of business, the global workforce is seeing a massive uptick in freelancing, gig economy gains , and other small business ventures. If you’re feeling the entrepreneurial spirit, there’s never been a better time to go into business for yourself. Still, one of the hardest parts of launching your business is coming up with ideas on what to sell, what services to offer, and where to market yourself. Here’s a brief but comprehensive list of small business ideas to get you started. Maybe you’ll glance over this list and have a major eureka moment, or maybe these ideas will spark your creative drive and assist you in developing something brand new. Either way, these options are teeming with possibility. Graphic Designer If you’re interested in launching your own small business, and you have a passion for art, why not try your hand at graphic design ? There are tons of outlets available for artistic people to work directly with individual...
This New Orleans, LA, entrepreneur has his sights set on a hospitality takeover! When serial hospitality entrepreneur Larry Morrow and his mother, Lenora Chong, opened the doors to Morrows in 2018, it was all a part of the bigger vision to bring more Black-owned restaurants to the vibrant, history-rich city of New Orleans. Fast-forward to 2024, nearly six years later, Morrow and company have opened the doors to Morrow Steak, a second steakhouse located in the Crescent City, Blavity reports. The restaurant, which seats about 125 people, and is geared toward celebrating any type of special occasion, features a menu that is yet another nod to Morrow’s Korean background on his mom’s side with a blend of classic steakhouse fare and Asian-inspired dishes. From a tomahawk ribeye and wagyu steak to broiled snapper, marinated pork chops, and side dishes like lobster mac and cheese, Morrow’s Steak has a little something for everyone. Its vegan dishes like kung pao cauliflower allow Morrow to...
Hello Alice is continuing its commitment to serving underserved entrepreneurs. In partnership with the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), Hello Alice has officially launched the next round of Baltimore Gas and Electric Company’s (BGE) Energizing Small Business grant program. The initiative offers $20,000 grants to central Maryland businesses to help them succeed and thrive, according to the Hello Alice website. No stranger to empowering local small businesses, the BGE Energizing Small Business grant deployed more than $2.5 million in grants to 129 small businesses in central Maryland in 2023. “When small businesses thrive, they become powerful economic engines, creating even more opportunities in their communities and we are so pleased to celebrate today’s grant recipients,” said BGE President and CEO Carim Khouzami in the 2023 grant announcement. “Since 2019, BGE has granted over $13 million to small businesses throughout Central Maryland. This is in addition to other small...
Shaquille O’Neal is taking his restaurant franchise talents to Nebraska. The former NBA superstar-turned-serial entrepreneur has announced that his fast-casual restaurant franchise, Big Chicken, will expand to the Omaha market, according to KETV Omaha. O’Neal plans to open two Big Chicken locations in Omaha, led by father-son duo and local entrepreneurs Tom and Zak Davis. “Our experience has provided us a perspective on Big Chicken that we feel fantastic about. We know that it is the right time to bring the quickly growing brand to Omaha,” said Tom, per KETV. “There are a lot of parallels for us with Big Chicken and its leadership team. We have a deep appreciation for running great restaurants, and Big Chicken’s team is equal to the match. We have been following the growth of Big Chicken for a while, and once we were finally able to try the menu, we decided to get serious about opening our own stores in Omaha.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Big Chicken...
In case you missed it, AFROTECH™ Executive is heading to New Jersey. If you’re unfamiliar with the event, previous stops included Seattle, WA; Washington, D.C.; Brooklyn, NY; and more. As the event heads to Newark, NJ, on June 28, attendees will have the opportunity to explore topics like practical AI applications, equitable resources for entrepreneurs, tech advancements, and innovative economies. In addition, the highly anticipated AFROTECH Executive Newark will allow attendees to hear from speakers like A ngela Rye, principal and CEO of IMPACT Strategies and co-host of the Native Land Pod. Her fireside chat will focus on bridging the gap for an equitable community. The conversation, moderated by Black Tech Green Money host Will Lucas, will explore a world where opportunities and access are endless, ensuring that entrepreneurs who represent the community are equipped with the tools needed to be successful and can inspire others to build a more accessible, diverse, and thriving...
The 2024 AFROTECH™ Conference is just months away, and the countdown has begun with even bigger and better ways to empower the community. As one of the largest cultural events dedicated to individuals evolving the tech space, AFROTECH™ offers something for everyone — whether you’re an industry enthusiast, hold a C-Suite position, or are the CEO of your own company. The conference’s latest initiative is designed specifically for founders. Since its inception in 2016, AFROTECH™ has been committed to empowering the community. The new AFROTECH™ Founder Circle intends to continue this mission by focusing on reducing attendance costs, enhancing skill sets, and expanding access for founders within the community. The all-new program will operate under a three-pronged strategy: enhancing executive presence and leadership, broadening access to venture capital networks, and fostering peer-to-peer learning and support. In collaboration with Blavity.org, AFROTECH™ will sponsor 200 tickets for...
As Pinky Cole continues to reach the pinnacles of success as an entrepreneur, she also lifts others as she climbs. The Slutty Vegan founder and CEO has never been afraid of taking risks and betting on herself, even when the odds are stacked against her. Her Atlanta, GA-based restaurant has been wildly successful, even though she created the concept as a passion project, initially launching the company as a food truck without focusing solely on profit. “I pinch myself every day,” she told AFROTECH™ in a recent interview. “Sometimes we’re so immersed in our work that we don’t realize the blessings happening around us. I think about how Slutty Vegan opened the door for me to partner with PepsiCo on the Pepsi Dig In Campaign to support Black-owned restaurateurs. As a leader in this space, I can help provide the support they need.” Cole added, “It’s all been a passion project for me because I get to help people reimagine food in a way they never have before. Every single day, I’m humbled...
There is so much beauty in making your dreams come true, and this former Target employee’s transition from team member to collaborator for its recent Future Collective collection is proof! Before launching her fashion brand, Jeneé Naylor began her Target career in 2012, quickly rising to the role of store director at stores across the Washington, D.C. area after several years of hard work and commitment. Now, 11 years later, the company has unveiled its latest Future Collective collaboration with Naylor and her brand, which features 70 new pieces designed with individuality in mind, according to Target’s company blog. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Target (@target) “From sketching designs in high school to working in retail, fashion has always been a passion of mine,” Naylor said. “It wasn’t until I was working full-time that I started posting my outfits on social media and gaining traction. Because my Target work schedule was so busy, I would create and batch...
Kevin Hart’s Gran Coramino Tequila has officially reached a new milestone. According to a press release shared with AFROTECH™, since its inception in 2022, the ultra-premium tequila company has provided more than $1 million in grant funding to over 100 Black and Latinx small-business owners and entrepreneurs through its Coramino Fund. The fund, powered by the company founded by Hart and 11th-generation tequila maker Juan Domingo Beckmann, has made giving back to the community its main priority from the very beginning, honoring its “vision to celebrate life’s hard-earned moments” by donating $1 from every bottle sold to support underrepresented entrepreneurs in the United States and Mexico. “As an entrepreneur myself, I’ve seen how early financial support can impact the long-term success of the business,” Hart said in a statement. “The Coramino Fund was created to provide support to some of the hardest working people out there — entrepreneurs and small business owners.” View this...
Travis Scott is having quite the week in the city of Houston. As the rapper prepares for his Astroworld Festival, he’s also making time to give back through his Cactus Jack Foundation. In conjunction with Houston Independent School District, the rapper unveiled Cactus Jack Gardens at Young Elementary School Wednesday, Nov. 3, Houston Chronicle reported. According to the Cactus Jack Foundation’s website, the garden aims to provide students “agricultural, economics, and nutritional skills to combat food insecurity.” Students will have a gateway to dive into food, nutrition, agriculture and entrepreneurship under the initiative. “It’s kinda crazy that we’re able to bring this to the elementary school and allow kids to have that same experience I was having when I was a kid,” Scott said, according to The Houston Chronicle. “I just love to see this community grow up and get into a very good spot, where it’s a super safe and creative environment for these kids.” The debut was a family...
The world of social media has grown to become an interesting place for influencers, where they can build communities and become their own business-owners. While some people establish careers as influencers with intention, others like Marley Mauvais stumble into it accidentally. But carving her own lane in the digital social space has allowed her to create an unconventional, yet successful brand through fruit content creation. Mauvais — a plant-based content creator and self-proclaimed fruit influencer from New Jersey — like many young people struggled to figure out what her career path would be after college. Even after earning a bachelor of science degree in entrepreneurship from Long Island University, she still hadn’t figured out if running a business was meant for her. “I always knew I was an entrepreneur,” she tells AfroTech, but after her first business flopped she moved back home to take a year off to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. At that same time, she...
For many Black entrepreneurs, the true path to economic freedom and independence starts with the launch of a business – but entrepreneurship doesn’t have to stop at one venture. Just take it from serial entrepreneur Ryan Fletcher, a former A&R executive juggling multiple thriving business endeavors. Fletcher — a Brooklyn native and graduate of Purdue University — grew up surrounded by music, so naturally he believed his calling was to get involved in the music and entertainment industry. After working at places like Def Jam Recordings and Downtown Records, he started dabbling in his own side hustles that quickly turned into buzzing businesses like Yacht Club Company — a Black-owned yacht experience based in Tulum — and ECOGAVE — a biodegradable straw company. In addition to helming his own businesses, Fletcher is also one of three co-hosts of the Guys Next Door Podcast — a show that details the experiences of millennial Black men today. All of these ventures are a part of Fletcher’s...
Just like her father, Travis Scott’s daughter Stormi Webster might be making her own boss moves soon. In a recent video from Kylie Jenner, the reality star discusses all the entrepreneurial influences in her daughter Stormi’s life and implies that she may also be joining these women with her own business endeavor. “She’s actually launching a little secret brand soon that we’ve been working on awhile but finally it’s the pedal to the medal,” Jenner says in the video. The footage in the video also showed Stormi at Kylie Cosmetics’ headquarters along with a small kids table set that Jenner describes as her daughter’s “own office where she gets all her business done.” While details of the secret brand and how much Stormi will be involved have yet to be revealed, Jenner makes it clear that Stormi has plenty of strong men and women in her family to look up to as business owners. Stormi could potentially follow in her father’s footsteps, which have gone far beyond the realm of the music...
Creativity and leading should go hand in hand, but some young CEOs struggle with this. Malachi Fuller, founder and CEO of Hyyer Creative Consulting Agency, shares his insight on how he maintains his creativity while leading a business at a young age. Hyyer Creative is a boutique creative agency that specializes in targeted content development and production, marketing, and strategy for creative entrepreneurs and businesses rooted in urban millennial culture. The Maryland native graduated from the University of Maryland in 2015 with a degree in criminal justice. Fuller moved to Los Angeles shortly after graduation, where he decided to make a big career change. “I had a strong background in entrepreneurship and creating content, so LA felt like the best place to grow and do something with that,” Fuller told AfroTech. Fuller said it took him some time to figure out what he was good at once he got to the west coast. Hyyer Creative was birthed from Fuller’s niche for photography,...
Google is continuing its ongoing commitment to minority groups with its latest announcement of grant-based programs — worth upwards of $25 million — to financially-back works of nonprofits and social enterprises dedicated to empowering women. According to an announcement, Google has unveiled its 2021 Impact Challenge for Women and Girls on International Women’s Day, an initiative that is working to create economic prosperity for women and girls through charitable initiatives and mentorship opportunities. Being that gender inequity has become one of the most pressing matters in our society today, Google wants this collective force of grant programs to help address systemic barriers that pose a threat to women pursuing entrepreneurial ventures and financial independence. “When women and girls have the resources and opportunities to turn their potential into power, it changes the trajectory of their lives and strengthens entire communities,” Jacquelline Fuller — President of Google.org...