Welcome to Breaking the Blueprint — a weblog sequence that dives into the distinctive enterprise challenges and alternatives of underrepresented enterprise house owners and entrepreneurs. Find out how they’ve grown or scaled their companies, explored entrepreneurial ventures inside their corporations, or created aspect hustles, and the way their tales can encourage and inform your personal success.
It will possibly really feel isolating when you’re the one one within the room who appears such as you.
Assembly friends and mentors with a novel understanding of your lived expertise and enterprise roadblocks may also help you join the dots wanted to develop your enterprise and group. Nevertheless, discovering areas for this type of connection might be difficult for Black Individuals.
On this publish, uncover in-person and digital occasions nationwide the place Black entrepreneurs can strengthen relationships and construct experience.
How one can Put together for Attending a Convention
The United States Census Bureau reported virtually 1.4 million self-employed Black individuals in September 2022, an 11.9% enhance from August 2022.
Attending conferences, commerce reveals, workshops, and webinars places you in rooms with customers and entrepreneurs who’ve recommendation, real-life examples, and funds that may shift the trajectory of your enterprise or nonprofit group.
To organize for attending a convention:
- Overview the programming, resolve which classes to attend, and jot down a couple of questions you need to ask throughout Q&As or one-on-one conferences.
- Pack your enterprise playing cards, a notepad, and pens.
- Select outfits and footwear that make you are feeling snug and assured.
- Ease any nerves by leaning into the thrill of bettering your enterprise.
By strengthening relationships, sharing experience, and partnering, there are alternatives to create an even bigger pool of sources and open or construct doorways for Black enterprise development.
Occasions for Black Entrepreneurs
Florida
1. Black Travel Summit
Dates: October 20 – 22, 2023
Location: Miami, FL & Digital
In celebration of Black tradition and enterprise in journey, Black Journey Summit brings collectively business professionals, influencers, and vacationers for a weekend of panels, workshops, vendor buying, and networking alternatives.
Georgia
2. Blk Pod Festival
Dates: September 30 – October 1, 2023
Location: Atlanta, GA
For aspiring, new, and seasoned podcasters, Blk Pod Collective hosts an annual pageant for audio creatives to swap information, be taught new expertise, develop collaborations, and entry potential model partnerships. BLK Pod Pageant may have 4 tracks tailor-made for every stage of podcasting: launching a podcast, present development, monetization, and staff enlargement.
Tennessee
3. Mogulcon
Dates: November 1 – 4, 2023
Location: Nashville, TN
Mogulcon gives sources for Black girls in enterprise to speed up their development and construct sustainable methods for long-lasting success. The three-day convention is an opportunity to be taught from Fortune 100/500 choice makers, meet profitable entrepreneurs, and generate new enterprise by assembly suppliers and company consumers. Masterclasses will give attention to management, advertising, e-commerce, provide chain, and monetary stability.
Indiana
4. Summer Celebration – Indiana Black Expo Business Conference
Dates: July 8 – July 18, 2023
Location: Indianapolis, IN
With a mission to stage the taking part in discipline of enterprise, the Indiana Black Expo Enterprise Convention permits entrepreneurs to be taught from executives and specialists. Periods and workshops will contact on strategic pondering, management recommendation, and safe state and federal enterprise contracts value tens of millions.
Iowa
5. Athene Black & Brown Business Summit
Dates: April 20 – 21, 2023
Location: West Des Moines, IA
The Athene Black & Brown Enterprise Summit goals to uplift and elevate entrepreneurs. Programming features a pitch competitors, breakout classes, keynote audio system, coaching, and alternatives for constructing connections.
Multi-Metropolis
6. The Black Women’s Expo
Dates: A number of dates
Location: Atlanta, GA (Summer time 2023), Chicago (August 4 – 6, 2023), Washington D.C. (Autumn 2023)
Initially an annual expo for small companies and companies, the Black Ladies’s Expo, or BWe Subsequent, has advanced right into a multi-city way of life exposition. Along with seminars and classes led by business specialists tackling societal points and subjects involving wellness, funds, and constructing generational wealth, this expo additionally gives vendor alternatives and sources on enterprise possession.
7. Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Summit
Dates: 2023 (TBA)
Location: TBA (varies every year)
The Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Summit is among the largest conferences for Black enterprise house owners, founders, and buyers in the USA. With a mission to shut the racial wealth hole, this summit hosts discussions about constructing a significant model, financial equality, fairness, and advertising.
New York
8. CultureCon
Dates: A number of dates
Location: New York Metropolis (October 7 – 8), Los Angeles (June 17)
CultureCon, hosted by The Creative Collective NYC, brings collectively inventive entrepreneurs and change-makers who need to make a cultural affect with their companies and artwork. Attendees can entry activations, hearth chats, and panels with tastemakers, celebrities, and business specialists. Black-owned corporations may also arrange store at CultureCon’s small enterprise market.
Ohio
9. Black Tech Week
Dates: July 18 – 20, 2023
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Coinciding with the annual Cincinnati Music Pageant, Black Tech Week is a convention for tech professionals and funders. Founders, executives, and specialists converse on subjects starting from fundraising, buyer outreach, the ability of group, provide chain logistics, content material advertising, and crafting the way forward for tech and enterprise.
Texas
10. AFROTECH Conference
Dates: November 1 – 4, 2023
Location: Austin, TX
For Black professionals, innovators, engineers, and enterprise capitalists concerned about all issues tech and Web3, the AFROTECH Convention is three days of fireplace chats, interactive displays, panels, mixers, pitch competitions, and dwell music performances. Matters vary from creating viral merchandise, the creator financial system, strategic enterprise development, elevate funding, cryptocurrency, and extra.
11. SXSW
Dates: March 10 – 19, 2023
Location: Austin, TX
SXSW is thought for its forward-thinking keynotes, panels, and workshops on expertise, enterprise, movie, music, and tradition. Amongst its 350+ introduced classes, SXSW 2023 will embrace applications on Wellness Shouldn’t Imply Whiteness, Black Women Breaking Boardroom Barriers, and Transforming Tech with the Black Tech Ecosystem.
12. Marketing for the Culture Summit
Dates: 2023 (TBA)
Location: Houston, TX (varies every year)
Hosted by the African American Advertising and marketing Affiliation, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs, and creatives collect on the Advertising and marketing for the Tradition Summit to be taught greatest practices and enhance their expertise. Its theme adjustments from 12 months to 12 months, however at its core, attendees make collaborative connections and acquire insights from panels and displays on content material creation, monetization, workflows, and extra.
13. Texas Black Expo
Dates: Could 18 – 21, 2023
Location: Houston, TX
Celebrating 20 years, the annual Texas Black Expo is an opportunity for small companies, non-profits, and multi-million greenback organizations to collect below one roof to succeed in customers and generate extra financial development.
Virginia
14. Virginia Black Business Expo
Dates: August 11 – 13, 2023
Location: Fredericksburg, VA
Throughout Nationwide Black Enterprise Month, the 4th annual Virginia Black Enterprise Expo options dwell demonstrations, enterprise schooling from native business specialists, networking alternatives, and buying. Registration for vendor cubicles is completely for Virginia Black Business Directory members. This nonprofit group will increase the visibility of Black-owned companies from Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.
Digital Solely
15. Black Entrepreneurs Day
Dates: 2023 (TBA)
Location: Stream dwell from the Apollo Theater
Daymond John, an investor on Shark Tank and the Founder & CEO of FUBU, curates an annual celebration of entrepreneurs. The live-streamed occasion options one-on-one conversations between Daymond and Black celeb enterprise leaders, spherical desk discussions, a number of pitch competitions for grant cash, and musical performances.
16. Kidpreneur Business Initiative
Dates: Could 6 – June 10, 2023
Location: Digital
For teenagers with an entrepreneurial spirit, Zawadi Cultural Collective and Black In The Valley are working collectively to supply mentorship with a digital six-week program. Throughout Kidpreneur Enterprise Initiative, key mentors and visitor audio system will information youth members (ages 10 – 16) via construct a enterprise from scratch. By the tip of this system, the kidpreneurs may have the chance to launch their companies at a Juneteenth Market.
Washington, D.C.
17. ByBlack Conference
Dates: 2023 (TBA)
Location: Washington, D.C.
In partnership between the U.S. Black Chambers Inc. and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters, the ByBlack Convention is an annual three-day occasion to encourage collaboration and foster collective financial energy for Black-owned companies. The convention brings collectively entrepreneurs, media house owners, creatives, and company executives to find out how they will scale and get extra visibility for his or her corporations.
It’s time to interrupt boundaries collectively.
Try the above occasions and contemplate attending one which appeals to your present targets as a rising entrepreneur. Reminder: you may write it off as a enterprise expense.
