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January ~ 2020

The District 2012

By Jamiel Robinson



We are excited to share with you all the next phase in Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses development to foster an economy that creates prosperity and supports the revitalization of predominantly Black neighborhoods.

Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses is moving towards a milestone as we begin the process of moving into a 4500 square foot space in a re-imagined former Old Kent bank building in the Seymour Square district. The District 2012 will produce opportunities to create and deliver robust entrepreneurial support that meets the unique needs of area entrepreneurs and provide a home for Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses and our programs/initiatives.

The District 2012 will be the epicenter of entrepreneurship, innovation, and business development for our community. The District 2012 is a safe space for disadvantaged entrepreneurs to grow, to scale, to build, to collaborate, to try, to fail, and to fly. We are building an institution dedicated to economic mobility, growth, and scale. In the heart of one of Grand Rapids Opportunity Zones, the District 2012 will be dedicated to business incubation, affordable co-working, convening and meeting space, along with a robust offering of educational, mentoring, networking, and capital resources - all dedicated to inspiring ideas, creating jobs, scaling companies, and increasing wealth in the community.


Read More Here - https://www.grbj.com/articles/94981-grand-rapids-area-black-businesses-plans-hq

3 Ways to Find New Customers to Grow Your Business

BY Black Enterprise
 
Many As a business owner, customer acquisition should be our first priority. Without customers, we do not have a business. Here are three ways to find new customers:

1. Existing Customers

The first way is to leverage your existing customer base. 

If you provide a great service experience, your existing customers can also be your cheerleaders. Make sure you encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on sites such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, or Yelp.

Offer a discount or a rebate to your customers for providing referrals. This is a great incentive for them and will create repeat business for you.



Link to Full Article
https://www.blackenterprise.com/3-ways-to-find-new-customers-to-grow-your-business/

GRABB News, Events & Updates



New investment fund aims to raise $25M for minority-owned business development

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — In an effort to diversify the economy, a group of community partners on Thursday said they plan to launch an investment fund next year that will focus on growing the number of minority-owned businesses in West Michigan.

Bank of America and the Consumers Energy Foundation have donated $400,000 to support the design and development of the New Community Transformation Fund. Officials say they will attempt to raise between $15 million and $25 million before the fund is activated next year.


Read Full Article Here
https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2020/01/new-investment-fund-aims-to-raise-25m-for-minority-owned-business-development.html



WomanUp & Learn: Grand Rapids

This summit will cover challenges and opportunities inherent to planning, launching, and growing your business.

Join us to sharpen skills, gain important contacts, and learn new information to drive successful business results!


Learn More Here 
https://miwf.org/event/gr-womanup-learn-summit/


GALA 2020

Gala 2020 is a Black Tie Affair paying homage to the very best attributes of our great community!

Attendees can expect to hear, enjoy and bounce to music ranging from Frank Sinatra to Beyonce, Madonna to Kanye West, Motown to Bad Boy Records, leaving no musical genre behind.

A portion of the proceeds from Gala 2020 will be donated to Friends of Grand Rapids Parks, A community driven non-profit organization with  mission to protect, enhance, and expand parks and public spaces in Grand Rapids.


Learn More Here 
https://events.blackbirdrsvp.com/gala-2020



Grand Rapids ward with highest black population gets least investment from city

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Driving west along 28th Street, Senita Lenear points out nearly a dozen closed businesses and undeveloped plots of land she deems ripe for investment on Grand Rapids’ Southeast Side.

Those shells of former businesses represent a loss of jobs and money flowing through the community.

At a time when Grand Rapids is regularly recognized as a city on the rise – ranked as one of the nation’s best places to live and one of the fastest-growing economies – a portion of the city is being left behind.

Read More Here

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2019/10/grand-rapids-ward-with-highest-black-population-gets-least-investment-from-city.html


 
Suggested Reading for January

By Rodney Sampson

Kingonomics: Twelve Innovative Currencies for Transforming Your Business and Life Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In While most know of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s sweeping dream of equality and freedom for all, what many do not realize is just how keenly focused he was on economic issues, particularly in his later years. Dr. King believed without economic opportunity, we do not have the chance to pursue happiness. It was, in fact, while planning the Poor People’s March, a dramatic stand on economic issues, that his voice was forever silenced. In his final book, Dr. King posed the question, where do we go from here? The answer lies in Kingonomics, a 21st-century interpretation of his economic vision translated through the eyes of Dr. Rodney Sampson, a globally established economic innovator, business developer, and highly successful serial entrepreneur.

With 12 currencies (including service, innovation, and reciprocity), Sampson takes pertinent ideas from the life and works of Dr. King and, by combining them with real-life experiences, produces a guide through which one can realize their full potential and personal power. Success does not discriminate, and the road map to it is contained in the pages of this revolutionary new work.
Featured GRABB Member
 Here.To.Serve Hospitality

Here.To.Serve Hospitality exist to anticipate, delight and free you so you can be a guest at your own event. Whether the gathering is small or large, we exist to anticipate, delight, and free you so that you can savor every moment of your event.
 
Find Them Here: 
https://www.heretoserve.help/
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P.O. Box 7717
Grand Rapids, MI 49510

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Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses · P.O. Box 7717 · Grand Rapids, MI 49510 · USA

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