From $5 Pamphlet to Regional Game-Changer
How Shantelle Patton Is Improving the Odds for Black Business Owners
What started as a $5.00 pamphlet of Buffalo, NY, Black-owned businesses has evolved into something completely unexpected: a life’s mission and sustainable business for owner Shantelle Patton.
Originally hoping to simply cover her printing costs, Shantelle’s publication and website, That Brown Bag, is now a go-to resource of and for Black-owned businesses in western New York, central New York, and Toronto. And the more she works on the concept, the more she realizes how essential it is to connect underserved and underrepresented businesses to the community.
“Every year, one out of five Black-owned businesses closes. Usually, it’s due to lack of capital or lack of exposure,” she says. “What Black business owners are looking for is some assistance in getting from surviving to thriving. From being a ‘small business’ to just being called a ‘business.’”
Shantelle herself has received the same type of support from the “Buffalo Wings” peer group at Entrepreneurs Forever.
“Entrepreneurship is lonely. But to be able to go into a peer group meeting and say, ‘This is what's happening in my business right now.’ And have at least one person say, ‘Hey, I went through that last quarter!’ … it’s game-changing. A lot of entrepreneurs don't get to develop a tribe of other entrepreneurs. But with my group at Entrepreneurs Forever, I know that I can pick up the phone and call anybody from my group. Right now. And they'll answer, let me vent, and then point me in the right direction.”
Visit That Brown Bag online at https://www.brownbagcertified.com/
Black-Owned Businesses Have an Impact!
141,000 U.S. businesses are majority Black-owned
- 14% increase since 2017
- $141.1B gross revenue (2020)
15% of U.S. microbusinesses are Black-owned
- 68% are Black-woman-owned (more than double since 2019)
- Black women are the fastest growing business-owner demographic in the U.S.
1.3M workers employed by majority-Black-owned businesses (2020)
- $42.2B total payroll of Black-owned businesses
Feb. 9: Understand What Is Normal and What Isn’t at Your Stage of Business
Supercharge your savvy with rockstar facilitator and VP of Programming, Katie Outon McMahon. Learn about the business lifecycle, which stage your business is in, and how to predict and prepare for what happens next.
FREE Forever Forward Session
Friday, Feb. 9
8:30a-9:30a ET Zoom
Feb. 26: Get More from Your Financial Pros
What do your CPA, bookkeeper, and banker have to do with your business's success? Everything! Join Chris Pentrack of Supporting Strategies and learn how to partner with the pros you already have working for your team. Bring your questions and set your business up for an even more profitable future.
FREE Deep Dive Workshop
Monday, Feb. 26
4:00p-5:30p ET Zoom
Corporate Transparency Act
Does Your Business Need to File?
If your business is an LLC, LLP, LP, C-Corp, S-Corp, or other structure formed by filing with the state, you may need to file a one-time document with Fincen, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. (Sole proprietors, you're likely off the hook here.)
The purpose of the rule is to "combat money laundering, corruption, tax evasion, terrorist financing, etc." by obtaining beneficial owner information (BOI) for people who own 25% or more of your business.
Deadline for filing is January 1, 2025, for existing businesses; if you start a new business in 2024, you'll have 30 days to file its info. Penalties accrue for late-filing: $500 per day and up to two years in prison. Not sure if you need to comply? Check with a legal pro!
⚠️ CAUTION!! ⚠️ According to Fincen, there's also a scam making the rounds via email that pertains to the act. You'll find more info about the scam AND the act at https://www.fincen.gov/boi.
Member Update: Oscar Zepeda of Real Zepeda Tequila Needs Your Recommendations!
Real Zepeda Tequila is growing! And it needs your help! As Entrepreneurs Forever member Oscar Zepeda’s company expands, it’s seeking local (U.S.) expertise — connections with U.S. suppliers to meet their production needs.
Currently, Real Zepeda is looking for contacts for a local distillery for bottling, and info about manufacturers for bottles, boxes, labels, and caps. If you have guidance or connections you can share, email Oscar at oscarzepeda@omzegroup.com.
BTW, Real Zepeda is also adding to its Massachusetts sales team. You’ll find the job listing here.
Have member news you'd like to share? Talk to your group facilitator or email us directly at programs@e4ever.org.
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