Black Business Month: Brooklyn Pop-Up Brings Small Business Owners Together For Exposure, Networking
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- August is Black Business Month, and in Brooklyn on Saturday, small business owners were brought together under a single roof to reach out to customers and each other.
Uriah Shelton is 12 years old and running a small business.
"Since I was, like, 8, I've been wanting to sell stuff and do fashion," she told CBS2's Dave Carlin.
Her business creation, Fly High Cosmetics and Accessories with Uriah, got a boost at a pop-up event featuring dozens of entrepreneurs.
The event included fragrances, art and several cosmetics vendors who see themselves as partners, not competitors.
"I do this right out of my kitchen, you know, with my mom for right now, but, of course, it's to elevate and get to a warehouse," said Angelique Blyden, co-owner of Pure Creations.
"The other vendors tell us their great ideas, exchange information," Pure Creations co-owner Marcy Garcia said.
"We can teach each other and learn and benefit off each other," said Alexus Candia, owner of Crown Chakra Cosmetics.
For Black Business Month, the city of New York released statistics that, while the Black community here makes up 22% of the overall population, Black-owned businesses in New York City stand at just 3.5%.
Grace Bell, owner of Black Bells Boutique, is telling people who have dreams of owning their own businesses to go for it.
"I didn't start with thousands of dollars. I just started with a couple hundred dollars and got a nice amount of inventory that I was able to go ahead and I made sure I sold it at a fair market price," she said. "And then I just continued to reinvest every time I made money from then on."
Artist Ruger went from a job in airplane manufacturing to making his side job his main focus.
"You have to do your research, definitely, so it's important to ask questions," he said.
Customers at the event feel great about supporting businesses here.
"I got a great pair of shades. I purchased some shea butters," Bushwick resident Tamurasheva Green said.
Green owns an interior design business and knows her support of mom-and-pop merchants matters.
"Making sure your dollars are bouncing within your community before you immediately send it out," she said.
"As long as continuously support each other, we'll be able to uplift one another," Bell said.
"Believe in yourself. That's the main thing is to believe in yourself," Uriah said.
She says to see the future of business in America, just look around the room.
While most of the business owners at Saturday's event were New York City-based, some traveled from places as far away as Cincinnati.