Recently, we’ve started receiving an influx of submissions from businesses that are not black owned. Apparently, these businesses realize that our directory has the potential to lead to new business. The directory is free and it takes less than 5 minutes to create an account and submit a listing. The best thing that can happen to these businesses is the acquisition of new customers, based on leads from our directory. Conversely, the opportunity cost for the 5 minutes they spent creating a listing is negligible. These non black owned businesses realize the value of free marketing, and they’re taking advantage of it.
We take pride in our directory. We’re auditing businesses that are not black owned, flagging them, and making sure they don’t get displayed on our website or our mobile app. But, instead of removing them, we’re keeping them in our database, because they represent future business partnerships and collaboration.
We, black business owners, need to do a better job of recognizing opportunities to grow our businesses. Marketing is expensive, and instead of showing skepticism, we should be inclined to join any free directory that has the potential to generate new business.
The recent election of Trump has lead to anxiety and frustration. Fortunately, we have more power than we think. In order to create change, black business owners will need to drive the movement. If we expose our businesses, and focus on providing high quality products and services, consumers will be encouraged to buy black.
The I Am Black Business directory provides free listing services to black owned businesses. Our website and mobile app were built with you in mind. We’re here to help, and we hope that you’ll take advantage.