Minority Business Development
mbda.gov/businesscenters/boston
The Minority Business Development Agency Boston is a Federal Department with offices in Copley Square who advocate for Boston minority businesses. The MBDA targets firms with annual revenues of over $1,000,000 or are on track for rapid growth.
Boston's minority business corporate-driven procurement community relies on minority business certification when making vendor and contract decisions. While getting certified is not required, it is recommended and the large procurement officers in corporations, schools, hospitals and tech companies are going to look for it in your firm's profile. Certification is FREE when performed by local, state of federal certifying authorities. MBE WBE PBE Minority Business Certification is offer for a fee beginning at $300 and up by several non-profit organizations serving the New England Region.
Certifications are performed by the State of Mass, City of Boston, the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, the Federal Government.
Boston based organizations such as BECMA - the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, the Collette Phillips Global Agency, The Boston Chamber of Commerce and Color Magazine hold events designed to help companies meet c-suite influencers: CEOS, Chief Diversity Officers, Presidents and Vice-Presidents, who champion diversity and service contracts with minority-owned businesses.
The Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council
gnemsdc.orgThe GNEMSDC is an effective, certifying minority enterprise development agency. The GNEMSDC connects large corporate buyers with minority business owners and sellers via hosted meetings, briefings and funtions. We've attended GNEMSDC events held with the Boston Red Soz, North Eastern University and Boston Scientific and found them to be effective at expanding your business.
Massachusetts SDO - Supplier Diversity Office
mass.govThe Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Office investigates and certifies companies for the state MBE, WBE, M/WBE certification program. These certified MBEs and WBEs participate as vendors, contractors, and professional service providers to the state of Massachusetts and their certification is honored at the state's largest corporations and institutions. Most contracts and purchase orders from governnment offices have minority business participation language.
5 Ways to get funding nobody talks about
- Buy Lottery Game Tickets until you win big enough.
- Make something out of thin air that cost practically zero and sell it.
- Rather than ask crowdfunders for donations, sell crowdfunders something.
- Ask a customer to pay in advance.
- Ask your customer for funding
Great companies to know
construction management - JANEY COMPANY
A black-owned OPM or owners project manager specializing in building construction and managing projects from soup to nuts. Their impressive portfolio has that WOW factor. JANEY COMPANY recently built and opend a new Teen Center in Mattapan. The firm has erected structures for NorthEastern University, Whittier Health Clinic, Mattapan Community Health buildings, hotels, office parks and more. Call JANEY at (617) 267-6200. view their impressive portfolio online at www.janeyco.com.
CPA Accounting - Sambookolo, CPA
A black-owned professional accounting and CPA licensed firm lead by principals who do the work and sign off on your financials. They are representing for profits, non profits, individuals with tax return needs and corporations. Sambookolo and Associates CPA LLC is an expert auditing firm and conducts contract compliance auditing and other forms of sophisticated auditing for Fortune 1000 sized firms. Learn more online at www.sambookolo.com
Business History:
The printed edition of The Black Pages of New England directory was an important Boston area Yellow Pages style directory of businesses in a print format ( 1990 - 2008), that made it simple to shop with black-owned businesses in New England. Affectionately, known as The Black Pages (BPO), it was a platform for small and large Black-owned companies to be seen, and for regional corporations to make their brands known to readers of the book.
In March of 2017 the founder announced the new online edition of The BlackPagesOnline.com on the radio station TouchFM 106.1 of Grove Hall, Roxbury.
During the show the founder said "when the BlackPages began in the 90's, the organization reached out to others across the United States about providing Black-Owned business listings in other cities and regions." Now there are Blackpage editions all over the country so make sure you add the word online when searching for the made-in-Massachusetts version of The Black Pages.
The Negro Motorist Green Book, (1936-1964) was a model Black business directory in print that became the bible of travel for Black motorists. Made by a mailman and published when society separated Blacks from whites at drinking fountains, bathrooms, housing and public establishments, the Green Book provided Blacks with places to eat, stay and buy from that welcomed them. Over 50 locations were in Massachusetts at the time. The Green Book covered much of North America, including most of the United States and parts of Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.
Boston by the Numbers
Black Business Article Feature
AboutBlackBoston.com examined the Marley Coffee company and explains how "JAMN JAVA, Inc." leveraged the Bob Marley name brand, coffee and the social value of organic sustainability to build a business and extend a legend.
Read our Marley Coffee article.
Top cities in America to start a business have a few attributes that make them stand out. 1) They have a large number of seed capital and angel investors. 2) There is plenty of networking going on at meeetups, business plan competitions, accelerators, incubators, workshops, workspaces and virtual offices to help a business along. 3) There are a critical mass of entrepreneurs dreaming about being the next big thing and doing something about it. Boston is one of those top cities and its colleges, universities and for profit companies are doing their part to make innovation happen. Forbes Magazine brought its Forbes under 30 Competition here. There are a number of great magazines, newspapers and online blogs dedicated to the startup community. An organized mass of interns, supporters, investors, and mentors are easy to find.
So how is it going for the entrepreneur of color in Boston? The answer varies for it depends on who you ask. Start a business and find out for yourself!
A USAToday reporter discovered that 16% of the nation's millennials age 23-37 have at least $100,000 saved in their bank account.
Tranportation and our Hotels
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Getting around Boston
Take the MBTA public bus or subway. You'll get there cheaper and faster because the vessels have their own dedicated lanes in some parts of town. Boston traffic can get congested. You may also book a car for hire or use your LYFT or UBER app. The smartphone app car service rates go up often due to Surge Pricing. Students going out on the town after 6PM kick up Surge Rates.
Taxi Rates to Hospitals from the Airport.
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2018
HOTEL RATE TIP
There are a number of hotels in Boston's Back Bay which is home to a few Boston convention, conference and performing arts centers that can accommodate thousands of people. Back Back hotels by Sheraton, Westin, the Hilton and others are the high rise luxury tower design. But there are a number of boutique hotels as well as budget lodging facilities such as 40Berkley and Hostel International. In the Back Bay are a number of virtual office spaces to rent where you can work if hotel facilitis aren't enough for your group.
Boston Black and minority led development teams have big projects in the works in the Seaport District, the South End and at the Rio Grande tower plan for Dudley Square.
All together, there is over $2 Billion going into these projects. A 25-foot residential tower is planned for Roxbury, a $550 million, 1,054-room hotel has been approved for South Boston’s Seaport District.
African American art gets boosted at The Tremont Crossing Project where a brand new museum for the National Center for Afro American Artist is going up with vertically-stacked retail stores, restaurants, 200,000 square feet of office space, 300 market rate apartment units, and 800 beds of University Housing, and a 175 room hotel.