Black-Owned Business Excellence Shares Highlights From Its Fourth Annual Symposium
release date: March 3, 2023
The fourth annual Black-Owned Business Excellence (BOBE) Symposium on Feb. 1, 2023, attracted more than 200 participants to the University of Washington Tacoma's William W. Philip Hall. Another 80 participants logged on for the virtual conference. The Seattle Public Library was a co-sponsor of this event.
Under the theme “B(l)ack in Business – Building Our Legacy for Our Children,” the 2023 Symposium aimed to serve and empower entrepreneurs and business owners to relaunch, revive and expand their businesses in preparation for generational wealth and legacy building.
“To have our community of Black business owners gather in person again was tremendous,” said Jenefeness Franke, a principal collaborator of Black-Owned Business Excellence. “We were also proud that online attendees were able to access our incredible speakers and panels through our virtual conference. Symposium participants told us they found the symposium engaging, educational and inspirational, and that they walked away with many practical takeaways and resources.”
BOBE recorded the all-day symposium and has made it available through this Zoom link.
More than 96% of respondents to a post-event survey said they would recommend the BOBE Symposium to others in their network and would attend future BOBE events. At the sessions themselves, participants praised the opportunity to learn from and build community with other Black business owners. During the Q&A with keynote speaker Dr. George Fraser, for example, one attendee who had traveled from Bellingham, Wash. to attend the Symposium, said, “It’s taken me 25 years to find something like this.”
The Symposium featured many compelling speakers and panelists, ranging from Fraser, founder of the award-winning PowerNetworking Conference, named by Forbes Magazine as one of the top five conferences in the country, to regional leaders such as Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards and State Senator T’wina Nobles. Regional business owners and community leaders led panel discussions, workshops and breakout sessions focused on marketing, financial management, branding, leadership, operations and nonprofit management.
Another highlight of the Symposium was when Black-Owned Business Excellence awarded five $1,000 grants to business owners. Keith Asphy, founder and owner of Presidential Transportation Service, a leading provider of Black SUV service, charter bus, executive transport and party bus rentals in the Seattle area, was a 2023 grant recipient. His company recently had a vehicle stolen and he applied for the grant to help with vehicle repair and replacement expenses. Asphy said that the grant had value far beyond just the funds. “Winning the grant gave me confidence that I could be awarded additional funds and motivated me to apply for other grants.”
Asphy also praised the Symposium. “There were lots of great speakers and it was good to hear about the success and progress of other businesses and also to hear about some of the challenges and know that I'm not the only person with similar challenges.”
Other 2023 Symposium grant recipients included Alexis-Jada Aborah of JS Beauty; Angela Clay of Liberate and Lather; Complete Driving Experience LLC; and Damithia Nieves of Thrive Centered (formerly Thrive Yoga).
BOBE offers many opportunities throughout the year for business owners to engage and learn. Check the BOBE calendar at https://sites.google.com/wsbdc.org/wsbobe/home?authuser=0
BOBE’s Fifth Annual Symposium will be held in February 2024.
SYMPOSIUM SPONSORS
The BOBE symposium was organized in collaboration with organizations including the U.S. Small Business Administration, City of Tacoma, Black Dot, Urban Leagues, Seattle Credit Union, The Seattle Public Library, Greater Seattle Business Association, Washington State Small Business Development Center, Minority Business Diversity Association and the Washington State Microenterprise Association.
ABOUT BLACK-OWNED BUSINESS EXCELLENCE
Black-Owned Business Excellence is a new, volunteer-led 501c3 nonprofit collaboration of more than a dozen organizations that have helped organize the calendar of events, including the U.S. Small Business Administration, Washington State Small Business Development Center, and other civic and business organizations and state and city governmental agencies focused on the advancement of BIPOC businesses. For more information or to register, visit http://www.bobe-wa.org.
ABOUT THE SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY
The Library believes that the power of knowledge improves people's lives. Our Library to Business program offers great resources for you to use for free, including dozens of classes and workshops every year in partnership with local organizations, as well as one-on-one virtual meetings to get specific help for your business. The Library is on the planning committee for the Black-Owned Business Excellence Symposiums, and supports both the in-person and virtual events.
Contact the Library’s Ask Us service by phone at 206-386-4636 or by email or chat at spl.org/Ask. Staff are ready to answer questions and direct you to helpful resources and information.