>> Funding for NJ business beat with Raven Santana come up provided by NJMEP.

Focus on productivity, performance and strategic development.

♪ >> This is NJ Business Beat with Raven Santana.

Raven: Hello.

Thank you for joining me on NJ Business Beat.

We are in the middle of celebrating Black history month and it is a good time to get a pulse of the black business community in the Garden State.

According to the latest census, 13% of New Jersey's population is black but only 10% of the business is in the state are black-owned.

88,000 businesses.

A recent state report finds those businesses are not getting their share when it comes to government contracts and funding.

According to state back research, black construction businesses only received 4% of available government funding despite making up 30% of available construction businesses in the state.

The same goes for goods and services were black-owned businesses received just 4% of funding despite making up 23% of businesses.

I spoke with John Harmon, founder, President and CEO of the New Jersey African-American Chamber of Commerce about the finding of the overall state of black business in New Jersey.

How would you describe the state of black-owned business in New Jersey?

>> Not good.

When you look at the recent disparities, the state of New Jersey did a study that was conducted from 2015 to 2020 that really focused on the availability, the utilization of businesses in public contract.

So, that study revealed that black businesses did not fare well.

As a matter of fact, we were at the bottom.

One category, for example, in contracts between $65,000, up to $5.7 million, blacks received .043%, less than half of 1% versus white women, about $277 million, and white men, about $10 billion.

A rather gross disparity.

Raven: Last month, the state released a long promised disparity study that showed minorities and women are not getting equitable share of state contracts.

So, my question to you, it seems like you are not surprised by that.

You are more disheartened by the drastic disparity, the percentages.

What is one example or one finding that really upset you?

John: For study by the Port Authority by the same consultant was completed in 2017.

2017 was the year the Murphy administration came in.

Blacks gave this administration 94% of the vote.

Nobody could tell me they were not aware of how bad the numbers were in the Port Authority.

From my vantage point, if you are intentional about your commitment to get black people into a better place, what was done between 2017 and now?

Could the state not potentially annex the existing study and focus on the northern part of the state given that was part of the port authority to start working on mitigating the underperformance.

Instead of saying we have to wait until the disparity study is done in order to implement measures that would mitigate the underperformance.

And that was not done.

So, we have a good relationship with the Murphy administration.

We have done a lot of great things with Governor Murphy and his team.

We are not saying that has not happened, but the big things that will get us, meaning black people, in a better place in the state have not been done.

Raven: The African-American chamber is part of the New Jersey diverse business counsel.

What are business leaders doing to push the governor and others to take action when it comes to this?

Because we know the report is out.

Everyone knows the numbers and the disparities.

So now what?

What is happening now?

John: We've had a few conversations with the administration.

I would say to you that the conversations have been well received.

I believe they are committed to moving forward in a way that will make a difference.

What I am saying is before we move forward on implementing change, we cannot forget what has happened.

That happens all the time.

We want to rewrite history in some cases or just at like it didn't happen.

People were harmed.

Blacks in New Jersey.

Our net worth is $17,000 versus $100,000 for whites.

Every business in the state pays taxes, but the trades receive 90% or more of the opportunities.

How is that fair?

We think that everything should be on the table.

When you mentioned the trades in New Jersey, about how they getting every economic opportunity, people are fearful.

People don't want to have that conversation, but we can forget about how we have done black people, how black people feel, how black people coexist in the state.

But these folks, we can continue to let them have anything they want and everyone is paying for it.

We are saying that is wrong.

It is time we need to bring everyone to the table and reset, so it is more equitable.

Raven: You did recently hold a town hall to discuss this study.

What are you hearing from members and other members of the black business community in this state?

John: Members are highly upset.

I mean, folks should be protesting in the street without upset they are.

But the issue here is many people did not know how bad this information was.

How bad the results of the study was.

Now they are seeing this information, they are very disappointed.

They feel as though they have been treated wrongly.

Their businesses, their commitments to the competitiveness of the state were largely overlooked.

They were not given a fair shot to compete, provide value.

So, we have created within the African-American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey a task force that is engaged with this administration to put forth best practices that will ultimately get us on a path to a more equitable state.

We're scheduled to do a virtual town hall similar to what we did recently at the Crowne Plaza in Princeton.

That will take place on the 29th.

We have a few other dates where we are back in the community to have these same types of discussions.

Many people are still not aware of what just happened.

There's not a bigger effort to make this information known across the state and I think that is part of our job as advocates for our constituency, to let folks know what has happened and how they can get involved to making -- righting the ship in some way.

Raven: You are doing your part and you are making it clear there's no more room for excuses.

Thank you for joining me.

John: We thank you for the opportunity.

Raven: Black men and women own all types of businesses that span across many industries.

We wanted to meet one of those entrepreneurs making waves in the garden state and hear about their journey and challenges.

We traveled to Montclair and the Montclair Brewery co-owned by Denise Ford Sawadogo.

She opened the microbrewery with her husband in 2018 and it is unique, is only 1% of all breweries in the country are owned by black men or women.

We talked to Denise about how the couple turned a passion project into a thriving business and their mission to build community through craft beer.

According to the Brewers Association 2021 diversity survey, there are less than 1% of craft breweries in the U.S. owned by African-Americans.

And you were in that percentage.

I see you nodding your head.

Denise: Yes, I know all about it.

I am on the board of the national black Brewers Association that was started a little less than a year ago.

That is one of our missions, to see what we can do to increase those numbers.

Raven: You are creating pathways in order to do so.

Tell me more about your brewery.

I know you co-own this with your husband.

I love your story, how it got started.

Tell us more about it.

Denise: Sure.

We just celebrated our five-year anniversary in October.

I little more than five years ago that we opened up the doors.

Before that, my husband had been home brewing at home in our basement.

Every now and then, having a couple of explosions.

But that is all part of the learning process to perfect it.

He would bottle it and gift it to friends, neighbors, family, and everyone loved it.

Hey, you need to market this.

He had the idea to open up the brewery.

My background is business, marketing, sales.

That is what I had been doing for corporate America for years.

So, it was like, hey, let's do this for our business.

Let's make this happen.

Raven: You have the passion.

You have the business side of it, but you know you need that business plan.

We know that for so many black-owned businesses, that can be very difficult and challenging.

Tell me a little bit about what that looked like for you and what that included in terms of funding and grants.

Denise: I went to business school.

Unfortunately, not everyone has that background.

Fortunately for us, I was able to create a business plan.

Still, even though you have a business plan, now it is like, OK, can we get the funding?

So, it was not easy.

Raven: Why?

Denise: Especially for a new business.

When we were brand-new, starting out, a lot of times, banks like to see you have some history.

That you have already been in business or you have been in that similar business.

This was our very first time opening up a brewery.

So, we had to use some of our personal money, savings, 401(k)s, whatever we had to do to help make it happen.

Raven: Telling a little bit about some of the challenges you experienced, you and your husband experienced when it came to opening up a brewery.

Denise: One of the biggest challenges was really the budget.

We had a budget, but the budget was -- the reality, the actual was more than what we had projected.

We also needed a waiver from the town for our parking lot based on the number of seats that we wanted in here.

We needed to do some work out ther.e OK, we will approve the waiver but this is what you have to do.

We actually had to break open a wall.

The wall, this window that you see right here on Walnut Street, that was not there.

It was a solid brick.

I think it made the business better, absolutely, but those were things we did not even think ahead of time that we would need to do.

Raven: When we think about support, I just book about there being less than 1% -- spoke about there being less than 1% of Black Americans owning breweries.

Not a lot of people are doing this like you, so telling about the response from the community and how that supported you.

Denise: Thankfully, we happened to live in the town, so we are also a part of the community.

But the community really embraced us when we first opened.

Whether it was with our fundraiser.

We had a Gofundme that exceeded our goal of $10,000.

They really came in and helped us.

They helped us also with their manual labor.

In the beginning, we had painting parties.

We had to paint the building.

Yes, we have a community out on ladders helping us paint the outside, the exterior of our building.

We had to do some landscaping and gardening.

Yes, we had a garden party.

We had people putting in soils, planting flowers out in the flowerpots, back in the beer garden.

Yeah, the community really came together and helped us.

They helped inside as well.

Raven: Tell me about what the response looks like from the black community when they hear about the brewery.

Denise: You know, Raven, stories like this -- when we get features like this, this really helps because some of them don't know about us but when they do learn about us, they come and they support.

Even some that say I am not really a big beer drinker but I heard this was black-owned, so I had to come and support.

I feel so proud that you guys are here and I wanted to be successful.

That feels really good.

Raven: We are in black history month.

So, I know that you have some beers in honor of that.

Talk about that because I love that you brought them out for us to show us.

Denise: Absolutely.

We are so thrilled every year to promote our black history month series.

We will usually bring out a new beer or something like that for that series.

We have our black is beautiful, which is an Imperial stout.

That was part of a collaboration.

We donate a portion of the proceeds.

This year, it will be donated to the national black Brewers Association.

We also have our Maya, which is named, inspired by Maya Angelou, Dr. Maya Angelou.

That is a double IPA.

We also have our passion project.

That is a fruit beer, it is more on a sour note.

That was launched around October for our 50 year anniversary -- fifth-year anniversary because Montclair Brewery is a passion project for us.

We have another stout.

This is more of an Irish creme stout.

It is named after my family in Jamaica.

The area where they are from, that little neighborhood is called Connor Hill.

Raven: Thank you for joining me on NJ Business Beat.

Denise: Thank you.

It has been a pleasure.

Thank you for coming out.

Raven: When it comes to starting a business, black women are leading the way in New Jersey and around the country.

The fastest growing demographic when it comes to entrepreneurs.

According to Wells Fargo, there are more than 2 million black women owned businesses in the country and they earn $98 billion in revenue annually.

That revenue continues to grow to the tune of a 32% increase over the past four years.

When talking to black women entrepreneurs, one of the most important factors for success is finding mentorship.

This week, I sat down with someone who is helping link entrepreneurs with those mentors.

Aisha Taylor is the founder of the sisters and business Expo.

Welcome.

>> Thank you so much.

Raven: You are creating a safe space for women of color to grow and expand their business.

Tell us why and how Sistas In Business Expo came about.

>> We launched in 2018 as the country's only small business Expo created to celebrate and educate entrepreneur women of color.

It came about because we realized there was a need for a space like this where women of color entrepreneurs who are the largest and fastest growing demographic, yet the least funded, to be able to show off their products and services, but also gain valuable resources and information that would help them to successfully start, grow and scale their businesses.

Raven: New Jersey serves a very special place.

>> Absolutely.

New Jersey is where it all began.

It is our home.

It is the foundation for how we started this brand.

We held our first Expo in New Jersey in April of 2018.

We are so excited to be right back, year after year.

This year, we will be back in Newark on April 20, celebrating our annual Expo.

Raven: Tell us, what are some ways SIB supports black women as they grow and scale their businesses?

Aisha: We have been fortunate to add many avenues to our brand that help the black women to scale their businesses.

In addition to our expos which are large-scale tradeshows that we host around the country, we also have our university which is the teaching and training arm of the brand where we provide valuable information, workshops, resources and training so that not only do they have the skills, but also the tools to successfully grow their businesses.

We also have a nonprofit entity which is our foundation.

Through that arm, we give grants to black women entre nous or through pitch competitions to help them with the funding that they need to grow their businesses.

The newest part of the brand is called the Sistah Shop, which launched in 2021.

It is a retail and e-commerce side of the brand where we have two retail locations.

One in New Jersey and one in Atlanta, as well as online.

We are the Amazon for black women owned brands.

150 brands by women of color around the country, giving them an avenue or getaway to get into retail.

Raven: I love that you stopped relying on others for financial support when it comes to black women owned businesses and you decided to take it into your own hands.

We also know securing capital is a big challenge for black female entrepreneurs.

What are some of the other challenges that they face?

Aisha: So, the funding is a huge one.

Also, just getting access.

Access deplatforms that give them exposure -- access to platforms that give them exposure.

When you have a business idea, you might be really great at your talent or skill but no one teaches you how to start, grow or scaly business.

We are often the least likely to get access to those types of training and mentor ship and instruction.

We are happy to see some progress being made in that area, but there definitely is a lot more work to do.

Are these entrepreneurs still working day jobs while launching these businesses?

Aisha: Absolutely.

Many of the women in our network are bi-vocational.

They have their 9:00 to 5:00's, but also pursuing their business dreams.

That is very common, particularly amongst small black women owned businesses.

Unfortunately, often times, because we don't have that capital and initial startup, we have to continue working our jobs to support our families and to pay our bills and to have health care.

Entrepreneurship has many paths.

There is not just one path to entrepreneurship and there is nothing wrong with working your 9-5 while you pursue your goals as an entrepreneur.

Raven: What can we expect that this year's event and who can attend?

Aisha: We are very excited.

We have a power packed day planned on Saturday, April 20 in Newark We will host the Expo and pitch competition which will feature over 75 vendors, speakers, panelists.

Some live music, entertainment, giveaways.

Everyone can attend.

It is a family event.

Business owners are welcome, right?

Vend or attend so they can learn and network.

The entire family is welcome.

So anyone who supports black women owned businesses and wants to be in the room can attend.

We encourage people to bring their children and family members so they can see how inspiring it is to be in a room full of black women entrepreneurs.

Raven: You have a lot of big headliners.

In the past, you featured notable speakers including Vivica Fox, Kim Fields.

Can we expect any notable speakers at this year's event?

Aisha: We are keeping some things under wraps.

We will be making some announcements soon, but everyone is a VIP in our room.

We always make it a point of that.

We are always committed to bringing the best of the best to the Expo.

Those that are audience can learn from, can connect with, inspired by.

So, there's no doubt that it's going to be a great lineup.

Raven: I love your motto.

When sistahs win, we all win.

I am happy to see it.

Thank you for joining me.

Aisha: Thank you for having me.

It is always a pleasure and we really appreciate the support.

Raven: Here's a look at the top business headlines of the week.

Members of the state assembly passed a package of bills aimed at increasing affordable housing in our state.

But the bill passed along party lines and now heads to the Senate for a full vote.

The most controversial of the bills would abolish the Council on affordable housing and create a new oversight body to manage affordable housing construction.

State leaders say New Jersey needs to develop 200,000 affordable housing units to meet demand.

These bills failed in the last legislative session and Republicans are again crying foul, saying this package of bills puts municipalities in unfair financial situations.

>> Builders can leverage the courts, put towns in a bad position.

Build far more units in the towns need to accept.

Fundamentally change the character of small towns.

>> I think it is unfortunate for many people that when you try to build housing for lower income families, it is an unfair mandate.

When people build warehouses come you don't hear the same concerns.

Raven: South Jersey businesses face a number of hurdles that Central and North Jersey businesses do not.

That is a finding of a new report released -- released by the Chamber of Commerce.

Four key issues for the region.

Lack of public transportation infrastructure.

Broadband Internet excessively.

Economic incentives.

And the growing shortage of housing options for families and workers living in the region.

The report broke down issues by County, including in Camden County which was identified as the largest food desert in the state.

The president and CEO of the chamber explains why transportation access is so important to the region.

>> I think population has a lot to do with it.

Our population is vastly different than central and northern New Jersey.

So, riderships will naturally be lower.

But at the end of the day, in order to grow economically, bringing businesses to the region and therefore grow jobs in the region, we need to have opportunities that you can get to without owning a car.

And at the end of the day, South Jersey has some of the poorest counties in the state in our footprint.

And mass transit options that are affordable are some things that are desperately needed in what is essentially a transit desert.

Raven: New Jersey is tops in the nation when it comes to some major agricultural crops, but our active farmland is decreasing, according to the latest agricultural sense is released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture this week.

The report found there were 712,000 acres of farmland in the Garden State, but that is down from 734,000 in 2017.

New Jersey leads the way in some top crops, ranking third in eggplant production, fourth and cranberries, and fifth in blueberries.

New Jersey's success in producing flowers with 296 million dollars in nursery sales, fifth best.

That does it for us this week.

Remember to subscribe to our NJ Spotlight News YouTube channel to get alerted when we post new episodes and clips.

I'm Raven Santana.

Next week, we focus on the financials behind your furry little friends.

From the cost to run a shelter and the need for veterinarians and what it takes to run their businesses.

Thank you for watching and we will see you next weekend.

>> Funding for NJ Business Beat provided by NJMEP, a partner to New Jersey's manufacturing industry.

Focused on productivity, performance and strategic development.

More on NJMEP.org.

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