National Black Business Month: 31 Ways, 31 Days | Business Advice

The eighth National Black Business Month celebration will take place during August 2011. During this month, consumers and institutions are encouraged to visit and support at least one Black-owned business on each of the 31 days of August. This focus for one month alone will generate increased sales and also create thousands of jobs across the country, says John William Templeton, founder of National Black Business Month.

We will feature articles at iZania.com, and promote Black businesses every day during August -- 31 Ways, 31 Days -- through our social media presence. "Like" us at Facebook and "Follow" us at Twitter to join in our support of Black businesses.

Black Consumers Support Black Business

Often we are asked what is the level of support of Black businesses within the Black community? Here is an overview from BlackMoney.com:

What proportion of African-American income is spent with black-owned businesses? Comparing the sales figures of black businesses by industry sectors to those consumer product classes indicates that the real answer to the question is: "It depends."

Usually the key variable is proximity. The more personal the product or service, the more likely it is provided by a black-owned business.

Perhaps the industry where black consumers are most likely patrons is health care, where the most recent black business sales figures for ambulatory health care is about 43 percent of black health care spending.
For hair, skin and nail services, black business receipts are about 38 percent of black spending in that sector. In both health care and personal services, the figures are probably reductions from a period when black practitioners had closed exclusive markets.
The 300 African-American auto dealers are making an impact among the black consumer market. Their sales are 28 percent of black consumer spending.
The next ranking industry category is alcohol retailing where stores are capturing about 18 percent of the $3 billion in black spending.
In the education category, African-American elementary through post-secondary schools are gaining about 15 percent of the $7.5 billion black consumer market.
Black book stores revenue stacks up to 14 percent of the $361 million spent on books.
On the low end, African-Americans spend only 3 percent on clothing with black-owned firms.
Black real estate business revenues appear to capture only 2 percent of the $200 billion African-Americans spend on housing related expenditures.

These statistics indicate that there is room for improvement in all areas. There is no industry sector where Black-owned businesses receive a majority share of our expenditures. The goal of National Black Business Month is to highlight Black-owned businesses to encourage increases in expenditures across all sectors.

Watch your inbox for daily recommendations during the month of August.

Roger Madison, CEO

iZania, LLC