McAdoo was working full time as an associate director of UNC Charlotte’s Student Activities division in 2008 when she started Amped Events, a printing business that made signs and other banners, mostly for colleges and universities across the country.
While she would eventually take advantage of several city programs to help small businesses, in the beginning she says she had little more than a laptop to help her as she juggled a full-time job and her new venture.
About 1MBB
Launched in October 2020 with founding partner Shopify, 1MBB aims to remove traditional hurdles to Black entrepreneurship and encourage more aspiring Black business owners to start – and scale – by providing them with the tools, resources, and education needed to succeed. To level the playing field, 1MBB will focus on critical tools for business growth such as technology and resources, educational programs, and the opportunity to access capital. Through this program, Black business owners can sign up for Operation HOPE’s award-winning model of community uplift, financial literacy and education, with access to tailored tools and resources upon graduation. To learn more about 1MBB or to get your business started, visit HOPE1mbb.org.
Source: Operation HOPE
She “Googled” everything, she says, to help start and then grow a business that over 15 years would come to have more than a dozen employees. She sold Amped Events last year to another Black female entrepreneur.
“Can you imagine if I started that business with a mentor or access to capital or a desk,” she asked Tuesday.
McAdoo shared her success story on the day Charlotte officials announced it would partner its small business resources with Operation HOPE’s 1 Million Black Businesses initiative. The city wants to connect Black entrepreneurs with mentors, training and resources with a focus of creating a pathway to generational wealth.
“I’m hoping other entrepreneurs have it easier than I did,” says McAdoo.
Atlanta-based Operation Hope began in 1992 to provide financial literacy and education programs to low-income Americans. The group launched its 1 Million Black Businesses initiative in 2020 and has since partnered with other cities including Atlanta, New York and Memphis, Tennessee.
At no cost to either the city or participants, the nationwide program will provide Black entrepreneurs with business coaches already in Charlotte or available through virtual meetings. Those coaches will help Charlotte entrepreneurs learn how to gain access to capital, mentorships and other tools and resources needed to grow a business, says Joann Massey, a senior vice president based in Memphis with HOPE’S 1 Million Black Businesses.
She says the program works.
“If we don’t do it for ourselves today, it’s not going to happen and tomorrow is too late,” Massey told a group of more than 100 that met for the announcement at Shiloh Institutional Baptist Church. “We won’t be talking about this 20 years from now. We won’t be talking about this 50 years from now. We will have Black millionaires in the city of Charlotte from businesses that have grown.”
A donation of $1.5 million from Shopify has helped 1 Million Black Businesses connect with 155,000 unique businesses since its start three years ago. The group also has built partnerships with corporations, colleges and professional sports teams, says Massey.
People gain access to the one-on-one coaching and other tools through the city of Charlotte’s small business programs, Massey said.
(C) Business North Carolina
This story was originally published at: https://businessnc.com/charlotte-joins-push-for-1-million-black-businesses/
