PHOENIX — Tuesday night was a celebration of Black-owned businesses and their successes in the Valley.
The Arizona Black Chamber invited dozens of entrepreneurs from the community to its Juneteenth Vision Forward celebration.
As much as the event was about honoring Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, the message was also about how these Black-owned businesses can move forward and grow more successful in the future.
The celebration commemorated freedom, equality and opportunity.
“It is something that I've always dreamed of,” said Celeste Talley about creating her own business called Simply Celeste’s Catering in Phoenix.
Talley got her start in 2016 and worked to establish her business and now even caters to professional sports teams in the Valley.
“Eventually grew into doing private chef events and celebrity chef for the likes of the Phoenix Suns and some of the Arizona Cardinals,” said Talley.
Talley endured struggles like any other business during the pandemic but also found issues unique to her.
“I have struggled just being a Black business owner, just not having access to certain information,” said Talley.
Talley said it was difficult to secure a loan to get her business started, an issue those with the Black Chamber say is common and one they want to fix.
That's why the organization helped create the Impact 2025 program.
The program is designed to help Black and minority-owned business owners secure opportunities for growth, including helping them get bank loans and networking with other business owners.
The chamber’s president and CEO Dr. Velma Trayham said such programs are needed for success.
“We all know that poverty is a state of mind, and when entrepreneurs are given access, access to information, access to capital, access to resources, we can see a lot of economic mobility here in Arizona,” said Trayham
Talley said she wouldn't be where she is today without the program.
“Without that program, I wouldn't be able to know about the opportunity,” said Talley,
The Chamber also announced a new internship program for Black youth. The hope is that internships will get kids interested in becoming entrepreneurs themselves.
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