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MISSION STATEMENT
Shop Black Enterprise™ is a shopping network for small Black and Minority owned businesses. Our mission is to advocate for small Black and Minority businesses and start-ups making this a cooperative not just a competitive place for merchants to succeed. We are going to level the playing field for Black and Minority small businesses to favorably compete with non-minority businesses though access to Black and Minority owned banks, financial institutions and technology. It all starts here: Commerce Meets Civil Rights; Our Nation’s Future.
VISION & VALUE STATEMENT
Being a small Black or Minority owned business has always been a competitive venture with little or no financial, agency or community support. This has occurred, at its core, because of racism/sexism and a characteristic feature of our economy–socialism for the wealthy and capitalism for everyone else. Non-minority businesses have historically had access to capital, critical technology, institutions and agencies that have effectively barred Black and Minority small businesses from the start, leaving most small Black or Minority businesses out of the game–cooperation (socialism) for the wealthy and competition (capitalism) for minority businesses. Shop Black Enterprise™ is the merchant’s “Field of Dreams–if you build it they will come.” This is an opportunity for shoppers to make a difference in the lives of so many. A nation divided cannot stand.
How is Shop Black Enterprise™ a cooperative venture and why is this important?
Shop Black Enterprise™ is a Merchant’s Cooperative. Each month a portion of every member’s fees goes into a trust account solely for the benefit of the members. Members are all eligible to apply for a zero interest loan should they run into unexpected financial headwinds or need money for expansion. In addition, we offer an SBE “Business Dreamers”™ link where Minority entrepreneurs who have dreamed of having their own business can come to this site and apply for funding, become Minority Certified right out of the gate, create a partnership with others sharing the same dream and even have a mentor to shepherd them through the startup process so that they can sustain and grow their new venture. We strongly encourage our merchant members to consider partnering with other members to achieve scale so that they appear on the radar of banks, are eligible for grants, increased sales and government/B-B contracts. Merchants need shoppers and we want every shopper to have the very best buying and customer service experience. Registered shoppers automatically receive a wallet with an SBE Coin™ for a 20% discount on the first item they purchase. For every purchase a registered shoppers makes, they receive additional SBE Coin(s)™ In addition, we reward one or more member merchants each month for the most outstanding customer service site wide. We at Shop Black Enterprise™ believe that cooperation between merchant members needs equal time with merchant competition for shoppers and, with the support of registered shoppers, we can assist small Black and all Minority businesses to accomplish their ultimate goal–not to be small.
