By Taalib Saber, attorney and owner of The Saber Firm

As Black History Month reminds us of our legacy of resilience and economic power, recent federal rollbacks of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs have sent shockwaves through corporate America. While these policy changes may feel like a setback, they present a unique opportunity for Black entrepreneurs to double down on self-sufficiency and community-driven business growth.

A Wake-Up Call for Black Business Owners

DEI initiatives have helped Black professionals access corporate contracts and funding opportunities, but many provided symbolic representation without tangible economic transformation. With these policies being dismantled, it’s time for Black business owners to rely less on institutional diversity programs and more on collaborative, community-driven economic strategies.

This isn’t a time for despair. It’s a time to reimagine economic power. When systems exclude us, we innovate. When doors close, we build new ones. From the Freedmen’s Bureau to Black Wall Street, our ancestors created success despite systemic opposition.

Turning Setbacks into Power Plays

Rather than seeing DEI rollbacks as obstacles, Black entrepreneurs should view them as catalysts for collective wealth-building. Today’s success stories prove this approach works.

Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty revolutionized the cosmetics industry by creating products for all skin tones when mainstream brands wouldn’t. By focusing first on underserved Black and brown consumers, Fenty Beauty generated $100 million in sales in its first 40 days and has grown into a billion-dollar enterprise that forced the entire beauty industry to become more inclusive.

Calendly, founded by Nigerian-American Tope Awotona, became a billion-dollar scheduling platform by solving a universal problem. Despite initial struggles to secure venture funding, Awotona bootstrapped his company until its value was undeniable, ultimately raising $350 million and reaching a $3 billion valuation.

The Fifteen Percent Pledge, founded by Aurora James, demonstrates the power of intentional economic redirection. By persuading major retailers like Sephora and Macy’s to dedicate 15% of shelf space to Black-owned brands, the initiative has shifted over $10 billion to Black businesses since 2020.

How Black Businesses Can Thrive

Leverage Group Economics: Focus on Business-to-Business (B2B) relationships within the community through strategic partnerships and shared marketing efforts. Black entrepreneurs can drive revenue by prioritizing Black-owned vendors and service providers.

Explore Alternative Capital: While government-backed DEI funding may disappear, access capital through angel investors, venture capitalists focused on minority-owned businesses, and crowdfunding. Organizations like the Black Angel Tech Fund and 1863 Ventures are specifically supporting Black entrepreneurs.

• Master Digital Marketing: Without DEI mandates, securing contracts will be more competitive. A strong digital presence, SEO-optimized websites, social media dominance, and powerful branding are non-negotiable.
• Own Your Intellectual Property: In entertainment, sports, and entrepreneurship, prioritize ownership through trademarks, copyrights, and business structures that prevent exploitation while ensuring generational wealth.
• Build Industry-Specific Networks: Creating Black-led professional networks in industries like law, entertainment, and finance will ensure access to opportunities that corporate America may no longer prioritize.

Contemporary Success Through Community Power

Blavity Inc., founded by Morgan DeBaun, has built a digital media empire reaching over 30 million millennials monthly. By focusing on serving Black audiences and creators first, Blavity has expanded to include multiple brands and hosts AfroTech, the largest Black tech conference in America.

Greenwood Bank, co-founded by Ryan Glover, rapper Killer Mike, and former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, raised $40 million in funding before even opening its doors. Named after the prosperous “Black Wall Street” district, this digital banking platform specifically serves Black and Latino communities by reinvesting in minority businesses.

Pattern Beauty by Tracee Ellis Ross demonstrates the power of serving community needs first. By creating hair products specifically designed for Black women, the brand became profitable within days of launching and secured distribution at major retailers nationwide.

The Black Wealth Renaissance

Black history has always been marked by resilience. When access is denied, we create our own tables. By focusing on economic empowerment, ownership, and strategic partnerships within our community, we can build an ecosystem that thrives beyond political shifts.

This isn’t about segregation. It’s about elevation. It’s about ensuring Black businesses aren’t dependent on temporary policies but rooted in sustainable strategies that allow prosperity regardless of who’s in office.

We have always been our best investment. When we bet on ourselves, we win. When we invest in each other, we grow. When we circulate our dollars within our communities, we build lasting wealth.

Action Steps for Black Entrepreneurs

Identify and partner with Black-owned suppliers and vendors. Ensure your business is properly structured to protect assets. Develop a strong online brand presence. Explore funding options that prioritize Black entrepreneurs. Join or form industry-specific Black business networks. Support Black-owned financial institutions. Advocate for policies that benefit Black entrepreneurs.

The future is ours. Our history proves that we thrive when we work together. The attack on DEI is not the end of opportunity. It’s the beginning of a new Black economic renaissance. If we seize this moment, we won’t just survive. We will thrive!

The post Black entrepreneurs empowered to thrive despite DEI policy rollbacks appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

By Jonathan Forisha

Every landlord has a unique story and reasons for buying and renting out property. But beyond things like providing for their eventual retirement and providing someone a great place to live, the primary reason that any real estate investor rents out their property is to generate rental income.

There are many methods for accepting rent payments, and each one comes with its own pros and cons. Here, TurboTenant breaks down the risks that a rental business may face when it accepts rent with Zelle, Venmo, cash, or checks.

Risks of Zelle

Zelle markets itself as the best method for sending money to friends and family, and tenants may want to use it to send in monthly rent payments. Zelle works directly with banks, so its functionality depends on whether the  bank (or your tenant’s) accepts Zelle.

If it does accept Zelle, each bank will still have limits on daily and monthly payments. These limits may be as low as $1,000 a day and $5,000 per month. If a tenant’s bank does not accept Zelle, then the limits are even more stringent, with a weekly send limit of just $500. According to a recent Apartment List report, the median rent in America is $1379 per month, so Zelle’s payment limits will definitely complicate the ability to collect.

Beyond the limits, Zelle is also risky for rent collection due to the potential for a tenant to accidentally pay the wrong person. Zelle payments are not easily trackable for businesses, and partial payments go through instantly, which could halt a nonpayment eviction from proceeding with just a $1 payment. Zelle is also rife with scams to look out for.

Risks of Venmo

Venmo is the ubiquitous payment app that everyone uses to split pizza with friends, but how does it do as a rent collection service? There are a number of issues with Venmo, and one of the biggest is that Venmo charges a 1.9% business fee for every transaction.

If you charge the median rent of $1379, that amounts to $26 every month coming out of your bottom line. Furthermore, Venmo charges consumers an additional 3% fee to send money using a credit card, which will surely ruffle any tenant’s feathers.

Venmo does make it easy to pull tax forms, but instant transfers cost extra with a maximum fee of $15. Just like Zelle, Venmo also has the risk of a tenant accidentally paying the wrong person, and they don’t block partial payments, which may complicate eviction proceedings. Venmo does not allow any recurring payment option, so tenants will have to put in a new payment every month, which may lead to late payments. Since Venmo is an all-purpose payment app and isn’t tailored for property management, it lacks useful rental features like automatic late fee calculation, which could create more admin work for you.

Another noteworthy downside to Venmo is that it’s impossible to cancel a Venmo payment. Their policies don’t allow a refund to the renter if the tenant pays the wrong amount. In the unlikely event that Venmo chooses to get involved in a payment dispute, they usually side with the buyer, which, in your case, could take more money out of your pocket.

Risks of Cash

You may have read the risks of Venmo and Zelle and thought to yourself that this all feels overly complicated. If the goal is to collect rent, then why not resort to the tried and true method of cold hard cash? Cash doesn’t include any extra fees, banks won’t bat an eye at depositing it immediately, and if your tenant can’t afford rent then it’s extraordinarily obvious since they also can’t deliver the right amount of cash.

On the flip side, cash definitely carries its own risks for rent payments. The most obvious problem is that you have to physically collect cash, which can be time-consuming and complicated, especially if you’re managing out-of-state rentals. Cash is easy to misplace and can be hard to properly document. Say, for instance, that a payment is a few bills short, but the tenant insists they paid in full. How do you prove it?

There are fantastic platforms to streamline your rental management, and if you’ve digitized all the other parts of your rental process (marketing, screening, leases, etc), then why still require cash payments?

Risks of Checks

Checks carry many of the same risks as cash. If it’s easy to misplace a stack of cash, then it’s even easier to lose a single check—or for your tenant to insist they sent the check, but it got “lost in the mail” without any proof. Another important thing to keep in mind is that checks are not used much anymore, and tenants under 40 may not even have a checkbook or be particularly comfortable with writing and delivering a check every month.

Another serious risk to accepting rent via check is that checks can bounce, and it takes a while for you to even know that it bounced. This causes you extra money and time, and especially if you have multiple rental units then this can become a serious headache. Checks can also be canceled by tenants, and there’s no automated way to give tenants a receipt for their payment each month.

This story was produced by TurboTenant and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.

Feature Image: Atstock Productions // Shutterstock

The post Risks of using Zelle, Venmo, cash, or checks for rent payments appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

Contributed

The Peach Cobbler Factory Organization has named a West Chester business, The Peach Cobbler Factory owned and operated by Deneen Glenn, as Franchisee of the Year.  

“The Peach Cobbler Factory is dessert franchise that serves old school desserts with some new school flare, Glenn said. “The desserts consist of a variety of warm cobblers with a free scoop of vanilla ice cream and banana pudding like grandma makes.  We also have a variety of unique brownie, cookie and Belgian waffles flavors…and so much more.”  

She added, “I’ve been open since October 1, 2022, and have been working diligently to connect with the amazing Greater Cincinnati community to  create smiles and a taste of nostalgia, one delicious dessert at a time.  We were store number 15.  The franchise now has over 70 stores in more than 20 states. I am truly grateful to be a part of this awesome brand.  It has been a blessing of an opportunity and a big leap of faith.  I had been a social worker for 28 years before I gave into the dream of becoming a business owner…the dream that  kept coming back.’’

In announcing the award, Larry Johnson, Chairman of The Peach Cobbler Factory, had this to say:

“Every company has someone who embodies all the traits that are needed to become successful with their brand. For all of us at The Peach Cobbler Factory, that person is Deneen Glenn. Hard working positive attitude, involved in her community, a champion for the brand and personality there in the store day in and day out to take care of her customers and lead her team. We are proud to honor Deneen as the inaugural recipient of the Brian K. Faulk Peach Cobbler Franchisee of the Year Award.”

The post West Chester’s Peach cobbler factory wins franchisee of the year appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

Name: Raven Young

Title: Owner 

Business Name: Material Gurl Decor

Social Media Handles: IG: Materialgurl_decor FB: Material Gurl Decor 

Website: https://www.honeybook.com/widget/material_gurl_decor_219124/cf_id/62681297b703e602d23301fd

What made you start your business?

I started off by making balloon garlands for friends, and family gatherings we would have at the house. It was always fun and therapeutic, but I never thought it would be something I’d take on as a business; until my mom (unknowingly) pushed me into making it a business by telling people I made balloon garlands. I realized I was good enough to start charging people and I’ve been perfecting my craft ever since.

What are 3 of your favorite beauty items you can’t live without? 

Skin by Brownlee Sunscreen 

Skin by Brownlee Face Wash

Chapstick

Anything else our beauty readers should know about you?

I make sure that every event is an experience. From the moment of inquiry up until the set-up of your balloons, it is all personalized to meet the needs of you and your event. I have put in countless hours of research on the best products and the best methods to help make your event special. I look forward to working with you to help make your event even more special. 

The post Small Business Spotlight: Material Gurl Decor appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

By Wayne W. Sloan

Business and Personal

Insurance Specialist

Restaurant Business owners: Your main thing hasn’t changed. To assure a healthy bottomline, always manage what you have control over.

Paradigm Changes are inevitable. The rapid growth of online food delivery services has disrupted the traditionally offline restaurant industry – Meal-delivery companies are a symbol of what might be the most powerful force in business today: convenience maximalism.”

Restaurant business owners have and must continue to develop and redefine their systems and products to meet the ever changing needs of their customers. You may have one, two, or over 20 food establishments or distribution centers. Continue to “Think big.” Expand your vision for your operation, training department, and always look for your new cutting edge.

The secret to your success is determined by how well you manage your many systems in your restaurant. What are the major systems that must be managed?

      •     Impressing each customer. Delivering extraordinary service. Know your service goals

      •     Your team’s motivation and morale

      •     Employee sanitation practices, your employees grooming and hygiene

      •     Your ongoing training and  development for your front line and  back of the house crew team members. Do you have a system for ongoing management training?

      •     Food safety. Your systems for product delivery, product storage, your raw product quality assurance, your cooking procedures times and  temperatures  

      •     Do you have an equipment planned maintenance program in place?

      •     Your product nutrition publication for diabetics, sodium and calorie content, and allergies

      •     Soft drink and coffee machine calibration

      •     How often do you change your menu to keep pace with your customers taste, and preferences, removing products, and adding products to give customers what they want.

      •     Product pricing, are they updated regularly in your computer system?

      •     Are you using your computer systems to manage your business?

      •     Your procedures for managing customer complaints

      •     Crew cleaning tasks inside & outside the building, pest control

      •     Tracking and managing the part of your business: tracking/managing your 3 Big cost controllables, food cost, food waste and labor cost. Your food and inventory management, your daily cash reports, your monthly profit and  loss statement and balance sheet, your sales projections hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and annually  

Business owners, your main thing hasn’t changed. To assure a healthy bottomline, always manage what you have control over.

The post Ask the Insurance Man: Restaurant Business Owners appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

Morgan Angelique Owens, Chief Creative Beauty Consultant 

Christian Bradley

Title: Founder-Chief Styling Officer

Business Name: Fly 4 The Low LLC

What made you start your business? 

What made me start my business is the simple fact there is a need in the community to help men, more specifically black and brown men how dress affordably for any occasion…especially for interviews and professional roles. There is a population of men who don’t have the basic attire to interview or work in…or better yet…believe that dressing  professionally is expensive. I want to dispel that myth.

How does it empower you as a Black Man in the Fashion Field? 

What’s empowering to me is that “I make the clothes…the clothes don’t make me.” I can buy a suit off the rack from Macys and make that suit look like I had it custom made. Being able to look good for an affordable price is the biggest, “flex” for me and helping men do the same thing is as equally empowering. Sharing the knowledge is also very empowering and gratifying as well.

What are 3 of your favorite fashion items you can’t live without? 

Blue Suit, Light Blue Shirt, White casual sneakers

Anything else our Herald readers should know about you? 

I’m a Talent Acquisition Partner at Trihealth and have been the in the HR/Recruiting space for 7+ years. I’m a native of Cincinnati, attended the University of Cincinnati where i majored in History and a currently reside in the diverse neighborhood of North Avondale. My interest include, but aren’t limited to history, politics, fitness, men’s fashion, basketball and football (die hard SF 49ers fan). I also have an amazing 16 yr old daughter names Olivia who’s currently a Junior at Fairfield Highschool.

How can we support you?

Just spread the word the Fly 4 The Low is in the business of helping men enhance their personal style while maximizing their wardrobe potential…AFFORDABLY. Please visit the website at http://www.Fly4theLow.com 

Follow us on Instagram fly_4_the_low and like our FB page Fly 4 The Low.

The post Small Business Spotlight: Fly 4 The Low LLC appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

For most small businesses, the results would be lost earning, lost customers, lost employees, and yes, closing the business down.

The latest U.S. census gives these plain facts that 3 in 10 workers will have a disability before their retirement.  If you’re age 32, your chances of being disabled for 90 days are 6.5 times greater than death. Lastly, 1 in 6 families will experience some form of disability.

My personal story highlights the need for a plan when a disability happens. I inherited rheumatoid arthritis from my grandfather, which caused me to have not one but two hip replacements. My recovery for each was over eight weeks. If I didn’t have a plan in place before my diagnosis, how would my expenses have been paid?

There are over 6 million small businesses in the U.S. A troubling fact is of those 6 million small businesses, only 23% or 1.38 million have a cash-flow protection plan in place.

I recommend that all small business have a Qualified Sick Pay Plan, along with a Qualified Business Overhead Expense Plan.

First, a Qualified Sick Pay Plan would pay the business owner up to 60% of their wages while recovering from an injury or illness. These benefits can last for one year, two years, or to age 65. One’s ability to work and earn an income is the most valuable economic asset an individual possesses. A total disability due to illness or injury could deplete, if not devastate your personal assets. Also, health costs rise because of the need for physical therapy or special equipment. A disability income insurance policy can help minimize the impact of such a devastating occurrence.

Secondly, a business owner needs a plan that will ensure his business expenses will be paid, Business Overhead Plan.

What does a Business Overhead Plan pay?

The following business overhead expenses are typically covered by a BOE disability policy:

•    Rent
•    Interest payments on outstanding eligible business debts
•    Utilities (heat, water, telephone, electricity, etc.)
•    Non-attorney employees’ salaries and payroll taxes
•    Postage and stationery
•    Equipment maintenance
•    Rental, lease, or depreciation of office equipment
•    Monthly average of taxes on the premises
•    Insurance premiums for Workers’ Compensation, Employee Medical Plans, Employee Taxes, General Liability, Professional Liability/Malpractice
•    Accounting fees
•    Professional memberships and subscription dues.

I do understand the importance of taxation on business expenses, so let’s briefly examine BOE Taxation. First, my personal disclaimer is that you consult with your accountant before purchasing your cash flow protection plan: A) Premium is Deductible if paid by company B) When a disability occurs, benefits received from your insurance carrier are taxable C) However, all income used to pay business overhead expenses become a tax deductible expense to the company.

During a business owner’s disability, a loss of income will cause not only personal financial hardship but also a strain on the business itself. Fixed business expenses continue to be incurred regardless of incoming cash flow. Adding Business Overhead Expense Protection to your disability income policy can provide coverage for those fixed expenses while you are physically challenged.

Wayne Sloan

BUSINESS INSURANCE SPECIALIST

ERIE INSURANCE

www.buechnerinsurance.com

www.businessoffood-insurance.com

waynesloania@gmail.com

513-353-8555

The post Ask the Insurance Man: Business Owners are Vulnerable – 2018 Plan for Success appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .