Black Business Expo to be held in Gainesville on July 20

Carolyn’s Heart Inc. and Gainesville Black Professionals will host their inaugural Black Business Expo to promote and celebrate the achievements of Black-owned businesses in the community.

It will feature an entrepreneurship panel discussion from 10 to 11 a.m. and the expo will be free and open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. on July 20 at Santa Fe College, 3000 NW 83rd St.

Panelists include Joe Cirulli, owner of Gainesville Health and Fitness; Theresa Glaeser, owner of LogoKick.com; Laurence Andrews, coordinator of the Entrepreneurship Incubator at Santa Fe College’s Center for Innovation and Economic Development (CIED); Caleena Shirley, regional director of Black Business Investment Fund; John Sanchez, senior vice president of Capital City Bank; and Zeriah Folston, director of the Equity and Inclusion for the city of Gainesville.

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"It (the expo) was a God-given vision," said Romona Jackson, founder of Carolyn’s Heart Inc. "We wanted all of us to get together to showcase what we have. Virginia [Grant] is the best person to partner with and it was a match made in heaven."

More than 60 businesses will be present during the expo, including nonprofit organizations and for-profit businesses, said Grant, founder and executive director of GBP.

"Anytime we have the opportunity to showcase businesses, it's always a blessing in our community," said Grant, who launched GBP in March 2016. "This is what empowerment is all about."

Grant said the expo will help equip business owners with the tools they need to succeed.

"We're doing it differently than other expos," Grant said. "We are giving business owners tools they need to go to the next level. They will be there gathering numbers and emails to connect and build with their consumers. We will also have lenders at the expo because it's important to capitalize as small business owners."

The expo also will give business owners and attendees the opportunity to collaborate with community members, find products and services from local vendors and network with community leaders for advice.

"The COVID-19 pandemic created a lot of businesses and most businesses don't succeed because of lack of awareness," Jackson said. "During the panel discussion, panelists will provide tools for business owners from finances to branding. I want attendees to be able to see business owners' products and see the people who took that leap of faith to start the businesses. We want them to see the community support each other and do what we need to make these businesses successful."

Carolyn’s Heart Inc. was created by Jackson to provide financial literacy and money management skills to businesses and the community at-large, Jackson said, adding that it was officially founded on her deceased mother’s birthday on Aug. 18, 2022, in honor of her mother.