How Miami’s tourism agency is supporting small Black-owned businesses in hospitality

In 2010, Keymia Sharpe moved to Miami from Greenville, North Carolina, to work in sales. Inspired by her roots, in 2019 she left her job and started a tour company, hoping to infuse some Southern hospitality into South Florida’s tourism industry.

Her company, Key2MIA, now has customers ranging from corporate clients to bachelor and bachelorette parties and offers three different tours, including a Black history tour through historic Overtown.

But as a first-time business owner, Sharpe, 41, said there were many sides to running the company that she had little experience with. Earlier this year, she took part in a program by the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau that works with small Black business owners in Miami to help them succeed in the hospitality industry.

The bureau’s Tourism Business Enhancement Program lasts between 15 and 16 weeks and includes sessions and workshops on marketing, plus legal and financial help. Business owners in the program are also connected with networking opportunities designed to help them expand their reach. The program is tailored to the individual business owners based on their needs, so no two participants receive the same type of support or resources.

Sharpe credits the program with helping her in two particular areas.

“Two things that have been integral have been the workshops and seminars they have,” she said. “One was about trademarking your business and was a big help. There was also one about accounting and financing that discussed operating expenses and making sure you have things allotted for taxes.”

Since its launch in 2016, the program has supported more than 737 minority and small businesses, according to Connie Kinnard, a senior vice president with the tourism bureau.

“Black-owned businesses are a part of our cultural fabric in Miami-Dade, and we want to make sure we’re doing our part to do the outreach we need to provide the resources, educating on tourism to make sure businesses have the information to participate,” Kinnard said.

North Miami entrepreneur Joe Louissaint is among the business owners who have gone through the program. Louissaint, 54, is the owner of Show Technology, an audiovisual company that produces events ranging from corporate meetings to festivals. Before launching the company in 2000, he was the audiovisual director for multiple hotels throughout Miami.

Operating a company through the pandemic and maintaining a sustainable number of clients has been challenging for Louissaint, but the networking that came from being involved with the bureau’s program has been invaluable, he said.

After Louissaint participated in the program, his company been able to provide services to clients in all 50 states. Louissaint said he received vital tips on scaling his business and is hopeful that his company can become an exclusive provider to hotels and convention centers for generations to come.

“I was able to connect with people in the multicultural and tourism sector,” he said. “It’s opened up doors.”

Sharpe, the tour company operator, said support from the tourism organization has helped her solidify her business and allowed her to expand. She is in the early stages of building a tour itinerary generated entirely from artificial intelligence that she hopes to launch by the end of 2024.

“The program overall has been a huge help for me,” Sharpe said. “I’m on the ground conducting tours in Miami, and the biggest thing from the program is not just ensuring that I hit the ground running, equipped with what I need, but also that I’m secure in my operation.”

Kinnard, the tourism bureau VP, believes the program speaks to South Florida’s tourism industry becoming more diverse.

“We’re hearing people are getting visitors in maybe Overtown that came for a convention in Miami Beach,” she said. “That hasn’t always been the case. … We’re starting to see the results and hear it from our businesses.”