Photo: Coalition To Back Black Businesses
The Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream (“MCAAD”) launched the fourth season of its podcast, “Start Small, Dream BIG,” featuring conversations with six Black small business owners who received $25,000 enhancement grants from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Coalition to Back Black Businesses (“CBBB”) initiative to help take their business to the next level.
The “Start Small, Dream BIG” podcast celebrates the courage, vision and tenacity of small business owners of all kinds and highlights their contributions to the local communities, and the advancement towards their American Dream. During the interviews, MCAAD President and podcast host Kerry Healey uncovers each guest’s unique pathway to their version of the American Dream and listens to the guests’ thoughts on how others might unlock their potential.
This season, Healey interviewed a few of the 25 inspirational entrepreneurs who received CBBB’s enhancement grant for promising and innovative Black-owned small businesses. During these interviews, listeners will learn more about these stories of remarkable resilience as guests describe overcoming obstacles in pursuit of achieving the American Dream.
The CBBB is a multi-year grantmaking and training initiative to help support Black-owned small businesses as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative, launched in Fall 2020, provides grants to qualifying Black-owned small businesses through 2023.
“Small business is at the heart of every vibrant community. Black-owned small businesses were initially the hardest hit by COVID-19 – with 41% closing their doors by April of 2020. Eighteen months later, Black entrepreneurs have persevered and are experiencing the strongest rebound of all business owners, exceeding even pre-pandemic levels. Programs like the CBBB are critical to ensuring the success of Black-owned small businesses,” commented Healey. “I admire the vision, determination and ambition of the entrepreneurs I met this season on ‘Start Small, Dream BIG’. They continue to blast through multiple barriers in pursuit of their unique American Dreams.” Read more.
