STAUNTON – A group of local stakeholders has organized to help grow Black-owned businesses in Staunton.
According to a press release, the Stanton Black Business Collective was formed to support current Black business owners and encourage entrepreneurship in the Black community. The collective hopes to play a similar role for founders and aspiring entrepreneurs as Harrisonburg’s B Cubed program, Waynesboro’s The Rise Foundation, and Lexington’s The Walker program.
“A lot of Black and brown businesses are under-represented,” said Sabrina Burress, president of the Stanton Black Business Collective. “We have a lot of people who are looking to help, who want to advertise who they are and what they can offer. I think there’s something to be said about our ability to support each other in what we do, and I think that’s really important for the collective.”
As founder of the ARROW Project, an organization created to raise mental health awareness and support in the community, Burress knows what it takes to start an organization.
“We want to help businesses find the ability to thrive,” Burress said, “not just to survive, not just to pay the bills, but to actually thrive in this work.”
Over the past year, a group of four friends met monthly over lunch to discuss Black businesses in Staunton, which eventually grew into a larger community conversation.
“It really was a safe space,” says Dr. Resche Hines, founder of data analytics company Trivium BI. “We created an environment where we could talk about business, be vulnerable, be creative, and eat meals together.”
The quartet of entrepreneurs and aspiring founders wanted everyone in their community to experience something similar to a lunchtime conversation.
“Reche walked us step by step through what we needed to do to turn our business idea into revenue,” said Chris Lassiter, director of community engagement and inclusion at the Central Blue Ridge Community Foundation. “I learned so much, and I was constantly thinking about how many other people I know who need to hear this.”
That desire began an 18-month process of exploring ways to mimic what’s happening in Harrisonburg, Waynesboro and Lexington.
After more than a year of meeting with community stakeholders individually, a conference was called to bring everyone in the same room. Eventually, out of these meetings, the Stanton Black Business Collective was born.
After holding two soft launch events in the spring, the Stanton Black Business Collective now hosts a series of weekly meetups called “Coffee on Mondays,” which serve as a safe space for Black and brown entrepreneurs to share their successes and struggles.
“I think our main goal is to create a network and a community,” Burress says. “A place where black and brown business owners can come together and say, ‘Here’s my idea. Can I talk to you about it? Can I talk about a strategic plan? Can I talk about support? Can I talk about fundraising?’ We need a place where we feel comfortable having those conversations. That’s one of the most important things we want to create.”
The Stanton Black Business Collective is comprised of ethnically diverse community members. Donations can be made to the Greater Augusta Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the 501c3 support arm of the Chamber. Donations should identify the Stanton Black Business Collective.
Burress believes there are countless ways interested local residents can help.
“If you have expertise that you can offer this organization, let us know,” Burress says. “Attend our meetings. Learn what we do. It’s really important to share what you can offer, and it’s also important to spread the word so people know. I think word of mouth is really important too.”
