Black Chamber Luncheon lauds entrepreneurs | Business

ANDERSON — Executives and leaders in the Black business community wanted to emphasize a truism to those in attendance at the Anderson Madison County Black Chamber of Commerce’s Business and Corporate Luncheon Thursday.

“If it’s something that you really want, you need to go chase it,” said Latrell Dryden, business advisory chair for the Dr. Thomas J. Robinson Business Institute. “If you really want it, it’s going to happen.”

Spotlighting resources available for those business owners looking to take the next step in growing their enterprises — and recognizing some who are taking advantage of those resources — was a central theme during Thursday’s luncheon.

The Robinson Business Institute presented four entrepreneurs with award certificates qualifying each of them for $500 grants toward business expenses. The institute’s seminars, Dryden said, are an example of the assistance available for minorities at any stage of developing a business.

“We want to make sure that a person knows that they have somewhere to go for resources, and they can talk to people and get the information they need,” she said. “A lot of people, when they start their businesses, they start off with not knowing what to do and where to turn. This is an opportunity where they can get that information and they can utilize it for growth.”

Organizers acknowledged that navigating a difficult inflationary environment with high interest rates and lingering supply chain issues in some areas remains concerning to many business leaders. But, they added, bringing corporations together with small business owners regularly can foster a support system that will pay dividends for the community at large.

“I think that Anderson is a community of promise, and a lot of that promise is (rooted in) how well we work together,” said Jan Mansfield-Davis, an assistant vice president at Key Bank who serves as the Black Chamber’s marketing chair. “This is a way that we can bring in corporate citizens of Anderson along with Black business owners and directors of nonprofit organizations so that they can learn more about each other and make those warm introductions and foster a good business environment throughout the year.”

Mansfield-Davis said small businesses are in many ways the backbone of the local economy, so efforts to bolster their well-being are important.

“When you talk about comebacks — whether it be economically or just…creating more jobs, small businesses drive a lot of that,” she said. “We need to be sure they know what we do to help support businesses and make contacts so that they can take advantage of those things that already exist and get some money if need be to help them take the next step.”

Follow Andy Knight on Twitter @Andrew_J_Knight, or call 765-640-4809.