This week on The Urban Business Roundtable, UBR Executive Producer TaQuoya Kennedy talks with Candra Palmer, the CEO of Artyce Custom Footwear, a company that allows customers to design their own custom footwear.
Shortly after its launch in Los Angeles in 2004, Palmer’s handmade designs quickly caught the attention of L.A. stylists who commissioned shoes for their celebrity clients, such as actress Vivica A. Fox and R&B singer Angie Stone. Palmer officially launched the custom shoe business from her living room, naming the company after her mother. For 2008, the company raked in $400,000 selling personalized flats, boots, sandals, pumps, and platforms in silk, satin, leather, and exotic skins including stingray and python.
VIDEO: Watch Candra Palmer’s Executive Style profile on the Black Enterprise Business Report
�Most women put a lot of time into putting their look together for that day, event, or occasion,� Palmer told Black Enterprise writer Maya Payne Smart during an interview in 2009. �And we�ve created an avenue where women can create something that no one else has.�
In addition to being featured on the Black Enterprise Business Report television show and profiled in Black Enterprise magazine, Palmer and her company has been seen on WEtv, BET, ABC and NBC.
Also on this week’s edition of The Urban Business Roundtable, contributor Renita Young speaks with Fifth Third Bank Business Banking Vice President Marino Orlandi, who returns to the Roundtable to provide tips for entrepreneurs to help them successfully apply for a business loan. In addition to his role at Fifth Third Bank, Orlandi is also president of the Chatham Business Association, a small business resource center in Chicago.
In addition, every week on UBR, you’ll get motivation and inspiration from author and entrepreneurial icon Farrah Gray, a weekly wrap-up of business news from USA Today Business Correspondent Charisse Jones, our Patient Investor Report from Ariel Investments and key economic intelligence for small business owners from our UBR economists Derrick Collins and Rasheed Carter.
And finally, in my “Alfred’s Notepad” segment, I share what entrepreneurs can do to use social media to make the most
of their attendance and participation at major conferences and business networking events. This information will come in handy for UBR listeners who’ve registered for the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference, scheduled for May 22-25, 2011 in Atlanta. Remember, the deadline to use the special discount code for UBR listeners to register has been extended. Get the code when I share it during the show, or connect with me at BE Insider to get the discount.If you have a question you want answered or a topic you want addressed on The Urban Business Roundtable, connect with me at BE Insider, the social media network for people who are serious about Black Enterprise. You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook.
Alfred Edmond Jr. is the senior VP/editor-at-large of Black Enterprise and the host of the Urban Business Roundtable, a weekly radio show, sponsored by Ariel Investments, airing CST Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. on WVON-AM 1690, the Talk of Chicago. You can also listen live online at WVON.com. Check back each Wednesday for The UBR Morning Post, which features additional resources, advice and information from and about the topics, entrepreneurs and experts featured on the show.