Black women account for 42% of all new businesses. However, this number grossly overshadows the amount that raised equity funding, a mere 4%, according to LinkedIn. To bridge the gap, these two entrepreneurs tasked themselves with uplifting and educating a Black woman business owner in Atlanta.
Nehemiah “Neo” Davis initially sparked the idea to help. The multifaceted entrepreneur connected with his fellow business expert, David Shands, to provide the platform and outreach to make an impact. Over the weekend, they brought hundreds of new customers to The Sistah Shop, owned by Aisha Taylor Issah. Rightfully, the “flash mob” event went viral.
While Issah earned a record-breaking sales day, the work has just begun to scale her business. Building off this success, Davis and Shands hope to spark a movement where Black businesses feel the support of their community while emphasizing our collective power.
Both Davis and Shands spoke exclusively to BLACK ENTERPRISE about bringing this mission to life, and how we can take it further.
“So we always had this vision of, ‘I want to flash mob businesses, and we want to go buy all everything off the shelves.’ So I said, Hey, we got to bring this to Atlanta. So I posted on Instagram and called Shands to mobilize people to come out,” explained Davis. “[We] came up with a story around it to really put it out and make it even greater. And really, the rest was history. She did like $14,000 in sales, so this is her best day she’s ever had in business.”He added, “Now, David and others, we’re going to offer business coaching to really get her help. We’re going to show her how to fish, too. It’s not just giving money; now she’s also going to get live coaching on what she needs to be doing. [We’re] focused on making sure this thing is a feasible business model that continues to work.”
For Shands, who identifies as an Entrepreneurial Coach, building this momentum is the other half of this mission. He intends to bring Issah to his Hot Seat podcast, where he will dissect her business model and offer suggestions for its sustainability and growth.
He shared, “I think the crucial piece is education and training. So I’m on a mission of educating entrepreneurs. That’s my thing. So when we come together, Neo is on philanthropy and I’m on education. Because we can’t come back next month, right? So we have this platform where we can give some people a leg up. They just need a little assistance. But because they got it figured out, you can help them thrive. But without education, mentorship and experience, entrepreneurs that are going through it will continue to need handouts.”
However, Shands also wants to emphasize the importance of community and collaboration. No corporate sponsorship wrote a check to this woman, but patrons buying items ranging from a few dollars to a few hundred. Beyond him and Davis, the lasting message is the people using their collective power to foster change.
“I want to continue to do this because the response. It wasn’t the likes and the views that really got me excited,”
explained Shands. “It was the people that said, ‘Yo, I’m about to do this in my city,’ or ‘I think we should do it next month,’ or ‘I know another business owner, let’s do this. ‘So yes, our objective is to further the mission…We are trying to create a narrative of collaboration. Forget the money that we’re giving to the person, but a narrative of collaboration and education.”As they seek to find another business to sell out next month, Davis intends to go bigger with this movement.
“What we’re going to do next month is going to be crazy, and we’re probably going to 5x what we just done. With this free networking event called The Room, we bring out anywhere between 500 to 800 people. So next month, mark my words, there will not be nothing left in the store. That’s my goal,” shared Davis.
As they flash mob more stores, they also want participants to feel like their money is going to a long-term business. For them, combining the giving with education is key to bringing more patrons in, while feeling good about where their dollar is headed.
“We want to couple the giving with coaching,” expressed Shands. “We want to pair that with information, while coaching and teaching them how to be good stewards. So I think even the people that come out and support the businesses, they feel more comfortable saying, ‘Oh, well, I know it’s going to a good place’… I think it’s important that we build successful, sustainable businesses. Because what’s more important than you supporting a business is them going through the fire, building something special, and being able to teach. So what makes what we’re doing so complete.”