This week on The Urban Business Roundtable, UBR Contributor Renita D. Young speaks with advertising agency chief executive Monique Nelson, the newly named Co-CEO of Brooklyn, N.Y.-based UniWorld Group. Nelson joins Byron Lewis, the legendary founder and CEO of the ground-breaking, award-winning multicultural advertising agency. UniWorld is currently ranked No. 5 on the BE 100s Advertising Agencies list, with 2011 revenues of $19 million. During the BE 100s Awards Dinner and Gala at the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference and Expo in Chicago last week, Lewis proudly presented Nelson to dinner attendees as he accepted the Arthur G. Gaston Lifetime Achievement Award.
Nelson comes to new leadership role at the legendary agency with more than 15 years of entertainment and lifestyle marketing experience, including nine years overseeing music and entertainment campaigns at Motorola Inc. She joined UniWorld, the longest-standing multicultural advertising and communications agency in the country, in 2007, managing its integrated marketing, digital and branded entertainment departments. Today, as CEO, she presides over a client list which includes The Home Depot, Ford Motor Company and AARP, generating more than $10 million in new revenue with programs for new and existing clients. Nelson joins the Roundtable to talk about her rise to the top and what she’s learned along the way.
Also, UBR Contributor Samantha Pass talks with Catherine Barnett, the executive director of Project Enterprise, a New York-based nonprofit that provides assistance to entrepreneurs and small businesses in under-resourced communities in New York metro area. Prior to assuming her current role, she served as a branch manager of Project Enterprise, overseeing centers in Harlem and the Bronx. Barnett joins the Roundtable to share how entrepreneurs can seal the deal in their pursuit of financing for their business ideas.
In my “Alfred’s Notepad” segment, I remind entrepreneurs that your learning potential determines your earning potential. There’s still time for business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs to enroll at Small Business University (SBU), a free online video course at BlackEnterprise.com offering expert advice to entrepreneurs looking to start and grow profitable small businesses. This week’s sessions are taught by Scott Gerber, founder of Young Entrepreneur Council, co-founder of Gen Y Capital Partners and the author of Never Get A “Real” Job: How to Dump Your Boss, Build A Business and Not Go Broke (Wiley). Gerber’s sessions at Small Business University cover “Hiring A Good Team,” “How To Be A Good Manager,” and “Knowing When (and How!) To Let Go.” Entrepreneurs can register at Small Biz U at no cost at any time during the 8 weeks that classes are in session. Small Biz U also includes custom gamification features that allow registrants to compete for more than $50,000 in cash and prizes, including a profile in Black Enterprise magazine. The more courses you take, the more points you earn to get a chance at winning. Go to https://blackenterprise.com/sbu to register and learn more.
And finally, 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.
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 week for UBR Spotlight, which features additional resources, advice and information from and about the topics, entrepreneurs and experts featured on the show.