This week on The Urban Business Roundtable, Executive Producer TaQuoya Kennedy speaks with attorney, author, speaker and Reinvention Strategistâ„¢ Marshawn Evans, founder ot ME Unlimited LLC, a corporate life-enrichment consulting firm. Evans, who first came to national attention as a candidate on the fourth edition of The Apprentice, has worked on marketing and branding initiatives for Tiffany & Co., Rolls-Royce, Vitamin Water and Gatorade. A former Miss America beauty queen turned Georgetown University trained sports & entertainment lawyer, Evans has been featured on ESPN, MTV and Fox News, as well as USA Today and Glamour, Essence and Upscale magazines. Evans is also the author of the bestselling book, SKIRTS in the Boardroom: A Woman’s Survival Guide to Success in Business & Life. She also shares her expertise guest blogger at BlackEnterprise.com. (Read Marshawn Evan’s blog posts.)
On November 20-21, 2010, Evans will present ME University: The Ultimate Business & Branding Bootcamp in Atlanta at the W Hotel Downtown Atlanta, providing support and training for entrepreneurs, authors and speakers in the areas of branding and business development. You can also subscribe to her FREE empowerment e-newsletter at www.marshawnevans.com and connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.
Also on this week’s edition of The Urban Business Roundtable, contributor Renita Young speaks with Byron Lewis, founder and CEO of New York-based Uniworld Group Inc., a multicultural advertising agency ranked No. 3 on the BE 100s Advertising Agencies list with billings of $202 million last year. Lewis was also named one of 40 “Titans: The Most Powerful African Americans in Business–and How They Shaped Our World” in the 40th Anniversary Issue of Black Enterprise.
Lewis started Uniworld in 1969 with five employees in a small office of Times Square in New York City. Today, his agency is one of the nation’s largest black-owned advertising agencies, with clients including Kodak, Burger King, MillerCoors, Gatorade and Disney. In addition to helping to define the value of the black consumer market, UniWorld was one of the first agencies to focus on micro-segments, targeting the Latino and Caribbean communities.
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 of course, you’ll get my take on strategies to help you achieve your business goals. This week, I cover the 10 questions you need to ask before you invest in a franchise business. To learn more, check out the “40 Best Franchises for African Americans” in the September 2010 issue of Black Enterprise.
If you have a question you want answered or a topic you want addressed on The Urban Business Roundtable, send me an e-mail at edmonda@blackenterprise.com or to me at Twitter or Facebook.
Alfred Edmond Jr. is the editor-in-chief of BlackEnterprise.com 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.