entrepreneurship Archives - Rolling Out

Support Black Colleges is a clothing brand that highlights the importance of historically Black colleges and universities. The brand features hoodies, T-shirts, baseball caps and more. Co-founded in 2012 by Howard students Corey Arvinger and Justin Phillips, its mission is to uplift, inspire and encourage people to support and attend HBCUs. The brand quickly took…

Ruby’s Natural Hair Care brand was created to establish and maintain healthy locks and skin using natural ingredients. It is the brainchild of two mother-daughter duos, LaShonda Sims and her daughter, Amber Edwards, and their cousins Felice Thomas Sherrod and her daughter, Shanika Adediran, who founded the brand in 2017. The family-based brand is named…

While in the midst of a nationwide quarantine, Jordyn Woods, in a sense, had her coming-out party. Millions watched the reality series “The Masked Singer” as a performer dressed in a kangaroo costume flawlessly sang “Dancing On My Own” with the defiance of a pugilist determined to fight until the final round. Taped weeks earlier…

Black College Expo™ is an 11-city tour that encourages education and entrepreneurship among African American teens and young adults across the nation. Tyeler Reign, season five winner of “The Rap Game,” Jermaine Dupri’s music competition show on Lifetime Television, had signed on to be an ambassador for Black College Expo™ until all tour stops this…

Kim Etheredge is the CEO and one-half of the dynamic hair brand Mixed Chicks. Born to an Irish mother and an African American father, Etheredge struggled as a young child to find products for her hair texture. As she grew older, she realized many people shared her problem. In 2002, Etheredge met her co-founder, Wendi…

McDonald’s, through its Black & Positively Golden movement, surprised an unsuspecting teen with $25,000 to grow her budding business. On Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020, Nia Nia Phillips-Harper, a 17-year-old Houston native, and her mother Dedra, an author and professor, were guests on a segment of the “Tamron Hall Show” titled “CEO at Sweet 16.” Last year,…

Lip Doctor, cosmetic dentistry, black doctors

Long Island native Dr. Nicole Bell, also known as “The Lip Doctor,” has risen to success as a result of fusing dentistry and advanced esthetics. After graduating from Baldwin Senior High School, Bell attended Manhattan College in Riverdale, New York, on a full academic scholarship. Her dental career began with studies at Meharry Medical College…

Bestselling author Teneshia Jackson Warner discusses the five characteristics of entrepreneurship with “Reality Check” host Christal Jordan.

Azureblue White is an Atlanta entrepreneur with a one of a kind mobile bartending company, Table Top Services. White graduated from Fort Valley State University, which is where her love for curating cocktails began. After college, she went to work in corporate America, where she held several leadership positions, sharpening her relationship-building skills. Throughout her…

Nate Yohannes is the product leader of artificial intelligence and mixed reality engineering at Microsoft. After a stint with the Obama administration on the Broadband Opportunity Council and SBA’s Office of Investment and Innovation developing policies to improve the U.S. government investments in technology, Yohannes entered the private sector serving as an executive adviser on…

For many Black female entrepreneurs, the Essence New Voices Entrepreneur Summit and Target Holiday Market provided the perfect opportunity to gain insight, network and set up shop. The three-day experience held Dec. 13-15, 2019, at West End Production Park in Atlanta, served as a cultural and economic hub to support entrepreneurs of color in the…

Black women are leaving their day jobs behind and conquering as entrepreneurs. We spoke with Black female entrepreneurs at the ESSENCE and Target Holiday Market about why they made the choice to be self-employed. Candace Mitchell Harris of Myavana – “I chose entrepreneurship because I want to create generational wealth for my family. I also…

Kristen Elise Brown is a bold beauty entrepreneur who is all about educating and uplifting other women. In 2012 Brown launched her cosmetic brand, Gold Label Cosmetics. She is also an expert analyst on the show, “B.O.R.N. to Style.” When she is not fully immersed in her other beauty endeavors, Brown writes a beauty entrepreneurship…

Felicia Phillips is excited about recent headlines suggesting that African American women are leading in entrepreneurship and executive leadership opportunities. Rolling out spoke with her about that and her MogulCon conference taking place Oct. 24-26, 2019, in Atlanta. How is MogulCon different than many of the other female entrepreneurship conferences? Most conferences geared toward women are…

Mowbray and Cherina Rowand are the husband-and-wife team behind ONE STOP Taxes LLC, a company that offers virtual income tax preparation services and franchise opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs. Both graduates of the University of Memphis, Mowbray Rowand uses his bachelor’s degree in business administration and background in marketing and sales to lead the company as…

L. Michelle Smith is an author, speaker, professional executive and business coach. She is the founder of no silos communications, the parent company of six brands. Smith has more than 25 years of experience as a communicator and integrated marketer. Rolling out spoke with her about all the work she does under no silos communications…

Salon Plaza, the nation’s leading salon suite franchise for independent cosmetologists, recently secured a multi-unit deal with five-time NBA All-Star Chauncey “Mr. Big Shot” Billups. Launching the flagship store in Detroit’s nearby suburb of Southfield is apropos because the city is a renowned hair capital. The oasis of beauty offers private, spacious suites for independent…

Barbara J. Barnes

Millennials today are making their mark in the marketplace. Barbara J. Barnes is living proof that success for a single, African American mom of two daughters in a highly competitive industry is not an impossibility. At age 24, an extremely unpleasant experience with a real estate agent during the purchase of her first home provoked…

Taylor Danielle is a 27-year-old serial entrepreneur. She received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Spelman College and a master cosmetology license from Aveda Institute Atlanta. In 2017, Danielle opened Taylord Styles Beauty Loft, a boutique salon specializing in hair, makeup, lash extensions and nails. She is passionate about empowering women, whether that be by…

Some well-meaning fans, including LeBron James, have decided that Crayola should name its new blue crayon after the late, great, Nipsey Hussle. While it sounds good in theory and would be a great way to honor the slain rapper, especially in light of his work with the youth, does Crayola even have the authority to…