By In Your Shoes Media

Five years ago, Northern Virginia started one and now central Virginia has one as well.

A group of black business leaders led by Ervin Clarke, owner of Urban Views Weekly, has launched the Central Virginia African American Chamber of Commerce. The new chamber is an association of businesses, individuals and organizations who believe that recycling dollars within the black community is an integral part of building a more financially-sound community.

“We believe that the best way to create black wealth is through entrepreneurship, the establishment, and then the growth, of black-owned businesses that will keep money within the community and draw new money in from outside,” Clarke said.

The idea to create this new regional chamber grew out of a conversation at a ShopBlackBusiness.com networking event several months ago. (ShopBlackBusiness.com is a web directory of black businesses started by Clarke about a year ago.)

Clarke said that during that networking event, Ida McPherson, Director of the Department of Minority Business Enterprise for the Commonwealth of Virginia, talked about the Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce (NVBCC) and how such an organization might be established here. “Ms. McPherson planted the seed in my mind. I took it from there,” Clarke said.

Ida McPherson, Director of the Department of Minority Business Enterprise for the Commonwealth of Virginia

McPherson said when businesses with closely aligned goals and characteristics work together there’s an increase in economic power. “It provides an opportunity for small businesses with similar demographics to partner in forums and workshops in a networking environment that increases strategic economic growth and development,” she said.

The Central Virginia African American Chamber of Commerce joins other similar chamber groups in Virginia that focus on helping minority-owned businesses. Richmond has a Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and a Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce.
Gregory Woodyard, vice chairman of the NVBCC, said his group and similar ones around the country provide valuable information on how to operate a business, how to manage staff, where the opportunities are, and what to do if you need legal or other professional help. “Anyone who operates a black-owned business understands the unique challenges involved in operating a business in today’s global environment,” Woodyard said. “It’s not enough to just have a good product or service, you need to know how to run a business, how to negotiate a contract, how to manage staff, deal with complaints, and prepare your taxes. The list of things you need to know can become unmanageable.”

Helping black-owned businesses overcome such challenges is one way Clarke expects the new African American chamber to be able to make a difference in central Virginia. “We will connect individuals with resources and people who understand challenges such as less access to capital than our white counterparts and difficulty in establishing solid business partnerships and mentorships,” Clarke said.

McPherson agrees that the opportunity for mentoring will be an important element that the chamber can provide for business owners and aspiring business owners. “These positive role models, who serve individually in leadership positions, and as owners of their businesses, are a real plus for the community, which can draw upon their experience, wisdom, leadership and mentorship,” she said.

Ken Daniels, Professor of Finance at Virginia Commonwealth University, said the chamber could have a major impact beyond directly benefiting the businesses that participate.  “The intangible component would be the development of a new organization that would grow new leaders and instill business confidence that would reside and be retained in the central Virginia community,” Daniels said. “The tangible component would be the development of a business strategy that would bring financing to small business development along with the use of government, non-profit and bank financing to develop new markets in vibrant African American communities that are patiently waiting for a fair economic opportunity.”

Affiliation with the chamber also may give businesses an extra boost when it comes to how they are perceived by consumers, according to McPherson. “Several studies have demonstrated that membership in a local chamber of commerce has increased the likelihood that the business is rated more favorably by the private sector and the affiliation with the chamber produced a greater likelihood of future patronage,” she said.

Clarke and others involved in the formation of the chamber cite demographics that indicate that central Virginia is more than ready for the chamber and what it proposes to do.  He said about 30 percent of the Richmond metro area population is African American.  “The central Virginia market, with a high percentage of African American population, a stable economy, and educated work force is a perfect environment to grow a large and vibrant African American business community,” Clarke said.

For more information about the Central Virginia African American Chamber of Commerce go to www.CVAACC.org.