Statistics show that while Black people are twice as likely as whites to start a business, they are less likely to succeed.
This data is what prompted Candy Lowe to launch the Black Business Bus Tour in 2006 where she takes tourists on an adventure to support Black-owned businesses.
Black Business Bus Tour is an organization focused on building the Tampa Bay, Florida community values through raising awareness of the Black business, a statement on the website reads.
The tour also creates economic development for Black-owned business owners by giving small black businesses an inexpensive way to promote their business.
“Economic empowerment is a must for any business to sustain itself, and more Black dollars need to remain in local Black communities as long as possible if we are to remove the poverty stigma,” Lowe said in an interview.
Lowe hosts several bus tours a year in Tampa Bay and surrounding cities to Black-owned businesses that would remain undiscovered from people due to little or no marketing budgets.
The businesses that participated have reported an increase in sales by 100% each tour.
“We are not looking to create a division within corporations or non-black owned companies, we are looking to partner up with establishments to improve longevity,” a statement on the website reads.
For more information or to book a tour, visit the Black Business Bus Tour website.
