Even as People Use Search Engines to Research and Purchase Online – More small businesses with SEO strategies are incorporating PPC advertising (60%) to compete for decreasing organic visibility in search results.

Thirty-six percent (36%) of small businesses have an SEO strategy, and 38% more plan to invest in SEO in the future, according to a new survey from Clutch, the leading B2B research, ratings, and reviews company.

Social media marketing (63%) and mobile-friendly websites (54%) are the most common SEO activities small businesses spend time and money on.

Having a mobile-friendly website can help small businesses rank in search results, especially because of Google’s mobile-first index.

Clutch’s data shows that as more small businesses invest in SEO, choosing which SEO efforts to prioritize will remain a challenge. Small Businesses Invest in Content Marketing for SEO

Nearly half of small businesses (48%) invest in content marketing for SEO. Content marketing helps small businesses attract potential customers and guide them through their purchasing journey.

The quality and clarity of online content is important as optimizing websites for voice search becomes a priority for small businesses. Clutch found that only 21% of small businesses invest in voice search optimization for SEO.

Other SEO activities small business pursue include keyword research (51%) and link building (28%). Small Businesses Depend on In-House Staff for SEO Small businesses rely on in-house employees (54%) for SEO nearly twice as much as they hire an SEO agency (28%).

In-house staff are less expensive than an SEO agency and offer small businesses more control over their SEO strategies.

“In-house offers more control over planning, content creation, and budgeting,” said Jaykishan Panchal, who manages SEO strategy for digital marketing agency E2M. “The in-house SEO team probably has the best understanding of the brand voice, company culture, and availability of resources.” Internal employees may lack the expertise of SEO agencies, however.

Small Businesses Use Website Traffic & Leads to Measure SEO Success

The top two SEO metrics small businesses track are website traffic (25%) and leads and conversions (19%). Small businesses value these metrics over backlinks (14%) and keyword rankings (13%).

Tracking website traffic and leads and conversions demonstrate that small businesses tend to invest in SEO to generate revenue. These metrics, though, don’t fully capture SEO success.

More Small Businesses Turning to PPC Advertising to Achieve Search Visibility

Sixty percent (60%) of small businesses with an SEO strategy also invest in PPC advertising. An additional 17% of small businesses plan to invest in PPC in 2019.

PPC advertising guarantees placement at the top of search engine results pages, which helps earn clicks and impressions. These immediate returns appeal to small businesses with limited budgets.

Clutch’s 2019 Small Business SEO Survey included 529 small business owners and managers in the U.S.

Read the full report here: https://clutch.co/seo-firms/resources/small-business-seo-2019.

For questions about the survey, a comment on the findings, or an introduction to the industry experts included in the report, contact Grayson Kemper at [email protected].

Cord Cutting by Younger Consumers Making It Harder for Advertisers to Drive Conversation and Engagement with Their Brands, Especially in Tech, Telecom, Automotive

Advertisers have a problem, and it’s worse than they thought. The decline of ad-supported television is driving down audience engagement with brands. A new analysis of consumer conversation patterns by Engagement Labs reveals conversation frequency among the most prolific consumer conversationalists—young people—has plummeted.

As cord-cutting and advertising avoidance expands to older segments, brands will find it increasingly difficult to achieve their marketing ROI objectives, unless they respond with new approaches that not only reach consumers but also inspire brand engagement. Why does this matter? Because conversations among consumers drive about 19 percent of purchases, according to a new paper published in the MIT Sloan Management Review, including conversations that are triggered by paid advertising.

The analytics behind the new report, “Cutting the Cord That Engages Us,” reveal that over the last five years, the number of consumer conversations about brands per week among teens have dropped from 115 per person per week to 95, while among twentysomethings the drop is from 102 to 93 per person. There is reason to believe that the culprit is declining exposure to television commercials, as millennials are cutting their cable cords in favor of streaming services—or never getting a cord in the first place, becoming members of the so-called “cord never” cohort. Television ads have historically played a large role in helping to drive conversation, according to Engagement Labs.

“The golden era of television made it relatively easy for brands to engage consumers, by inducing them to watch commercials with full motion and sound,” said Ed Keller, CEO of Engagement Labs. “To succeed in this new era, advertisers will need to be more creative, more relevant, and more interesting if they are going to engage consumers and earn a return on their marketing investment.”

Digital Replacing TV As Driver of Conversations

Among paid-ad related conversations, there is a large shift away from TV and other traditional advertising channels toward digital. Desktop and mobile ads have leapt into first place among the leading channels, with 31.8 percent of all paid-ad inspired conversations related to a digital paid ad, up from 16.6 percent five years ago. Meantime, TV ads have dropped from first place at 37.4 percent in 2013 to second place at 31.6 percent.

Some Category Down for Everyone, More Categories Down Among Youth

The report identifies that across the US population overall, the biggest declines in conversations are concentrated in our most innovative industries—technology, telecommunications, automotive, media/ entertainment, and sports. All these categories have seen a double-digit percentage decline in the number of conversations consumers have each week over the last five years.

In addition to tech, telecom, and media, younger consumers are talking less about beauty, retail, food/dining, and beverages.

Big Advertisers Seeing Biggest Declines

Looking at 15 brands suffering some of the biggest fall-offs in conversations in those categories, 13 are on the list of the biggest advertisers of 2017, including four of five tech and telecom brands, and all five automotive brands. This supports the idea that declining ad effectiveness is a key issue.

Some Brands with the Biggest Declines in Conversation since 2013

• Technology
• Telecom
• Automotive
• Apple
• AT&T
• Ford
• Sony
• Verizon
• Chevrolet
• Microsoft
• Sprint
• Honda
• Dell
• HTC
• Toyota
• HP
• T-Mobile
• Dodge

Source: Engagement Labs TotalSocial®. Brands owned by the 100 largest advertisers of 2017 except for HP and HTC.

“This is a wake-up call for advertisers. There’s no stronger measure of brand engagement than consumer conversation. When brands have trouble provoking conversation and recommendation, they need to rethink marketing strategies,” Keller said.

Surviving the Shift Away From Paid TV

In research for Turner Sports and CBS, for example, Engagement Labs has shown that advertisers get a bigger conversation bump when consumers watch together, whether at home or out-of-home. Practically speaking, this means thinking differently about media buying and creative strategies. Rather than focus on buying reach and tonnage, there will be a new emphasis on developing relationships and driving engagement.

The full white paper, “Cutting the Cord That Engages Us” is available for download at http://bit.ly/2TQkqzH.

To learn more about Engagement Labs and learn the strategies for increasing consumer engagement in real life and online, reach out at: [email protected].

Connect with us on Twitter: @engagementlabs #totalsocial

About the Study
Engagement Labs’ TotalSocial platform measures online and offline conversations for leading brands. For this report, Cutting the Cord That Engages Us, analysts focused on the offline conversations of consumers aged 13 to 69 in 2018, with comparisons to results for the same segment in 2013. Additional detail available at www.engagementlabs.com.

About Engagement Labs
Engagement Labs (TSXV: EL) (OTCQB: ELBSF) is an industry-leading data and analytics firm that provides social intelligence for Fortune 500 brands and companies. The Company’s TotalSocial® platform focuses on the entire social ecosystem by combining powerful online (social media) and offline (word of mouth) data with predictive analytics. Engagement Labs has a proprietary ten-year database of unique brand, industry and competitive intelligence, matched with its cutting-edge predictive analytics that use machine learning and artificial intelligence to reveal the social metrics that increase marketing ROI and top-line revenue for its diverse group of clients.

To learn more visit www.engagementlabs.com / www.totalsocial.com.

Kabbage Survey Reveals 51% of Small Business Owners Forgo Paying Themselves for Multiple Months to Control Cash Flow

New report details the personal strain cash flow concerns cause small business owners, and how they would repurpose their time if those concerns were eliminated

New data released by Kabbage, Inc., shows the impact of cash flow on the workload, personal life and take-home pay of small business owners. Polling 500 successful black entrepreneurs, the survey reveals the majority of small business owners do not pay themselves for multiple consecutive months to control cash flow in their business.

In result, 26% have gone two to six months without paying themselves, with another 25% going more than six months without a paycheck. “Having owned multiple small businesses before founding Kabbage, I am intimately familiar with cash flow challenges,” said Kabbage CEO Rob Frohwein. “Sleepless nights were my reality when waiting on customer checks and thinking through needed expenditures.

These experiences drive Kabbage’s mission to help small businesses easily manage cash flow so they can focus on the skill or craft that allowed them to start their business in the first place.”

Of the respondents surveyed, 63% said they are regularly stressed or have anxiety due to cash flow concerns; 35% often lose sleep or have difficulty sleeping; 42% sacrifice much of their social life and personal hobbies; and 32% say their family life suffers. Yet, respondents have run successful companies for an average of 10.5 years.

The Kabbage survey also found 91% of small business owners spend as many as 20 hours per week on cash flow management, from handling payroll to invoicing and purchasing inventory. If all cash-flow tasks were eliminated, respondents said they would repurpose their time to do the following:

• 51% would invest more time in sales and marketing to drive new business.
• 35% would further develop their products and services, saying they have new
ideas but no time to focus on them.
• 32% would spend more time with family, friends and community.
• 30% would focus more time on customer service.
• 22% would use the time on hiring and mentoring their employees.
• 22% would investigate new technologies and business systems to make their
company more efficient.

“I’ve tried other small business lending options in the past, but nothing has allowed my company as much flexibility and assurance to access funds as Kabbage,” said Mark Van Duyne, president of Quality Home Products, a home-furnishings wholesaler in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. “Kabbage is simply reliable.

I know I do not need to reapply to banks or other funding sources. Kabbage is there when we need it, and it has frankly helped eliminate much of the cash flow concern I used to have.”

For more information, please visit www.kabbage.com.

I’m at the tail end of the baby-boomer generation and I’m an black entrepreneur.  I’ve been in business for a quarter of a century but I have never done well working from home. I have often found that after breakfast, no matter what I eat, even decaf coffee, I get lethargic.

I looked online for quite some time find articles on the subject of getting tired when working from home to no avail.  Was it the glare from my computer was I missing some kind of vitamins? Then I did a test. I started working at various coffee shops after breakfast in the area, which can be a challenge but at least I was in the midst of people, noise and traffic. Then voila, the lethargy and lack of motivation were gone. It had everything to do with me working from home. It’s the isolation that was making me tired. Ironically,  I had come to think that maybe grabbing carbs would help but it made it worse.

We have been trained by our upbringing to understand that where we live is where we rest and our leisure. We eat there, we watch TV or listen to music, we clean up, spend time with the kids if you have them and we sleep there but having an abundance of energy has never been on the agenda so we were not trained to work from home.

In addition, during the day, we were at school while our parents were at work (or mom was at home) so we have never been used to home being a place to be creative and to work. Here are a few tips to help you get over being tired and lacking motivation while working from home.

You may be bored!

I’m guilty of this. For many years, I didn’t like what I was doing. I was not enjoying most of the aspects of my business and it was frustrating me. It wasn’t fun anymore. I started hiring people to do that parts of the business what I least liked and it gave me the space to grow. If you don’t have the finance to hire someone, use services like Fiverr.com. Make sure you pay close attention to the ratings of each candidate. I cannot stress that enough. There are many people who are dishonest when posting their credentials on these sites but the reviews from people who have hired them.

Pay Yourself First!!!

A lot of the times we are feeling drained because we are not taking care of ourselves. The term “pay yourself first” does not just apply to financially it applies to all aspects of running a business like take care of YOU first before you get into the day. Most “emergencies” are not as urgent as we think so if you want to be completely focused and ready for the day you MUST take care of YOU first.

Consider going to the gym and working out for an hour.

Chances are one you start your day, you will keep going all day. Getting to the gym after a long workday is very difficult. Your energy is declining at that point and the gym is packed. Why not go when it’s pretty empty and you can get your day off to a good start and give yourself a great boost for the day.

Drink as much water as you can as soon as you get up

You can literally feel your organs wake up when you do this. Hydrating yourself first thing in the morning is going to give you a great boost of energy and get your body in working order for the day

Don’t look at email or your phone for two hours after you get up

If you are like me when you get up in the morning if you look at one single email you will end up sitting down and working for the next few hours. We all know that one email turns into 10 other things to do. So before you read

Watch Your Spending

When you start getting out of the house to work you will have another problem if you don’t get a handle on it right now. Wasting money on food. It’s enough that you will be using your gas more but having breakfast and lunch out every day and buying expensive coffee from Starbucks, even once a day for a large is $80 a month and including breakfast and lunch at $20.00 more a day adds up to close to $500 a month. What elses could you be doing with that money? You will spend 1/4 of that planning ahead. Having breakfast at home and packing a lunch and still have one coffee a day with refills.

Are you getting enough sleep?

As we get older we need more sleep. Even if you are used to getting up after 4 hours sleep try to go back at getting at least 7 to 8 hours to get good REM sleep in. REM is the most important aspect of your sleep and even with 8 hours of sleep you may average about 1 hour and 10 minutes of REM but that’s good enough.  To see how much REM you are getting, get a Fitbit. It will monitor your sleep and pulse and tell you on your phone the next day how you did.

Let home be the place that you relax

At the end of your busy workday THEN you can come home and relax.

Family-Owned Texas De Brazil Churrascaria Opens On The Southern California Coast In The Shoppes At Carlsbad

Texas de Brazil Carlsbad is the third California location to open and the 61st restaurant for the world’s largest Brazilian steakhouse brand

Texas de Brazil Churrascaria opens its first new restaurant in 2019 at The Shoppes At Carlsbad tonight, making this the third California location and 61st worldwide. Opening at 5 p.m. at 2525 El Camino Real, Suite 101, the family-owned Brazilian steakhouse brand is renowned for its beautiful decor, exceptional fire-roasted meats and rodizio-style dining experience which introduces a unique blend of Brazilian culture combined with generous Texas hospitality.

Texas de Brazil Churrascaria opens tonight at The Shoppes at Carlsbad. Guests are treated to a unique, continuous dining experience that combines the culture of Brazil with the generous hospitality of Texas. The menu features chef-crafted salads and a bounty of fresh, hot and cold specialty dishes plus the renowned, fire-roasted meats served tableside by skilled servers. This the third California location to open and the 61st restaurant worldwide for the family-owned restaurant group founded in 1998.
Texas de Brazil Churrascaria opens tonight at The Shoppes at Carlsbad. Guests are treated to a unique, continuous dining experience that combines the culture of Brazil with the generous hospitality of Texas. The menu features chef-crafted salads and a bounty of fresh, hot and cold specialty dishes plus the renowned, fire-roasted meats served tableside by skilled servers. This the third California location to open and the 61st restaurant worldwide for the family-owned restaurant group founded in 1998.
“We are very proud to open our third location in the Golden State within the multi-faceted lifestyle community The Shoppes At Carlsbad has created for its patrons. We look forward to becoming part of this dynamic coastal community and to welcoming the Carlsbad area residents and visitors alike to our distinct dining experience,” says Salim Asrawi, Chief Operating Officer of Texas de Brazil, the family-owned Brazilian-American steakhouse founded in 1998.

Texas de Brazil Churrascarias feature an open-grill kitchen, an abundant salad area, an intimate lounge, and an impressive wine cellar. The Carlsbad location also offers outdoor seating.

Guests at Texas de Brazil begin the rodizio-style meal by helping themselves to chef-crafted salads and a bounty of fresh, hot and cold specialty dishes. The variety includes artisan breads, imported cheeses, fresh buffalo mozzarella, steamed asparagus with marmalade sauce, Brazilian hearts of palm, spicy shrimp salad, sushi, sautéed mushrooms, feijoada (black beans), jasmine rice, Moqueca (Brazilian coconut fish stew), lobster bisque and much more. The incredible variety helps make this a steakhouse even vegetarians love.™

Flame-roasted meats take center stage during the main course, expertly prepared by gauchos (servers) who grill mouthwatering cuts over natural wood charcoal – a Brazilian tradition passed down through generations. When guests flip a two-sided disc located at each seat from red to green, gauchos begin to parade by, carving slow-roasted meats tableside which include picanha (sirloin), lamb chops, filet mignon, leg of lamb, Parmesan-crusted pork loin, bacon wrapped chicken breast and more. When a break is needed from the unending flow of succulent meats, guests simply turn discs back to red. This unique style of dining helps pace the experience to fit any timeframe – from leisurely meals with friends and family or efficient visits with business associates. It’s a standout dining destination for large and small parties alike.

Wine and churrasco go hand-in-hand, and an expertly curated wine collection complements the diverse menu with varietals from acclaimed California and South America vineyards and Texas de Brazil’s exclusive private label selection bottled in Chile. The lounge offers craft cocktails, including the traditional Caipirinha in a variety of flavors, as well as a full selection of liquor, beer and soft drinks including Brazilian Guarana.

Classic desserts served a la carte include flan, deliciously rich papaya cream and Brazilian cheesecake plus sweet specialties such as pecan pie, carrot cake, and key lime pie.

Texas de Brazil service hours include:
Happy Hour: Mon.-Fri. 4:30-6 p.m. features special drink pricing and an appetizing bar menu. Dinner: Mon.-Thurs. 5 -9:30 p.m., Fri. 5-10 p.m., Sat. 3:30-10 p.m. and Sun. 3:30-9 p.m. Lunch: Saturdays and Sundays between 12 noon – 3:30 p.m.

Regular adult meals cost $47.99; $29.99 salad area only. During lunch service, guests receive a complimentary dessert and unlimited non-alcoholic beverages included in the price. When purchased with a full-price meal children 2 years and under dine complimentary, 3-5 years costs $5.00 and 6-12 years are 50% off adult meal price.

Texas de Brazil Churracaria is located in The Shoppes At Carlsbad, 2525 El Camino Real in Carlsbad, CA.

For reservations, call 760-544-1600 or visit www.texasdebrazil.com.

About Texas de Brazil
Texas de Brazil is an authentic churrascaria featuring a continuous dining experience that blends the unique culture of Brazil, with the generous hospitality of Texas. The menu features a vast selection of grilled meats, a 50-item salad area, an award-winning wine list and a la carte dessert selections. Founded as a family-owned business in 1998, Texas de Brazil is now the largest Brazilian-American steakhouse brand in the world, with restaurants in 21 states and seven countries. Stay connected. Follow @texasdebrazil on Instagram and Twitter, and Texas de Brazil on Facebook. For information, visit http://www.texasdebrazil.com.

 

 

Slush Naturals® kicks off its 6th anniversary at Whole Foods with a new part owner.

The Slush Naturals Company, Inc., a purveyor of vegan certified, Non-GMO Project Verified, all-natural beverages infused with fruit/vegetable juices and plant essence, is happy to announce that GRAMMY® Award-winning producer, Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, recording artist, TV star and So So Def’s founder, Jermaine Dupri has become a minority shareholder.

“Slush Naturals® proudly creates healthy beverages, said Slush Naturals® founder Avis Prince. “Jermaine is committed to a clean vegan lifestyle and was eager to learn more about the natural beverage industry after falling in love with our products. We connected.”

“After watching Food, Inc., I cleansed for 25 days and never felt better,” said Dupri. “As a result, I became vegan and have continued the lifestyle for 14 years. I realized the incredible opportunity with Slush Naturals® to put a deliciously wholesome, vegan certified drink in every person’s hands. I want the world to have the mental clarity and energy to live their best life, and Slush Naturals® can be a tasty component.” said the living legend.

Slush Naturals® has been a Whole Foods Markets® producer partner for six years. “Customers trust Whole Foods Market to maintain the highest quality, ingredient, and sourcing standards in the entire industry, and our suppliers put in a lot of work and care to help us deliver on that promise,” said Don Clark, Whole Foods Market’s global vice president of procurement, non-perishables. Slush Naturals is proud to be available in Whole Foods’ Southeast Region (AL, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN).

The plant-based line includes four All-Natural. All-Delicious flavors:

• CUCUMBER LEMONADE: Hydrating, and oh so refreshing! The perfect blend for a “Zen Moment” any time of the day.
• HIBISCUS LEMONADE: Slightly tart and blooming with flavor. Blended with our traditional lemonade, it’s the perfect sweet-tart duo.
• TRADITIONAL LEMONADE: A perfect blend of nature’s goodness. Slightly tangy, and lightly sweetened.
• TROPICAL LEMONADE: A bold Caribbean taste. It’s a vacation in a bottle! For the more adventurous at heart.
  About Slush Naturals®

Avis Prince was a concerned mom facing the familiar parental challenge of reducing her young sons’ consumption of refined sugars, artificial flavors, and colors. Trying to find a tasty, healthy alternative, Avis created Slush Naturals® based on a heavenly vision of beverages with premium ingredients. Slush Naturals® lemonades are 100% natural, vegan, kosher, gluten-free, non-GMO and the perfect transitional beverage for healthier lifestyles. THE BEST FOR YOU FOR LIFE!®

Slush Naturals is available at Whole Foods in the Southeast Region, www.amazon.com and www.slushnaturals.com.

For more information on Slush Naturals®, visit www.slushnaturals.com and follow us on Twitter @slushnaturals1, Instagram @slushnaturals, and Facebook @slushnaturals.

Acquisition Demonstrates iHeartMedia’s Continued Investment in the Audio Technology Space

iHeartMedia today announced it acquired Athens, Greece-based online audio technology company Radiojar Information Technology S.A. (“Radiojar”.)  Radiojar is a centralized, cloud-based audio playout platform, and this acquisition will allow the industry to leverage Radiojar’s tools to cohesively combine the seamless elements of broadcast radio and transition these skillfully-produced listening experiences into other audio platforms including music streaming and podcasts, delivering high-quality audio experiences more effectively and efficiently. The company was purchased by iHeartMedia, Inc. subsidiary RCS – which is the world’s leading provider of broadcast and webcast software, serving more than 14,000 broadcast, digital, TV, cable and satellite music companies worldwide.

With Radiojar’s sophisticated cloud-based assets and engineering, iHeartMedia, and other RCS clients, will now have a platform to easily combine or parse individual audio elements such as DJ voice tracks, music and broadcast spots to create, manage, distribute and monetize streams, podcasts and other audio content in real-time from anywhere.

As part of the acquisition, Radiojar will also continue to provide tools that allow independent podcasters, radio stations and individuals to instantly create their own radio stations and broadcast from anywhere in the world.

“Because we lead in all audio categories and understand the entire landscape, from broadcast radio to streaming radio to podcasts, we are always looking for next-generation technologies and services that can complement the overall audio ecosystem,” said Rich Bressler, President, COO and CFO for iHeartMedia, Inc. “We recognize that broadcast radio has a very unique set of programming tools that make listening a smoother and more enjoyable experience.  These new capabilities will allow for the seamless nature that has only been available on radio to transition to other audio mediums including digital stations and podcasts.”

As the leading audio company in the U.S., this acquisition is the latest in iHeartMedia’s continued commitment in innovation across all areas of audio. The company also recently acquired Jelli, Inc., the pioneering technology company for programmatic buying and selling of broadcast radio and the technology platform that powers its groundbreaking SoundPoint programmatic platform; and Stuff Media LLC which included the HowStuffWorks (HSW) podcasting business – which solidified iHeartMedia as the Number 1 commercial podcast publisher globally and Number 2 overall, right behind NPR (Podtrac.)

“Complementing our recent announcements about our cloud-based scheduling, playout and disaster recovery services, this acquisition will help RCS bring an even wider range of sophisticated online broadcast tools to our customers,” said Philippe Generali, President and CEO, RCS. “In the near future, using cloud-based technology, it will be possible to launch a brand-new radio service across broadcast and digital within minutes of the original idea. The ultimate ‘pop-up’ radio station, if you will.”

“The Radiojar team is excited to be joining forces with the largest audio company in America – iHeartMedia, as well as RCS – a company known around the world for its audio software innovation.” said Stathis Koutsogeorgos, CEO of Radiojar. “We share a vision about the importance of cloud-based technologies, and we look forward to the opportunity to evolve and offer our products and services to an even wider audience.”

Andy Anderson Promoted To President, Sales at AURN

Prior to AURN, Mr. Anderson worked for Billboard magazine as Director, Urban/Canadian Advertising, the first African-American to hold such a position with the magazine. While there, he created the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Conference and Awards and developed special advertising tributes for musical powerhouses such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Boyz II Men, Brian McKnight and Master P to name a few, which brought in millions of dollars in incremental revenue to the magazine.

Mr. Anderson began his 35-year career in sales and marketing when he was recruited by Libbey-Owens-Ford his senior year at Howard University. Mr. Anderson is an alumnus of the NAB’s Executive Development Program for Radio Broadcasters at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

 

Former American Express CEO Ken Chenault shares a moment with Priscilla Hill-Ardoin, board member of Enterprise Holdings, following the New York PBS-TV taping of An Evening With Ken Chenault, the unofficial launch to the BusinessMakers Initiative. The HistoryMakers returns to St. Louis this week to officially announce the launch, made possible by a $600,000 grant from the Enterprise Holdings Foundation, to raise the profile and public understanding of African American achievement in business.

Enterprise Holdings Foundation had awarded $600,000 to the group to help raise the profile and public understanding of African American achievement in business. The grant will help develop the most comprehensive video recording of the lives, careers, and accomplishments of African American business leaders.

Former American Express CEO Ken Chenault shares a moment with Priscilla Hill-Ardoin, board member of Enterprise Holdings, following the New York PBS-TV taping of An Evening With Ken Chenault, the unofficial launch to the BusinessMakers Initiative. The HistoryMakers returns to St. Louis this week to officially announce the launch, made possible by a $600,000 grant from the Enterprise Holdings Foundation, to raise the profile and public understanding of African American achievement in business.
Former American Express CEO Ken Chenault shares a moment with Priscilla Hill-Ardoin, board member of Enterprise Holdings, following the New York PBS-TV taping of An Evening With Ken Chenault, the unofficial launch to the BusinessMakers Initiative. The HistoryMakers returns to St. Louis this week to officially announce the launch, made possible by a $600,000 grant from the Enterprise Holdings Foundation, to raise the profile and public understanding of African American achievement in business.
“We are thrilled that the Enterprise Holdings Foundation has chosen to support our work in this way,” said Julieanna Richardson, founder and president of The HistoryMakers. “Because of this generous gift, The HistoryMakers will be able to begin the process of creating the definitive recording of African American business leaders.”

Richardson added that the contribution was in response to a 9 to 1 challenge grant from Dorothy Terrell, former president of Sun Microsystems. The HistoryMakers had set a $1 million goal to establish the “BusinessMakers” segment on its online portal.

The HistoryMakers BusinessMakers category currently includes the interviews of over 300 business leaders in 81 cities and towns. Some of those already featured in the category include recently retired American Express CEO Ken Chenault; Merck & Co., Inc. CEO Ken Frazier; Johnson Publishing founder John H. Johnson; former Xerox CEO Ursula Burns; Motown founder Berry Gordy; RadioOne founder Cathy Hughes; among others.

“The Enterprise Holdings Foundation is proud to help The HistoryMakers tell the untold stories of both well-known and unsung African Americans in business,” said Carolyn Kindle Betz, senior vice president and executive director of the Enterprise Holdings Foundation. “This initiative is a terrific way to recognize African American business leaders of the past, while encouraging future leaders of tomorrow.”

Over the next two to three years, according to Richardson, The HistoryMakers will focus on adding 150 additional interviews of noted African American business leaders to its collection – increasing its BusinessMakers category to 500. Currently, the history of African Americans in business make up less than one percent of Harvard Business School case studies, and there are no dedicated exhibits or collection of African American business leaders in any of the nation’s repositories.

“It is critical to show the world that African Americans have had an active role to play in both black entrepreneurship and in corporate America,” said Richardson. “This story has been overlooked for far too long, and deserves to be highlighted.”

Follow The HistoryMakers on Facebook and Twitter.

The HistoryMakers, a 501 (c) (3) national nonprofit organization based in Chicago, is dedicated to recording and preserving the personal histories of well-known and unsung African Americans. It is the largest video oral history archive of its kind, and the only massive attempt, since the WPA Slave Narratives of the 1930s, to record the African American experience by the first voice. In 2014, the Library of Congress became the permanent repository of the collection. The HistoryMakers Collection now numbers over 10,000 hours (3,200 interviews) of first person testimony recorded in over 413 cities and towns, including international locations like Norway, the Caribbean, and Mexico. The earliest memory in the collection dates to the 1700s.

Established in 1982 by Enterprise founder Jack Taylor, the Enterprise Holdings Foundation was created to allow the company to give back to the communities where its customers and employees live and work. The company has grown to become the world’s largest car rental company with more than 10,000 locations in 95 countries and territories throughout the world.

 

Tour Continues February 28 in Austin, TX and March 2 in Houston, TX

 Today, Live Nation and Crown Publishing, a part of Penguin Random House, announced the next two moderators for the 2019 tour dates of Becoming: An Intimate Conversation with Michelle Obama.

Produced by Live Nation, the tour continues this Thursday, February 28 in Austin, TX with television show host Rachael Ray. Additionally, Michele Norris will join Mrs. Obama on stage once again as moderator at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX on Saturday, March 2. (Please see below for moderator biographies.)

This 2019 extension of the tour will include 15 events in the United States and Canada, with Mrs. Obama making stops in previously unvisited cities, including Austin, Toronto, Atlanta, St. Paul, Cleveland, and Vancouver among others. The tour will also include 6 dates in Europe, including Amsterdam, Copenhagen, London, Paris, Oslo, and Stockholm. The final event will take place on May 12 in Nashville, TN, at the historic Ryman Auditorium concluding the Becoming book tour. Tickets and a limited number of VIP meet and greet packages with the former First Lady are on sale now at BecomingMichelleObama.com.

In keeping with her commitment to make her events accessible to as many people as possible, Mrs. Obama and Live Nation will donate a portion of ticket inventory in each market to various organizations, including, but not limited to, charities, schools, book clubs, and community groups in each city the tour visits. Those fans will receive free admission to the tour stop in their city.

Becoming was released on November 13, 2018, in the U.S. and Canada by Crown Publishing, a part of Penguin Random House, and is being published in 44 languages around the world. Since its publication, Becoming became an instant #1 New York Times bestseller after one week of sales, and has sold more than 5.9 million units in all formats and editions in the U.S. and Canada. According to NDP BookScan data, the hardcover edition of Becoming has sold more copies than any other book published in the United States in 2018 and more copies than any other hardcover nonfiction book published since 2007.

After 22 printings, the hardcover edition of Becoming will have 5,265,000 copies in print in the U.S. and Canada and more than 8.25 million copies in print worldwide. The book is also a #1 bestseller in 12 other countries around the world. An audio edition of the book, read by Mrs. Obama, is also available in digital and physical formats by Penguin Random House Audio.

BECOMING: AN INTIMATE CONVERSATION WITH MICHELLE OBAMA UPCOMING 2019 DATES:

Thursday, February 28, 2019	Austin, TX	Frank Erwin Center
Saturday, March 2, 2019	Houston, TX	Toyota Center
Wednesday, March 13, 2019	St. Paul, MN	Xcel Energy Center
Thursday, March 14, 2019	Milwaukee, WI	Miller High Life Theatre
Saturday, March 16, 2019	Cleveland, OH	KeyBank State Theatre
Thursday, March 21, 2019	Vancouver, BC	Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
Friday, March 22, 2019	Edmonton, AB	Rogers Place
Tuesday, April 9, 2019	Copenhagen, Denmark	Royal Arena
Wednesday, April 10, 2019	Stockholm, Sweden	Ericsson Globe
Thursday, April 11, 2019	Oslo, Norway	Oslo Spektrum
Sunday, April 14, 2019	London, UK	The O2 Arena
Tuesday, April 16, 2019*	Paris, France	AccorHotels Arena
Wednesday, April 17, 2019	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Ziggo Dome
Friday, May 3, 2019	Montreal, QC	Bell Centre
Saturday, May 4, 2019	Toronto, ON	Scotiabank Arena
Friday, May 10, 2019	Ft. Lauderdale, FL	BB&T Center
Saturday, May 11, 2019	Atlanta, GA	State Farm Arena
Sunday, May 12, 2019	Nashville, TN	Ryman Auditorium