By Dawn Scotland
The Truth Reporter
The Black Wall Street Community Development held its fifth coaching session “Selling the Sizzle” at TTEC (5212 Hill Ave.) Wednesday, May 29. This was the final session in the five-part series leading up to BWSCD’s Juneteenth Speed Funding event June 13. The session featured local Black media experts and was aimed at helping entrepreneurs hone their marketing strategies to better their business.
The event featured presentations from:
- Toni Battle-Gaines (Juice 107.3 WJUC)
- Fletcher Word (The Sojourner’s Truth Newspaper)
- Kristie Knighten (KPK Unlimited)
- Tesha Ballard and Brittany Johnson (WTVG 13 ABC)
- Stayce Fowler (Stalwart Magazine)
“The key to all advertising is consistency,” stated Toni Battle- Gaines, long time marking representative for WJUC 107.3 The Juice, “If you just throw it out there and they never see you again and you don’t remind them that you’re out there and you don’t consistently keep your company’s name in front of them – it’s not going to work for you. It’s not going to work long term.”
Black media experts offered tips and advice as well as special promotions in advertising for attendees. The event offered presentations across multimedia platforms including radio, newspaper, apparel, video and magazine.
“You have to do your research,” emphasized Fletcher Word, editor and publisher of The Sojourner’s Truth Newspaper. “You have to determine what you want, where you want to go and who you want to reach. And then you have to do your research on the various outlets that are available.” Each representative offered exclusive advice on how to better market in today’s world and provided knowledge on questions asked from the group in the hour-long session.
The Black Wall Street Community Development is an organization established by local Black-owned media – The Juice 107.3 radio station, The Sojourner’s Truth newspaper and Stalwart magazine. Started in 2023, the group has hosted a wealth of events and sessions to help empower the Black business community in NW Ohio.
The Black Wall Street Community Development’s mission statement “is to empower a community of business owners through activities such as mentorship, networking, leadership coaching and financial literacy initiatives for advocacy, support.”
During April and May, the group hosted a five-part series of events for Black entrepreneurs on topics pertinent to success and viability in today’s market. The sessions included such topics as “Scaling Your Biz,” “Brand Strategy” and “Financial Snapshot.”
On June 13, the BWSCD will be hosting an epic speed funding event held at TTEC for Juneteenth at 6 p.m., in partnership with Toledo JuneteenthNY, to help entrepreneurs catapult themselves into the next level of their business.
To learn more about BWSDC visit Facebook @ Black Wall Street Community Development. To learn more about Assets Toledo visit assetstoledo.com or their Facebook page.
