Business
While Black Business Month is coming to a close, we continue highlighting different Black businesses making a difference in their community.
Jae’da Turner founded Black Owned Bos. in 2019 as an Instagram resource for Black businesses in Boston, MA. Now, it has grown into an incredible network of 1,000+ businesses, offers programs to assist small business owners, and opened up a brick-and-mortar that features local Black-owned brands.
They are currently celebrating five years and partnered with Boston’s popular open-air space Seaport for a limited edition, curated box featuring rising Black entrepreneurs.
“The box kind of tells the story of different brands that have participated and have been a part of this journey of Black Owned Bos., but then also this particular activation that we've hosted with WS Development over the last five seasons,” Jae’da tells xoNecole.
Courtesy
Jae'da Turner
Jae’da’s vision of helping Black businesses came to life thanks to a tight-knit team that included relative Quontay Turner. Quontay has gone on to start her own business, Emerald City Plant Shop, which is New England’s first Black-owned plant shop, and credits Jae’da and her company for paving the way.
“I have been with Black Owned Bos. from the start. To see her business blossom and then reap the benefits of my business blossoming from it has been amazing,” Quontay says.
Quontay shares how they began working together. “So I originally was doing a market in District Hall, and kind of life took me in a different direction. Jae’da had just launched the directory, and I asked her if she was interested in potentially doing a marketplace, and I gave her all of my contacts,” she explains.
“And in the following season, the Black Owned Bos. Seaport market was born, and I was able to participate in a market without having to run it, which allowed me to really focus more on my business.”
With launching her business and assisting other small business owners, Jae’da knows what it takes to scale a business. The Boston native shares her three best tips. “Start right, so you don’t have to do it twice,” use resources such as the free resources found with the Chamber of Commerce, and build and nurture relationships with people in your city/ community.
Quontay echoes the statement about leaning on your community, especially for funding and suggests using crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe or Patronicity. As Black Owned Bos. continues to expand, Jae’da gears up for what is next.
“Next for me is really leaning into the retail side of the business and utilizing my platform in the physical space to create more retail and sales opportunities for other businesses and on a more consistent basis,” she reveals.
“So really driving home Black business in the mainstream when it when it comes to your destination for gifting, or your destination for purchasing something for clients or etc. So being that kind of destination and building that name is really one of my goals, and on the horizon for me.”
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