2022 LSU Gumbo - Book - Page 123
The LSU Black Student Union hosted their
Black Business Expo event last night to showcase
up-and-coming student-run businesses and provide
networking opportunities.
The expo featured a Black-owned business panel of
LSU alumni and Baton Rouge natives, student vendors
and booths and a Shark Tank competition.
The event, which took place in the Magnolia Room
in the Student Union, was intended to encourage LSU
students with entrepreneurial aspirations and provide
exposure for those who are already small-business
owners.
The list of panelists included Cam Jackson,
Millennial Park CEO, David Facey, entrepreneur
and CEO of Dead Poet, ReAzalia Allen, attorney at
SouthernBelle and Charles Daniel, owner of Geaux
Ride.
Jackson, whose outdoor food court features eateries
housed in re-purposed shipping containers, said that
the inspiration for Millennial Park developed during
one of the most challenging times in his life — the
COVID-19 pandemic.
He hopes that sharing his entrepreneurial journey
will uplift Black students and inspire them to start and
believe in their own businesses.
“I was a student once, so it’s great to give my
knowledge and insight,” Jackson said. “Being young
myself makes it easier to connect with them.”
LSU student vendors at the event varied in major,
classification and hobbies, but they all shared one
common goal: Becoming successful Black business
owners.
Venus Lashes, the 7-month-old lash company
owned by LSU animal science junior Nya Lewis grew
so much in such a short time that she now wants to
expand her business.
“I started doing lashes over the summer and by
August, I was already in a shop,” Lewis said. “This
definitely helped my clientele grow. I get bored pretty
easily, so now I want to try something new – I just
launched my lash line two days ago and I’m thinking of
starting a lip gloss line.”
Event organizer and BSU secretary Jada Lee said
the surge in support for Black-owned businesses,
that erupted after the COVID-19 pandemic
disproportionately affected them, is what inspired the
event.
Between February and April of 2020, Black business
ownership declined more than 40%, the largest drop
across any racial group, according to a report by the
House Committee on Small Business Committee.
Black Student Union, on the other hand, has increased
exponentially since the pandemic.
“BSU has grown in the last year from 100 members
to over 300, and numbers continue to increase
steadily,” Lee said. “Because of this, reaching out to
panelists and vendors was much easier.”
The BSU event hosted 22 vendors and booths, and
seven panelists.
“BSU has a wide connection base now, and we can’t
wait to continue to grow and put on more events like
this where we can positively impact the community,”
she said.
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