CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Damia Cungtion claims cooking is her passion, and made the decision to flip it into a small business all through the pandemic. But, it was not always quick.
“I don’t come from a qualifications exactly where every person welcomed me at 1st. I experienced to go by a whole lot of loops. I’m just listed here to feed men and women,” Cungtion stated.
Having said that, she turned her enthusiasm into a truth, and she’s not by yourself. In accordance to the Kauffman Foundation’s annual report of Black-owned companies, in 2020 more new Black-owned enterprises ended up commenced than at any time in the past 25 several years.
“The challenge with not getting a great deal of black enterprises, they are fearful that their individual earlier is going to bring up far too numerous flags,” Cungtion said. “To this day, I have no governing administration funding or grant funding. I have done all this from my personal revenue.”
Cungtion explained that collaborating with other black company proprietors has helped her. That’s 1 of the ambitions of the 1st-at any time Black Business Expo currently being set on by the Black Males of Cedar Rapids and African American Professionals team following month.
“We do have difficulties here inside supporting ourselves, so it is extremely significant we occur out and guidance our neighborhood, and our businesses since there is a lack of aid time period,” Zayda Maryland, vice-president for the African American Professionals, claimed.
The expo aims to help business proprietors hook up and master about the goods and services of the much more than 20 Black-owned companies taking part, one thing pretty required immediately after the pandemic.
“We know the pandemic has had a substantial effects on a organizations’ skill to satisfy face to experience with persons who are interested in what they have to supply, so possessing this expo as matters have opened up will give the local community a possibility to have those just one-on-a single discussions,” Armond Dawson, with the Black Men of Cedar Rapids, said.
There will be work prospects as properly. The hope is this will be the 1st of many options, that business owners like Cungtion, explained shouldn’t be taken for granted.
“It’s not usually about reputation, it is about reason. As lengthy as you are executing what you want to do to get to where you are heading, it does not make any difference who is in the place,” Cungtion said.
The free expo is happening on August 7 at Lindale Shopping mall close to the food items court docket from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
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