ADVICE
AAFC Seeks to Connect
African American Entrepreneurs From Coast to Coast As the U.S. economy continues to strengthen, more entrepreneurs and investors are looking for opportunities to own their own business or generate additional income through franchise ownership, a viable path to financial freedom. Business ownership in the African American community has grown rapidly in recent years, but many challenges remain. For example, African American entrepreneurs experience more difficulty securing financing, and are often charged higher rates when they do. Some of these challenges can be addressed by access to information and collective action through industry groups and communities. While there are brand-specific organizations and
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associations (most notably McDonald’s franchise owners), the The African American Franchise Council (AAFC) seeks to create a platform where past, present and future franchisees, franchisors as well as related vendors and organizations across all categories can engage by sharing valuable resources gained through experience. The African American Franchise Council was founded as a platform to enable and support the exchange of ideas and information. To that end, it offers three main channels for engagement: Online through our social media platforms, which offer a ready-made forum that can act as a marketplace for ideas as well as a place for networking with thought leaders. While most current franchise owners are Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, millennials are beginning to make their presence felt, and all can benefit from intergenerational knowledge transfer, which works well in both directions. Seasoned industry veterans can share their experience about challenges they faced as they built their businesses and the younger generation can
