Business

Chase Bank Co-Sponsors Female Entrepreneurs of Color Event

James Wright WI Staff Writer

District-area female entrepreneurs of color recently participated in training on operating their enterprises from Chase Bank working in concert with Luminary, a global platform designed to help women move forward with professional growth and collaboration.

The conference occurred on June 16 at the Bowen Building in downtown Washington, D.C.

Kizzy Kittrell Dogan, a District native who serves as chief executive officer of T&G Commercial Cleaning, stressed the importance of attending the conference.

“I am a member of Luminary and heard about their national tour with Chase and I wanted to get involved,” Dogan said. “I enjoy being a participant in Luminary because it really gets into the resources you need in order to become a successful business owner.”

In a Feb. 12 article published by Black Enterprise.com, the National Bureau of Economic Research reported Black businesses are growing and thriving largely due to the effort of African-American women. The article quotes Karen Bennetts, a board member of the National Association of Women Business Owners, who told a reporter with The Hill that Black women tend to be the last called back for re-employment after the pandemic started and many became frustrated and decided to start their own businesses.

The Luminary Experience

The conference exists as a part of the JPMorgan Chase Women on the Move program designed to aid minority business owners. The bank has made a $30 billion commitment Homeownership more affordable.

over five years to educate business owners in underserved communities on operating procedures.

The 50 entrepreneurs participated in seminars such as “Building Your Empire,” “Business Plan Bootcamp,” “Know Your Numbers & The Power of Capital,” “Money Mindset: Removing Blockers,” “Digital Marketing 101” and “Personal Finance and Your Business.”

Cate Luzio, the founder and CEO of Luminary, taught the seminar on the business plan bootcamp while Darla Harris, vice president and senior business consultant at JPMorgan Chase & Co and Kristina Sicard, vice president and banking consultant, focused on minority entrepreneurs at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and co-instructed the “Know Your Numbers” course.

Throughout the day, the entrepreneurs received motivational speeches on how to preserve during tough times and networking for success.

Foloshade Ologunja, the 5 Kizzy Kittrell Dogan is the chief co-founder of Potion-Ivy Health & executive officer of T & G CommerBeauty, said the courses increased cial Cleaning. (Courtesy photo)

her knowledge of the business landscape.

“I learned how to cope during tough times,” she said. “The class on accessing capital opened my eyes to new ways of approaching funding problems and look to sources for resources.”

With the conference now over, the entrepreneurs have access to oneto-one mentoring with Harris and Sicard. Additionally, other Chase staffers will offer free mentorship, financial health or small business coaching and technical assistance to the business owners.

Dogan agreed that the conference has educated her on how to secure more capital.

“We have been in a virtual world the last two years and it has hampered me in terms of getting the funding I desire,” she said. “Now that we have opened back up, I have gotten ideas on building relationships with bankers and others to get the money I need to run my business.” WI @JamesWrightJr10

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I, Aimee Griffin too sing America

Aimee D. Griffin, Esq.

Langston Hughes’ famous poem, I, too sing America, expresses the conflict of being Black in America.

I too sing America

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes.

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong.

Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then.

As a Black American, I struggle with the celebration of July 4,1776 as a day of freedom when my ancestors were enslaved legally until the Emancipation Proclamation. It is a struggle to celebrate independence when Black people were denied access to a lifestyle of freedom, when voting rights were restricted, when the ability to attend schools was restricted or when there were limitations on the places to purchase property until the civil rights acts were passed.

Yet, I too, sing America. This is my home by choice. Many of us have the option and opportunity to travel and move to other parts of the world but I have made the informed choice to maintain my home in the United States of America.

As a daughter of Civil Rights activists, I am clear that as I too sing America it is my responsibility as an American to fight for the betterment of the country that I claim as home. I have a responsibility and a commitment to make my home better for my children, my children’s children and my people. As an African American Estate Planning Attorney, I am committed to working to build strong communities one family at a time.

The decision to build an Estate Planning Firm was built on my community development commitment. The racial wealth gap has a strong correlation to the lack of strategic financial planning and wealth building in the Black community. The struggle to embrace the full rights, privileges and benefits of the United States requires energy, strategy and commitment to bridge the wealth gap.

We know that as Frederick Douglas stated, power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. As Black Americans we too shall sing America, loud and long. We must claim America as our home sweet home and take the steps necessary to build and shape our home for our benefit.

As Black people, we must strategically build the legacy for our homes and communities. As we create our own banquet halls, board rooms and enterprise we determine the table seating. As we build our capacities there will be no one able to tell us where to sit when company comes. We will determine our own destiny and create the pathway for our children, family and community.

The Griffin Firm is proud to serve individuals, families and communities to build legacy. Together we can shape our American experience for our communities to build financial strength and economic power.

Please free to reach out to the Griffin Firm if you are ready to build the legacy for your family and community. Sign up for a free workshop on our website https://yourestateplanningattorney.com

Aimee D. Griffin, Esq., The Griffin Firm, PLLC http://yourestateplanningattorney.com (855) 574-8481 5335 Wisconsin Ave NW Suite 440 Washington DC 20015 4041 Powder Mill Drive Suite 215 Beltsville MD 20705 100 International Drive 23rd Floor Baltimore MD 21202 4601 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 1200 Arlington, VA 22203

5 A tray of Roaming Rooster chicken sandwiches is ready for hungry customers at the Skyland area location in Ward 7. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)

Roaming Rooster Finds the Recipe to Success

Opens Nine Restaurants in the Midst of COVID-19 Pandemic

Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer

The No. 1 chicken sandwich on several lists around the metro D.C. area can be found at Roaming Rooster – a business which began with a fleet of four food trucks. Loyal patrons checked daily social media posts to see where the trucks would be.

It’s an immigrant family affair business which includes brothers Michael and Biniyam Habtemariam and sister-in-law, Hareg Mesfin.

But things came to a screeching halt in March 2020 due to the pandemic. At that time, Roaming Rooster had a depot in the Woodridge community on Bladensburg Road in Northeast where their food trucks had been stocked daily. Thinking quickly, the family pivoted, turning the depot into a pick-up/delivery scenario.

Today, Roaming Rooster has nine locations in the metropolitan area with more on the way. But how did this growth spurt occur?

“We have an agent who does a good job finding and negotiating locations for us,” Biniyam said from their Ward 7 Skyland location on Good Hope Road in Southeast.

“Since COVID, developers were positioning former restaurant spaces for new tenants and very little buildout was required to meet our specific business model,” she said.

An exception to the concept of occupying former restaurant space is the location in Rockville at Pike and Rose and the Skyland location. Regardless, Michael and Biniyam have found that developers and landlords want to support Black-owned businesses.

SOLID STAFFING AND EXCELLENT FOOD EQUALS SUCCESS

The atmosphere at Roaming Rooster locations I visited remained similar – families with children where staff walk through greeting patrons.

An opportunity to move up in the organization serves as a big draw for new staff. Several restaurant managers and crew chiefs started out in first-level positions, moving quickly up the ranks.

Sandwiches deserve their top chicken sandwich ranking. Last year, the 39th RAMMYS, spon-

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