With the help of actress and entertainer Keke Palmer, Google promoted its fourth annual Black Owned Friday as a “shoppable way to 100% support Black-owned businesses." The effort sought to highlight independent Black-owned businesses that often don't get as much recognition as their white counterparts.
One local entrepreneur also decided it was time to make a one-stop shopping space for Black-owned businesses. Around 2020, Shayla Hawkins, founder and principal planner of Shayla Hawkins Events, was tagged in a call to action on Instagram, looking for local Black-owned businesses.
"I saw the same people getting tagged, and I was one of them, and I'm like, there has to be more Black-owned businesses than this," Hawkins tells Pittsburgh City Paper. "So I kind of felt a little bit of social responsibility to dig into the community and see who else is out here."
She found numerous vendors, and in June 2020, the first Black Market event was born. Hawkins held the event at Slate Studio, her now-closed Strip District venue.
Jeremy Waldrup, president and CEO of Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, attended the first Black Market and was thrilled by what he saw. He then invited Hawkins to bring The Black Market to Downtown Pittsburgh for the holiday season.
Jack Dougherty, who serves as PDP’s senior director of constituent services, believes the move to Downtown helped bring the event to a larger audience. "It allows a high-traffic location for these local Black entrepreneurs to promote their products and hopefully engage with new customers and make connections that they wouldn't otherwise,” Dougherty tells City Paper.
The fourth annual Black Market: Holiday Edition will take place from Fri., Dec 2-Sat., Dec. 3 at 413 Wood St. Over the weekend, there will be 15-18 vendors, with a different lineup daily.
Businesses included in the market vary from first-time sellers to vending veterans. Customers will find diverse products to purchase, sample, and discover, from cosmetics and coffee to apparel and jewelry.
When making the shift from corporate to entrepreneur, Hawkins found her community to be a great asset. "Honestly, it was a leap of faith," Hawkins recalls. "I had always planned things in high school and all the social events. I kind of just started asking myself … what do you love?"
After alerting her network that she was looking to switch to event planning, Hawkins found an old high school friend who wanted help planning her wedding. Hawkins planned a few more weddings pro bono for the experience and soon had a business model she was ready to launch.
Over 14 years later, Hawkins and her team of four now produce over 30 events per year. "I think it's a God-given gift that I love to design, coordinate, and plan. And it's worked out for me really well," Hawkins says.
"The energy is so good to see other people who look like you and that are experiencing the same entrepreneurial ups and downs as you,” says Hawkins.
Though the opportunity for reward is great, an entrepreneur's life can be uncertain. Being in a room full of people who look like you and are traveling along that same road can make a world of difference. The Black Market community offers a chance for collaboration, learning from one another, and, most of all, support.
Hawkins believes the market also provides an opportunity for sellers to finesse their elevator pitch and customer service skills. "Being able to talk about your product, that's an art," Hawkins says.
