Greenwood Plan will host sixth annual Greenwood Week Conference on Black entrepreneurship

Greenwood Plan is set to host their sixth annual Greenwood Week Conference from Oct. 10 to 13 at Emerald City in Downtown Pittsburgh. The conference aims to create space and opportunity for Black entrepreneurs in the Pittsburgh region to learn and connect with others. This year, the key focus will be on growth and scaling businesses.

Jazmyne Kenney, Greenwood Plan’s director of operations, says this year's theme is “scaling.” “We wanted that to reflect where we are, as a business and as a nonprofit in general,” she tells Pittsburgh City Paper.

In 2023, the nonprofit acquired the Pitt Building on Smithfield Street, which Kenney says has allowed Greenwood Plan to scale and provide space for other Black entrepreneurs in the city.

“Being able to have the building and lease that out to other Black-owned businesses has been incredible,” she tells City Paper.

Greenwood Week aims to help businesses transition from the ideation stage to establishing brick-and-mortar locations or hiring W-2 employees. The goal is to see a rise in successful Black businesses in Pittsburgh, benefiting both the business sector and the city.

Greenwood Week will offer 101-level intro-to-business panels focusing on business insurance, financial planning, and social media marketing. It will also feature a workshop track for intermediate businesses that will cover topics such as applying for RFPs and RFQs (Requests for Proposals or Quotes), becoming an employer, as well as achieving six-figure revenue and beyond.

Beginning entrepreneurs and established business owners will get access to resources and have the chance to network.

“We have two tracks this year, so that will benefit beginner entrepreneurs with classes and panels, and then for more experienced small businesses we do have the workshop track,” she continues. “We want to see those businesses scale to places that we know they want to be.”

BOOM Concepts, one of the event sponsors, will facilitate an art mixer on Friday, Oct. 11, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The organization is dedicated to the development of artists and creative entrepreneurs. There will be a showcase of fine art and fashion exhibited throughout the 2nd floor of Emerald City. The mixer will feature an artist toast to celebrate "Collective Legacy," an exhibition showcasing artwork by Marlon Gist, Junyette Seale, Andre Jones, and Wavy Wednesday, who are all local Pittsburgh artists engaging in multidisciplinary practices.

“You'll be able to walk through and hear from the artists a little bit about their work,” said Kenney. Pieces will also be available for purchase.

Thomas Agnew, co-owner and Operations Manager of BOOM Concepts, shares what inspired their sponsorship this year at Greenwood Week: “Anything that we have done over the past few years in collaboration, it's been just out of love, great partnership, and supporting Black and brown women.” BOOM Concepts has partnered with Greenwood Plan in the past, and both share a goal of advancing BIPOC-owned businesses in Pittsburgh.

“It's great to be able to support something that is happening downtown, and what they're doing is something really big,” says Agnew.

As BOOM Concepts helps artists across sectors with career development and strategic planning, the informational sessions at Greenwood Week align with BOOM Concept’s mission.

"We have always been connected to the entertainment scene here in Pittsburgh but I know Khamil and Sam both have been interested in broadening our understanding of different lanes, income streams, and opportunities that we can get into,” said Agnew.

He says Greenwood Week's theme of scaling also connects with BOOM Concepts' initiatives to help artists grow through networking and community building. “It kind of works hand in hand. Being able to have Greenwood Week bring all these people in to talk about different points of entry into business and careers, and connect folks with people who they may have been already interested in,” said Agnew.

Kenney encourages first time participants to take advantage of the events and connect with and learn from the community. “I would say, just come and have fun. You never know who you will meet. That also goes for just being in the space here at Emerald City. Even if you just come to our Thursday event, which is the kickoff day, Oct. 10. That is free,” she said.

The Greenwood Week conference is inspired by the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma which was known as America’s Black Wall Street in the early 20th century. Black Wall Street was one of the most prominent African American communities in the United States until May 31, 1921.

“The way that Greenwood connects the legacy of Black Wall Street is one, by establishing the space that we have now,” says Kenney. “We have established this footprint in downtown Pittsburgh and we are really pushing for it to be the black business corridor. Since our inception, it's been all about being an ecosystem.”

Kenney hopes that Greenwood Week will grow larger and advance the future of Black entrepreneurship in Pittsburgh and evolve. She notes that Pittsburgh is often perceived as being stuck or behind, and she believes this perception also applies to the city's Black business sector. “We want people to have experiences like when they go to D.C. or they go to Atlanta at Greenwood Week, where we are connecting with those cities as well.”