It may never have been easier to find Baton Rouge’s plethora of Black-owned businesses than it is now that the Black Business Bureau of Baton Rouge has launched it’s brand new website, BlackBizBR.com.
BlackBizBR.com is not only the organization’s website, but it also hosts a modern, online directory that lists Black-owned businesses in the greater Baton Rouge. Business owners can create their own online accounts on the website and list their businesses, free of charge, according the Bureau.
“We don’t tax our people to promote them,” said Quentin Anthony Anderson, the Bureau’s communications chair. “We built this directory as a love letter to the Black enterprising spirit that is so prevalent in the greater Baton Rouge area. We wanted to build us a platform that was worthy of our businesses and presented them like legitimate titans of industry.
“We think we’ve done that.”
Anderson notes a few things that makes the Bureau’s directory unique to Baton Rouge:
Unlike existing business directories for Black-owned businesses in Baton Rouge, business owners can list their businesses for free at BlackBizBR.com. Currently, the most viable Black business directories in the Baton Rouge area either require membership or a recurring fee for placement. Listing a business on BlackBizBR.com “will always be free,” Anderson said.
Business listings on BlackBizBR.com are elaborate “portraits” of the businesses, says Anderson. “We ask for a bit more information than existing directories might, but it’s so we can showcase the businesses in the most advantageous way. That means lots of photos, a good story to tell, and a single place to find all the different ways to reach you.”
The directory for businesses; it’s to showcase them for potential customers. Or for past customers to sing your praises. Users who do not own a business but want to interact with those listed on the directory or review past services can do so with a free non-Owner account. “We geared this website to be essentially the fanciest online mall of Black-owned businesses we could build,” Anderson said. “That meant that while building the showcase was paramount, we always wanted to center the site on the customer’s user experience and how can you do that without also giving them accounts as well?”
As of noon on February 2 – approximately 12 hours from launch – the directory boast 117 Black-owned businesses and according to the Bureau, traffic has steadily increased throughout the day as businesses were alerted that the site was live.
When asked what made him decide to come to Huntsville to manage the new store, Walsh said “New and exciting opportunities and my wife doesn’t like the cold,” explaining that they’re from Indiana. “Mostly the new and exciting opportunities.”
“We anticipate that the site’s traffic will be relatively low for the first month or so as businesses both become aware of the directory and get comfortable using it,” Anderson said. “As businesses begin to populate the directory, we anticipate then we’ll start seeing real potential customers enter our virtual marketplace.”
Anderson also noted that the Bureau will also provide online resources for small business owners in the form of articles, online and in-person seminars & workshops, as well as video content from Black business leaders and business experts. But the most immediate next addition: monthly business features.
“We’re really excited to begin featuring a different business every month on the Bureau’s website,” Anderson said. “We’ll spotlight that business by doing a written piece for them as well as a dedicated episode on our upcoming YouTube show – which we’ll have more information about in the coming weeks.” Featured businesses will also get the distinction of being featured prominently and highlighted in the search results for the remainder of the year, even after their featured month.
BlackBizBR.com is live now and available for Black-owned businesses in the greater Baton Rouge area to register for free to list their business in the directory.
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The Black Business Bureau of Baton Rouge (“the Bureau”) is a voluntary partnership of Black-owned businesses and Black professionals in the Greater Baton Rouge area working together to build a healthy economy for local Black businesses while improving the quality of life in our community. We seek to accomplish these goals by primarily providing a high quality platform for their businesses to be promoted on and an amplified voice in the direction of our community.