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Community, family, love — those are the three words Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks CEO Derrick Hayes wants people to think of when they hear his name. Yes, he’s the founder of a multi-million-dollar brand, but he’s so much more than a successful businessman, he says. “[I went from] not knowing entrepreneurship to being a top entrepreneur in the country,” Hayes says in an interview with AFROTECH™ — and his journey supports that. The Rise Of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks A Philadelphia native who became an Atlanta transplant, Hayes opened his first Big Dave’s — originally called Dave’s Philly Water Ice — in 2014 inside a gas station in Dunwoody, GA. While he always dreamed of success, he says his greatest motivation came from a promise he made to his late father, Derrick Hayes Sr. “I just wanted to make him proud and honor something to him,” Hayes said. “So when I eventually built Big Dave’s, it was more so to prove to him that I can stand on my 10 toes and the words that I promised him. And then...
Choosing the right name for a business or startup is one of the most critical branding decisions entrepreneurs make. A strong name can enhance visibility, improve search engine rankings, and make it easier for customers to find your business online. Since SEO plays a key role in brand discovery and, ultimately, a business’s name value , integrating search-friendly elements into a business name can increase organic traffic and improve brand recall. This guide explores SEO tips for naming a business or startup and ensuring the name is optimized for success in the online business world. Prioritize Keyword Relevance Without Overstuffing One of the most effective ways to optimize a business or startup’s name for SEO is incorporating keywords that are relevant to the industry or niche. Including terms commonly searched by potential customers in the name can increase the likelihood of appearing in search results. For example, a marketing agency named “Elevate Digital Marketing” may perform...
Unemployment insurance (UI) is a critical safety net for workers. It’s designed to provide temporary financial assistance to people who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. For startups , it’s important to understand the legal obligations around unemployment benefits, especially when navigating the challenges of hiring employees and managing payroll. While large corporations typically have well-established unemployment insurance practices, startups may be less familiar with the requirements. This article explores whether startups are required to offer unemployment benefits, how unemployment insurance works, and what employees and founders should expect. Understanding Unemployment Insurance And Employer Responsibilities Unemployment insurance is a joint federal-state program that provides financial assistance to eligible workers who are unemployed for reasons beyond their control. Each state administers its unemployment insurance program within federal guidelines. This...
Silent churn is one of the biggest threats to small businesses , often going unnoticed until it significantly impacts revenue. Unlike active churn, where customers cancel their subscriptions or explicitly stop purchasing, silent churn happens gradually. Customers disengage, reduce usage, or stop buying without officially severing ties, leading to a slow decline in business performance. Identifying silent churn early allows owners and entrepreneurs to take proactive steps to re-engage customers before they are lost entirely. Recognizing The Early Signs Of Silent Churn Silent churn does not happen overnight. It begins with small shifts in customer behavior . If ignored, these shifts lead to long-term disengagement. One of the most common signs is a decline in customer interaction. Warning signals include: users logging in less frequently, reducing their purchases, or spending less time engaging with emails and content. A drop in feature usage or product engagement is another...
Success in entrepreneurship isn’t just about big wins. It’s about small, consistent actions that build momentum over time. In Atomic Habits , James Clear emphasizes the power of tiny improvements, showing how habits shape outcomes in business and life. Entrepreneurs who master their daily routines, decision-making, and mindset can set themselves up for long-term success. Here are some of the most impactful quotes from Atomic Habits and how they apply to entrepreneurs. “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” Many entrepreneurs set ambitious goals, whether it’s scaling their startup , increasing revenue, or building a personal brand. However, goals alone don’t drive success — systems do. Without a structured approach, even the best ideas fail. This quote emphasizes the importance of building repeatable processes that create consistent progress. Instead of focusing solely on outcomes, entrepreneurs should refine their workflows. A founder...
Building a successful startup requires more than just a great idea. It demands a unique set of traits that allow founders to navigate challenges, inspire teams , and scale their businesses. While many qualities contribute to entrepreneurial success, 2 successful traits in startup founders stand out as the most critical: resilience and adaptability. These characteristics don’t just separate successful founders from those who struggle. They also determine how well a startup can survive market shifts , financial pressures, and operational hurdles. Why Startups Fail, And How These 2 Successful Traits In Founders Make A Difference The startup world is notoriously unforgiving. About 90% of startups fail, and only a small percentage reach sustained profitability. According to CB Insights , the top reasons for failure include lack of market demand, running out of cash, and flawed business models. However, a deeper look into these failures reveals that many of them could have been avoided if...
Even if you’re not a salesperson, the day may come when you need to convince someone — anyone — that they should take a chance on you. This could be a job interview , when you’re jockeying for a promotion, decide to start your own business and are trying to make sales or secure clients, or if you need to lobby for funding . Whatever the goal, you need to give your target audience a persuasive reason why they should give you the job or promotion, shop with you over a competitor, or fund your business instead of another startup. To do this, you need to sell yourself. This can include creating a thorough presentation that outlines the benefits of someone aligning themselves with you. But you need a good elevator pitch to draw them in before you get to that step. What Is An Elevator Pitch? Once upon a time, people literally did chase after executives, corner them in an elevator, and essentially pitch themselves as a viable option. Whether this was to get a job or secure a business deal,...
Shine co-founders, Naomi Hirabayashi and Marah Lidey are just two of a small few women of color who have received VC funding — let alone raise over $10 million in venture capital. Embracing their power as unicorns at the intersection of venture capital, wellness, and technology, the dynamic duo is committed to cultivating relatable self-care experiences for a diverse group of people. With a community of four million across 189 countries and an award-winning iOS and Android app, the Shine app provides support around your mental and emotional health. From accessing a community for support and searching a library of audio meditations to listening to a pep talk — the Shine app is your all-in-one self-care companion. While people of color are severely underrepresented in the wellness space, Shine is committed to letting users connect with other Shine members to share tips, motivation, and support from others who are working on being their most authentic selves. Recognized as 2018 Women’s...
Let’s face it, at first, getting a negative review can leave you feeling humiliated and demotivated with no energy to show up at work the next day. But here’s the thing. Whatever success looks like for you, making mistakes are an integral part of the journey to achieving your goals. Ultimately, the measure of your success isn’t determined by your mistakes, it’s determined by the way you respond to those mistakes. Throughout my career of developing and training leaders, I’ve met many professionals who transformed negative feedback into an opportunity for growth. Sometimes, negative feedback led them to innovate their offerings. For others, it helped them develop deeper relationships with their customers and colleagues. Whichever route they decided to take, the decision started with their belief that mistakes are inevitable and necessary for growth. It all depends on how you look at things. Give Yourself Time to Process Your Emotions Often times, the difference between successful...
As a start-up founder, finding ways to raise capital is probably one of the top three challenges keeping you up at night. Whether you’re trying to convince a family member or Silicon Valley investor to give you money, one key element for success is being prepared to clearly communicate your value and plans for growth and profitability. So in the words of Will Smith, “If you stay ready, you ain’t got to get ready.” Here are a few questions to guide you in clearly communicating your value: In 60 seconds or less, how can you convey the unique value proposition of your startup’s product or service? For an investor who’s pitched often, time is of the essence. Prepare and practice a 1-2 sentence compelling story which highlights: The problem you solve. The benefits that make this product or service stand out from the crowd. The key to winning a person over with this statement is to entice them to want to learn more. Most importantly, avoid catchy phrases and buzzwords. For instance, ...
Transitioning from a solopreneur to a leader of a team can be a sign you’re on your way to building an empire. However, don’t get it twisted; while you may have built a solid reputation as a one-person show, poor team management can ruin it in seconds. When running a one-person business, you may be able to risk certain things like keeping all of your standard operating procedures in your head or waiting until the last minute to file your taxes. However, when you’re leading a team, who ultimately becomes the face of your business, you can’t leave anything to chance. Planning, identifying best practices, and maintaining documentation is key. One of the best ways to start documenting your processes and clarifying what you expect is to ask yourself: “If I went on a vacation for two weeks with limited or no access to the Internet, what would someone do each day to operate my business? ” Where would they find tools and resources to assist them with their day-to-day tasks? How would I...
At some point during your entrepreneurial journey, second-guessing yourself, procrastinating and feelings of not being good enough will take control of the thoughts in your mind. Welcome to the world of self-doubt. But believe it or not, self-doubt is natural. Self-doubt doesn’t mean you’re incompetent. It doesn’t mean you should stop what you’re doing. A lot of times self-doubt and feelings of anxiety comes from our desire to want to control everything. Friendly reminder, you can’t control outcomes, you can only control your effort. It’s only when you allow self-doubt to push you into hiding from marketing yourself or sharing your work, resolving a conflict between team members or making business decisions that it becomes problematic. Even over-researching an idea and not asking for help is a sign self-doubt is getting in your way. Here’s the thing. Sometimes when you have a desire to do something new, your thoughts of “What if?” paralyzes you from taking action. The reality is...
While most parents think about starting a business to create a family legacy and have their kids work for them, imagine being a parent who works for their 19-year-old’s million-dollar business. At just 9-years-old, Zandra Cunningham started Zandra Beauty a plant-based skincare company with products in Target, Costco, Wholefoods, Wegman’s, and more. Now, with her mom, dad, two brothers, and nana working behind her, the beauty executive is also an author, a speaker, and change-maker using her career as a platform to teach other teen girls how to own and operate their businesses. Below, her mom Tamara Zantell talks about the steps she took to build and maintain trust with her daughter as a business owner and the family policy for navigating conflict. AfroTech: Regardless of a family’s level of success, disagreements about business matters will occur. What’s one piece of advice you would give someone for starting a family-owned business? Tamara Zantell: The advice I would give a family...
Entrepreneurship can be a tough road yet sometimes it is wise, not to try to re-invent the wheel, but follow the path of other entrepreneurs who paved the way for you. Go from a pocket full of dreams to launching your first startup with some of our favorite quotes from these successful Black entrepreneurs. 1. “If you have a dream AND you have a job. That’s amazing! You can learn how to navigate both. Your employer, or as I like to call it your “investor”, gives you the money to invest in your dream, and pay your bills while you chase your dreams.” [Twitter] Getty Images Lisa Nichols shared her story with Mindvalley about how she went from having $12 in her pocket to being Mindvalley’s A-Fest keynote speaker for seven consecutive years. Nichols is the CEO of Motivating the Masses, Inc. which lists her as a best-selling author of six books with a motivational speaking platform that has reached 80 million people globally. She is known for her contribution to the law of attraction hit...
TED has led the talking industry for 30 years. This nonprofit started in 1984 as a conference focused around Technology, Entertainment, and Design and has since transformed the way the world learns via spoken communication. Today TED has added talks on science, politics, culture, and just about everything else to its list of speaking points. Entrepreneurship requires staying abreast of certain topics and the general happenings of the world to analyze trends and develop new ideas. A great way to do this is to take advantage of the free knowledge. We’ve compiled a list of six TED Talks that will undoubtedly change some old perspectives that you didn’t know were holding you back and equip you with the knowledge you didn’t know you needed. Launching and Supporting Black-Owned Businesses — Mandy Bowman Mandy Bowman.com lists her as the founder and CEO of Official Black Wall Street, a digital platform dedicated to enhancing the visibility of Black-owned businesses. According to her...