“It is not the destination that solidifies you, but the things you learned along the way.” Credit this nugget of wisdom to Bishop TD Jakes, the key speaker at this year’s 19th annual Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference which wrapped last month in Columbus, Ohio.
Sponsored by Nationwide Insurance and held at the Hyatt Regency Columbus the conference is a Black Enterprise signature event.
From one-on-one sessions with some of the biggest and brightest names in the business world today to an open casting call for the ABC reality show Shark Tank, the conference is a three-day business bonanza and a chance for aspiring and fledgling small business owners, veteran entrepreneurs, celebrities and business moguls to network, exchange ideas and connect with potential investors.
A major highlight is the Black Enterprise elevator pitch contest. A one-shot opportunity of a lifetime offered for small business owners looking to climb that extra rung on the ladder to success.
We’ll get into how it works later. First, meet 2014 Black Enterprise Elevator Pitch Contest winner, Gwen Jimmere.
Jimmere is CEO and founder of Naturalicious. Her company sells an all-natural all-in-one hair care system designed specifically for curly, “kinky,” wavy, hair textures.
She emerged from the “strongest class of Black Enterprise Elevator Pitch finalists in recent memory” to win the $10,000 grand prize and six one-on-one mentoring sessions with Alfred Edmond Jr, Senior Vice President and Chief Content Officer at Black Enterprise.
The judges this year were serial entrepreneur, investor, author and innovator Rodney Sampson, respected former journalist and founder of Mopwater Social Public Relations, Amanda Miller Littlejohn, and Earl G. “Butch” Graves Jr., president and CEO of Black Enterprise.
“My mission is to help women love their God- given beauty,” Jimmere says. “So many of us have grown up not really knowing what our real hair looks like or not feeling beautiful because our hair either wasn’t straight or because our hair was ‘kinky.’ ”
RELATED: Natural Hair is Big Business For Black Entrepreneurs
She says she recognized her opportunity and snatched it. “I have a big thing about gut feelings. And I felt deep inside this was an opportunity that couldn’t be missed.”
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Jimmere found out about the contest on BlackEnterprise.com after buying her ticket, and when she noticed the deadline hadn’t passed, she sprang into action. But things began to fall apart from the minute she tried to film her entry video.
“I was out of town and broke my video camera,” she recalls. “I had to rush around trying to get it filmed and when I got that done, my editing software crashed. I didn’t get to upload my video until the day it was due.”
But she stuck through it, studying up and reviewing videos of past finalists and winners. She says she was practicing all the time. “Every time I saw anyone at the conference, I told them I was in the contest and asked them to critique my pitch – they all probably thought I was nuts.”
Her fear that she might miss out on some of the wisdom floating around made her attend every session at the conference even while practicing her routine.
“I learned so much and met so many people. I cannot tell you how much my business has been impacted and how I’ve grown as an entrepreneur,” Jimmere says. “The very first session was one with Rodney Sampson
with Black Enterprise’s Edmond moderating. Rodney was speaking about business and exit strategies and the need to think about businesses as investments. People didn’t attend that session because they were still flying in but I felt like it was such a disservice for those who weren’t able to attend that and gain from his wisdom. I just believe you need to be there all three days to hear everything and soak it all in.”She adds, “It was just a phenomenal opportunity. If anyone has plans to be in the competition I highly encourage you to not hesitate.”
The next Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference is in 2015.
Potential candidates for the pitch contest should send a video submission via youtube with a run time of two minutes or less. Candidates should tag the video “BE Elevator Pitch Competition” with the name of their business. Send your video link before the deadline to BEEvents@blackenterprise.com and include your name, email address, and phone number. Finalists receive a complimentary registration to the conference and are typically allowed one guest.
You’ve got time to prepare. See you next year.