Celebrating Black History Month with the Open Air Economy Collaborative
By Josephine Gardner, Technical Assistance Associate
February is Black History Month. It’s a time to lift up the accomplishments of Black Americans and recognize their central role in our history. At Inclusive Action we celebrate the vibrant history, culture and resilience of the Black community every day, but this month we are lifting it up in a special way by honoring two incredible Black women owned businesses.
Jamella Brown of Mella B’s Potcorn and Mya Baker of ShootFilmsNotPeople are both part of the Open Air Economy Collaborative (OAEC), an initiative that Inclusive Action leads in partnership with California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC), Public Counsel, and East LA Community Corporation (ELACC). OAEC serves Black and Latina women entrepreneurs who operate in the 'open air'. We define 'open air' as any businesses that operate in the informal economy and outdoors, including but not limited to businesses that are on the street, sidewalk, pop-ups, mobile, or other outdoor markets. Through the collaborative, underserved business owners can access individual microloans, business coaching, legal assistance, and financial literacy programs. The collaborative began last year with the support of JP Morgan Chase, and is set to amplify businesses and welcome 'open air' entrepreneurs into the formal economy.
Mya Baker, ShootFilmsNotPeople
Mya Baker is an activist, filmmaker, and writer on a mission to fight police brutality and violence. While in film school she had an ‘aha!’ moment when she landed on a name for a production company, ShootFilmsNotPeople. In 2003, she registered her film production company in New York and filmed her first documentary in 2005 and her second in 2020. While crowdfunding for her second documentary, Mya created a T-shirt with the slogan, ShootFilmsNotPeople, and her friends and others started asking her where they could purchase it, motivating her to expand the film business to include apparel.
“I have always been a lover of activism and film and I meshed everything together with the brand ShootFilmsNotPeople is a brand that gives people a voice. A voice to gun violence survivors, a voice to people who have lost loved ones to gun violence and a voice for the activists within us,” says Mya.
Right before COVID-19 hit, Mya moved to Los Angeles. She needed capital for the apparel business, so she wrote a proposal that enabled her to secure $3,500, which she used to register and brand her business and obtain inventory.
Mya spent years learning the various complicated rules and regulations she needed to know to operate her business legally and safely in Los Angeles. Today, Mya sells her apparel in Leimert Park every Saturday and Sunday, but she had a vending license for three years that she didn’t use because she had to research the optimal location to vend.
One day while vending, Mya got a flier about low-interest micro-loans, and discussed the opportunity with a friend who had received one to support her business. Mya explored the opportunity and came into Inclusive Action to learn more. As a client and member of the Open Air Economy Collaborative she has received personalized business coaching and a microloan to increase inventory, attend more pop-ups, and grow her marketing. Mya told Inclusive Action: “Pop ups are not cheap, sometimes just the entrance fee can run me up to $250 and in addition, I have to bring my own tent, table and chairs to the event.”
Being a part of OAEC has allowed Mya to meet people in the film industry, and learn about business classes and grant programs. Because of this support, Mya has been able to pay off 3 months of rent, and is looking to incorporate three new product lines by the end of 2023.
Mya shared this advice for other small business owners“ learn as much as you can and tap into the resources around you, like a business that can help to develop your brand and show you new things that you can incorporate into your business. Learning is forever and you are never too old to learn.”
"My business means generational wealth for my son and me in the near future. It also means business ownership and entrepreneurship. My father owned his own business in the 80s that my brother and I worked for. This was revolutionary during that time because not many Black people in Chicago stepped out on faith like that. ‘ShootFilmsNotPeople’ is a business that started off as a production company for my independent films. It morphed into an apparel brand in 2020. It is the voice of the people. I just wanted to give a voice to the voiceless in terms of gun violence because I feel like in our communities and communities all over the world, gun violence is an issue that people are really scared to talk about. But art has the tendency to heal and make people comfortable to tackle difficult issues." - Mya Baker
You can support Mya’s business by visiting her on Saturdays and Sundays in Leimert Park, checking out her website, or following her on Instagram.
Jamella Brown, Mella B’s Potcorn
In 2012, Jamella Brown started making popcorn for herself and soon she was sharing it with people at her beauty salon and church, where she started getting more and more requests for her amazing snack. With this success in mind, she used her savings to start putting the popcorn in packages and selling it to people she knew, and her business quickly blossomed.
In 2020, Jamella expanded her popcorn business when she received a trailer from her husband. Obtaining the trailer opened her up to the opportunity to add hot snack foods that complemented the popcorn she was already selling, like sliders, philly cheesesteaks, quesadillas, and nachos.
While vending at her usual spot in Leimert Park, Jamella met an Inclusive Action team member and soon after she received an $8,000 microloan for working capital. She used the capital to purchase more inventory, pay past-due bills for the trailer, and launch her website to conduct online sales.
Since being part of the Inclusive Action for the City community Jamella has received various types of support including tax preparation assistance, advice on how to grow her business, and guidance around advertising and marketing. Through the Open Air Economy Collaborative, she received accounting training, strategies on how to expand her sales through other retail markets and connections to affordable services to write up the nutritional facts of the popcorn.
Her goal for 2023 is to pursue a cottage food license which allows her to legally sell food prepared and packaged at home - and gain access to local farmer’s markets. She recently received her Food Safety Management Certification, which will allow her to supervise or oversee restaurants to aid in food safety. She plans to upgrade her business by purchasing an enclosed trailer that looks similar to a food truck.
Jamella’s advice to other small business owners is: “just keep moving, and don’t despise small beginnings because you never know what you are birthing.”
You can support Jamella’s business by visiting her on Wednesday nights, Saturdays and Sundays in Leimert Park, checking out her website, writing a Yelp review, or following her on Instagram.
Historically, black businesses have operated at a significant disadvantage to other businesses for many reasons including the struggles to get financing and support from traditional institutions. Supporting local, small, Black-Owned businesses is one way we can all collectively ease the financial burdens of our community members, and celebrate Black culture.