Photos by Susan Fried

Jenefeness Franke, the Executive Officer of Black Owned Business Excellence (BOBE), recently joined Trae Holiday on "The Day With Trae" to discuss BOBE's collaborations with minority-owned businesses statewide to provide support and elevate them onto a broader platform.

"We are a collaborative effort. We are here to help create a more equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem in Washington State. I think that is a major difference than some of the other organizations out here because some of them are focused on communities, which is beautiful and amazing," Franke said. "With BOBE, we're focused on the entire state of Washington because we know there is an access problem with Black-owned businesses. There's a problem with them not even having connections to their local entities, but also the entire state and the resources."

Starting in 2020, BOBE has been spotlighting Black-owned businesses around the state. Keeping with that theme, they have various events to continue their crusade. Upcoming on April 18, the organization is hosting "Pricing Perspectives," a dialogue based on pricing selling. This event will include panelists of Black entrepreneurs and provide a space for networking. Moreover, they have events planned for this Summer and this Fall.

Since 2020, BOBE has been spotlighting Black-owned businesses across the state. Continuing this mission, the organization hosts a series of events, including their yearly business symposium. Upcoming is "Pricing Perspectives," a dialogue on April 18 centered on pricing strategies for sales. This event features a panel of Black entrepreneurs and networking opportunities. Additionally, BOBE has more exciting events lined up for this Summer and Fall.

"On July 18, we're going to talk about capacity building, how the fact that 98% of our businesses are solopreneurs and micropreneurs, but we're not doing this effectively," Franke said. 

This event will delve into business tools such as AI, a guest speaker, and a panel of entrepreneurs. It will be held at Boona Boona Coffee in Renton.

"On October 17, We're going to talk about Branding Brilliance," Franke said. "We're going to have Darnesha Weary; she's leading that one. We'll have a panel; we'll have that one at her Black Coffee Northwest in the CD."

BOBE's events emphasize Black-owned businesses around Washington, providing support by involving them as venues, vendors, and speakers, with each participant in these events receiving compensation to acknowledge their importance to their community. On February 1, BOBE held its 5th annual symposium, an event Franke highlights showcasing a need for more knowledge of regional Black-owned businesses.

"For example, there was Jeffrey Taylor; his insurance agency has been in the CD for over 30 years. There's folks that were like, "Oh, I didn't even know we had a Black insurance agent." We got to do better. And that's what we're doing," Franke said. "We're elevating these businesses and putting them out front, so if you need insurance, there's no way you should be on the Yellow Pages. You should know that this Black man, this Black-owned business, is one that you should be getting your insurance from."

Frank also highlights Presidential Transportation, a luxury transportation service based in Seattle. 

"He's been around also for decades, people didn't even know. So when you're calling for Uber or Lyft or Black Car, you can be calling his Black car service, this Black-owned business," Franke said. "Elevating these Black-owned businesses that are not getting the notoriety because maybe they're not in the limelight. Maybe their marketing is not great, but that needs to be known. So that's what we're doing."

Recently, BOBE was awarded the Economic Development Advocate of the Year Award by the Washington Economic Development Association (WEDA) for their contributions to Black-owned businesses throughout the state. They are the first Black business to win this award.

"It's not going to be enough until we're all there sitting at the table. Where these decisions are being made, where the dollars are being made, Where the budgetary line items are being addressed," Franke said. "We need to be like, "Well, why is it going there? Why can it go there?" They don't know because we're not sitting at these tables. So that is why BOBE exists: to help create a more equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem in Washington State."

To find out more about BOBE and it’s work, click here. 

For more uplifting community stories happening throughout Seattle and beyond, tune into Trae every weekday at 11 am on all Converge Media platforms and The Day With Trae YouTube Channel.