August is a full month in the city of Indianapolis.
It is the month of the Indiana State Fair. It is the month many students, from elementary to post-secondary education, return to school. It is also Black Business Month.
Now, I could continue this article with ways to encourage business owners in the scriptures, like Psalm 37:5 — “Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass” — and Galatians 6:9 — “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
However, I want to move in a different direction. While Black Business Month is a time for business owners to make themselves known, it is also a time for businesses to be supported, and we still have time this month to do so.
We have seen the social media posts that tell of the ways we can support businesses — like, share, comment on the post and tag the business owners in our posts or other posts relevant to the business. All of these are good ways to support the business, especially by way of exposure. The more visible the business is, the greater likelihood the business has to receive customers.
Customers who find the businesses in the ways named above are not the only customers. We, yes you and I, should be customers, too.
This is not to say we are obligated to support every business that comes our way. Of course we have a choice. To that end, we should make the choice, specifically this month to support at least three Black owned businesses.
Make a list of items or services you are interested in and see what Black-owned businesses sell or provide those services. Find out how and why the company started, as well as their mission and values. Check out the reviews. Find out who within your circle of friends or family members has supported the business and get their perspective on the item or service. After all, Proverbs 4:7 tells us in all our getting, to get understanding. No need to waste time or money on a business we barely know anything about. It will cost us in more than one way.
There is a greater benefit to supporting Black owned businesses that exceeds the exposure for them and the value of goods and services for us. When we support Black owned businesses, we sow seeds.
The Old and New Testament speak to this — Ecclesiastes 11:6: “In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.” 2 Corinthians 9:10: “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.”
As customers, we are not the only ones who reap a harvest with goods and services received. Business owners reap as well for their livelihood and their legacies. So this month and every month, here’s to supporting and sowing!
Rae Karim can be reached at rae.karim@gmail.com.
