“Everything is going to be around the wellness and the wholeness of the entrepreneur,” Generette said. “The creative, our mindsets. So we’ll be tapping into every element from mental, physical, financial, emotional — and even spiritual to some degree.”
Visibility and accessibilityFor the BizArts initiative, visibility and accessibility for small businesses are the core of its mission.
“We hope to help our small businesses access resources, whether it be funding or training, they may need to help them figure out their financial infrastructure of their business,” Driggers said, “but also it helps these businesses gain visibility.”Featured businesses not only table at events, but they also get a chance to pitch directly on stage to other attendees in the audience.
“Working with BizArts for me, personally, has really opened more doors,” Jackson said.Jackson emphasized how simply being in the room garnered opportunities, something that isn’t always easy for women of color starting a small business.“Sometimes as a minority woman, we may not be invited into certain spaces,” Jackson said. “There may be spaces that we don’t even know about or resources that we don’t naturally have access to or awareness of.”
Generette grew up with parents who were strong community advocates — his father was a pastor and the first African American school board member for his district — so he wants to create as many opportunities for people of all diverse backgrounds to come together.“I learned very quickly that you should always look at and find great gifts in other people and see how you all can partner together to make something magical,” Generette said.Keeping the spotlight shining on local businesses will not only hold doors open, but illustrate Columbia’s potential.“Since I came here in 2002, it’s been nothing but a blessing to me,” he said. “I want to keep that spirit going, encouraging and introducing other USC students — kids around this community — that this is a thriving place, a great place to start a business and that the city, county and other individuals are behind you as you do this.”
