Successful Power-networking for Black Businesses

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Left to Right: Fred Zeno of ComproEvent Center; Nataki Kambon, Spokesperson and activist for LetsBuyBlack365.com;
Jackie Mayfield ComproTax Founder;
Dr. Ron Daniels – IBW founder, Radio host; and,
Tony Browder – Historian and Egyptologist.

Can you visualize what it would look like if many of the best and brightest in business, entrepreneurship, and Black economics were to converge in one central location?

At the convergence, imagine if everyone got along in the spirit of cooperative economics.
Imagine if young people learned from the experience of elders, and elders learned new skills from young people.

Imagine if Black millionaire and billionaire entrepreneurs humbly and nonchalantly rubbed shoulders with participants ranging from those still searching for career direction to those with solid-standing careers or businesses looking to elevate to the next level.

Imagine if Black experts at the top of their fields were willing to share their knowledge and success to help others. Imagine if networking meant actually talking business and signing deals on the spot and practically implementing ideas. Imagine if the conference ostensibly went off without a hitch and virtually no one had any complaints because it was organized by a team who settle for nothing less than Black excellence.

Now imagine an event like this punctuated by 17 technologically enhanced, powerfully riveting TED-like PowerTalks on Black economic empowerment and business. Imagine these Talks being globally lived-streamed at www.PNCLive.com; featuring everyone from Apprentice winner and entrepreneur, Randal Pinkett; hotel mogul Mike Roberts; millionaire philanthropist and ComproTax founder, Jackie Mayfield; DC’s own Black Economic Empowerment movement LetsBuyBlack365.com national spokesperson and activist, Nataki Kambon; Egyptologist, Anthony Browder, and other notables.

Now, if imagining all that left you tingly all over… just sit for a second with the fact that this all just happened. From Wednesday through Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, George Fraser’s PowerNetworking Conference was held in Prince George’s County MD near Washington DC. Prince George’s County is the wealthiest predominantly African-American county in the country.

The 15-year conference moved from its Texas location and will stay in Prince George’s County Maryland for the next 6 years.

Regardless of location, the PowerNetworking Conference shattered all kinds of ceilings Memorial Day weekend. With five days packed with innovative ideas, powerful speakers, and unique networking activities to ensure ongoing connections beyond the conference, it isn’t surprising that the event was sold out.

The conference also featured a marketplace selling everything from financial services, to health and beauty products, and even Black inventions.

Thousands attended, and after dozens of interviews and informal polling, not one participant had anything critical to say about this stellar event. News often reports, event after event, about the tragic state of Black America; the effect of that news on the mental health of Black individuals has been devastating.

The implications of this conference is that it not only subverts the negativity, but it is a testament to the lasting positive impact we can have when we create our own empowering, newsworthy events.

At the closing ceremony, Dr. George Fraser announced that though the PowerNetworking Conference would be more profitable if it were expanded, he and the he and organizers have decided to keep the event limited to only a few thousand participants for next year.

He stated that they don’t plan to advertise the event at all, and that only those who know about it will know to register and attend. This is to ensure that the intimacy of the event keeps the networking spirit of the event strong. Tickets for 2017 PowerNetworking Conference went on sale Monday, May 31st.

Event organizers expect to sell out within 2 months.

For those who didn’t attend or didn’t know, all hope is not lost. FraserNet.com offers networking events throughout the year that culminate in the annual conference.

This was my first year attending the conference. I left with about 60 business cards of people I had long meaningful conversations with, and plan to do business with in some capacity. I also left with another 60 or 70 cards of people who I’d like to just keep in my repertoire so I can be a networking resource to share their contact with others.

If this is your first time hearing about FraserNet.com, the PowerNetworking Conference, or any experience like the one you visualized at the beginning of this article, you owe it to yourself to develop your business ideas, learn about and attend one of the mini networking activities, and connect with those of us who have made that vision our reality.

Log on to www.LetsBuyBlack365.com to find out how you can connect with businesses and organizations that are creating powerful, lasting change for our people, our businesses, and our communities.

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