A Charlotte-area program is seeking solutions to help minority-owned businesses ‘scale up’ their earnings.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Behind the photos and videos of some of the most popular names in business, including Bud Light and the Los Angeles Rams is a Charlotte-based production company with a story of its own.
Khaleel Loyd alongside his brother Maleek and other family members started Loyd Visuals about seven years ago.
For the Greensboro native and University of North Carolina Charlotte graduate, the business was a dream he always had, but one that only came into focus in recent years.
“I didn’t really see a lot of people within my neighborhood, you know, go to college, you know, get corporate jobs,” Loyd said. “Being a first-generation college student and coming from the environment that I came from, to be able to reach a level of, you know, business that we’ve reached is really, really, really emotional for me.”
With creative spirits and eyes for capturing the moment, he, his brothers, and his team launched into entrepreneurship, but not without challenges.
According to the online lending marketplace LendingTree, one in five U.S. businesses fail within the first year.
For black and brown owners, it can be even more of an uphill battle with a Nasdaq report finding black businesses received fewer grants and closed at twice the rate of other commerce shops during the early months of the pandemic.
Loyd said programs through the City of Charlotte and the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance helped build their brand, including one called Scale Up CLT.
“People that had real experiences that could literally say, ‘Hey, Khaleel. I did it this way through my experience. Think about it this way,’” Loyd said.
The program works to accelerate growth among minority-owned businesses through mentorship, supporting owners looking to scale up from $250,000, a program minimum, to $1 million.
“There’s an application process. It’s pretty rigorous,” Nate Hogan, who helps oversee the program, said. “It’s partly free? The entrepreneurs have to dedicate $1,000…. It’s really about the education, the mentorship from the entrepreneurs, and then the social capital piece.”
The program has been running for about five years.
After participating in 2021, last year, Loyd said his business finally reached $1 million in revenue.
“It’s hard for me to truly express what that moment feels like,” Loyd said. “It only takes one handshake, one email, one relationship to change the course and trajectory of your life…. So, let’s continue to support.”
The upcoming cohort is set to start this August. Applications for new participants will reopen in spring 2023.
To learn more about this and other programs connect with the City of Charlotte or Charlotte Regional Business Alliance online.