Afro Caribbean Business Network

Tag: symposium

  • Customer Acquisition Systems That Work for Black-Owned Businesses

    Customer Acquisition Systems That Work for Black-Owned Businesses

    How Black Entrepreneurs Can Build Stronger Customer Acquisition Systems

    For many Black entrepreneurs, attracting and retaining customers is one of the biggest challenges in building a sustainable business. While product development and operations often get attention, customer acquisition strategies remain underdeveloped. Without a structured approach, even well-managed businesses struggle to grow.

    The Challenge: Higher Customer Acquisition Costs

    Black-owned businesses face 22% higher customer acquisition costs than their non-Black counterparts, according to the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce. Several factors contribute to this:

    • Limited access to established referral networks
    • Higher scrutiny from potential customers
    • Marketing efforts that depend too much on the founder’s direct involvement

    To overcome these barriers, Black entrepreneurs must develop systematic customer acquisition strategies that operate independently of their availability.

    Four Key Components of a Strong Customer Acquisition System

    Successful Black entrepreneurs implement four essential systems to attract, convert, and retain customers.

    1. Lead Generation: Move Beyond Passive Marketing

    Many businesses rely on sporadic social media posts, but this isn’t enough. A strong lead generation system includes:

    • Targeted digital marketing tailored to the ideal customer.
    • Referral programs that reward customers for word-of-mouth marketing.
    • Automated prospecting strategies that continuously attract new leads.

    2. Prospect Nurturing: Build Trust Over Time

    Many Black-owned businesses face a credibility gap that makes potential customers hesitate. A structured prospect nurturing system helps bridge this gap by:

    • Using automated email or text sequences to engage potential customers.
    • Providing valuable content that demonstrates expertise and builds trust.
    • Offering low-risk engagement opportunities like free resources, webinars, or trials.

    3. Conversion: Standardize the Sales Process

    Many founders handle sales informally, leading to inconsistent results. To improve conversion rates, businesses need:

    • A scripted sales framework to ensure clear, persuasive communication.
    • Standardized proposal templates that simplify the decision-making process.
    • Follow-up sequences that keep prospects engaged until they are ready to buy.

    4. Retention: Turn Customers Into Advocates

    Relying solely on new customer acquisition is costly and unsustainable. A customer retention system keeps clients engaged and drives repeat business. Effective strategies include:

    • Regular communication that provides ongoing value beyond the initial sale.
    • Exclusive offers and loyalty programs to keep customers returning.
    • Structured referral programs that turn satisfied customers into marketing partners.

    Learn Proven Customer Acquisition Strategies at the ACBN Legacy Symposium

    At the ACBN Legacy Symposium 2025, Black entrepreneurs will gain access to tested customer acquisition frameworks that have delivered results across multiple industries.

    By moving beyond sporadic marketing and founder-driven sales, business owners can create predictable revenue streams and long-term success in competitive markets.

    🔗 Register now to learn from industry experts: [Event Registration Link]

    ACBN Legacy Symposium

  • How Sheridan EDGE and ACBN Collaboration Creates Opportunities for Black Entrepreneurs

    How Sheridan EDGE and ACBN Collaboration Creates Opportunities for Black Entrepreneurs

    Innovative Partnerships Supporting Black Entrepreneurs in Canada

    Addressing Gaps Through Strategic Alliances

    Black founders in Canada face persistent gaps in entrepreneurial support. These gaps need more than small fixes—they require innovative institutional partnerships that combine different strengths. The teamwork between Sheridan EDGE and the Afro-Caribbean Business Network (ACBN) shows how schools and community groups can create new paths for Black entrepreneurs.

    Leveraging Complementary Strengths

    This partnership uses each organization’s unique abilities to tackle specific barriers. Sheridan EDGE contributes:

    • Academic resources
    • Research capacity
    • Physical facilities
    • Connections to innovation networks

    Meanwhile, ACBN brings:

    • Deep community trust
    • Cultural expertise
    • Direct links to over 3,000 Black-owned businesses across Southern Ontario

    The Legacy Symposium Impact

    The annual ACBN Legacy Symposium highlights this partnership’s impact. Sheridan’s Hazel McCallion Campus hosts the event, creating a professional setting that boosts the program’s value. This arrangement makes institutional resources available to community members who might otherwise feel left out.

    Knowledge Transfer That Works

    The venue matters, but the knowledge sharing matters more. This collaboration transforms academic theories into practical, culturally relevant tools. These tools address the specific challenges Black entrepreneurs encounter in their business journeys.

    Creating Valuable Learning Opportunities

    Sheridan students, especially those from Black communities, gain important hands-on learning through this partnership. Students meet successful Black entrepreneurs during symposium activities. These role models show career paths often hidden in traditional education.

    Developing Innovative Programs Together

    This teamwork has created new programs neither organization could build alone. The Black Founders in Clean Technology certificate program stands out as a groundbreaking approach. This program increases Black representation in high-growth sectors that typically show racial gaps.

    Building a Supportive Ecosystem

    Black entrepreneurs face structural barriers in business. This partnership offers something essential: a support system combining academic resources with community understanding. By connecting institutional knowledge with lived experience, Sheridan EDGE and ACBN create opportunities beyond basic networking or education.

    Creating a Model for Others to Follow

    As these organizations deepen their partnership, they create a blueprint for other Canadian schools. This model shows how educational institutions can move beyond diversity statements to build real paths for Black business success. Through strategic partnerships, organizations can systematically remove barriers for Black entrepreneurs. These efforts benefit individual founders and entire communities.

    Register for Symposium here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acbn-legacy-symposium-2025-tickets-1089074062839?aff=acbnblog

  • Dr. George Fraser’s Approach to Wealth-Building Through Business Networks that all Black Entrepreneurs Should Know

    Dr. George Fraser’s Approach to Wealth-Building Through Business Networks that all Black Entrepreneurs Should Know

    The Power of Collective Action

    For more than three decades, Dr. George Fraser has championed a powerful message to Black entrepreneurs: systemic barriers cannot fall to individual effort alone, but strategic networks and collective action can overcome them. Dr. Fraser, founder of FraserNet and keynote speaker at the upcoming ACBN Legacy Symposium, offers Black business owners a proven pathway to wealth through network-based strategies.

    Networking as a Core Business Function

    Fraser’s methodology starts with a fundamental perspective shift. He urges entrepreneurs to treat relationship-building as a primary business function. This approach deserves dedicated time, resources, and measurement systems. Entrepreneurs transform networking from casual event conversations into strategic alliance-building with measurable returns.

    The Five Critical Connections

    At the heart of Fraser’s methodology lies “power networking.” This concept involves the deliberate cultivation of five specific connection types:

    • Knowledge sources
    • Opportunity brokers
    • Influence amplifiers
    • Resource providers
    • Door openers

    Entrepreneurs create networks with tangible business value by nurturing relationships in each category. These connections go far beyond mere social interactions.

    Strategic Positioning for Black Entrepreneurs

    Fraser highlights “network intelligence” specifically for Black entrepreneurs. This skill helps them understand how information and opportunities flow through existing business ecosystems. Black business owners can overcome information asymmetry by positioning themselves at critical junctures. This strategy addresses the disadvantage many face without inherited access to established networks.

    Creating Sustainable Networks Through Value Exchange

    The sustainability of networks depends on reciprocity. Fraser teaches entrepreneurs to identify their unique “network value” – specific expertise, connections, or resources they offer others. This value-first mindset transforms networking into mutually beneficial exchanges rather than requests for help.

    The 5-5-5 Method for Network Maintenance

    Fraser combats relationship atrophy with his systematic “5-5-5” method. This approach encourages entrepreneurs to:

    • Connect deeply with five new people monthly
    • Reconnect with five existing contacts weekly
    • Invest significantly in five key relationships daily

    The Path to Wealth and Community Transformation

    At the ACBN Legacy Symposium, Fraser will demonstrate how his methodical approach has helped thousands of Black entrepreneurs access previously invisible opportunities. His message resonates clearly with Black business owners building sustainable enterprises: strategic networks serve as essential infrastructure for wealth creation in a business landscape shaped by structural inequities. These networks can transform both individual businesses and entire communities.

    Register for the Symposium

  • Fifth Annual ACBN Legacy Symposium Designed to Build Generational Wealth for Black Businesses!

    Fifth Annual ACBN Legacy Symposium Designed to Build Generational Wealth for Black Businesses!

    Black business owners are slated to attend the ACBN Legacy Symposium sponsored by Alterna Savings on Saturday March 2nd at Sheridan College in Mississauga. More than 100 Black community leaders, entrepreneurs, business owners, and professionals from across Ontario are slated to attend the fifth annual Legacy Symposium.

    Empowering the Black Business Community through Inter-generational Collaboration and Wealth Building Strategies

    The Afro-Caribbean Business Network Foundation Canada (ACBN) is excited to announce the 5th Edition of the ACBN Legacy Symposium, themed ‘Building Generational Wealth Together’. This pivotal event aims to foster inter-generational partnerships, share invaluable skills and knowledge, and promote sustainable growth within the Black business landscape. Scheduled to take place in Mississauga, the ACBN Legacy Symposium is expected to draw a diverse group of entrepreneurs and business leaders committed to creating a lasting legacy using their business as a wealth building tool.

    This year’s event builds on the success of previous symposia, which have consistently attracted 100 to 150 participants eager to engage in meaningful conversations and workshops aimed at capacity building and strategic wealth creation. The symposium will feature interactive sessions, panel discussions, and networking opportunities, all focused on equipping participants with the tools necessary for succession planning and the implementation of effective business strategies.

    Ryan Knight, Executive Director of ACBN, emphasizes the importance of the event: “The ACBN Legacy Symposium is more than just a gathering; it’s a movement towards creating a sustainable and prosperous future for Black entrepreneurs. By investing in inter-generational partnerships, we’re not only building wealth but also ensuring that our legacy of innovation, resilience, and community support endures for generations to come.”

    Attendees will have the opportunity to connect with industry leaders, access exclusive networking opportunities, learn strategies for building a sustainable business, and enhance their operations during virtual and in-person conference sessions. Keynote speakers include Dr. George C. Fraser, CEO and Founder of FraserNet, Inc., and President of FraserNation, LLC,, Peter Trevor Wilson, Chris-Beth Cowie and Sherley Joseph.

    “ACBN has worked tirelessly to support and champion Black entrepreneurs in our region and EDGE has been a proud long-time collaborator,” says Renee Devereaux, Director, Entrepreneurship and Changemaking at Sheridan EDGE. “We’re thrilled to be part of this annual symposium as business leaders gather to explore investment readiness and amplify success.”

    About ACBN

    Founded in 2017, the ACBN works to unify and educate Black entrepreneurs in its network of more than 6000 businesses in Toronto, Peel and surrounding areas. The ACBN has cultivated a community for Black business owners where they can cross-promote their products and services to build their ventures and participate in relevant business and personal growth workshops. ACBN supports Black Founders with strategic planning to assist with capacity building with resources such as microloans, marketing and sales support as well as investment readiness training. ACBN has conducted extensive research in southern Ontario to understand the current landscape of Black Entrepreneurs and the barriers they face. As part of the National Black Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, ACBN works with business support partners to create solutions to eliminate barriers Black entrepreneurs face.

    About Sheridan College

    Founded in 1967, Sheridan has grown from a local college of 400 students to one of Ontario’s leading post-secondary institutions, educating approximately 23,000 full-time and 20,000 continuing and part-time studies students every year. Its three diverse campus communities in Brampton, Mississauga and Oakville are a short commute to downtown Toronto. As a trailblazer in unique arts, technology and health care programs, Sheridan has always been on the leading edge of innovation ensuring students learn job-ready, practical skills and develop the confidence, empathy and problem-solving savvy that allows them to push boundaries in an ever-changing world. Sheridan’s 210,000 alumni play a critical role in shaping the future of our society in the fields of arts, business, community service, health, technology, and the skilled trades. In January 2023, Sheridan was ranked number one on Forbes’ list of Canada’s Best Employers.