Success Stories: Jae'da Turner
Boston native, Jae’da Turner of Black Owned Bos., launched a campaign to support her business.
This story was originally published by Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation, our partner for the Biz-M-Power crowdgranting program that offers small businesses in Massachusetts financial assistance with their acquisition, expansion, improvement or lease of a facility, purchase or lease of equipment, or with meeting other capital needs for the business.
Boston native, Jae’da Turner, launched Black Owned Bos. in March 2019 out of a passion to elevate Black-owned businesses, places, spaces and the people moving the culture forward in the Greater Boston area. A year later, Jae’da took her side project to the next level. The Black Owned Bos. community grew tremendously in a matter of weeks, and the captivated audience provided an opportunity to find a way to increase the platform for the businesses they were serving. Black Owned Bos. took to hosting marketplaces and events, providing 1:1 consulting, curating gifting, and amplifying the messages of businesses in its network.
“Crowdfunding was just not something I had on my radar in terms of funding the business, but I chose to give it a shot. A lot of new faces were introduced through the crowdfunding campaign and on one cohesive page, it gave the opportunity to tell them the story around where your business is, where it’s going and what you need from your community to help get you there,” said Jae’da.
The business needed a commercial vehicle to continue its outreach. Jae’da learned of the Biz-M-Power grant program through her local non-profit community development financial institution (CDFI), Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). Initially, crowdfunding was not considered to grow her business but applied to the grant program knowing the community that has been built from of Black Owned Bos. lends itself well to the opportunity.
Working with the grant program’s crowdfunding platform, Patronicity, Jae’da received individualized technical assistance and coaching to ensure the campaign’s success. Black Owned Bos. set its goal at $6,000 and within 8 days raised over $8,000. Jae’da was excited to see the community rallying around Black Owned Bos. and supporting its future. Achieving the crowdfunding goal permitted MGCC to award a matching grant of $6,000.
Biz-M-Power enabled Jae’da to purchase a van to transport event and project materials as the business continues to achieve its mission. However, the van not only serves the business in a logistical manner, it also established a physical brand-presence, in which people saw how Black Owned Bos. was growing.
When asked if she would recommend Biz-M-Power to other businesses, she enthusiastically responded, “Definitely! I have already shared it with a number of people within the communities I’m involved in.”
