Connect with us

Business and Finance

Midnight Comics represents Blerds and more

Published

on

Comic Book, Midnight Comics


Lloyd S. Jones III and Natosha F. Jones are the husband-and-wife co-owners of Midnight Comics. Midnight Comics is a black-owned company that represents “marginalized characters of color from all walks of life.” The company arrange shop as “Atlanta’s first and largest black, family-owned, independent comic book and manga company.”

BLACK ENTREPRENEURSHIP I spoke with the Joneses in regards to the comic book business and manga publishing. Natosha and Lloyd are self-proclaimed Blerds who were introduced to comics, anime, manga, and poetry at a young age. The introduction to mainstream content like popular anime led to Lloyd creating manga in highschool, and Natosha began exploring writing as a young adult. Their relationship is a pair made in heaven Blerdwhich created an area for dual creativity and the start of a publishing empire. The Joneses talk in regards to the trials and errors that helped them navigate the journey from artists to successful fundraisers and business owners.

You are each creative. When you made the choice to publish comics and manga, what were your first steps?

Lloyd: We asked, “How can we effectively create as much story and content as possible that won’t break the bank?” So we created an anthology series called , where we showcased 4 of our titles directly.

Now that we have introduced the several products, let’s hand them over to the audience and allow them to resolve what direction they wish to go next or what they would love to see next.

What have you ever learned in regards to the business side of publishing?

Natosha: We recently accomplished a business course. We learned a lot in regards to the business side. The intricacies of overhead, budgeting, employees, grants and loans. All those little things that you simply don’t take into consideration, especially while you’re really creative and really need to do all of the creative stuff.

Do you’ve got external investors?

Natosha: Kickstarter was great. It was the important avenue for crowdfunding. This is the just one we principally use. Our fans love these stories, so each time someone throws them out, these returning people are available in, boom, it’s funded.

Midnight Comics, Lloyd Natasha, Jones, Gray, Armani
Courtesy of Midnight Comics

Tell us about your most successful Kickstarter campaign.

Lloyd: The Grey and Adami Kickstarter campaign was supported by more than 100 people.

Prices in Seoul were different. So I feel financially Seoul did higher. When it involves the variety of supporters, what we pay essentially the most attention to is the number of latest and returning supporters, because now’s the chance to ask them to the page and showcase other stories.

How do you price your product?

Natosha: Even though we’re independent, Marvel and DC are still direct competition.Let’s take a look at their page count; what number of are there and how much of them are dedicated to promoting?

In the 24-page Marvel and DC book there are 10 pages of ads that cost $5. We can have a one-page website with promoting. But the remainder of our books are on average 32 pages, so we’ll charge $10 because you may get so many more stories from us. The more stories, the more individuals are interested.

Of course, we also keep in mind independent corporations and their rates. What are our overhead costs? What is, what’s going to our profit margin seem like?

What platforms do you sell on besides your personal MidnightComics.org?

Lloyd: Nova Tunes and Global Comics; our stuff is accessible there. We are also at Nubian Bookstore in Morrow, Georgia. TThey have your complete catalog except manga.

What strategies do you discover effective in marketing such a distinct segment product? Black and female-focused?

Natosha: I do not know if viewers even realize that this is going on, that there are a whole lot of female characters and not so many male ones. I feel that is a testament to how well these stories were written.

Seoul might be our biggest sales hit. But right behind it’s The Grey.

Midnight Comics, Llyod Natasha, Jones
Courtesy of Midnight Comics

Have there been any unexpected obstacles in your path? How Have you looked through them?

Lloyd: Our first artist spoiled us with the worth and services they offered. They did all the pieces. When we got into the standard comics side of things, it was a little bit more in-depth when it comes to the business. Somehow we missed that typically there is a penciler, an inker, a colorist, and then a letterer.

How does it affect production while you realize someone isn’t coping and you’ve got to alter your approach?

Lloyd: We had to alter artists several times. Aboutnone of them decided to alter the worth at the tip of production. They said. “Oh, by the way, my price went up. Others had some criticisms of the story that were more racist. They felt that the villain was essentially purported to be a foul guy.

Now we are going to discuss each book individually.

Do these experiences change the recruitment process or contracts?

Lloyd: Lots has modified. We ask People first ask, “Have you worked with this guy?” Someone who has worked with them before told us what it was like from start to complete.

We also look for somebody who’s committed and knows the stories. We don’t just look for a way well they draw, but how committed and knowledgeable they’re about these items.

Are you currently conducting any fundraising activities?

Natosha: We were just a part of an enormous collaboration that’s coming to an end on Kickstarter, Epiphany Engine. Gathered over 40 comic book publishers.

Lloyd: This is, dare we are saying, the best black comics collaboration in history.We have raised $52,000 for this project, and we are going to likely raise several thousand more by the point it’s accomplished.

Is there anything you prefer to to say to the BE audience?

Lloyd: If you are attempting to get into anything, really, just do it. You’ll never know all the pieces. Be open; there will probably be closed doors, but there will probably be just as many open doors at the identical time. If there is a need and you suspect you possibly can fulfill them, then fulfill them.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Business and Finance

Crypto surges after Trump’s election – but is it a good ethical investment?

Published

on

By

Estimated 18 million Americans are invested cryptocurrency– says the Federal Reserve. And the United States has just chosen pro-crypto-president.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have change into trendy digital resource. Supporters say crypto undermines capitalism because it bypasses traditional bankers. Crypto perhaps offer quick riches together with an environment of high-tech sophistication.

Early adopters reaped enormous advantages, and plenty of of them became millionaires and billionaires.

Currently, there are approx 100,000 cryptocurrency millionaires. Moreover, cryptocurrency wealth has been built Fairshake, the most important political lobbying group within the US During the last election, it helped elect 253 pro-crypto candidates.

But is cryptocurrency a good ethical investment?

as business professor who studies the technology and its implications, I even have identified three ethical harms related to cryptocurrency which will give investors pause.

Three wrongs

The first harm is excessive energy consumptionparticularly Bitcoin, the primary decentralized cryptocurrency.

Bitcoins are created or “mined” by tens of hundreds of computers in huge data centers, which contributes significantly to carbon emissions and environmental degradation. Bitcoin mining, which accounts for the lion’s share of cryptocurrency’s energy consumption, uses as much as 0.9% of worldwide electricity demand – near Australia’s annual energy demand.

Secondly, unregulated and anonymous cryptocurrencies are the payment system of alternative for criminals fraud, tax evasion, human trafficking AND ransomware – the latter cost victims an estimated $1 billion in fraudulent cryptocurrency payments.

Until about a decade ago, these bad actors generally moved and laundered money through money and shell corporations. However, around 2015, many individuals switched to cryptocurrency, which is a much less cumbersome type of service dirty money anonymously.

The bank cannot store or transfer money anonymously. By law it is a bank passively complicit in money laundering if not enforced get to know your customer measures to curb bad actors resembling money launderers.

However, within the case of cryptocurrency, legal and ethical responsibility can’t be transferred to the bank – the bank doesn’t exist. So who is complicit? Any member of the cryptocurrency ecosystem will be seen as ethically complicit in enabling illegal activities.

Enegix employees work at a data center in Ekibastus, Kazakhstan, certainly one of the world’s largest Bitcoin mines, January 3, 2023.
Meiramgul Kussainova/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

I find these first two harms to be probably the most ethically troubling. The first harms the Earth, the second undermines global systems of trust – the interplay of institutions that underpin economic activity and social order.

The third problem of cryptocurrency is its predatory culture.

A predatory system, especially without regulatory oversight, exploits small investors. And some cryptocurrencies have enriched their founders by reaping the advantages lack of investor knowledge about virtual currency.

Some cryptocurrencies, especially smaller coins and initial coin offerings, do Characteristics of Ponzi schemes.

For example, the now defunct Bitconnect promised investors big profits who exchanged their Bitcoins for Bitconnect tokens. New investors’ money paid out “profits” to the primary layer of investors with later investors’ money.

Ultimately, Satish Kumbhani, founding father of Bitconnect, decided to achieve this indicted by a federal grand juryand from 2024 his whereabouts are unknown.

A pernicious myth

In addition to the ethical harms of cryptocurrency, there is a pernicious myth surrounding digital coin. The myth of inclusion is the idea that cryptocurrency has the facility to profit especially socially disadvantaged people without a checking account.

The world’s poor who wouldn’t have bank accounts and who could use cryptocurrency for international money transfers to family back home don’t necessarily enjoy the advantages of cryptocurrencies. It’s for this reason need pay conversion and transfer feessay, dollars to cryptocurrency, after which from cryptocurrency to the local currency of the person receiving the cash transfer.

In fact, the distribution of crypto assets is largely concentrated among the many wealthy. A 2021 study found that simply 0.01% of Bitcoin owners controls 27% of its value.

The democratization of finance is often presented as a move geared toward breaking the dominance of traditional financial institutions – private banks and government central banks. However, this narrative didn’t prove true.

Instead, a latest elite emerged: cryptocurrency creatorsearly supporters of i conservatorswho modify the cryptocurrency’s software code and influence its future direction. This group exercises disproportionate control, including over cryptocurrency management. All of this reflects the concentration of power that cryptocurrency was intended to dismantle.

Just a little more ethical?

To be fair, the cryptocurrency community has not ignored the criticism, including calls for greater environmental awareness.

In early 2021, community members founded Cryptocurrency Agreement. The group has recruited around 250 crypto corporations to cut back environmental damage.

The following 12 months, Ethereum took its most important step with its Ether coin. It has reduced its size energy consumption by over 99% by migrating to a coin mining mechanism called “proof of stake”, which doesn’t require miners to unravel complex, energy-intensive puzzles to validate transactions.

It was a daring move. However, Bitcoin, the most important cryptocurrency, has not followed in Ethereum’s footsteps. Bitcoin stands out in that its energy consumption exceeds that of another cryptocurrency.

A worker stands between two rows of bitcoin mining machines along a wall.
A employee installs a latest row of bitcoin mining machines on the Whinstone US bitcoin mining facility in Rockdale, Texas, October 9, 2021.
Mark Felix/AFP/AFP via Getty Images

To address other harms of cryptocurrency, some Regulatory authorities began to regulate the cryptocurrency market in 2023, the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States have launched efforts to curb criminality and protect investors.

In January 2024, US regulators listed funds allowedthat are popular investment funds for investing in cryptocurrencies. The move was intended to assist small investors trade in a safer market.

However, normalizing cryptocurrency trading could have perverse ethical consequences.

For example, probably the most successful ‘ethical’ fund in 2023, Nikko Ark Positive Change Innovation Fundwas successful with a 68% return because he bet on cryptocurrencies. Its manager rationalized this investment by repeating the parable that cryptocurrency allows “providing financial services to underbanked people

Where does all this leave the ethical investor?

I consider that investors have two clear ethical options regarding cryptocurrencies: they will abandon Bitcoin or no less than put money into other cryptocurrencies that minimize harm, especially environmental harm.

However, even so-called ethical investments raise hidden ethical issues.

Many ethical investors put money into the so-called ESG funds that emphasize social or environmental impact. Some of those ESG funds may avoid holdings in oil corporations by investing directly or not directly in cryptocurrencies.

This doesn’t seem ethically coherent.

While cryptocurrency offers exciting opportunities and the potential for prime returns, its environmental impact, links to criminality and predatory nature pose significant ethical challenges.

This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
Continue Reading

Business and Finance

Daymond John celebrates the fifth annual Black Entrepreneurs Day

Published

on

By

shark tank, Black Entrepreneurs Day, Daymond, John, deal, stalker, grants, Black entrepreneurs


Daymond John will have a good time the fifth anniversary of Black Entrepreneurs Day in Atlanta for the first time.

November 22, John’s signature Black Entrepreneur Day (BED) will take over Atlanta’s historic Fox Theater to have a good time Black Excellence and Opportunity. This 12 months’s event is free for all to attend and includes brand activations that enable participants to reinforce their business and brand for the foreseeable future.

From insightful discussions with inspiring guests to the NAACP Small Business Powershift Grant Program, which can award over $1 million in grants to over 40 Black-owned businesses, Black Entrepreneurs Day offers the whole lot a Black business owner needs to raise take your corporation to the next level the next level. This 12 months’s event is special for John; In addition to hosting BED in Atlanta for the first time, the event shall be streamed live for all to enjoy.

“We’re doing it live this year and we’re always trying to improve what we have,” John says BLACK ENTERPRISES.

“I think we added another element to it called ‘Entrepreneur Square,’ where if you want to come early, you can come in and a company like Constant Contact takes photos. Hilton for Business, Chase, Chase Wealth Management is there, US Navy. You add a lot of different things to it.”

It shall be a star-studded event featuring Grammy-winning artist and philanthropist Kelly Rowland, iconic artist Flavor Flav, influential media personality Charlamagne tha God, Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles (presented by JP Morgan Wealth Management), financial educators Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings with “Earn Your Leisure” and a live performance by multi-platinum Atlanta rapper 2Chainz presented by Raising Cane’s.

Through the NAACP small business Powershift grant program, entrepreneurs can do exactly that use to the Powershift Grant program and grow to be one in every of 40 firms awarded a share of grants value over $1 million. This 12 months, partners including JPMorgan Chase, Hilton, T-Mobile for Business and Constant Contact will contribute a complete of $100,000 in grants, with each grant valued at $25,000.

“We are very passionate about what we do,” John says of the Black community. “I think we can now gain more power by democratizing the retail space with solutions like artificial intelligence and social media. Let’s support each other and support each other.”

Given the strong sponsorship support for BED 2024, John sees it as clear evidence that giant corporations recognize the value of investing in the Black community, even in the face of opposition from anti-DEI efforts.

“There are many other cultures that love to support us as well. They love our music, they love our food, they love everything about us and they just want to know how they can support us,” notes John.

“I think if we look at it this way, it means we can never gain or thrive on our shortcomings, but we can always find those gems and ways to grow from what we are. We are a resilient nation loved by all.”

Launched in 2020 to handle the challenges facing the community in the wake of the events surrounding George Floyd, Black Entrepreneurs Day was established to shift the focus from hardship to empowerment. Designed to uplift Black entrepreneurs, the event goals to teach and encourage through conversations with iconic Black leaders and celebrity guests, features celebrity musical performances and offers key financial support through the NAACP Powershift Grant program.

Tickets for Black Entrepreneurs Day 2024 are free and may be purchased at: BlackEntrepreneursDay.com Now. Press play to learn more about this 12 months’s event.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
Continue Reading

Business and Finance

Black Girl Digital on a mission to empower diverse creators

Published

on

By

Black girl digital, LaToya bond, LaToya shambo


Meet Black Girl Digital (BGD Media), one among the fastest-growing multicultural, independent marketing agencies within the makerspace, is led by two dynamic Black women entrepreneurs.

Founded and led by CEO LaToya Shambo and CMO Latoya Bond, Digital black girl goals to deliver revolutionary, data-driven marketing solutions tailored to the brands and creators who’re shaping the longer term of promoting and commerce. With a long time of combined experience, these two business leaders have come together to create an agency uniquely equipped to navigate the complexities of multicultural marketing.

“The mission of Black Girl Digital is really about how to bring brand and creators together to go beyond partnerships and build a deeper relationship,” says Shambo BLACK ENTERPRISES.

The pair first met while collaborating on the 2023 Black Girl Digital Awards. While many individuals discuss women competing in business, Shambo and Bond saw a chance to mix their strengths and platforms.

“We went through the process of working together and I saw her talent and she saw my talent. We noticed that we both had these unique skills that worked really well together,” Shambo says.

Combining Black Girl Digital’s expertise in influencer marketing with the BBM Agency’s strength in celebrity business management, BGD Media is uniquely equipped to handle the intricacies of multicultural marketing.

“Because her company was more involved in paid marketing, brand management and communications strategy, it really complemented what we did on the Black Girl Digital side, through partnerships with corporate brands and diverse creators,” Shambo explains.

“Together, we have been able to join forces and offer our brands and creators a full range of media and marketing services, thanks to which the partnership goes deeper rather than superficial.”

Shambo attributes BGD Media’s success to its multimarketing service offering that “brings the customer closer to the creator and the creator closer to the customer.” One of the newest initiatives is the inaugural Black Influencer Weekend, which goals to showcase to major brands and corporations how Black creators are usually not only setting trends, but additionally driving significant cultural and economic change across industries.

During the three-day event, over 1,500 participants engaged in vigorous discussions and activations focused on community, connection and variety amongst creators. Highlights included the VIP Creator Games Night featuring bowling competitions and life-size Connect 4 video games, creating what Shambo describes as a “creator playland.”

On October 2, participants took part in a day stuffed with inspiring and influential discussions in the course of the Influencer Summit. Speakers included media personality Yandy Smith; creative director of beauty and lifestyle Tiarra Monet; and NCAA champion and ladies’s basketball coach Sydney Carter. Conversations covered topics equivalent to balancing a profession outside of social media, maintaining mental health, and constructing meaningful partnerships.

The weekend concluded with the third annual Black Girl Digital Awards, where content creators equivalent to Druski, Monet McMichael and Kai Cenat were honored for his or her power, position and recognition across various platforms. Additionally, business leaders equivalent to Yandy Smith, Marvet Britto and Mona Scott-Young have been recognized as pioneers of influence and visionaries redefining the digital landscape.

At its core, Black Girl Digital is about tackling the complexities of multicultural marketing, demonstrating that representation matters and that success comes when brands connect with communities on a human and private level.

“It’s not a monolith. This is not just one group of Black people. There are many people and many cultures in the Black community,” Shambo says. “Being able to express it. But that’s really why brands work with us. Because we are able to accommodate the different cultures found in each community.”

“We also mainly focus on the passion points and interests of audiences in these communities,” she added.

What’s next for Black Girl Digital? Shambo seeks global domination.

“These will be the Global Influencer Awards,” he says.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending