The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) has announced the winners of its 2024 Minority Business Development (MED) Week Awards. The National MED Week Awards are the highest national honor a U.S. minority business can receive from the Department of Commerce. These prestigious awards honor the outstanding achievements of minority businesses, in addition to individuals and organizations which have demonstrated their commitment to the advancement of minority businesses.

The annual National MED Week conference kicked off this week (October 20-26) in Atlanta, where policymakers, MBEs and their supporters collaborate on strategies for economic empowerment and long-term wealth creation. ​

“The Minority Business Development Agency and I are very excited to come to Atlanta to celebrate both minority-owned businesses and the individuals who make up this incredible nationwide community,” said Deputy Under Secretary for Minority Business Development Eric Morrissette.

“With the continued and broad support of the White House and our partners at NMSDC, and expanded resources with our newest series of Capital Readiness Program incubators and accelerators, we are fully committed to increasing the revenues and opportunities of minority-owned businesses, ensuring they are well-prepared to excel in the economy our nation and achieve just success.”

National MED Week serves as a catalyst for tons of of local MED Week conferences across the country. These local and regional conferences are sponsored by state and native governments, for-profit entities, and nonprofit organizations. Today, National MED Week is widely accepted and synonymous with quality and support for the recognition and development of minority businesses.

The 2024 National MED Week award winners by category are:

Minority Businesses of the Year

• Minority Construction Company of the Year Award: Guiomar Obregon, President

Precyzja 2000 (P2k)

• Minority Export Company of the Year: Bianca Rhodes, president, Knight Aerospace Medical Systems, LLC

• Minority Manufacturing Company of the Year: Antoine Hutchinson, CEO of Fabpro Technologies,

• Emerging Technology and Industry Minority Business of the Year Award: Eric Trevan, president of aLocal

• Minority Health Services and Products Company Award: Dr. Roy Rivera, president of Elation Physical Therapy

• Minority Marketing and Communications Company of the Year: Daniel Ceniceros, Connect Creative

• Minority E-Commerce Business of the Year: Pamela Ramos-Brown, Be Wealthy with Pamela, LLC

• Veteran Minority Owned Company of the Year: Zeferino Banda, Jr., President of Banda Group International, LLC

• Robert J. Brown Minority Enterprise of the Year Award: Daren Masten, President, Clear Cloud Solutions, LLC

Minority Business Development Champions

• Advocate of the Year Award: Minority Business Legal Defense and Education Fund

Individual recognition

• Abe Venable Legacy Lifetime Achievement Award: Donata Russell Ross

• Leadership Award Ronald H. Brown: Necole Elan

Award winners will likely be honored during this 12 months’s National MED Week. National MED Week 2024 will likely be held along side the National Minority Supplier Development Council’s (NMSDC) annual conference and exchange in Atlanta on October 20-26.

More details about this 12 months’s National MED Week might be found here www.mbda.gov.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency is the only federal agency focused on the growth and global competitiveness of U.S. minority-owned businesses (MBEs). For greater than 50 years, MBDA programs and services have higher equipped MBEs to create jobs, construct scale and capability, increase revenues, and expand regionally, nationally and internationally.

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is one other podcast featuring NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal that discusses financial education. In a recent episode, he sat down at a table with 4 other people and said the one word that blessed him financially: “Annuities.”

In the five-minute recording, he explained to the group that he had never heard the word before until he talked to a wiser, wealthier friend. He said he had a variety of money and didn’t know what to do with it until he talked to an older, wealthy friend.

“I saw this rich guy, really rich, older, 80-year-old, old Rolls-Royce and all that. And I asked him, I said how? And he taught me a word I had never heard. “Shaq, you need to invest in annuities.” And I never knew what it was, so I looked it up because I used to be making a lot money from ads and stuff. I didn’t know what to do with it, and he said, “Yes, all this money that you make, if you save it, you can invest it and you can start collecting at 50, 60, and 70.” ‘It was my biggest investment,’ Shaq told the group at the table.

Shaq has proven time and time again that he has business acumen.

It has just been reported that the Champion clothing brand has a presence acquired by Authentic Brands Group for a reported $1.2 billion. Shaq is apparently the second-largest shareholder in Authentic Brands Group and stands to realize huge profits from it. The acquisition of the Champion brand, which generates nearly $3 billion in global retail sales annually, will definitely put more capital into Shaquille O’Neal’s bank account. Thanks to this and cooperation with other brands, Shaq made one other vital business move.

“I’m currently the second-largest shareholder in Authentic Brands Group, and last year we bought Reebok and Ted Baker and several other brands. So we are doing quite well.”

IHOP Brandon and Shaleeza Collins were named 2023 Franchisees of the Year during the brand’s Global Franchise Conference. This prestigious award recognizes franchisees for all-around excellence in leadership and a person who embodies the brand’s mission by leading excellent restaurant operations.

BLACK ENTERPRISES spoke to the husband and wife team to learn more about how they overcame years of difficult circumstances to develop into top award winners.

Brandon and Shaleeza weren’t unlikely candidates to own an IHOP franchise. However, in 2006, after retiring, Brandon’s parents, Ella and Larry Collins, decided to open an IHOP restaurant, recognizing the needs of their North Baton Rouge community. “There were no sit-down restaurants, and they wanted to make sure that need was met and create a legacy for their family,” Shaleeza explained.

“This legacy wasn’t just for children; it was a legacy for the community. We are in North Baton Rouge; there’s not much here. There is no economic development here. Our IHOP is still the only national franchise restaurant in North Baton Rouge,” Brandon added.

Changing the trajectory

After purchasing the IHOP franchise, the challenges began early. “Things took a turn when my mom started having difficulty with her daily chores and back-of-the-house duties, so I wanted to help her,” Brandon explained.

“We felt that we could help solve some of these difficulties in our own individual way, without having to be physically present – ​​at first. It snowballed from there, simply because my parents started a company that they technically had no experience in.”

Brandon and Shaleeza graduated from college and commenced working in the financial sector. “We never saw ourselves as restaurant owners,” Shaleeza interjected.

“I used to be a finance major, Brandon was a management major, so we just saw that we were focusing more on finance. But God had his own path for us. We couldn’t sit by and watch him struggle and never step in to assist. This was the driving force that made us change the trajectory of where we were going.

Passing the torch

In January 2023, after several years of learning the ins and outs of the restaurant, Brandon and Shaleeza purchased it from Brandon’s parents, excited to proceed the legacy that began all of it.

“We didn’t want it to go away, especially after everything we had to go through and what my parents had to go through to contribute to this area. We were told nothing would reach here. That has always been the driving force behind what we did and how we did it, to simply show that this is a viable business and a viable community worth investing in. We just wanted to be that example.”

Our time – our likelihood

The humility that Brandon and Shaleeza show in running their franchise is the same humble response they show in winning such a prestigious award.

“The victory was bittersweet. We’re doing the same thing we’ve been doing for over 15 years. I just think it’s our turn – our chance. We also received real help in getting to know the corporation and being recognized by the corporation while going through the interview process for the franchise application. I was invited to join the newly formed committee, which allowed us to have a voice that we felt was small and irrelevant for a large brand like IHOP. This allowed us to provide our perspective as actual Operators, because in many cases franchisees with multiple locations who are not actually in the store every day have a greater say. Winning this award is a really big deal for us.”

After 19 years of owning the franchise and winning this award, what’s next for Brandon and Shaleeza?

“Our goal as second-generation owners is to grow the company because we would like to see it grow. But we want to make sure that the way we’re doing it makes sense and that we’re doing it at a pace we can sustain,” Shaleeza explained. “We are currently working on another location, potentially one of DINE Brands’ new concepts.”

The IHOP brand supports the Collins family of their multigenerational journey. Firstly, taking advantage of the opportunity to open in an area struggling economically, but additionally approving the transfer of the purchase of the business from parents to children. Franchisors have sole discretion to approve latest owners. In giving this approval, IHOP expressed appreciation for the labor put into keeping the company open and recognized the potential for the future. And in the case of two children aged 14 and eight, all the pieces indicates that the ownership will pass to the third generation. “Our 14-year-old son is already hosting and serving, and our 8-year-old daughter is also asking to get into the business, but she still has a few years before that is possible.”

To learn more about IHOP franchise ownership, visit franchise.ihop.com/en/us.