TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – .“We in the FAMU School of Business and Industry and the FAMU Small Business Development Center are excited to partner with the NAACP to co-host what is shaping up to be a very informative and interactive Florida State Conference,” said SBI Dean Shawnta Friday-Stroud. “Small business owners will be able to walk away with tangible ways to enhance their business.”

The event, titled “Economic Empowerment Seminar: A Game Changer for Small Business Owners,” aims to connect the black community with economic opportunities and business development resources. Attendees will be informed of best practices and policies for small business development. The seminar will include a “Shark Tank” business session where local business owners will have one minute to pitch their product or service and receive immediate feedback from FAMU SBI students on capacity, financing and investment likelihood.

Confirmed guest speakers include FAMU SBI Dean Shawnta Friday-Stroud; NAACP Branch President Dale Landry; Cheryl Seals-Gonzalez, chair of the Florida Advisory Council on Small and Minority Business Development; Karen Landry, executive director of War on Poverty-Florida, Inc.; Windell Paige, president of the Big Bend Minority Chamber of Commerce; Keith Bowers, director of FAMU Small Business Development Center and Shanea Wilks, director of Leon County Minority, Women and Small Business Enterprise Division.

The event will take place in room 447 of the FAMU SBI Building, located at the northeast corner of Gamble Street and Wahnish Way. For more information, contact the FAMU Small Business Development Center at (850) 561-2392.