Minority Businesses and Business Events in Pittsburgh

A Black Woman’s Guide to Networking, written by Juliette Mayers, author, award winning business executive and networking Guru, will be available for purchase on Friday, November 4th, 2011 on her website: www.juliettemayers.comand on www.amazon.com.

This inspirational book is for black professional women and others who want to build cross-cultural relationships as they strive to excel in today’s dynamic marketplace. In addition to practical networking tips, the book features advice from diverse professionals who have mastered the art of networking.

A Black Woman’s Guide to Networking covers a range of important subjects for today’s business woman. Topics include advice on building and managing one’s brand, building a strategic and productive network, networking etiquette and maximizing the power of social media. The book will teach woman how to communicate with power, cultivate and maintain positive relationships, and create a compelling plan for success regardless of title or life stage. Ultimately, it encourages women to leverage the power of networking to attain their dreams.

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Pittsburgh, PA (PittsburghNewsWire.com) –  When times are tough, the last thing you want to cut is your marketing budget.  If you stop promoting your business or brand, once things start to financially improve for you, you may find it hard to regain your momentum.  Even worse, your competitors have managed to pass you up as they continued to market themselves while you were waiting for the economy to improve.  This can in turn make it very difficult to get back to where you were.

1. It’s where your customers are. Most people with online access use the Internet as their first and preferred method of researching product information.  From reading online reviews to comparing products and services, consumers are empowering themselves through the internet.
2. It’s cost effective. Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube are the most widely used social media platforms that have helped many small businesses promote what they do to the masses and they are all free to use.  You don’t have to use all of them, but use at least two of them and use them regularly.
3. It’s where your competitors are. You can’t afford not to be online.  And the good news is that many businesses are still doing a mediocre job at marketing themselves online that you can still beat them just by applying extra effort and expertise.
4. One of the best uses of your time. Time is money and spending time online each day to promote your business helps to make money in the long run.  If you use your time wisely and don’t get caught up in web surfing, you will find that this will be one of the best uses of your time each day.
5. It establishes you as an expert in your field. When you are online you should always give advice or educate clients about your product or service.  This will help position you as the go to person in that field and establish yourself as an expert in your niche.
6. It works for you 24/7/365. Make sure you are sending out the right message because your message will now be a permanent footprint in the World Wide Web working for you day and night.  At 2am, someone may come across your message and engage…You’ve just made money in your sleep!

About Donna M. Baxter
Donna M. Baxter is the CEO of Soul Pitt Media, a Minority media company based in Pittsburgh, PA. Founded in 2000, this award-winning company helps individuals, businesses and corporations reach African American consumers through online advertising, print and radio.  Former rap artist turned internet Tech Diva, Donna Baxter has gone from “Rhymer to Digital Designer”. This “Cool Nerd” explains technology in ways you’ve never heard all while making it easy to understand, funny, and entertaining and leaving audiences motivated to “Get Online or Get Left Behind!”  Find out more about her at www.donnambaxter.com

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The Pittsburgh Steelers is the team with the storied history – the Immaculate Reception, the Steel Curtain, Stallworth and Swann, the Terrible Towel, the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl, the longest defensive touchdown and most spectacular quarterback to receiver collaboration in Super Bowl history, (extraordinary feats occurring in the same game), and The Chief.  Last but not least, the Black and Gold franchise is the team with the most Super Bowl victories and at this writing, has clinched a playoff berth and a first-week bye in yet another quest and pursuit of the Lombardi Trophy.  Many sports venues and channels are gearing up and positioning for the upcoming post-season competition as the Steelers are again on the horizon of chasing the championship. Steeler Nation, I would like to introduce to you a new sports program that is on the horizon as well, making its debut in the southwestern Pennsylvania market with the goal of providing the viewing audience with a different flavor and perspective in sports reporting.  The show is entitled Championship Chase 2010 airing on WPGH Channel 53, a Fox Network affiliate, every Saturday at 10:30 p.m.  The creative talents behind this sports-centric program and hosts are Jonas Chaney, Brian Cook, Dee Thompson and Ty Miller, the show’s producer.

Jonas is a 30-year veteran in journalism, education and theatre.  He has worked in Pittsburgh for the last 25 years at WPXI-TV, WTAE-Radio, WAMO, WDUQ and the American Urban Radio Networks.  He received his Master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.  Jonas received Golden Quill Awards for investigative reporting as well as national American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) honors for his documentary work. 

Brian is a national award-winning journalist for the American Urban Radio Networks.  His daily responsibilities include reporting on breaking news, sports and entertainment stories and producing AURN programs.  He has interviewed a Who’s Who List including President Barack Obama, the late Senator Ted Kennedy, legendary Motown singers Smokey Robinson and Otis Williams, civil rights activist Coretta Scott King and education and social activist Dorothy Height.  Brian reported at national conventions and major events including Super Bowls 40 through 44 and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Groundbreaking Ceremony.  A graduate of Clarion University of Pennsylvania, he is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and serves as its regional director of communications. 

Dee’s tenure in journalism spans three decades and he also worked for WPXI-TV as a reporter and sports anchor.  He covered the Steelers for 20 years and was the host and creator of The 5^th Quarter and Steelers Huddle.  Dee earned Associated Press awards and a Golden Quill, too, for his coverage about handicapped athletes.  He reported on all six of the Steelers Super Bowl victories as well as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 1979 World Series championship. 

Ty’s career trajectory began as a disc jockey and a radio sports announcer to his current position as director of sports at American Urban Radio Networks (AURN).  He received his undergraduate degree in mass communications from Emerson College, and his experience includes WILD-AM in Boston, WEBB-AM in Baltimore and the former WAMO-FM in Pittsburgh.  Ty’s talent in the broadcast booth and enthusiasm for sports, with an emphasis on the HBCU circuit (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) elevated college football reporting to a higher level.  For over twenty years, Ty has been the force and voice behind AURN’s Black College Football Weekly, the award-winning and longest running black college football show in the country.  The impetus for the weekly program was that HBCU student-athletes were not getting the same national exposure as student-athletes were receiving from the other major colleges. Ty also writes, produces and hosts AURN’s SBN Sports, a daily show highlighting major news and events in the industry.  Click here for more »

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African American Chamber of Commerce of W.PA.
http://www.aaccwp.com/
The African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania is an organization with a mission to continuously improve business and professional opportunities for African American Business Owners and professionals.  The Chamber offers programs and services, such as: Advances in Health Care, Ask the Expert Program, The Chamber’s Business Institute, Strengthening Your Business Acumen, Candidates Forum ( A program that allows the opportunity for the membership to ask questions with regard to what has been done to promote minority businesses), and How to do business with a major company, authority or organization.

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by Anthony Tigney

Do We Make The Declaration Of Financial Empowerment Our Own?

Do you work for your money, or do you make your money work for you? That is the question. has it ever seemed that for some of us, we always seem to be broke, or on our last dollar, while others of us seem to always have money, or at least resources for things we want, and/or need? While it’s true that very few people are blessed to be born with a silver spoon in our mouth, so to speak, there are many different economic backgrounds that people come from, while for some, culture, and being taught the power of economics at an early age are also major factors.

Many people use the concept of Ujamaa (colective economics) as a guide to help shape our idea of money, and how to use it, and pool it together, and make it work to our advantage.

I have included the Declaration Of Financial Empowerment, show below, for you to use as a guideline.      

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