Black MasterMind Group Receives $1.4M Grant to Foster Black Entrepreneurship in KCK

The Black MasterMind Group (TBMMG) — a nonprofit that supports, educates, and empowers Black entrepreneurs in Kansas City, KS — recently secured a BASE Grant of $1.4 million from the Kansas Dept. of Commerce. 

BASE stands for “building a stronger economy” and are grants issued by the state of Kansas for infrastructure development that spurs economic development. The grant empowers TBMMG to procure and renovate the Gateway Plaza strip center at 1121 N. 5th St. in KCK. 

The strip center is a sprawling 25,000-sq-ft. Facility.  Design plans call for nearly half of the space to be earmarked for a small business incubator and marketplace populated by small Black-owned businesses.  A June 21 debut for the incubator space is anticipated.  

“It’ll be somewhat like a micro mall,” says Donetta Watson, founder and president of TBMMG. 

TBMMG’s current training and incubator space at the north end of the strip will be enlarged to take up the other half of the strip center and undergo a redesign of its classrooms, conference rooms, training facilities, and office space for service businesses.

TBMMG will put half of their grant dollars towards purchasing the Gateway Plaza Center and the other half towards renovations and expansion.

Currently, the Gateway Plaza Building has four commercial spaces that will be combined into one space under The Black Mastermind Group’s umbrella. The building has one other tenant, a church, that will remain through their contract. Renovations will include an exterior facelift and a complete interior reimagining.

The incubator will boast an eclectic mix of Black-owned offerings. Inside, customers will find six food businesses and ten retail businesses, including a beauty salon, nail salon, Black haircare product store, art studio, marketplace, recording studio, clothing stores, event rental equipment company, bar & lounge, cajun restaurant, bakery, coffee shop, and a café.

Watson says the new incubator space will give more Black entrepreneurs a chance to manage and mature their startup businesses without the demands of expensive overhead costs. Further, Watson says her training program and business incubator help Black businesses build an audience and get through the tough initial years of business ownership.

About the Black MasterMind Group

The Black MasterMind Group offers intensive accelerated business training in eight-week boot camps. The business boot camps train Black entrepreneurs on how to start, stabilize, sustain, and scale their businesses. The boot camps take place four times a year, with TBMMG taking a set number of participants or cohorts. 

Individuals in the Kansas City area who are interested in starting a business can qualify for scholarships to cover the cost of the boot camp.  The scholarships are based on need and income, but if a potential cohort doesn’t qualify for a scholarship, the out-of-pocket cost of TBMMG’s program is $1,750, and payment plans are available. 

“We’ve created millionaires,” says Watson. “We’ve also taught people who were already millionaires in business but never taken the time to learn the financial side of business; that’s why we’ve been attractive to entrepreneurs at all different levels.”

The Black MasterMind Group also offers technology and financial literacy courses for both youth and adults; for more info on any of these courses and programs, visit TheBlackMasterMindGroup.com.

How TBMMG Helps Businesses Get Started

“We teach entrepreneurs how to run businesses by the numbers and how to create a fundable sustainable business model,” says Watson.

Watson says that the average business needs six to nine months to build an audience and that banks don’t tend to lend to businesses when they are in need but rather when they are ready to expand. 

“Traditionally, Black entrepreneurs will make it 18 months because that’s how long our cash lasts, but you’re not fundable [by a bank] before three years,” says Watson. “So you’re out there, and you’re hustling, but eventually the hustle is over, and you gotta close.” 

Once a cohort member has graduated from TBMMG’s business boot camp, they can apply for a $15,000 micro-loan to get their business started. Program graduates can run their businesses within TBMMG’s business incubator for up to three years. At that point, the business should be able to stand on its own and qualify for bank loans. 

Watson says helping guide a business to the three-year mark is important because 87% of Black entrepreneurs never qualify for a business loan. She says that is because Black entrepreneurs often operate on cash or are unprepared with proper documentation even if they previously went to business school.  

“We want to close that gap between how many Black entrepreneurs are able to access capital,” says Watson. “It is just a lack of knowledge. We can close that knowledge gap, and we’ll see more businesses qualify for capital; we’ll see more sustainable, viable businesses in our community.”