This editorial piece was originally published as a Guest Notebook in the Birmingham Business Journal’s August 13-19, 2021, edition.
By Ron Kitchens, CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance
At the Birmingham Business Alliance (The Alliance), we believe the greatest force for change is a job. That is the belief we base all our work on, from business attraction and retention to public policy, research and marketing. A job can change a person’s world and can make a community better in all ways.
In surveying how the Alliance serves the region to create jobs for everyone, we found a gap in the services we were providing for small businesses. We were working with many small businesses one-on-one to connect them with resources in the community to help them grow. But missing were more connections with larger companies to provide meaningful procurement opportunities. When local businesses are buying from and selling to one another, real wealth in a community is generated and jobs are created at small businesses.
About a year ago, the Alliance began working with the City of Birmingham on VITAL - Valuing Inclusion to Accelerate and Lift – an initiative launched by Mayor Randall Woodfin to increase diverse spend among minority- and women-owned businesses. The Alliance convened the group of 10 companies and institutions that had pledged their commitment to increase diverse spend and began sharing best practices and talking through ways to find and engage diverse suppliers. This VITAL work is gaining momentum and providing meaningful connections in our community, for both small and large companies.
We soon began asking how we could scale this initiative and reach more people. That’s when we designed Alliance Connects [Buyers & Sellers], which we will host on August 17 at Red Mountain Theatre.
Presented by Prosper, Alliance Connects [Buyers & Sellers] is a half-day event to connect potential local buyers and sellers – with an emphasis on minority, women and disadvantaged business enterprises – with a goal to increase contracts with local small businesses and encourage job growth. Derrick Moore of Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria, Stephanie Stuckey of Stuckey’s, Dr. Del Smith of Acclinate and Jennifer Ryan of Blueroot will share their inspiring business stories.
In addition to networking hosted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham, sellers can apply to meet with select buyers for curated, one-on-one meetings during the morning. Those who don’t immediately get matched with a potential buyer will automatically be referred to the Alabama Small Business Development Center and its Procurement Technical Assistance Center, which are coordinating the matchmaking, to get connected within their network.
Increasing contracts for local small businesses starts with connections and we want to make that as easy as possible for all businesses in Birmingham. Sharing inspiring stories and making meaningful connections for small businesses is a major component of our goal to increase jobs in the region. We think Alliance Connects [Buyers & Sellers] will do just that.
Our plan is for Alliance Connects [Buyers & Sellers] to become a series of smaller events dedicated to connecting potential buyers and sellers, giving more small businesses throughout the region an opportunity to grow and create jobs. This event, along with VITAL and the work the Alliance will be doing with Prosper around customized business advisory services, will serve as the foundation of our programming for small businesses in the region.
Going forward, the Alliance’s goal in serving small businesses and providing programming is to curate a marketplace that offers meaningful opportunities; get buyers and sellers ready to do business; and drive collective impact in our community. The companies we work with every day will feed into our small business program, gradually building a vast network of local buyers and sellers - generating that local wealth and creating life-changing jobs.
The greatest force for change is a job. The Alliance is excited at the possibility of working with all companies in our region to make that real for every person here.