We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sandra Wilson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Sandra, thanks for joining us today. One of the toughest things about entrepreneurship is that there is almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?
The most unexpected problem I had was the blocking and shadow banning that FB and IG put on my account in September 2019. I started being shadow-banned every time I used any hashtag that had the word black in it. Then I shared a live video about Minister Farrakhan and a block was put on my account. I reached out to FB multiple times to find out when it would be lifted. They told me that it comes off when the block time period is up. Well, it’s August 2022 and the block is still there. I knew it would be rough out here in the internet streets for a pro-black activist, but it didn’t stop me. I have 104K followers on IG but I cannot reach all of them because of my block. I made other accounts on other social media platforms to be able to keep getting the word out about Black Owned Businesses. I will continue to make accounts on other platforms to get the word out about our community. I have a positive page that is all about uplifting, supporting, and encouraging the black community. I am one of the rare pages that do not post about celebrity gossip or negative things going on in our community. My page is all about promoting black-owned businesses, organizations, non-profits, artists, musicians, etc. It’s a shame that my pages are not reaching the complete following that they should. It is important for our information about our businesses to get out to the world. The censoring of the Black Connections has definitely not helped my business.
Sandra, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My story is that of a single mother to four children who have witnessed our community being gunned down in the streets by the police. I knew I wanted to do something for our community, so I started protesting on social media through my pro-black Instagram page. A gentleman by the name of Mr. Dale Dowdie, the CEO of Black Facts, reached out to me and said he loved my passion for our community and wanted me to work on his social media pages. I started working for him in February 2018 managing his regular post of black facts. He saw how passionate I was about the black community, so he suggested I start my own business influencing our community to support each other. Because of this, I decided to set up an Instagram page called Black Connections, which would support black businesses only. I wanted our community to have a platform just for us. The reason why I wanted us to have our own platform is that I felt that we needed a place for just black people, black business owners, black organizations, and black events so that we could come together and support one another. This platform was designed solely for the black dollar so that we can unite the community and support black-owned businesses to keep our money within our community. By building more black-owned businesses and investing in each other we can turn our small businesses into major corporations, thus creating more employment opportunities for the people in our community.
When we support each other’s businesses we are unstoppable; we can cut down on gun violence and poverty and we can buy lower-income housing, renovate and create affordable housing for our community. We are the change our community needs and it starts with the recycling of the black dollar with black-owned businesses. The time is now for us to support each other and level the playing field.
The problem Black Connections solves for our community is getting the word out by any means necessary – globally – about our community organizations, businesses, non-profits, events, etc. We are dedicated to helping connect the black community with businesses, organizations, and nonprofits within our community. Our whole business is about connections. We have a few different ways to get the word out. We do in-person networking expos and live interviews on Instagram; we promote your business across FB, IG, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Youtube, TikTok, Email, our magazine, and our website; we do virtual expos live on Instagram. We have a magazine, we do unboxing videos, black-owned business raffles, and we put together networking bags for all of our events. We also go to businesses to do live interviews, and we have a free global business directory. We have also been invited to several events as VIPs thanking us for our constant support.
I am most proud of the Black Connections Family we have built up over the past 4 years. Our expos are like family reunions. It’s so cool to see all our businesses connect, network, and recycle black dollars. Every moving part within Black Connections is about exposure and networking for our community. Black Connections is set apart from all other influencers and marketing businesses and activists because I do what I do from my soul – I am not money driven. I am passionate about connecting our community and recycling black dollars. My prices are reasonable and everything that goes on my pages is a permanent post something a lot of platforms don’t offer. Black Connections is a crucial moving piece in the black community.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Starting Black Connections has not been an easy journey. At my first expo, I received death threats from people within my own community. We have been met with a lot of people in our community not open to change. There are people that will not support us because they are scared of the backlash from one organization or another business. We have had people steal our whole blueprint of what we do and put their names on it. We have had other businesses try to pass themselves off as us. We have had other businesses tell people if they work with us they can not work with them. The crabs-in-the-barrel mentality is alive and well in the black community, unfortunately. We have had businesses and organizations in our community try to stop our expos. We have been met with a lot of pushback within our community. My health took a hit in May 2022. I continue to push forward no matter what is thrown at me. I will not back down for something I believe so strongly in. I want to see black community businesses in shopping centers and on every corner like every other business outside the black community. I will not stop until it happens.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
What helped to build my reputation is that I’m always me no matter what. I don’t have any hidden agenda. I don’t get even when wronged; I stay the course no matter what. I’m straightforward about my mission in wanting to better my community, always. I treat people the way I want to be treated. I actually care about my community’s well-being. There is enough room at the table for everyone to eat. I want to see us all eating. Everyone should have a friend who will put them on to opportunities without fear of them getting ahead of them. I am that friend. I’ve always thought that one of the most real things a person can do is put another individual in a position to make some money. I have always prided myself in doing exactly that. I have taken entrepreneurs into rooms with people that I knew could further their business or their careers. I have a reputation for being honest, outspoken, a hard worker, and a genuine person. I have always been the type of person who puts others before them. I will give someone the shirt off my back if I feel they need it more than I do. I dance to the beat of my own drum; I have my whole life. I will always be for my people. I will always speak up for my community.
Contact Info:
- Website: blackconnectioonsllc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackconnections/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackconnections
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/black-connections-6b0474178/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlackConnectio2
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIKpou0-Wk03bIV_jPN9JiQ
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/blackconnections https://www.tiktok.com/@black.connections https://g.page/blackconnectionsllc
Image Credits
Pictures were taken by Black Connections. Terrance “Flexx Granger Big Flexx Security Super Bowl Champion Michael Robinson Founder of E2E Boxer Dorsett Barnwell Founder of Easywork Boxing Fitness Comedian Darren Fleet Comedian Larry Jones Comedian Kerwin Claiborne Actress Daphne Maxwell Reid Black Connections Family 2019 Black Connections Expo Staff 2021 Black Connections Expo Staff/Vendors