Black Business Month: Accessibility and Access 📱

August is Black Business Month, and it's not just a marketing moment. It became a national awareness month in 2004. It started after Frederick E. Jordan Sr. and John William Templeton co-founded the observation because they experienced getting— struggling to get backing for their financial firm back in San Francisco in 1969. So the goal was never just solely a symbolic support. It was about driving policy and change that still affect millions of Black-owned businesses across the U.S. today. So for the last 200-plus years, Black-owned businesses have had to build and rebuild and build and rebuild again, oftentimes after wealth was violently taken away. And always in the face of barriers to capital that still haven't fully gone away. So today we're also going to talk about how accessibility is a good business strategy, not just a checkbox, why accessible storytelling is a growth lever, why I became a travel advisor, and how you can work with me. So my name is Zaakirah. I am a brand cultivating strategist and a disability consultant. I'm also blind in my right eye as a result of a childhood eye cancer, and I have a mild hearing loss as a result. I am also going to be telling a story that I don't think I've really told. So I have been blessed to be a TEDx speaker, keynote speaker, workshop host, panelist, and now even put together other panels. But there's still a few gaps that I observe when I step onto these stages. One of them is, yes, making sure that I have what I need to be able to be the genius that I am. But also I've noticed that there are other geniuses out there that have invisible disabilities, that have a lot of experience and a lot to say, but they don't have the safe spaces to be able to do so. So then I realized, okay, how do I not only advocate for myself to make sure that the stage is accessible, the accommodations are accessible, the venue is accessible, the content for this specific event is accessible, but how can we also get more people into the limelight, into the spotlight to get more visibility? So that is part of the reason why I also started, or restarted if you will, my See Life Different media group. So I've been on the digital online space for about a decade, over a decade now. And being able to do that allowed me to start my own podcast, write my own book, have my own virtual summits, and now even make sure that people can literally see life differently. And also make sure that their content is accessible for those who cannot see their content as well, who cannot read the content as well, and to make sure that you're not leaving people out who actually want to work with you. But there's also an interesting gap that I've noticed. There was a— there are a couple of opportunities that are great for networking, great for adding, getting more professional pictures for your portfolio, great for saying that you finally did speak on a certain number of stages, and they don't pay you. But what happens is sometimes you do have to find other ways to pay yourself. So about a year ago, end of July or August 2025, I was wrapping up maybe about a year of living in Kenya, living and volunteering and networking in Kenya. And so I had the opportunity to moderate a panel that was in Kenya. And so there's 2 things. It was a travel conference, and I remember asking if there would be any travel comp at all, hotel, um, travel of any kind. And so the answer was no. However, because I was also in an area of Kenya that most people hadn't gone to, people started to ask me questions about when they wanted to visit the area as well and where they should go. Mm-hmm. or where they should stay and what they should do. And so there are also many businesses that— many women-owned and operated businesses, diaspora-owned and operated businesses that were not fully using social media. I also have a decade of experience helping other people to get onto social media and use digital social media, use it as their digital newspaper. And so one of the main reasons why I wanted to become a travel advisor is to make sure that not only am I making sure that that these people, these brilliant business owners who have brilliant Airbnbs, are on the map, literally, but also how can I also get my own stipend or commission from it? So it was twofold that really gave me that aha moment. One, I was trying to make sure that I somehow, some way get paid to speak in future opportunities and also make sure that people who want to go support Black-owned, diaspora-owned businesses that are not already online can do so. So I became a travel advisor with a platform called Fora Travel. And I also was intentional because one of the other gaps that I did mention that I did see, especially having traveled also around the US with my disabled parents, I realized there's still a gap between accessible travel. So being a travel advisor, I now have the official certification to make sure that the travel is accessible for those who do travel. So now there is modern technology that— yes, there's still artificial intelligence telling people how to travel, and there's still a gap between the integrity of people helping people to travel out of a business acumen versus you genuinely want people to experience the places that they want to go without having difficulties. So I knew that I could have my own gap, conviction gap, by making sure that I am that travel advisor to specific African countries. While making sure that your travel is accessible, especially if you have invisible disabilities. But also, I realized that intertwining it with the stages that I would speak on is not synonymous, like they actually intertwine, because there's still some people who still need to make sure that their accommodations are covered or looked out for in one way or another. So, It's the same mission, the same goal, the same vision for making sure that people and the things that are overlooked are no longer overlooked, and by empowering others to see that differently, see the travel differently, see the content differently, and seeing the world differently. So that is also why I made sure that I am building something called like an accessible creator container. So there's 2 tracks. One is if you are a creator like I still am, but mainly mostly helped others to do so, is you're building your own blog, you're having your own website, you're using your own social media content to get your own creative opportunities and speaking on stages, but you're not sure how you're leaving people out with your content. So making sure that you have access to someone who's lived the struggles of not being able to understand the content because I couldn't hear, I'm not in the space to turn on, there are no captions, so I can't turn on the captions to understand what's being said, or I couldn't exactly lip-read the captions or lip-read the content. So not only are you leaving me out because I may actually want to either refer someone to your business or work with you, but how can you make sure that you're no longer leaving people out who may actually want to work with you and actually, you know, get rewarded, get more clients? And but then there's the other end of it where you want to be on stages like TEDx, you want to be on stages like major magazine festivals, and you're just not sure how to get started. So there's also a second track where it's going to be essentially comma kind of not just the media company to make sure that you're on other podcasts, but you're also going to be having what you everything you need to be able to set up and be ready and get accepted for these applications that require you to apply to speak. So if that sounds like something that you're one of your goals for either the last quarter of the year or for the new year, definitely reach out to me or leave a comment, send a DM to let me know that you're actually interested. And what I'm calling that, I'm calling it the Accessible Content Creators, but it's also something on the lines of See Your Content Differently. So if that's something that's speaking to you, like something that you want to do, definitely reach out to me and we'll figure out how I can best work with you. And then I also wanted to just One of the other things that I have been working on is I know that group trips traveling with me, I've been to over 15 countries. A lot of them were solo. By the time I understood who I am and what I need and how I travel, a lot of them did become solo. And a lot of people are wondering, how can you even have the confidence to do that? So now I'm also working on having a group trip as well. So there is a 70th Independence Day for the country of Ghana, which was really one of the first African countries on West Africa to gain independence. So that's pretty memorable. And so because of the dates of March 1st through 10th, um, we can make it all in one. It's going to be cultural, it's going to be immersive, it's going to be, um, ecotourism as well. It can be a little bit of a retreat, a little bit of healing, because that's also a part of who I am. Um, uh, because my name means the afterlife— my first name, Zakirah, means hereafter, the afterlife, and my middle name, Nayar, means bright light— I'm definitely going to make sure that you You see the light, you see, and you also re-sparking your inner joy as well. So if you are thinking of going to Ghana and you think you're ready to travel to Ghana, uh, March 10th through, uh, March 1st through 10th, 2027, definitely leave a comment mentioning the Ghana trip, and then we'll also get in touch as far as connecting that way. So accessibility, making sure that your content is, uh, not leaving people out, it's actually gonna allow you to have a stronger brand, bigger audience, more clients, booking partnerships, whatever you're specifically looking for. And especially if you are those who are inclusive, because August again is Black Business Month. Even though it was originated in the US, diaspora truly all over the world. So when you support the diaspora, you do support the economy that especially the Black travel economy as well. And if you're ready to work with me directly, definitely be sure to reach out to me that way. Thank you for watching.