CREATING BLACK WEALTH
New leader has vision for business association
Ernest Strickland recently became president and chief executive officer of the Black Business Association of Memphis, bringing in experience from across the Memphis business community and a focus on wealth creation and acquisition. A 15-year veteran of the Greater Memphis Chamber, he most recently served as senior vice president of workforce development for the chamber.
He took the helm of the Black Business Association on April 1. The Commercial Appeal talked with him about workforce development, post-pandemic business recovery and collaboration between the business communities in Memphis and the suburbs.
Commercial Appeal: How do you feel about taking this leadership role and what does it mean to you to be CEO of the Black Business Association?
Strickland: I’m super excited about the opportunity to lead an organization that has been a pillar in our community. And I’m equally excited to be a part of the next generation of supporting Black businesses, minority businesses in Memphis and Shelby County.
Ca:what is your vision for the organization? What’s going to be different, moving forward, under your leadership?
Strickland: The difference is that what I get to do is take 15 years of experience that I’ve accrued and accumulated with the chamber, in a number of different
roles. International business development, trade, foreign direct investment, workforce development, public policy, economic development. I get to bring all of those skill sets together in a way that sets the vision for the BBA.
For instance, my goal and vision is to really change the conversation from poverty to wealth creation. There are a lot of organizations in our community focused on poverty because it is critically important for that work to get done. But there are not as many organizations focused on “how do we create wealth?”
So, my vision for the organization is to focus on the
talent: individuals who are running companies but could use that next level of leadership training that we’re looking to develop. My vision is to focus on acquisition. Startups have dominated the conversation. And startups are sexy and cool. But startups are difficult. And the chance of failure is very high. I want to focus on how to acquire assets, acquire companies, that represent an opportunity to accelerate wealth creation.
CA: So we talk a lot about workforce development in Memphis, as do most big cities anywhere. Do you think we need to work more on education and training, or is it about connecting people who have that education and training to existing opportunities?
Strickland: I think it’s twofold there. In today’s times, you have to be prepared to be a lifelong learner. Technology changes the type of skills that will be in demand today, as well as skills that will be in demand in the future. And so, in order for an individual to stay up to date, you have to be of the mindset of being a lifelong learner.
And so education is critically important for us to constantly understand what’s in demand, as far as occupations, what skills are required to perform those jobs, and we have to make sure that our education community is providing a curriculum to support those skills. In addition, for individuals who are ready and prepared to go into available jobs, we have to do a better job of connecting those individuals. And we have the resources. We have the infrastructure.
For the last couple of years, I’ve worked on building out a strong workforce ecosystem that focuses on collaboration. I think we were too siloed at one point. And now, the Memphis community is operating more from a collective impact standpoint. We have spoken on both — making sure that we’re educating citizens with the skills that will allow them to achieve their career goals but also making sure that our companies have a direct connection to people with the skills, ready to work today.
Ca:moving from these silos that used to exist into a more integrated community, how do we keep moving more in that direction, away from silos and toward more collaboration?
Strickland: It starts with making sure that you have representation from various stakeholders at the table, planning, communicating and working towards a common goal. I’m happy about the upcoming strategic plan that is about to start with stakeholders from the (Greater Memphis Chamber), from Workforce Mid-south, from the suburban chambers.
There’s a strategic plan that’s about to take place that will ensure that we’re all on the same page as it relates to what our market as a whole needs. Where are we deficient and how can we ensure that our resources are supporting the creation or expansion of programs... to make sure that we have the right skills, as well as the right number of skills in our marketplace?
CA: How do you want to see business communities in Memphis collaborate better with the business community in the suburbs?
Strickland: Take a peer city, Atlanta, for instance. When you think of Atlanta, you think of one big metropolitan (area). But really the marketplace consists of several smaller municipalities, all working together under the brand of Atlanta. Because they recognize that if they’re able to position the market as a whole in such a way that will spur economic activity, that is good for those smaller, suburban communities, municipalities that are independent, yet they come together under the Atlanta flag.
In Memphis, we have to think along the same lines. The beauty of our market is, you have different assets. You have a different offering in Germantown than you have in Downtown Memphis. And so from a marketplace standpoint, those differentiators help give us a leg up on our competition, because we have so many different assets that will be attractive for economic growth.
CA: Shifting gears a little bit, Blackowned small businesses are the backbone of a lot of Memphis neighborhoods, and many of them have been hit really hard by the pandemic. So, what do you think we need to do in the next three months, six months, year to help some of these businesses recover and start to flourish again?
Strickland: I think what we need to focus on is innovation in the form of how we support companies. Too often, the strings that are attached to the dollars that are designed to support, create barriers in and of themselves.
So we need to look at dollars through the lens of innovation. How do we get, dollars in the hands of companies? Most of the time, these companies are micro-businesses and not even small businesses. Their challenges are unique. We need to be flexible in the dollars that we provide and not create barriers that disqualify or limit access by those who need it the most.
CA:THE BBA relies heavily on the city of Memphis for funding. Would you like to see some more diversity in the organization’s revenue stream?
Strickland: Yes, my goal is to elevate the profile of the BBA. The announcement, in and of itself, has really helped in that regard. Secondly, I’m looking to create strong programming that is investable so that we can take our message and our vision to companies, to the philanthropic community to those who have traditionally supported the BBA work dollars.
We’re going to develop strong programming that they can appreciate, that resonates with supporting and complementing the work that they’re doing. Once we’re able to accomplish that, those new investors will help diversify the revenue for the organization.
CA: Is there anything else that you’d like to add?
Strickland: I’ll just say that, again, we want to be a part of the economic development ecosystem in a way that complements the work that’s taking place at (the Economic Development Growth Engine for Memphis and Shelby County), the city, the county, the chamber.
I’ve shared with my colleagues, and all who I have had an opportunity to speak to, I’ve shared that we’re on the same team. We’re just operating from a different position. So I’m excited to lead the BBA into its next chapter. I’m optimistic about the impact that we’ll have on the Memphis economy.