On September 16, 2023, the first Diversity Business Exhibit was held in Providence, RI. I was granted the opportunity to attend as an exhibitor, so I decided to showcase my business and my services by conducting two data gathering exercises. One was market research for ALL UNLIMITED INC. The other was market research done via a community mapping activity using the “Value Spectrum”. The intent of this post is to provide an analysis of the results of the data gathered from the attendees at the event.
General Overview:
The “Value spectrum” is a tool I developed and use in group discussions with entrepreneurs to dialogue about market placement. On the left end of the spectrum is Perceived Value, which is based on the eye of the beholder or subjective to perspective. The right end is Real or Actual Value, which stems from the realities of the community present. Both sides of the spectrum appear identical. The only difference is understanding that Fear or worry dictates the use/purpose of a product or service and if pushed further towards the extreme, that product or service becomes a need.
Below is an image of the raw data gathered. I called this activity the “Brand, Service, Product Value Spectrum”.
My Results & Analysis: “Where we at is beautiful.”
In a Big room full majorly of Black and Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) owned businesses it is no surprise to me, that the image of the raw data above is heavy on the Real Value side of the Value Spectrum. The most tagged real need by those in attendance or as I will refer to in this post as “the community” was Quality Food, comprised of “Healthy Foods” and “Affordable African foods”. It was tagged a total of 7 times! Education when inclusive of “Youth Development” and “Guidance for the Youth” was second with a total of 6 tags, followed by “Quality Affordable Housing” with 3 tags. Other notable tags were “clothing”, “language justice”, and “spiritual guidance”. I categorize all the previously mentioned needs as the basic needs of “the community” and call out “Affordable African Food” to express the importance of national foods to the diverse demographic present.
Moving over to the left, but only slightly I describe the following as necessities serving as a use/purpose to obtain and maintain the basic needs of “the community”. The most tags on this borderline were Business Development with 3 tags and Childcare and Mental wellness each with 2 tags each. There were also products and services tagged within the use/purpose category. Those tags were: “Self-care, Beauty & Wellness”, “Art”, “Events & Marketing”, “Website Development”, and “NBA 2K” (video games) for entertainment purposes. These tags are just as important, as they were placed backed by quality brands and the confidence of the contributors.
Only one service/product, “Data Security & Privacy” was tagged within the Fear category. This is an important contemporary industry which had its’ own well deserved panel discussion during the event. “Data Security & Privacy” also has an arrow pointing towards the right end of the spectrum expressing urgency for “the community” to shift their perspective on the topic, from fear to use/purpose. There is also one product, “cream/lotion” listed as a perceived need. This product was self-placed by the contributor who understood the spectrum describing the product as a self-serving need.
Conclusion & Acknowledgements:
During the last couple hours of the event, a few people asked me why I was doing this. After having good conversations with “the community” and the tags on the poster board, I easily revealed my hypothesis. This event is a showcase of the diverse businesses we have in the region and most BIPOC and woman owned businesses are undervalued and misrepresented because of stereotypes and the locations of our businesses. The intended purpose of this activity was to dismantle these stigmas with a visual that expresses the awareness of the consumers and business owners about “real” community needs. Everyone who I spoke to was given an independent opportunity to place any product, service, or brand anywhere on the map. They could also have added a plus one if they agreed or tagged the same product or service on another area of the map. Everyone chose to respect each other’s contributions also supporting my “Where we at is beautiful” conclusion.
I want to thank all the contributors and “the community”. Whether we talked or not, your presence at the event helped shape this community map. A special thank you goes to “Sabater Lab + SabaterLab Foundation”, “Rostia Art”, “CannaMGT”, and “University of Rhode Island” for tagging your brands on this community map. I would also like to thank the youth present who understood the “Value Spectrum” and tagged the board. Lastly, the curators, organizers, contributors, and supporters of the Diversity Business Exhibit have my deepest thanks. You are all deserving of many accolades for putting together this impressive event.
If any readers want to share any thoughts or comments on this activity, feel free to do so in the comments section.
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