Comedian Phoebe Robinson And Facebook Partner To Highlight Black Entrepreneurs Ahead Of Black Friday

Comedian, actress, bestselling author and co-host of podcast-turned-HBO Max series 2 Dope Queens, Phoebe Robinson is adding another line to her already long resume. She’s the host of Facebook’s #BuyBlack Friday Show, which will highlight Black-owned small businesses from October 30 to November 27. 

Each week, Black entrepreneurs will offer business insights, showcase products, celebrate Black culture and inspire consumers to #BuyBlack. Viewers will be able to watch the show live on Facebook’s Lift Black Voices hub. As part of the campaign, Facebook also released a #BuyBlack Friday gift guide allowing consumers to shop from Black-owned businesses on its site.  

For(bes) The Culture spoke to Robinson about the show, the effect she believes the #BuyBlack movement will have on the holiday shopping season and her advice for aspiring business owners. 

For(bes) The Culture: What can we expect from the #BuyBlack Friday Show, and  what are you most looking forward to? 

Robinson: I think as a woman who owns her own business and the fact that this week we’re highlighting Black Girl Magic and female-owned businesses, that’s what I’m most excited about.  We’re highlighting products that show the totality of the Black female experience. I think people tuning in are going to have fun, they’re going to learn a little bit about each business and we’re just going to have a good time. I think in this country right now, we’re in a heavy time talking about voting and the 100 billion other crises we have to worry about right now. We really wanted the #BuyBlack Friday Show to be a celebration of the work that is going on in the Black community. It’s important to show Black people in spaces that aren’t so heavy and rooted in trauma.

For(bes) The Culture The “Black dollar” is valued at  $1.3 trillion plus dollars. Investing Black dollars back into the Black community has been a major topic of discussion. Why is this important to you and what impacts do you think this reinvestment will have on the community? 

Robinson: I think right now we’re experiencing this moment where people are really paying attention to Black-owned business, especially the smaller ones. When people think about [activism] and [diversity, equity, and inclusion], it’s not just about making sure you have people of color in the C-suite, it’s about when you go to buy makeup, are you going to support people and businesses in the Black community? 

For people in the Black community, it’s about seeing people that look like you making products for you in mind. Black people have such an amazing buying power in this country and I think it’s really cool that we have this ability to create for ourselves with these iconic brands. We are creating that within our own communities, not just for us but for generations coming up. 

For(bes) The Culture  You’ve been able to break down barriers as a Black woman.  How do you foresee your show being able to do that for Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs?

Robinson: I discover businesses either by scrolling on social media or seeing a friend has a product or brand tagged. I use this show as a long-form version of that. We sit down every Friday leading up to Black Friday spending quality time getting to understand why someone is putting this much effort and heart into what they’re doing. You want to feel connected, you want to feel like you’re not being sold a product just anyone can sell, that there’s something real behind it. This platform allows for that. Also people forget sometimes how hard the road is for small business owners and we’re having these frank conversations about what the toughest or most exciting times were. People thinking about starting their own business can go ‘okay these are some of the things that I can look out for.’ 

This is a really rich opportunity for people to see these amazing, talented people shine and support them especially during Covid. 40% of small businesses are not going to last beyond the holiday season because of Covid.

For(bes) The Culture:  As someone who’s created your own platform, what advice do you have for Black entrepreneurs who are trying to build their own path toward success?

Robinson:  Do your research and do your homework for whatever industry you want to get into.  For whatever field you want to get into, make sure you know what and who the competition is.  Then once you do that I say make a game plan. Another thing is surround yourself with like-minded people. I think it’s very important when you get into different endeavors [to] reach out to people. And the final thing is that you really do have to love it.