Baltimore City Small Business Advancement Conference highlights paths to capital for entrepreneurs

By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com

The 2025 Baltimore City Small Business Advancement Conference, hosted by the Mayor’s Office of Small and Minority Business Advocacy and Development, took place at the Baltimore Convention Center on June 12. At the conference, government agencies, universities, financial institutions and corporations shared opportunities for small, minority- and women-owned businesses to grow and scale their enterprises.

One of the significant challenges facing entrepreneurs that the event addressed was access to capital. Dyon Davidson, owner of Beadly Speaking Jewelry, has largely had to bootstrap her company, pulling from her pocket to fund the business. 

“For the most part, funding has been a challenge, but I try to look at the impact,” said Davidson.  “If I have to spend $200 on beading materials, I look at what people get out of it.”

Davidson taught herself how to make jewelry after her mother suffered a brain aneurysm in 2004. In an effort to support her recovery, she used the hands-on activity to help her mother rebuild her fine motor skills. 

Today, through Beadly Speaking Jewelry, she uses wood, beads and wire to create earrings, bracelets and statement necklaces. She’s also started a program to help children learn the trade and develop entrepreneurial skills. 

Though Davidson has received grant money from organizations, like the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund, funding obstacles have prevented her from expanding her jewelry-making program to serve adults. Many have even dismissed her business as mere “arts and crafts.” 

“The thing I’m uneasy about is getting people to see that our program is worth it,” said Davidson. “It’s usually an uphill battle because they hear ‘jewelry,’ and I think they think of a stretch cord bracelet.” 

One of the panels at the Small Business Advancement Conference tackled the persistent lack of capital that entrepreneurs, like Davidson, often encounter. Stephanie Geller, founder and director of Community Wealth Builders, introduced entrepreneurs to a lesser-known and underutilized capital avenue: grassroots investment crowdfunding. 

“It’s the process of transforming your community— your customer support— into business capital. Our program is not GoFundMe. It is not a donation-based program,” said Geller. “This is investment crowdfunding. We work with businesses to craft their own investment offering, and then you, as the business owner, go out to your customers and community and have them invest in your business.” 

She pointed out that this option is the only model that allows the business owner to set their terms of investment offerings. They determine the funding goal, the type of investment being offered— such as equity or revenue sharing— and how much control or return investors will receive. 

The model also enables businesses to give their community a stake in their financial success. 

“People are not only going to be shopping there— they’re going to be customers on steroids because they’re going to want to ensure that they get their return,” said Geller. “Grassroots investment crowdfunding really pushes businesses to go out to customers and communities to ask them to invest. While you’re doing that, you’re also marketing your business. You might not get everyone to invest, but you’re also going to open more people’s eyes to your business.” 

Ulric Donawa, small business loan officer for Baltimore Community Lending (BCL), highlighted a more traditional path. A community development financial institution (CDFI), BCL has a mission to serve low-income, low-wealth and disinvested communities.

The institution provides small business owners with loans ranging from $10,000 to $350,000, but Donawa explained its first priority is understanding what support a business truly needs rather than simply issuing another loan. BCL supplies technical assistance to entrepreneurs, helping them to address any issues with their operations, financial planning, management practices or internal systems. 

Unlike many traditional banks, Donawa noted that BCL will not reject a business just because it’s struggling— they work with owners to identify solutions. 

“We know exactly what a successful deal looks like. The only difference is our job is to help you figure it out, not just to give you a yes or no because you don’t come in ready. We’re not expecting you to come in ready. That’s our part,” said Donawa.  “If you’re an entrepreneur, there’s three simple things we need you to bring: vision, integrity and passion. We got the rest.”