By Megan Sayles AFRO Enterprise Writermsayles@afro.com
A current report from Oxford Economics found that U.S. small- and midsize-businesses (SMBs) generated $14.7 billion in income by promoting on TikTok in 2023. The enterprises spanned industries, together with meals and beverage, well being and wellness, automotive, enterprise companies, tourism and actual property.
Specifically, Black-owned companies have created greater than 1.5 million movies, amassing greater than 3.3 billion views. Eighty-three p.c of them say they’ve skilled gross sales will increase after selling on TikTok, in response to the report.
“TikTok offers a brand new path to enterprise progress for SMBs,” wrote Oxford Economics. “These organizations use TikTok’s extensive attain and excessive engagement to advertise their model, create consciousness of services and observe the success of enterprise initiatives within the app.”
Fifty-seven p.c of Black companies stated TikTok is essential to their existence. Not solely has the platform boosted their gross sales, it’s helped them to scale. Fifty-nine p.c of Black SMBs have used the app to rent a brand new worker, and 76 p.c have been in a position to safe a brand new investor with the assistance of the platform.
In April, President Joe Biden signed a invoice into regulation that made means for a possible ban of TikTok. U.S. lawmakers have argued that the app poses a nationwide safety threat because it’s owned by China-based firm, ByteDance. The know-how firm has a yr to promote its stake within the app earlier than it’s shut down.
Some Black SMBs fear a ban may hurt their companies.
“This potential ban is regarding for minority firms like myself as a result of TikTok is greater than only a social media platform. It’s a lifeline,” stated Felicia Jackson, founding father of CPRWrap. “It saved the lifetime of my enterprise, and since different individuals had been in a position to see it, it saved the lives of individuals on the market on the earth.”
Jackson is a mom of three and former healthcare skilled from Chattanooga, Tenn. In 2002, throughout a household outing, her 2-year-old son started choking. Though she was CPR-certified, Jackson froze out of sheer panic.
Her husband fortunately stepped in to save lots of their baby, however Jackson couldn’t shake the truth that she was unable to take motion. This impressed her to create CPRWrap, a transportable first support software for resuscitation.
The package offers a template with easy CPR directions that may be positioned over an individual present process a cardiac emergency. The product hit the market in 2018.
“Once I first noticed TikTok, I didn’t assume selling my enterprise was one thing that was possible as a result of my daughter was on it rather a lot and she or he used it for dancing,” stated Jackson. “I believed it was leisure solely and that my enterprise wouldn’t match on the platform in any respect.”
It was a disheartening dialog with a mentor that lastly pushed Jackson to take to the app. The mentor instructed Jackson she ought to make a White individual the face of her firm, implying that may be the one avenue for progress.
She posted in regards to the expertise in February 2022 and went viral, garnering greater than 754,000 views and 137,000 likes. TikTok customers flooded the remark part with questions on Jackson’s invention, and she or he posted one other video introducing the life-saving software.
Almost 1.4 million individuals noticed the clip.
“We made nearly $600,000 {dollars} from that one video, and I used to be in a position to preserve my doorways open,” stated Jackson. “I used to be in a position to rent, pay myself and purchase stock.”
Jackson’s progress on TikTok has additionally spurred extra followers on her different social media pages. For her, the platform was the important thing to overcoming an impediment that many minority companies face, an absence of visibility.
“May a ban jeopardize my livelihood? Sure, there’s a chance it may,” stated Jackson. “It’s disheartening to see.”
Stormi Steele, CEO and founding father of Canvas Magnificence, stated whereas she’s been interested by the potential ban, she hasn’t allowed it to eat her.
“When the time comes, I hope that folks and types like mine on TikTok could be a voice for not seeing it go away as a result of to me it does extra good than unhealthy as of proper now,” stated Steele.
The small-town Mississpi native created her first product, the Canvas Hair Blossom Serum, in 2015 whereas working as a hairstylist. Quickly after, she determined to give up her day job and begin promoting the hair product on-line.
In her first yr, Steele generated $1 million in gross sales. The model continued to quickly develop, hitting the $20-million mark in 2020.
However, Steele nearly went bankrupt.
“I grew so quick, and I simply didn’t know rather a lot or find out how to correctly vet individuals who wouldn’t reap the benefits of me,” stated Steele. “In 2023, we launched a brand new product known as Physique Glaze, and it did reasonably respectable numbers on the web site, contemplating we had been in enterprise earlier than. However, once we acquired TikTok, we noticed this great increase.”
She posted her first viral video final August. It follows Steele as she prepares Physique Glaze orders. In the identical month, Canvas Magnificence joined TikTok Store, which permits manufacturers to promote immediately by content material on the app.
By December, Steele secured a brand new 30,000 square-foot warehouse for the enterprise, which she moved into in March. She’s additionally been in a position to develop her workers from 10 to 60 staff. The model captured about $5 million in gross sales in March alone—the overwhelming majority of which got here from TikTok.
Although Steele isn’t permitting the potential TikTok ban to intimidate her, she is conceiving programs of actions if the app is prohibited.
“As of proper now, I’m centered on the day-to-day of all of it and attempting to not make myself afraid of what the longer term could also be,” stated Steele. “I’m additionally deliberately placing measures in place if the worst was to occur.”
Megan Sayles is a Report for America corps member.
