We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristel Jones and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristel, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The thought behind Uplift Us Marketplace came after an influx of information and feelings that came about at the peak of the George Floyd movement as well as watching a ton of documentaries on Black Wallstreet. We wanted to help be a part of the change that is needed in America for the black community, for us that meant helping to give small Black owned businesses an opportunity to grow by being in a place where they could reach people outside of their own network. Watching the documentaries, we learned that the black dollar only circulates for 6 hours and that black owned brands only have about 3% of the shelf space in retail stores while having the second highest spending power in the US. To us those numbers were outrageous, which Is why we decided to open a retail store that dedicates 100% of our shelf space to black owned brands. We knew that this would give businesses opportunity, help circulate the black dollar and foster job creation.

What should our readers know about your business?
Uplift Us Marketplace is a Black woman owned brick-and-mortar retail Boutique which dedicates 100% of its shelf space to black owned businesses. We sell a large array of products and clothing, Including candles, hair and skin care, adult and children clothing skates, accessories and much more. The reason this is important is because black owned businesses only represent 3-5% of the shelf space in all major retailers. What sets us apart is that we are a business whose mission is supporting other businesses. We are most proud of the other entrepreneurs that we meet and partner with, seeing their drive and passion along with the quality of the products they are producing, makes us not only proud to partner with them but proud to be black and show everyone who graces our store that it is not due to lack of availability and quality that holds us back but the lack of opportunity, and we are proud to be a part of creating that opportunity. Our journey has by far not been an easy one, we are both working mothers, we have regular full-time jobs, and families to care for and we did not have a big budget for this business at all, so together with the help of my husband and a few family/ friends we built this business from the ground up. The construction, painting, moving in furniture, and the set up, I mean everything! From there we have still been doing everything, the finances, social media, vetting products / businesses, Website, everything you could imagine. But that has also taught us so much, we are learning something new every single day. What we would want the world to know about our brand is that when you shop with us not only will you get the best customer service, but you will also get quality products that actually make a difference in our lives, and community. When you shop with us you are supporting a black owned business and a small business and each and every one of us truly appreciate it, it is noticed, and it is celebrated. It’s not just another purchase to us.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We are not much on the partying scene anymore- so if our friends were to visit, we would most definitely be eating and shopping every day. To eat we would visit – Stevie’s Creole Cafe, Les Sisters’ Southern Kitchen, Main Kitchen Cafe, L.A Grind Coffee & Tea Bar, Fresh Tribe LA & The Serving spoon. To Shop We would visit. Tilt, Malik Books, Soul Folks and Union LA.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
This is a tough one for me to narrow down to one person to shout out- We have over 80 black owned brands in our store and are currently partnered with over 50 small businesses. We would like to shout out and thank each and every one of them for joining this journey with us. For them it was also a leap of faith because they didn’t know us, so that had to trust that we were going to do the right thing and represent their brand as best we could. We need them to know that they are an integral part of our story and journey.

Website: https://upliftusmarketplace.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stories/upliftusmarketplace/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upliftusmarketplace

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/uplift-us-marketplace-culver-city

Image Credits
Image Credit Adrian Javan Instagram @iamadrianjavon

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