Laila Ali has been a businesswoman for as long as she can remember.
“I’m 100% an entrepreneur. I have been since I was a kid,” she explained. “I started my nail salon before I started boxing. It was called Laila’s Nail Studio, I was 18 years old.”
The daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali has had much success in business over the years. Her brand covers skincare, home decor, clothing, books and even a spice blend. While she’s built much success for herself, she wants to help others.
For the third year in a row, Ali is lending her Facebook page to Building Black Wealth T.V. to host a virtual Black Business Marketplace for Juneteenth. She’s also collaborating with rapper Draze for the Facebook takeover as well.
“I want to help normalize supporting Black businesses,” she explained. “There had been a time when everyone was really focused on it and then it kind of goes away. We want it to be something that becomes a regular everyday thing because there are really a lot amazing Black businesses out there and that’s really the only way we’re going to build in the Black community.”
When it comes to progress in this space, Ali said some has been made but there’s still more work to do. “Somebody has to be focused on being intentional about it,” she said. “I support all brands, no matter what nationality those that created the brands are, but for Juneteenth this is something we really want to focus on.”
The Building Black Wealth live virtual marketplace will take place on Juneteenth, June 19 at Facebook.com/LailaAli. For more information, head to BuildingBlackWealth.Tv.