Author and Conscious Commerce Expert Who Lived Exclusively Off Black Businesses for Entire Year Announces New Venture

Maggie Anderson's experiment and sacrifice living off Black businesses for 1 year proved that 1 million new jobs can be created if such businesses received a small increase in engagement from everyday consumers and within Corporate America's supply chains. MaggiesList.com was created to get those jobs, and celebrate and enhance business diversity in America. (PRNewsFoto/Maggie Anderson and iSwop Netwo)
Maggie Anderson's experiment and sacrifice living off Black businesses for 1 year proved that 1 million new jobs can be created if such businesses received a small increase in engagement from everyday consumers and within Corporate America's supply chains. MaggiesList.com was created to get those jobs, and celebrate and enhance business diversity in America. (PRNewsFoto/Maggie Anderson and iSwop Netwo)

Author and Conscious Commerce Expert Who Lived Exclusively Off Black Businesses for Entire Year Announces New Venture

PHILADELPHIA - Author, Activist and Conscious Commerce Expert Maggie Anderson recently announced her latest venture MAGGIESLIST.com. The website, built by iSwop Networks is an empowerment resource for consumers whose habits, attitudes, and moral compass drive a duty and desire for buying from Black-owned businesses; and all institutions committed to supporting economic growth in the Black community. Maggie is best known for her family's history-making and highly publicized stand and economic experiment to live off Black-owned businesses for a year. 'The Empowerment Experiment' is chronicled in her acclaimed book Our Black Year – One Family's Quest to Buy Black in America's Racially Divided Economy. Another major output of the experiment was the Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management's study. The Kellogg study proved that nearly 1 million new jobs can be created if middle-class African American consumers would increase their spending within their community from the current 3% to 10%. Following that year, the book and the study, she knew the positive impact it would have on her community and country for more families and institutions to proactively engage these vital, yet under-represented businesses and entrepreneurs, and MAGGIESLIST.comwas born.

The foundation for MAGGIESLIST.com is the same as for her extreme and, for some, controversial 'Rosa Parks-ian' stand – a cry for individual accountability for and collective action toward resolving social ills disproportionately impacting the Black community. "I made that sacrifice and bring MaggiesList.com now to prove that there are so many wonderful Black-owned businesses out there, that we are not, shamefully, supporting them enough. And most of all, that we can counter poverty, recidivism and violence; and create jobs, role models, and self-sustained neighborhoods just by supporting them a little more," states Maggie Anderson. To that end, MAGGIESLIST.com wants to inspire, facilitate and track such increased spending, the social and financial impact on underserved communities, progress towards curing racial divides and disparities, and job creation.

Broderick Byers, CEO of iSwop Networks, and Managing Partner of MAGGIESLIST.com, intends for the website to be the leading, innovative and transformational company in how conscious commerce is conducted and in facilitating increased economic activity, financial freedom and entrepreneurial excellence in the Black community. "Maggie's year brought intelligence and inspiration. Now MaggiesList.com harnesses the power of technology and social media to empower our community through conscious commerce and business development. That is why we will work hard to earn your trust, delivering actionable content, special offers, reputable local business, as well as Black suppliers, franchisees, agents, independent reps, and Black-manufactured products enabled by our partner brands and retailers," says Byers.

MAGGIESLIST.com is now registering users, businesses, advertisers, sponsors and partners. The website officially launches Black History Month in Philadelphia, PA.

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