Kevin Hicks

Petersburg is about 20 miles from Richmond. But the realities are night and day.  Unlike the state capitol, Petersburg is 76% Black.  The average income is $25K. One in every four citizens is below the poverty line.  They have a housing shortage. The crime rate is 45% above the national average.  A casino will bring almost 2,000 jobs to Petersburg, with starting salaries at $44K.  The jobs will be at all employment levels, including management and executive.  The licensing deals and franchises that will come with the casino will have an economic impact of $10 Billion Dollars to the local Central Virginia economy, and bring in $1.1 Billion Dollars in tax revenues.  This is a transformational impact.   

Joining us for our discussion on Franchising and Entrepreneurship is Kevin Hicks who is on the phone from his New York, New York office.  Kevin Hicks is a Partner with Blackman and Associates; a franchise consulting firm, which provides franchise advisory and acquisition services for individuals and companies.  Blackman and Associates identifies the most viable and lucrative franchise opportunities for its clients, with both start-up and existing businesses. The firm provides market research; marketing strategies; business plan development; franchise management recruitment; due diligence assistance, deal searches; acquisition of both debt and equity financing; and strategic franchise growth planning.  His organization operates under the belief that the next human rights frontier for people of color is economic empowerment.  Welcome Back To Mastering Your Money, Kevin Hicks.