MBN USA

October 18, 2023

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MBN USA champions minority business development

By M.V. Greene

Considering that 90% of all startup businesses eventually fail, Don McKneely and his TexCorp Communications Inc. company — publisher of this magazine, Minority Business News USA (MBN USA), and other media properties — keeps rolling along.

MBN USA is closing out its 35th anniversary year of reporting on minority business enterprises and the corporations that support them through sustained supply chain engagement and the advocates, leaders and personalities that promote and assist them.

In an interview to mark the anniversary, McKneely said exciting new chapters are ahead for MBN USA and other TexCorp products, understanding that while 35 years is a celebratory milestone there always will be the question of what’s next.

He expects MBN USA — whose tagline is We Tell Your Story — to continue to be a voice and a vehicle over the next decade for positive transformation of supply chain inclusion and minority business development.

Foremost for TexCorp’s flagship publication is that it will continue to explain and articulate to its readers and stakeholders the many challenges facing the practice of supplier diversity, McKneely said, such as the one posed by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June 2023 that gutted the use of affirmative action principles in college admissions. Such a decision along with other challenges to race-based programs benefiting minorities may impact how corporations approach supplier diversity going forward, McKneely said.

“We will be looking at what’s going to be the differentiator, what’s going to make a difference and how do you work with the market and the naysayers that have issues with supplier diversity programs and minority business development,” he said.

Ultimately, the marketplace where corporations sell their goods and services will determine how robust minority business development will be in the future, he said. While there is obvious concern over supplier diversity’s future considering the challenges, McKneely said while some companies are pulling back from initiatives, others are accelerating their participation.

Supplier diversity’s value proposition

“When we look down the road the next decade or two, the country is going to be minority-majority, and these are going to be the customers that most corporations are looking to attract,” he said. 

Some of the solutions will be to ensure that the value proposition for supplier diversity is clearly communicated, which McKneely said always has been an emphasis for MBN USA.

One hallmark of MBN USA and TexCorp — whose other key media properties include the Minority Business News Texas (MBN Texas), Women’s Enterprise USA (WE USA) and Women’s Enterprise Texas (WE Texas) — has been to be in tune with the markets that support supplier diversity. McKneely promises that focus will continue well beyond 35 years.

“For us, we will always be market-driven. So, whatever the market dynamics are, that is what we will address,” he said.

McKneely said that means always finding new and meaningful ways to interest and serve readers, no matter the platform.

For instance, to commemorate the 35th anniversary, MBN USA and WE USA honored 100 corporations with a “Best of the Decade” recognition. The corporations — selected by a Best of the Decade Selection Committee and evaluated based on scores against a set of key supplier diversity indicators — are the “best-of-the-best” in supply chain business inclusion.

Among other innovations, MBN USA recently launched a technology-driven digital daily news platform that focuses on minority and multicultural businesses and communities. .

MBN USA and beyond

McKneely’s passion for minority business development and supply chain diversity doesn’t end with his multiple publications dedicated to these issues. He also is a co-founder and chairman emeritus of the Billion Dollar Roundtable Inc., whose corporate members commit to supply chain diversity spend of $1 billion or more annually, and founder of the Minority Business Hall of Fame & Museum to recognize significant individual contributions in supplier diversity.

Following its founding in 1988, McKneely said he has sought to push the envelope in developing features and products that tell the story of minority business enterprise.

The goal going forward is to continue to expand delivery of MBN USA and TexCorp’s other publications, along with news and information on supplier diversity, to whatever platform readers want, he said. Expect more podcasts, webinars and products using artificial intelligence, he said.

“We want to be that vehicle to help minority businesses grow to the next level and share information that will be helpful to their growth and success,” McKneely said. “We also continue to look at how we can help bring those minority businesses and corporations together. We want to be the magnet that brings them together.”

To learn more about MBN USA, visit MBNUSA.biz.