By Aaron Allen,The Seattle Medium
Black Owned Business Excellence (BOBE) convened entrepreneurs, business leaders, and ecosystem builders from across the Pacific Northwest last Sunday at the Seattle Public Library for its annual symposium. A statewide initiative, BOBE is dedicated to advancing Black-owned businesses while centering the health and sustainability of the people behind them.
This year’s theme, “wellness as a business strategy,” emphasized that mental and emotional wellbeing are not side issues but essential to long-term success. Rather than focusing solely on growth or productivity, the event highlighted the importance of caring for the whole person behind the business.
“We do this because we are recognizing that a lot of small business owners are burning out. They need us, they need this,” says Jenefeness Franke, co-founder of BOBE. “They need community, they need education, they need strategies for wellness. And that’s why we’re doing this this year.”
The day featured keynote speakers and wellness practitioners who approached leadership through the lens of care, regulation, and resilience. Dr. Margaret Towolawi reframed wellness as a foundation for sustainable leadership, particularly in times of grief, stress, and burnout. Mental health professional Ashley McGirt-Adair offered trauma-informed tools that help entrepreneurs lead without self-sacrifice.
Together, their messages underscored that wellness is not a luxury or an afterthought — it is infrastructure for anyone leading through uncertainty.
DieMarlon Scisney, a data specialist, reflected on the power of opportunity and community in spaces like this.
“This is important because to me all too often, I feel like talent is equally distributed, but opportunities are not,” says Scisney. “To have a day where the opportunity exists to bring us all together is truly something meaningful. So how do we take advantage of that and figure out ways to continue our collaboration and amplification of Black businesses?”
The event was designed not only to educate but to affirm. BOBE’s vision has always centered on creating spaces where business growth and human sustainability coexist. But organizers acknowledge that putting on such an event today is more difficult than in years past.“So, everything we do is done with volunteers. And the biggest challenge that we had this year, of course, is with funding,” Franke explains. “People rolling back their DEI and not being willing to give to an organization that has Black in its name, and our mission is to help create a more equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
Despite that, BOBE remained committed to moving forward, especially in the face of collective grief. Franke said this year’s gathering took place at a time when many business owners and community members are feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. In times like these, she said, retreating into silence doesn’t serve the communities experiencing harm.
“When tragedy touches our children and our neighborhoods, pushing forward without acknowledgment is not strength,” Franke said. “Leadership in moments like this means stopping, naming the trauma, and creating space for care, grounding, and tools that help people endure and lead without losing themselves.”
In response to the recent shootings near Rainier Beach High School and their impact on young people in the community, BOBE introduced Youth Community Access Passes for individuals ages 16 to 24. These passes were designed to bring youth into a safe, affirming space where conversations about creativity, leadership, and wellness are already happening.
“The loss of young lives reminds us that legacy is not abstract,” Franke said. “Legacy is making sure young people have access to community, language, and tools to process trauma and imagine beyond survival. This is not about hustle. It’s about belonging, exposure, and care.”
Unlike previous symposiums, BOBE encouraged attendees to bring a young person with them — someone who could benefit from seeing what leadership rooted in care looks like. That, too, was part of the strategy.
Throughout the day, a consistent message emerged: business success is not just about revenue or expansion. It’s also about joy, balance, and meaning.
“Everybody wants to make money,” said Franke. “But doing the work with a sense of wellness and joy can make the journey meaningful. Wellness is a business strategy.”
