The Village Market Got 35 Black-Owned Businesses Into The Busiest Airport In The World

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In April, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport—the busiest airport in both the country and the world—cut the ribbon on one of its newest shops: The Village Retail by The Village Market.

Offering apparel, accessories, bath and beauty products, and home goods from Atlanta-based Black-owned brands, it was celebrated by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens as an authentic representation of Atlanta’s culture, creators, and entrepreneurs.

But for Dr. Lakeysha Hallmon, founder of The Village Market, it was the culmination of five years of vision, hard work, and building community.

“When I lift, when I rise, and you come with me, that is how we shift and transform community. That’s how we disrupt space,” Hallmon says. “And that is how 35 Black businesses are now in literally one of the busiest concourses in the world.”

Hallmon spoke at the recent How I Got Here Summit for women entrepreneurs about dreaming big and supporting Black business:

What was your goal when you created The Village Market?

I wanted people to buy Black and not from a place of protest. I do not believe in the mindset of support Black people because you’re mad at somebody else. I believe that we should choose our people every single day. And it’s not a reaction. It is a lifestyle. It is an active choice. So when I launched The Village Market 10 years ago, it was literally me striving to shift the mindset that in order for our businesses to thrive and grow, we need community to be tethered to us.

It started as pop-ups, and then I began to get the vision of what it would look like to open a retail store in a high-traffic destination in Atlanta that’s open seven days a week. My first location, Ponce City Market, is the second-highest traffic location in Atlanta. When I decided to do the deal with Ponce City Market, I needed them to be very clear on who I was and what my work is: that I create space and access for Black businesses. So I led with that. Now, in this climate that’s probably a little too strong, but six years ago, it was clarity; it was conviction about who I am and why I’m building.

Many entrepreneurs have aspirations of being in retail and likely cannot afford it because it’s intimidating. You don’t have the cash flow, you don’t have the evidence of being open. But guess what? I do, and now we do, and now you do. We’re not going in as a single person. We’re coming in as a company that represents a village six years strong, a seven-figure company.

How did you get into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport?

Five years ago, I wrote the vision now to be in the world’s busiest airport. I did not know what I was doing. I didn’t even understand what I was writing in my journal with the pen on paper. I had no idea, but I was clear that I was going to do it. Because I am all about ‘Where is the space where the people assemble?’ and ‘How do I put my community on a global stage?’

There is no airport that is busier than Atlanta, seeing over 108 million annual customers/300,000 on a daily basis. We’re located on one of the busiest concourses in America, Concourse B. And we’re in the heart, in the center, prime real estate. Everything I wrote has come to pass.

It was a lot of red tape. It was a lot of hard work. It was a lot of people saying ‘I don’t know.’ But I knew. Because I know that if you can get into the world’s busiest airport, then what’s next? And that is how I need us to believe and dream as entrepreneurs: ‘Is … what is next?’

Your work is all about building community. What do you need from the village for Black businesses to thrive?

I need you to buy Black. I need you to recommend Black. I need you to write reviews for Black businesses. I need you to have strategic partnerships with Black businesses. All that is doing. Doing is action. So my tagline for Village Market was “support is a verb.”

I needed our people to understand the assignment. The assignment is: spend your money where your people are. That is an action; that is a verb. And then I told my design team, I need you to make it cute because people like to wear cute things, and I want people to have a sense of pride and ownership. So every single time they activated that verb, they felt that they were tied to a community. If you can get people to feel that your brand is their brand, you will never have to beg for customers again.

But you must be a good steward with all that trust. That means you have to be the things that you post about. We will create the best businesses. We will have the best customer service. We will create a workplace that is healthy for our staff. We have to treat people well when folks are not looking. You can’t run past everyday people because you see an influencer in the room. The community is the influence.

What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs who are trying to achieve big goals?

When people tell you no, don’t take it personally. They were not given a vision. They were not given the tools. Many of their nos are simply because of conditioning of what they have not seen. But you have. If you have the vision, it is possible.

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