Publishers Gary and Carmen Davis are no strangers to entrepreneurial pursuits. Together, they’ve successfully launched multiple businesses as a husband-and-wife team. (Whitney Patterson Photography)
A wealth of ingenuity and strategic planning for economic growth exists across Indian Country. Yet these stories and blueprints for economic success are often bucketed and contained within their communities.
All of Indian Country, and prospective business partners and investors, could benefit from access to that knowledge and insight. Too much potential lies dormant in Indian Country.
Native Business, the latest venture from Gary and Carmen Davis, stands to flip the switch on that paradigm.
“The media platform will be an aggregation of that inspiration, motivation and conversation—to get it out of those silos and bring it to the masses, so ultimately, Indian Country does better,” Gary said.
“We need to lift each other up. To lift other Native businesses up,” Carmen added.
Publishers Gary and Carmen Davis are no strangers to entrepreneurial pursuits. Together, they’ve successfully launched multiple businesses as a husband-and-wife team, including: Red Vinyl Records, Litefoot Enterprises, Litefoot Entertainment Group, Native Style® Clothing and Davis Strategy Group.
“We’re also the audience,” Gary noted. “We want to maintain that finger-on-the-pulse of what’s happening in business in Indian Country. We want other folks tuned into that pulse as well, so that we can all grow together.”
Native Business will report across 26 sectors of business in Indian Country via its website, NativeBusinessMag.com; a monthly print publication, Native Business Magazine; a weekly video news wrap-up; and an e-newsletter.
“Native Business will be the trusted resource for everything that happens with economic development in Indian Country,” Gary said. “It’s the go-to source for news about opportunity and innovation in business and enterprise development among our tribal nations, Native businesses, Alaska Native Corporations and entrepreneurs.”
Beyond covering the latest and greatest news, Native Business will profile visionary business leaders, innovators and industry disruptors making waves in Indian Country. “Native Business is also the place to find the greatest talent for corporate diversity and to source business opportunity within Indian Country,” Gary added.
“The Future,” a core section of the online platform and print publication, will feature young, up-and-coming and emerging entrepreneurs. “As we build this, we see a need for future generations to have a resource like Native Business that sustains them,” Carmen said.
Native Business will channel the incredible energy created through its leading-edge content into dynamic annual events. The first Native Business Summit kicks off in May and will serve as a catalyst for new ideas, business relationships and opportunities. It will act a spring board for discovering leads and job possibilities, establishing business partnerships and landing potential investments.
“We’re going to take that energy and send it through the roof,” Gary said. “At our annual Native Business Summits, you’ll have the opportunity to build upon those conversations in NativeBusinessMag.com and Native Business Magazine. You’ll get to interact with our subject matter experts and dive deeper into relevant and trending topics across a diverse array of business sectors. You’ll hear from leaders of tribal enterprises, corporations and people interested in doing business with Indian Country and advancing economic development.”
For Gary and Carmen, expanding the conversation beyond the somewhat insular community of Indian Country is critical to driving progress. “It’s vital to remove a lot of the anomaly and ambiguity about business opportunity in Indian Country,” Gary said.
“We need partners. We need allies,” Carmen added.
Success stories shared in Native Business will also serve as a primer for planning and implementing solutions for economic diversification. “We have to find ways to cut the dependency on things that have stifled and stagnated Indian Country,” Gary said. “Native Business represents one of the most traditional values of our people—to be self-sufficient and self-sustaining. Native Business serves to help strengthen tribal and individual sovereignty.”
While Gary and Carmen aren’t blind to the challenges encountered by other media publications focused on Indian Country, they’re confident in their imminent success. “This is a legacy business. This is a legacy publication. These are legacy events,” Gary said.
Subscribe to Native Business Magazine at NativeBusinessMag.com or by filling out and mailing in a subscription insert card found in every copy of Native Business Magazine.
