The Birmingham Black Business Census
Quire conducted a citywide census of Birmingham’s black-owned businesses to equip local leaders with the data they need to drive small business growth, health and success.
Quire served as the public face of the project which was funded by Innovate Alabama and the Prosper Foundation. The work was also monitored and supported by a group of local business support organizations, a business leader advisory team and city leaders.
The client, who was tasked with growing a best-in-class small business ecosystem, realized that there was no clear, consistent data on the number of black-owned businesses – or the needs of those businesses – in a city where roughly 70% of the residents identify as Black. Previous estimations of Birmingham’s Black business population relied on partial lists or outdated surveys, leaving leaders without the evidence needed to design effective support.
The Brief
The challenge:
Census survey participation has declined nationally and Birmingham’s participation is part of that trend. Anecdotal evidence speaks to a culture of mistrust and skepticism that shapes business owners’ reticence to share their data. Our team needed to design a Census experience that could overcome these barriers.
The Strategy
Quire used a human-centered approach that responded to business owners’ concerns by leaning into the power of connection and relationship. We also used traditional and social media to ensure brand awareness and establish project legitimacy. We focused community engagement efforts on reaching all 23 Birmingham communities through events and opportunities that mattered to them.
The Research:
The Census opened city-wide on January 21, 2025 and was available for 14 weeks. The questions were co-developed and vetted by an advisory team of local small business owners who then served as informal advocates through their personal networks. We also drove engagement through a network of Community Ambassadors and volunteers, media appearances and local event attendance.
THE RESULTS:
The effort gathered more than 1,100 responses, a response that easily superseded other similar recent efforts. The wealth of data enabled the team to craft a report with statistically significant findings on revenue, industry presence, workforce impact, owner demographics and community experience. Additionally, we developed a toolkit to guide further iterations.
The Impact:
This foundational data on Birmingham’s Black-owned businesses empowers local leaders to implement targeted strategies for fostering innovation and growth, facilitates connections to essential resources, and demonstrates the economic contributions of the community’s Black business owners.
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