Driving to work, giving herself a pep-talk in preparation for the day, Deidre Mathis had no idea a crowd of people were huddled in a bedroom room at her Wanderstay Houston Hostel ready to surprise her with a $10,000 check from Verizon. Verizon’s Small Business Digital Ready Program supports small business owners like Diedre, offering free courses, mentorship, networking, and grants that help them continue doing the work they do…in Diedre’s case this is keeping Wanderstay Houston Hostel the highest rated hostel in Texas. If you are a small business owner or entrepreneur in Houston you too can apply for the grant.

Wanderstay Boutique Hotel is a 10-room, adults-only, themed hotel located in EADO, and it’s one of the first of its kind.

HOUSTON – Inspired by Pharrell Williams featuring Jay-Z song “Entrepreneur,” a new video highlights Black entrepreneurs and businesses in the Houston area. Most impactfully, the video draws attention to the many success stories of local entrepreneurs and business owners. “There are way too many dope, Black entrepreneurs in Houston to fit them all into one video,” said Williams, the founder of Twice Media Productions, a Houston-based marketing company that produced the video. Other local businesses and entrepreneurs featured:Darryl King owns five companies with officers across the world and he and his companies have given nearly a half-million dollars in donations and scholarships. Here is the full video of Houston-area, Black-owned businesses:

HOUSTON Three Houston business owners are among the first recipients of a new grant from Beyonce and the NAACP. The Houston native's BeyGOOD Foundation partnered with the civil rights group to create the Black-owned Small Business Impact Fund which awards $10,000 grants to Black-owned business owners in select cities. Each of the women told KPRC 2 they are grateful for the funding that will help keep them going during the crisis. Things are picking up and Mathis says she will use the grant money to help open a second location. Applications for the next round of BeyGOOD and NAACP grants begins in September.