How “Nxt Big Thing CLT” Is Helping Black Businesses Flourish

Black businesses are unquestionably the next big thing.  They are beginning to thrive and become successes all over the United States. In fact, Charlotte is one of the largest hubs in the United States for many Black businesses. This is mainly due to its population growth, banking resources, and networking.

There are many honorable black-owned businesses in Charlotte that continue to thrive and grow. Out of all of the talented and wonderful black business owners, I had the opportunity to speak with Alisia Hutchinson, who is the honorable owner of the Black-owned business, Nxt Big Thing CLT.

How Was Nxt Big Thing CLT Created?

Alisia Hutchinson, who was born in Los Angeles, CA, and raised in Charleston, SC, likes to refer to herself as a “Serial Entrepreneur”. In other words, Alisia wears many hats and owns many different businesses in Charlotte. With Nxt Big Thing CLT being one of her many business creations, her intention behind it is to help small-owned Black businesses grow and thrive.

Nxt Big Thing CLT was originally created by Hutchinson in July 2021 when she held her first pop-up event for the company. Alisia states how at first, it was just an idea that only she had thought of and put into action. Alisia originally had another platform that she was doing just for women in January of 2021 that was not very successful, due to her trying to find the ropes of the entrepreneurship and event planning industry.  Alisia then developed the idea of Nxt Big Thing CLT  in July 2021  to help all black-owned businesses regardless of gender. 

However, Alisia stated how that concept was not working out. “I had a kiosk in the mall and that was hard, says Alisia. I struggled over the years to get sales”.

After enduring this setback, she wanted to find a better way to help small and Black-owned businesses. She wanted them to have a platform and get new customers because she understood that most don’t have a storefront.

This was when she began to expand and explore the idea of targeting all small Black businesses, instead of only female-owned, because she believes that it would lead to the overall expansion of her own small businesses while being able to help others.

Nxt Big Thing’s Journey

Alisia has gone through many successes and events with Nxt Big Thing CLT. With that, Alisia strives to make sure that she stays true to the Nxt Big Thing CLT’s overall purpose. “It is important to help people like me (other small black business owners). It is completely hard to generate sales just online”. Alisia also started hosting events at small venues, but as the Nxt Big Thing Charlotte platform grew, it would get crowded at times. So, she’s now hosting at larger venues.

Those smaller venues may have not provided the greatest experience for Alisia. However, she states how she has still had positive experiences while participating in other pop-up shops. In fact, she got some of her inspiration for events from another black-owned vendor event platform that operates in Raleigh. 

Alisia mentioned a particular experience that she had while doing a pop-up shop that ended up being a great occurrence. “I had an event back in October and I gave away cash for a costume contest. One of the vendors was a winner for that. They were thankful and I was able to help them out. Vendors have emailed me saying that they appreciate what I did and they enjoy being at my event.”

Alisia says that some of her greatest accomplishments have been helping the business gain exposure, making sales, and getting new customers who have come back to several other events as well. It is important to realize that with every successful business, comes great experiences but struggles as well.

What’s Next for Nxt Big Thing CLT?

As for Alisia, she says how she hardly has any free time, which most entrepreneurs don’t. “I have other businesses that I do something for each day. It does not matter to me though because it’s something I actually want to do. It doesn’t feel like work.”

For the future of Nxt Big Thing CLT, Alisia plans to turn it into a monthly expo. In the future, Alisia is looking forward to having larger events. One event she is looking forward to holding is a back-to-school event to raise school supplies for kids.

Alisia’s next events will be taking place in April and May 2022 at the Cabarrus County Fairgrounds.