LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Empowering Black entrepreneurs is the sole focus of the retail store Pocket Change in Louisville. From clothes to candles, the store only sells products from Black business owners.

Once a week, Louisville artist Kayla Morgan sets up shop in the back of Pocket Change to paint for an upcoming art show or work on pieces that will be sold in the store. 

“It gives me a place to paint when, honestly, I’m just sick of being at home and painting there,” Morgan said. “And then it gave me a place to have people that, honestly, as soon as I walk in support me in any situation I’m in.”

Working as a full-time artist, the 25-year-old sells most of her artwork on social media and online, but having her artwork for sale at Pocket Change offers more than just helping her pay her bills. 

“It’s amazing to have the connection here because even when I’m not here, I’m here, and then they’ll throw my name into whatever mix to give me the resources to do what I want to do,” Morgan said. 

Pocket Change is the non-profit Change Today, Change Tomorrow’s Black-owned business hub. Its purpose is to not only offer retail space for Black-owned businesses to sell their products, but also to help them build their business.

“We saw that there was a lacking in the community of Black-owned businesses getting the resources they needed, the store fronts along any row of shopping centers in the city, right. You aren’t going to see a lot of Black-owned businesses, and so we thought, ‘Alright, what do we do? How do we help,’ and so we created Pocket Change,” Change Today, Change Tomorrow’s Public Relations & Event Coordinator, Ali Gautier, said.

From clothes to candles, there are over 30 Black entrepreneurs from the Louisville area with products at Pocket Change. 

“They have an online presence already, but there is a massive difference of like the actual tactile nature of shopping for a lot of people. So we give them that opportunity,” Gautier said. 

A percentage of each item sold goes back to Pocket Change. Morgan said for her paintings, it’s 20%. 

Watch: Artist Kayla Morgan explains the meaning behind the painting she worked featured in Spectrum News’ video story about Pocket Change.

“Other places this may be about 30 to 35% so theirs is the lowest. Very grateful, I feel like they should be asking for more, but that’s just my opinion,” Morgan said.

“Any of that money that we see coming in, is going straight into whatever our business owners need for the space, of creating more opportunities for pop-ups, and helping with the business classes,” Gautier explained.

Every third Thursday of each month, from 7-9 p.m., free business workshops are hosted at Pocket Change to help Black entrepreneurs build their businesses. Gautier said the business workshops provide information on topics, such as QuickBooks, marketing, and pricing structure for wholesale versus retail. 

“Anything that you need to know to really get yourself off the ground, we want to give you a free way to learn it,” Gautier said.

For Morgan, selling her art in a store of all Black-owned products is also inspiring.

“Fuel for the fire to keep going, and keep pushing, and keep making room for Black-owned businesses to come in and do what they need to do,” Morgan said.

Pocket Change is located at 1753 Bardstown Rd., Louisville, Ky. 40205. The store is open Sun.-Thurs. 12-7 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 12-9 p.m. 

If you are a Black business owner in the Louisville area and interested in selling your products at Pocket Change or attending their free workshops, visit their website for more info.

To learn more about artist Kayla Morgan, visit her business’s Facebook page. Pocket Change is also helping promote her upcoming art show “Who Don’t Love Art." It's on Sunday, July 11, 2021 from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. in Louisville. For location and tickets click here.