Airport Hosts Showcase for Minority Business Owners

When Aaron Reed started his construction supply business in 2014, he spent years working to make just $50,000 in sales.

Last year, his company produced $23 million in revenue.

Reed’s company, Reed Construction, is a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, or DBE, a governmental designation intended to help fight discrimination against women and racial minorities in various industries. Inclusion in state and federal DBE programs provides opportunities for minorities who own at least 51 percent of a small business.

His success story has inspired small business owners across the Pittsburgh region, many of whom recently gathered at the Allegheny County Airport Authority’s most recent DBE Diversity Outreach Event.

Hosted by ACAA’s Equity Department, the event gave a diverse group of local entrepreneurs a chance to learn from and connect with other Pittsburgh-area businesses.

Reed credited networking events like this one as a primary factor in his success.

“The more you show up, the less you give people a chance of forgetting who you are,” he said.

Other speakers, including Pittsburgh Regional Transit DBE Program Manager Sue Broadus and Juan Garrett, executive director of The Riverside Center for Innovation, shared tips on how to help grow a business.

“The ACAA is committed to breaking down century-long barriers that have previously prevented minority groups from succeeding in