Enlightened Media Productions

Broderick Flanigan was born and raised in Athens. He came back after college and never left; its home, and he’s determined to use his skills and passions to improve the city in any way he can. “I have a responsibility to make it better. That’s something I don’t take lightly,” he says. He has channeled that passion into his business Enlightened Media Productions. The idea was planted after Flanigan spoke with and heard from black business owners in the Athens area and learned about the obstacles they faced and how segregated resources were. “Enlightened Media Productions was created to connect the dots and assist in creating the infrastructure to help black businesses thrive,” Flanigan explains.

The company works with these business owners to accomplish things like better branding, creating digital media content, or designing new marketing strategies. “I want for other businesses the same thing I want for my business: sustainability and opportunities for growth,” says Flanigan. Striking a balance between a achieving the company’s altruistic goals and making a profit has been difficult. However, Flanigan says that having business owners tell him that being listed on Enlightened Media Productions’ Black Businesses Directory has positively impacted their business warms his heart—a tangible example of his business at work.

Growing up, Flanigan’s father told him to remove the word “can’t” from his dictionary, and it is a sentiment that he reminds himself of to this day. “I just wish more people in positions to affect change had that same mentality,” says Flanigan. “Instead of saying, ‘Well, we can’t do that or this,’ let’s start saying, ‘Let’s figure out how we can make it happen.”