Valencia Giles always had a passion for music growing up and later discovered she had the gift of teaching. Together with her husband, Ozzie, they started the award-winning Lawrenceville-Suwanee School of Music in Metro Atlanta. A small business that began with 30 students now serves more than 1,200. They run two schools and are looking to add a third.

When it came time to purchase small business insurance, the Gileses looked no further than local State Farm agent Darryl Brooks.

“[With] Darryl being a small business owner as we are, it really helps him to understand us, how we operate, and understand our needs, and just relate – this is what we go through,” said Ozzie Giles.

The Gileses and Brooks are featured during this year’s national NBCUniversal Open Doors campaign, which is an initiative sponsored by State Farm that supports diverse, small businesses by providing access to marketing and advertising resources to help spur and sustain growth. This is the third year that State Farm and NBCUniversal have worked together on this campaign.

According to the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, minority-owned businesses account for more than half of the two million new businesses started in the U.S. in the last 10 years. These successful ventures have helped to create 4.7 million jobs and there are now more than four million minority-owned companies in the U.S.

The NBCUniversal Open Doors website offers free downloadable resources, tips, strategies, advertising tutorials and best-in-class business practices, providing the necessary tools to allow small business owners to thrive.

Brooks and the Gileses are one of four pairings of State Farm agents and their small business insurance customers who will be spotlighted in this year’s NBCUniversal Open Doors campaign.

Other spotlights include:

Stephen Evans Jr., owner of Stevie E’s Place barbershop, and his State Farm agent Coriano Johnson in the Akron, OH area (August)

Desiree Chamorro, owner of K9 Cafe Boutique & Spa, and her State Farm agent Crystal Fuller in San Antonio, TX (September)

Jenna Horning, owner of Bean’s Ice Cream, and her State Farm agent Susan Eacho in Poquoson, VA (October)

For more information on State Farm small business insurance, please visit our website or contact your local agent.

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