Image: Daniel St.Pierre

Soon, minority-owned businesses in the Tampa Bay area will soon have their moment to shine. The Tampa Bay Business Journal is conducting a survey to find which businesses owned by minorities in the Tampa are are the best. 

Not every business qualifies for this honor, however. In order to be a part of this survey, the majority of a business must be owned by a minority. This means that businesses and companies that are at least 51 percent owned by a minority or minorities may qualify. 

The businesses must also be based or located in one of seven counties surrounding the Tampa Bay area. These counties include Hernando County, Hillsborough County, Manatee County, Pasco County, Pinellas County, Polk County, and Sarasota County.

The Tampa Bay Business Journal also goes on to state that women are not considered to be minorities in this particular survey. An additional survey will be conducted later this year in order to create a list of the top women-owned businesses. Women who own businesses that are also part of minority groups, however, may qualify for both surveys. 

Most of the minority-owned businesses that the Tampa Bay Business Journal intends to include in this survey have already been contacted and invited to participate. The Journal's Editorial Researcher, Chris Erickson, however, urges any minority-owned businesses that wish to participate and haven't been invited yet to contact her directly.