Black Women’s Day: Highlighting Black Women in Business

At bloom not only do we empower older women we empower all women.

As women, it is important that we support each other in all the things we do and accomplish.   On this special day we want to honor black women and highlight the success of black women in business.

Did you know? Since the early 2000s there’s been a significant increase in Black women owned businesses. In fact, today, 17% of Black women are in the process of starting or running new businesses, which amounts to about two million individual shops and eateries around the country.

To this, we celebrate.

February is Black History Month, and never in history have we seen this many women of color founders and entrepreneurs.

In an interview with Forbes, Ashley Rouse, founder and CEO of Trade Street Jam Co., a minority-and women-owned company, said that access to investment capital has always been a challenge. She added that meeting with investors and getting them to buy into a woman owned or Black-woman owned business has also always presented challenges. For this reason, many Black female businesses are self-funded.

Support of black women-owned businesses involves taking intentional and informed action by:

Listening Be aware of racially influenced biases and obstacles that accompany many African Americans and even more by Black women along their entrepreneurial journey.

Understanding- Acknowledge and understand that Black female business owners in your area most likely do not have the same benefits as other local business owners. Understand the discrepancies faced by Black female business owners and support them accordingly, whether through financial or professional support.

Increasing visibility- One of the biggest things you can do to support Black women-owned businesses is to mention them on your business’s social media let others know about them by sharing social media posts, engaging in their social media posts, and submitting positive reviews of the business. Reviews are powerful and give future customers a clear idea of what to expect.

Being a consistent supporter– Support local Black women-owned businesses beyond the holidays. Be intentional about your purchases and use your purchasing power to support Black businesses throughout the year by referring others to the business, engaging in their social media posts, and submitting positive reviews of the business.

When you use your purchasing power to support more Black-owned businesses, you’re helping to strengthen local Black economic community, contribute to lessening the racial wealth gap, and foster more job creation for Black people.  This makes all our communities a better place to live, work and play.

Have you checked to see if there’s a black woman-owned business in your community that you could support?

Take the time to get to know brands and stores run by women of color and shop there.

Never before have we seen such potentiality for Black women to elevate their careers, and achieve social and economic equality.

A good place to start is on Instagram which is especially useful for finding smaller, independent Black-owned shops.  Start off by following some hashtags: #suppprtBlackBusiness, #SupportBlackArt.

For more information and resources visit www.buyfromablackwoman.org