Bad & bossy!
In honor of Black Business Month, we’re back with another collection of bag-securing business baddies who turn heads while thriving as successful entrepreneurs.
For those outside the loop, Black women are the fastest growing group of business owners despite rampant sexism, racism, elitism and an egregious lack of available resources in the problematic space.
According to the Harvard Business Review, 17% of Black women are in the process of starting or running new businesses compared to only 10% of white women and 15% of white men.
In 2019, 35% of all Black-owned businesses were owned by women, according to a Wells Fargo report.
At this rate, Black women are starting (and self-funding) businesses faster than anyone else while receiving less than 1% of venture capital funding and being largely ignored by the government’s sketchy Paycheck Protection Program that helped an embarrassing 29% of Black business owners stay afloat compared to 60% of white applicants.
“At a time when folks are rethinking their lives and choices, it is not surprising that more Black women are electing to become CEOs of their own companies rather than waiting for their intelligence and skills to be recognized at their current firms,” said Melissa Bradley, Founder of 1863 Ventures–an agency for Black and brown entrepreneurs–in an interview with (Business) Insider.
With Black women at the forefront of yet another movement, it’s no surprise that they showed up and showed out at Invest Fest where Angela Yee, Milano Di Rouge founder Milan Harris, and Slutty Vegan founder/CEO Pinky Cole shared invaluable insight into becoming a successful entrepreneur during their buzzy “Women In Business” panel.
According to successful real estate maven Quiana Watson who moderated the panel, only 4.2% of women-owned businesses are making over a million dollars while generating a stunning $1.9 trillion in revenue.
“Sometimes, as women, it’s hard for us to really talk about our accomplishments because we think it’s not a big deal or we downplay it,” said Yee in an interview with BET.com. “I love being in a space where we can celebrate the accomplishments and talk about how we got there.”
And with that said, enjoy another impressive collection of business baddies to follow, support and celebrate on the flip.
Source: bossip