Over the years, I’ve posted numerous articles about Black female leaders and entrepreneurs, and this amazing story is worth highlighting to put on notice that Black women are rocking as leaders in the business sector! The face of entrepreneurship is changing and overall is becoming less white. This powerful explosion is evident in Washington, DC where the first-ever Black-owned strip mall lives! I am so proud of my Black sisters and the amazing trails they are blazing!
Let’s look at some statistics before moving on.
American Express The 2019 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report showed that Black women are the fastest-growing demographic of entrepreneurs in the U.S., with nearly 2.7 million businesses nationwide, and they are showing no signs of letting up! The number of businesses owned by Black women grew 50% from 2014 to 2019, representing the highest growth rate of any female demographic. Black females accounted for 42% of all women who opened a new business during that time and represented 36% of all Black employers.
One of my previous post titled Hidden Figures – The Secret is Out included a 2021 Harvard Business Review report indicating that in the U.S., Black female entrepreneurs launched businesses at higher rates than white men and white women. If you missed it, click on the link. You will find the article to be an outstanding testament to Black female excellence!
Byna Elliott, a Black female and head of Advancing Black Pathways at JP Morgan Chase, shared that “the increase we’re seeing in entrepreneurship is also a rise of empowerment – more and more, Black women are paving pathways to opportunities, fueled by passion or seeking to create opportunities that may have not always felt obtainable in the workforce.”
Black Entrepreneurship At Its Best
Angel Gregorio is considered to be one of the District of Columbia’s most recognized Next-Gen Black female entrepreneurs and influencers of our time. She is a community servant, innovator, philanthropist, and disruptor. Also a former school principal, serial entrepreneur, and Howard University alum, Gregorio always wanted to make a positive impact in the community. In doing so, while the world was still reeling from the global pandemic, she bought a 7,500-square-foot commercial property worth $1 million to expand her business The Spice Suite, which aims to empower Black women entrepreneurs.
The Spice Suite is a community-centric spice boutique, located in the city’s Takoma Park community. The Spice Suite is aimed at not only providing its patrons with unique, interactive culinary experiences but was also established with a mission to support and empower other local grass-root business owners to maximize their own potential and success. As a way to pay it forward and support fellow dreamers, Angel offers space at The Spice Suite for pop-up shops, free of charge. No fine print. No commission.
The property was previously the home of a tow truck company, and little was happening in the industrial neighborhood. Gregorio saw the potential to develop it into something that would benefit a lot of emerging local businesses. This entrepreneur envisioned the space would turn into a shopping area for herself and other Black women. With the help of the city’s Commercial Property Acquisition Fund, Gregorio opened The Spice Suite at Black + Forth. Mayor Muriel Bowser and dozens of community supporters were on hand for the ribbon-cutting and opening of The Spice Shop’s new home, launching the first-ever Black-owned strip mall located in Washington, DC with affordable commercial space specifically for other Black female business owners.
The shipping containers present there were transformed into a nail salon, a hair salon, a brow bar, and a braiding bar. Gregorio previously hosted over 2,500 pop-ups free of charge for Black people over seven and a half years. Wow!
Behind the Vision
When given the opportunity to describe herself Gregorio uses one word: Free. “I feel free now because I have finally realized what I’m supposed to do,” Gregorio tells Essence.
Gregorio shared the following regarding her vision: “Inspired by our Black + Forth business model, we embrace a traditional back-and-forth system and village approach to business ownership by opening the doors of The Spice Suite to other Black entrepreneurs and makers to sell their products while running our store for the day. We launched a 501(c)3, Dream Incubator, Inc. Operating through Black + Forth, the first Black-owned strip mall offering affordable commercial space for Black business owners. Dream Incubator provides accessible education, resources, and grants while serving as a catalyst for aspiring and growth-stage Black entrepreneurs.” How awesome is this?
The Struggle Continues
Let’s remember that even with their growing presence in the business world, Black women struggle in the face of disproportionate financial headwinds. Still, given a lack of access to capital, Black women are more likely than other demographic groups to self-fund their businesses.
For example, America’s self-made Black businesswomen such as Oprah Winfrey and Rihanna, whose business net worth are both in the billions, have weathered the storm while breaking down barriers and increasing female participation in male-dominated industries.
The trend to self-fund is likely because Black women find it difficult to get funding elsewhere. Black business owners who apply for funding have a rejection rate that is three times higher than that of White business owners, and they are more likely to identify access to credit as a challenge.
Meanwhile, new data from Pitchbook shows less than 2% of venture capital funding went to all-female founding teams in 2021, marking a five-year low. Black women need a way to access long-term funding resources and solutions that will provide their businesses with the opportunity to grow and thrive. The community needs to understand the value and benefit of businesses run by Black female leaders.
Still, Black Female Entrepreneurs Rise!
Kudos to the Black Lives Matter movement that inspired funders to pour billions of dollars into closing the racial equity gap through supporting entrepreneurship, career pathways, financial equity, criminal justice reform, and more. The efforts are massive, but the impact is slow and hard to access. Even for one of the most successful Black women business owners in the Nation’s capital.
The road to success for The Spice Suite has been and continues to be, paved with barriers both large and small. Whether faced with regulations or policies laced with historical biases, or gatekeepers to accessing resources afforded to others, these barriers served as an inspiration for Dream Incubator, Inc. Gregorio expressed “As a Black woman from D.C. and a native Washingtonian, this means everything, for one of us to own space, own land, and to have a business model that supports other Black women.” Her hope is that the Black + Forth shopping area becomes a model across the city.
As the uptick of Black female entrepreneurs continues, women like Angel Gregorio are positioned to play an increasingly visible and important role in the United States’ future like never before! Rise, Black women! Rise!
The Spice Suite/Black + Forth strip mall is located at 2201 Channing St NE, Washington, DC 20018. For more details, visit blackandforth.org. If you live or plan to vacation in the DC area, please don’t find it robbery to visit and support the Black female-owned businesses that reside there. I’m sure you’ll be in for an awesome shopping experience!