As posted on Denene Millner's "My Brown Baby" on November 5, 2012. See full post here.
Author: Akilah S. Richards
How is it that, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, our percentage of business ownership as black women in the U.S. is up 59 percent since 2002, yet we make up a mere 3 percent of the $1.2 billion dollars in sales from women-owned businesses?
Unjust systems and long-standing, deliberately placed hurdles aside, many of us are learning to maneuver this new era of social impact through technology, and leveraging our skills with our passions to the tune of thriving businesses and comfortable lifestyles.
But on the real, the numbers of us who hoist sails on sinking ships with unstable businesses far surpass the number of financially and emotionally stable black women business owners.
Certainly, we do not lack access to the resources or the brainpower it takes to excel in business—so what’s the deal?
Business and Life Strategist Katrina M. Harrell and I have got a theory about these troubling truths. It might ruffle your feathers a bit, but perhaps that’s a necessary part of your growth and ours.
The theory: Black women in business have been B.I.T.C.H.ing up, big time!
Yes, we BITCH up! We get scared. We stop trusting ourselves. We take the shortcuts and we prioritize popularity over business ownership. Many of us, myself included, spent years building a “popular brand”, without focusing on operating a business.
The results: High visibility, but low income. Some success, but no real fulfillment.
I was a slave to the very thing I had built. But thankfully, I got free.
READ MORE HERE...POWERFUL READ.
