Black people have played a significant role in the steady rise of entrepreneurship in America over the course of the last decade. Black women in particular have been quitting the corporate world at a disproportionate rate to become the fastest-growing segment of the nation's entrepreneurs. According to a JP Morgan Chase analysis, the number of Black women-owned businesses increased by 50% between 2014 and 2019.
A new business was "in the process" of being started by 17% of Black women during the pandemic, compared to just 10% of White women and 15% of White males. Although these statistics are outstanding and demonstrate the tenacity and perseverance of Black women, we tend to face numerous challenges that make it so much harder to grow and scale our businesses.
Starting a business, raising capital, and growing a business is challenging for any entrepreneur, but it is an uphill battle for Black women. And the need for a solid support system to help you through the various challenges cannot be overemphasised.
In our recently published report titled the "State of Black-Women Owned Businesses in 2022" we surveyed Black women entrepreneurs across the United States to better understand what their support system looks like and how they learn and grow to scale their businesses:
25% of the Black women business owners surveyed reported not having a mentor
93.8% spend money on online learning with the majority spending over $3000 annually to learn
68.8% invest in business coaching
44% do not have dedicated legal support
44% do not have dedicated accounting support
If you'd like to dig deeper and learn more about the state of Support Systems of Black women-owned businesses across the United States among many other vital topics that we cover, you can download the full report for free today.