Entrepreneurs face a variety of challenges when building their businesses. Forbes cites common issues such as lack of capital and struggles with long-term planning as reasons why founders can falter in their early days. Black entrepreneurs can face additional obstacles. Notably, the current administration has launched targeted attacks on programs that instill diversity, equity, and inclusion. Times are uncertain; however, there continue to be courageous, visionary, and deeply committed leaders who want to see Black women thrive.
BAUCE has gathered wisdom from experts across different industries to help you navigate business in these turbulent times.
Learn From the Past
These difficult times are not fully unprecedented. Rosezena J. Pierce, Esq., a nationally recognized trademark attorney, believes that we can only move forward by looking back to those who came before us. When it comes to the politically charged attacks on an inclusive economy, Rosezena shares, “This has been attempted multiple times.”
“Take Tulsa, for example. The Black community has had a sustainable economic system and realized how powerful it could be to circulate dollars within their own community. Then that progress was brutally taken from them. But with the tools and technology that we have, we have a great possibility to come together as a community and develop our own economy.” Karess Roseme, a former beauty executive and co-founder of the Rose Neal Collective, shares a similar sentiment. Karess formed the Rose Neal Collective, which provides consulting services for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ beauty founders, because she has experienced the consumer industry before diversity, equity, and inclusion became a focal point.
Karess reflects, “Even before DEI, there were people who advocated for Black and Brown consumers; it was on a smaller level. I was able to work with stylists, founders, and companies who had thought of diversity. Sephora had the intent and would tell companies to have diversity in their marketing and imagery. Unfortunately, in 2020, a lot of us were having conversations about how long this [the focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion] would last. It is great that our community is looking to buy from Black-owned brands as retailers define what DEI looks like.”
(Source: Rosezena Pierce, ESQ)
Build and Protect Your Robust Brand
Karess has ascended the ranks of the beauty industry and knows what it takes to stand out. She advises, “Beauty in general is a noisy space, so you have to lean into what your value proposition is. Some brands are being picked up by social media channels. Partnering with influencers that reaffirm what your value proposition is. Or maybe you’re using a key ingredient that’s a point of difference. Or your sales, manufacturing, or the ingredients you gather may be done in a sustainable way or in a way that maybe support certain nations. Apply to accelerator programs as well. Sephora and Ulta will still be inclusive and ensure that beauty is equitable and still do accelerator programs.”
As Karess suggests, it’s crucial to have a clear competitive advantage and consumer appeal in order to break into the retail space. Companies will be more willing to onboard a brand when they can foresee financial success. So any indication of having a high-demand product with a loyal customer base will be beneficial to any founders who try to break into retail. LaToya Stirrup, the co-founder of KAZMALEJE, provides an entrepreneur’s perspective here. KAZMALEJE has been sold on HSN, in Target, SalonCentric, and other well-known retailers.
When it came to standing out, LaToya explains, “The inspiration behind the creation of KAZMALEJE was literally to make my wash day better and make the wash days of others better. There was not a solution on the market at the time. Ours is very different from other hair tools that are on the shelf. We wanted to make hair tools that make it easier to de-tangle textured hair. We adapted the idea of finger detangling into the shape of our tools.” Once you’ve established your brand and product, you should dedicate time and resources to protect your intellectual property.
Rosezena’s trademark expertise motivates her to give this advice to clients. Rosezena emphasizes, “I tell people to develop a unique name in terms of branding. When you start looking like everybody, people can’t tell the difference. When you’re different and unique, people pay attention. Make sure you clear the rights of the name you created before you adopt it.”
(Source: Karess Roseme)
Understand the Financial Dynamics
A common piece of personal finance advice suggests diversifying your income stream. This can apply to founders, too. Diversify your customer base/sources of revenue. Securing different sources of funding played a central part early on in LaToya’s entrepreneurial journey.
LaToya describes, “HSN was our first major retail partner. In summer 2019, they launched the Big Find Competition. So I went to St. Petersburg to pitch in person and was selected to launch in 2020. Then we got into Urban Outfitters, then Target (been there since 2022), and had some distributions with Wegman’s and Walmart. We also did some promos with Claire’s, and we will be expanding to CVS in April. That era of COVID and George Floyd brought initiatives to help us get on the shelf. We were shelf-ready; our packaging was ready and designed to be hung on pegs in retail stores. We knew that we wanted to go into retail at some point in our journey. For funding, we are still bootstrapping and we’ve leveraged grants from Shea Moisture, L’Oréal, Black Ambition, and others….It would have taken us a lot longer if we didn’t have these programs. We also received a grant through Black Girl Ventures and TikTok to do TikTok campaigns.”
(Source: LaToya Stirrup)
It is more important than ever to support BAUCE founders during this time. From a consumer standpoint, there are numerous ways to uplift entrepreneurs. You can find community by attending events like Rosezena’s Secure Her Brand Conference 2.0, which takes place in Atlanta on March 29th. You can leverage Black-owned consulting firms like Rose Neal Collective to leverage their economic expertise. You can support brands like KAZMALEJE in retail stores.
