For Black owners of small businesses, perseverance in the face of difficulty is nothing new. For example, despite the ongoing efforts to support Black businesses, Black female entrepreneurs still receive less than 1 percent of all available venture capital funding and grants, according to the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
Yet even with these disadvantages in funding and other resources, the nearly 2 million Black owned businesses across the U.S. have generated more than $150 billion in revenue since 2012.
AARP spoke with three Black business owners over the age of 45 about what it takes for a business to be resilient during a national pandemic, among the other challenges that entrepreneurs face even in ordinary circumstances.
Each entrepreneurial journey is unique; however, most have at least some moments of uncomfortable uncertainties. Resilience, perseverance and reinvention are the common threads that help many small businesses — especially those that are Black-owned — achieve success.
