Owning the OPPORTUNUTY

Black women are more likely than women of other races to seek independence by becoming their own bosses

By Michelle Machado
Record Staff Writer
Published Monday, February 28, 2005

Women of color are increasingly becoming women of business. But a greater percentage of Black women are becoming sole business owners when compared with women of other races., according to the National Women’s Business Council.

“Compared to other women business owners, African-American women business owners are more likely to start or acquire their firms alone (72 percent) and to currently be the sole owner of their firms (80 percent), “said a fact sheet, titled “African American Women and Entrepreneurship” out this month from the Council.

Black women pursue business ownership for many reasons, said Janet Lilly, president of The African American Chamber of Commerce of San Joaquin county and owner of a worker’s compensation counseling business serving companies and individuals.

“A lot follow a supplemental income need or pursue a hobby. Others look for employment following retirement, “ Lilly said. “Sometimes it’s not a matter of choice; it’s a matter of necessity.” Lilly found herself in the latter category when the company, for which she was doing the same service, decided to exit the state, leaving her jobless. So she took her personal credit, took out a second home mortgage, took her former company’s files and formed Janet Lilly & Associates in Stockton, which now –nearly 10 years later—has four part-and full-time employees.

For Barbara Beavers, a twice-divorced mother of five, owning a business meant achieving independence.  “I always wanted my own business, although I didn’t know what it would be,” said Beavers, owner of The Garden of Eden Day Care Service Inc. But there were many obstacles for Beaver to overcome. In 1986, Beavers climbed out of welfare and into the driver’s seat of San Joaquin Regional Transit District buses, a job she held for 17 years. But when her last child, now 11, was born with Down syndrome, Beavers knew that she needed to make some changes. While still driving a bus, she opened a home-based day care facility with two employees, licensed for up to 15 children.

In 2001, Beavers acquired $105,000 in Small Business Revolving Loan Fund money and moved her for profit business to a 9,300-square-foot building in Stockton, with separate infant, toddler, preschool, after-school and special-needs programs.  “It was pretty hard. I was dissected, “Beavers said of the loan review process. The revenue from the center eventually allowed Beaver to leave the transit district to pursue her dream full-time. “It was from my heart—for the children and the parents,” she said.

Like Beavers, most Black women choose to open service oriented businesses. According to the Council. More than three-quarters of Black women-owned firms are in the service sector, 8.3 percent are in retail trade and 2.3 percent are in financial/insurance/real estate, while 12.4 percent are in unclassified industries. Those 414,472 businesses employ nearly 254,000 people and generate $19.5 billion in sales. Between 1997 and 2004, the number of such firms increased by 33 percent, employment grew by 50 percent and sales rose by 44 percent, the Council said.

The Garden of Eden currently has 15 part-and full-time employees and is licensed to care for as many as 121 children and young adults from ages 0-22 years, although its rolls now stand at 80. And now Beavers is applying for a $1.3 million loan from the Tracy/San Joaquin County Certified Development Corporation to purchase and upgrade the building her business occupies.

Finding financing is a common Hurdle for Black women business owners. Nearly half of such business owners say they have encountered difficulties when trying to obtain business financing, compared with 28 percent of white women business owners, 27 percent of Latina business owners and 22 percent of Asian women business owners, the fact sheet said.

Women Entrepreneurs, a 54-hour San Joaquin Delta college Small Business Development Center training program that primarily serves women wanting to open or strengthen a business, can help those who seek outside financing.  “The program centers on developing a business plan, and if it’s a feasible business, the opportunities for financing are much stronger,” said Gillian Murphy. Still, Murphy said, most entrepreneurs finance their businesses with savings and the help of family and friends.

In 2004, eight of the 21 graduates of the program, or 38 percent, were Black women, the largest percentage in its 12 year history, Murphy said.

Yolanda Rene’ Travis joined the program after deciding to self-publish a book she authored that addresses domestic violence and sexual assault—topics the publishing companies she submitted her manuscript to considered too “edgy.” Recently laid off, Travis had to borrow the money to even attend the program. And the financial obstacles did not end there. “I didn’t even have a shoestring, “Travis said of her budget.

Costs associated with forming her publication company, On The Edge Publications, and publishing her book mounted to $10,000, forcing Travis to solicit family, friends and professional associates for gifts, loans and advance-copy purchases, which netted $3,000.

“The rest was squeezed from my pocket,” Travis said. Most of the shortfall was supplied through refinancing her home, she said. Earlier this month, Travis brought back 250 bound copies from the printer. More than half have sold. Already, Travis has an outline of a sequel to her fictional work, “WAAM-Women Against Abusive Men.” and if the first and planned second books sell well, Travis hopes to begin publishing other authors producing similar material. “You have to want to do it, and you have to have a support system,” she said.

* To reach reporter Michelle Machado, Phone (209) 943-8547 or e-mail mmachado@recordnet.com