Are Black Women Entrepreneurs Not Getting Investors?

Despite Black women being the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the U.S. —owning 1.5 million businesses and generating $44 billion a year— the initial support to launch is not there.  Why is that?

“They weren’t getting the seed funding they needed,” Finney [research lead by Kathryn Finney with Dr. Marlo Rencher was published in “The Real Unicorns of Tech: Black Women Founders” and examined 60,000 startups 88 of which were Black women led ...] told Forbes. “We don’t have lead investors. We don’t have people willing to write that first big check.”

Black women entrepreneurs only received 0.2 percent of all venture funding in the past five years.  It's as if black women entrepreneurs are not seen as innovators or women who can run successful businesses.

Read more:  Study Discovers Black Women Entrepreneurs Not Getting Investors

A Place Where Business Owners Turn to Get Inspired

Loren Feldman (pictured), formerly the small business editor of The New York Times, now oversees entrepreneurship coverage at Forbes. You don't want to miss his features.

In the article below he covers today's must-reads for entrepreneurs, including one that features women entrepreneurs.  Great stuff.  Here's a clip:

Six women entrepreneurs begin a conversation about imposter syndrome and breaking through $1 million in revenue: “Several of us had been called “that girl,” as if we hadn’t yet made it past puberty. 

Read more:  Today's Must-Reads For Entrepreneurs:  Can Gusto Supplant Zenefits?

Give Back. Reach Out to Help.

There are millions of executive coaches out there in the world but what about mentors to women entrepreneurs and business owners?  Founder, Encore Entrepreneur Institute, Janice Celeste (pictured) says:

With 10.6 million women-owned businesses in America, there should be plenty of women mentors, right? No, there is a drought of female mentors in the United States. A survey by LinkedIn shows that only one out of five women has a mentor.  

Yet, anyone who has solid business experience, particularly growing a successful business, can mentor a woman-owned start-up enterprise.

The key:  You must ask.  

If there is someone you have your eye on, reach out to her today to see whether she has time to mentor you.

What are you waiting for?  

Read more:  Why women-owned startups are desperate for female mentors.

Growing a Business Requires an Investment of Time

According to data from the most recent American Express OPEN Small Business Growth Pulse, 89% of small businesses indicate they invest a significant amount of their personal time in an effort to grow their business.

Also in line with these findings:

Six in ten (60%) small business owners say they spend a larger percentage of time working ON their business to drive growth rather than IN their business managing details.

Women Business Owner Highlights

Nearly eight-in-ten women businesses owners (78%) state growth is the top priority for their business, on par with men (80%) and small business owners overall (79%).  However, while growth is a priority for women business owners they are not following through with hiring (58%) and capital investment plans (64%) at the same rate as their male counterparts (61% and 77% respectively). 

Read more:  Small Business Owners Investing Significant Personal Time and Savings to Grow Their Business, According to American Express OPEN Research