Blogs

When Camille Kustin visited Paul’s Automotive in Sacramento, Calif., for the first time, she didn’t plan to stay longer than it took technician Mike Spellman to repair her car. Seven years and three kids later, the two are working side by side at that very same shop, which Mike now owns.

When Noelle Curtis was working to clear up her acne and hyperpigmentation, she noticed not many spas addressed the specific skincare needs of women of color. So instead of continuing to look for someone else’s solution, she decided to become an esthetician herself. After a whirlwind corporate career Noelle went on to open Pretty Dapper Day Spa, which offers a variety of services to Chicagoland clients of all skin types and skin colors.  

This post originally appeared on Venturize.org

In honor of National Small Business Week, we asked several members of our national Small Business Council to share their expert advice on starting and running your own business. 

Our panel includes

Harland Henry: CEO and founder of SunBiz Showcase Alliance, an economic and community development advocacy company focused on the development of small enterprises based in Tampa, Florida. 

Small Business Majority’s Outreach Team advocates for entrepreneurs on two fronts: It supports policies that would benefit small firms, and it offers workshops and events that help small business owners grow their companies. Over the coming months, we’ll be sitting down with members of our Outreach Team to provide an introduction and let small business owners know how our team members can assist them.

This week we are spotlighting Bianca Blomquist, Small Business Majority’s Northern California Outreach Manager.

Kenitra “Keni” Dominguez was determined to expand Red Bay Coffee’s employee benefits when she became the sustainable coffee company’s Director of People and Culture in early 2018.

“Finding good employee benefits takes time, dedication and resources, and before I came to Red Bay, there was no one serving in a dedicated HR or people operations capacity, so I was essentially starting from scratch,” she said.

Small Business Majority’s Outreach Team advocates for entrepreneurs on two fronts: It supports policies that would benefit small firms, and it offers workshops and events that help small business owners grow their companies. Over the coming months, we’ll be sitting down with members of our Outreach Team to provide an introduction and let small business owners know how our team members can assist them.

To kick off Women’s History Month in March, Small Business Majority recently hosted a Twitter chat, “Celebrating Women Entrepreneurs” to share tips and resources for women entrepreneurs from business organizations and entrepreneurs around the country. Many of our wonderful partner organizations participated, included the California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity (CAMEO), SBDC East Los Angeles, Washington D.C. SBDC, the Women’s Business Development Center in Chicago, SBA’s Nebraska District Office and more.

Small business owner Natalie Dubose recounts the night of Nov. 24, 2014, like a scene out of the movie “Independence Day.”

“Every shop in downtown Ferguson leading up to mine and past mine was destroyed. I found furniture from the law firm across the street, that the protestors had used to break the windows,” she said.

In honor of Black History Month, we’re sharing tips and tools for black entrepreneurs as well as stories of successful entrepreneurs. We recently spoke with Shawna Collier, Senior Loan Counselor at Justine Petersen, to ask her about the obstacles that black entrepreneurs face and resources they can use to overcome these challenges.