The Challenges of Being a Minority Small Business Owner
In honor of Black History Month, as well as the month of Love, I thought it would be appropriate to share something personal that has been weighing on my heart for a while.
As a female and minority business owner, I have the sincere honor of working in an industry that has everything stacked against me. From fierce competition, to low financing options, the economic challenges of business ownership in today's day in age, as well as my race and gender, the ability to be successful in my line of work is scarcely low.
Fortunately, I have been able to see success in the 3 short years I’ve been in business, which is a huge win for me personally and for my team. Despite being a black owned small business, I would consider my business to be thriving.
Statistically, only 3% of Black women in the United States have successful companies that last more than five years. I have no doubt that I will be one of these 3% in the coming years because of my personal dedication to taking care of myself in order to be the best version I can be for my clients and my team.
What Self-Care Has Done For Me
In the beauty industry, so many individuals focus on the outward appearance. However, I could not feel more passionate about focusing on our inner beauty and health and making sure to nurture the mind, body, and spirit. When we prioritize having a healthy mind and body, every area of our life is affected, including our day job success.
Nurturing my mind, body, and spirit is considered my self-care, and when done regularly, helps me to be a strong, confident, and powerful business owner in a competitive industry. It also allows me to support my team and clients better than if I was barely hanging on in life.
For me, self-care looks like leaning into my hobbies, such as dancing (I take street jazz and Sensual Heels classes every week). This not only gives me a workout, but is also a major boost to my confidence being able to perform in front of a crowd of strangers after just learning a routine in under an hour. This positively fuels me and helps me feel empowered!
I also enjoy playing video games and reading self-help books that give me different perspectives on life. Additionally, spending time with my family fills my cup to the brim and reminds me that I have an incredible support system and team cheering me on. These things help me be the very best version of myself so I can show up better for my business.
The Rosewood Belief System Behind Self-Care
At Rosewood, we believe in taking time for self-care as a principle for living a healthy life. We believe our clients deserve self-care through the services we offer, but we as stylists also need to prioritize self-care in order to keep up with the demands of our jobs.
As a team, we believe in the importance of making sure we have a healthy work/life balance in order to create a salon environment that is uplifting, positive and contagious to be around. We are extremely intentional in that we want every individual to feel that energy after every appointment.
Beauty on the Inside
Being a client at Rosewood is more than just leaving with beautiful hair. We want you to also leave feeling beautiful on the inside as well. We do things differently than traditional salons to ensure this by providing above-average communication between us and our clients. Helping you to understand our purpose and goals in delivering your hair dreams is what we’re all about.
Not only that, but we price our services fairly, encourage freedom of expression before, during, and after your appointments to help us understand where we can improve, and aim to provide the ultimate convenience for bookings and education (our handy app!)
My ‘Minority, Small Business Owner’ Dream
My dream is to see even more salons, and even black owned businesses, mimic my salon operating model because it fosters economic empowerment, cultural pride, and a sense of belonging. Having a salon that caters to every hair type AND a team that is empowered to embrace their own uniqueness because they are mentally and emotionally strong is fundamentally what has led our business to where we are today.
Above all, I encourage you to make self care a non-negotiable part of your life. When you do so, it will affect every area of your life for the better, just like it has mine.
Despite challenges, roadblocks, and societal pressures, I’ve created something amazing and I’m incredibly proud of it!
Check out these other helpful blog posts from The Rosewood Team:
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