Why community is a key resource for Black business owners

Listen and subscribe to Financial Freestyle on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Starting a business is no easy task, and it’s not uncommon for Black entrepreneurs just getting started to feel alone in their business endeavors. But there is a wide swath of resources for business owners available — plenty of which don’t require a lot of additional capital to obtain. Joy Butts, a senior business consultant for JPMorgan Chase, told Ross Mac on Yahoo Finance’s Financial Freestyle (watch the video above or listen below) that an entrepreneur’s community is one of the most significant resources someone getting started could have. “A lot of Black businesses, and just businesses in general, they don’t necessarily have the infrastructure to realize the dreams that they have,” Butts said. “Having someone there to walk alongside you, to ease the pain, and knowing that you’re not alone in the journey is so important.” Butts noted that Black businesses — and Black woman-owned businesses, specifically — represent one of the “fastest-growing segments in entrepreneurship.” In 2023, the US Census reported that there were 161,031 Black-owned businesses employing more than 1.4 million people in the US. Black-owned businesses have been growing...