Any small business owner will tell you, owning your own business isn’t easy. This month we will explore the various local businesses in our community, and celebrate Black small business owners.
National Black Small Business Month kicked-off on August 1st. The awareness month was created in 2004 by engineering entrepreneur Fredrick E. Jordan, and John William Templeton, president and editor of the scholarly publication, eAccess Corp. Their vision was to influence policies that affect Black businesses, while celebrating the impact these businesses had within their communities. This awareness month is now twenty-one years strong.
In a 2024 report published by the United States Small Business Administrations’ Office of Advocacy, Black owned businesses make up over 3.5 million of the 34.7 million small businesses in the U.S., and employ over 1.2 million people with a collective revenue of over 1.2 billion dollars. That’s not too shabby, is it?
So, what does Stratford’s piece of this economic Black small business economic pie look like?
According to Stratford’s Office of Economic and Community Development, the office began keeping a list of Black owned businesses at the start of COVID. During that time all businesses suffered, but especially minority and Black owned businesses. During COVID, online lenders of the federal relief program, called the Paycheck Protection Program, gave loans to Black business owners at greater rates than smaller banks. Today Stratford boasts forty-four black owned businesses, ranging from coffee spots (like Frenchies Coffee Bar) to photographers (like Rhea Kay Imagery) to real estate agencies (like A1 Prestige Realty Group).
As a Black business owner myself, I know how powerful this (and Black History Month in February) can be for my fellow small business owners and me. There will be social media posts, articles (like this one), and news reports, highlighting Black owned businesses that operate 365 days a year. Why only (or mostly) support Black owned businesses when there is an awareness month? Why not all year round?
Next month I will celebrate one year of being in business with Obodo Serendipity Books, my bookstore on Paradise Green, and I hope you will join me in this celebration. Opening my business did not happen overnight, or without struggle, or without knowing my “why”, like author and business expert Simon Sinek in his book, Start with Why, urges all of us entrepreneurs to consider before taking the plunge and just doing it.
Sure, there is great ease in ordering from Amazon (which I still do, by the way), and as of late there is also a bit of shame attached to doing so, but I will leave that story for another article.
Why shop local? Why shop Black small businesses?
In my interview with Kevin and Patrice, owners of Frenchies Coffee Bar, Kevin said, “Including family in business and its growth ensures that you can spend time with family. In this industry [coffee/food service], it is hard to have spare time while trying to pursue excellence in the field. Holidays, weekends, and birthdays are prime time for this industry.” He, too, knows being a small business owner means sacrifice in so many ways: a family vacation, because taking time away means money lost; not attending a special family event because a staff member called out sick, and as a small business owner, you show up.
He went on to reflect on what he learned as a child from his own mother, and from the community he was raised in. “Growing up I saw the owner of the Italian restaurant employ his family and have the means to enhance their lifestyle while all growing together. I admire that to this very day. I wanted to become a chef and was influenced by seeing my mother having her own successful restaurant as a child.”
Kevin and Patrice opened Frenchies Coffee Bar in 2022. Today, they have two seasonal locations at Silver Sands State Park in Milford and Penfield Beach in Fairfield. Next up for the co-owners of Frenchies Coffee Bar, they will be the coffee spot for residents of Steelpointe Harbor in Bridgeport.
This Black Small Business Month, get to know your neighbors and your local Black small business owners who run businesses that operate 12 months a year. These are local businesses you can support every month of the year.
Stay tuned in, right here, and learn more about our local businesses owners throughout the month.
Nikkya Hargrove is a mom, wife, author, and owner of Stratford’s only bookstore. She enjoys cooking dinner for her family, binge watching (any) television show with her wife, and spending time experiencing life with her family and dogs.
