4 female entrepreneurs of colour share their biggest hurdles, successes & top tips for making it in business
IT takes a whole lot of determination and guts to set up your own business, and carving out a career doing something you love is no easy feat.
However, it can be well worth it, despite the challenges and struggles many will encounter to get there.
Of course, we know there are some specific hurdles women - and especially women of colour - are unfortunately more likely to encounter.
Evidence shows women of colour are still hugely under-represented in senior roles at work.
Additionally, three-quarters of women of colour have experienced some form of racism at work, according to a by gender equality organisation the and race equality think tank .
Here, four inspirational and successful female entrepreneurs who are also women of colour share their secrets and top tips to success, and the biggest hurdles they've personally had to overcome…
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'People assume my husband is the CEO'
Julianne's mum is Kenyan and her dad is originally from Guyana, South America, and she is also an ambassador for those who have allergies and anaphylaxis as she is allergic to nuts.
She says: "These days many people avoid being overtly racist so the insidious thing about this is that sometimes you can’t help wondering if that look, or that comment or that outcome is rooted in some hidden racism.
"It’s my belief that, for example, it’s been almost impossible to get venture capital investment in my business because of my age, my ethnicity and being female – and statistics do [show] it’s very difficult for women in business to get investment for growth.
"This is especially true if you have a diverse ethnic heritage. I’ve had to go down the crowdfunding route, successfully, twice to take my business up a notch.
"Many, many times at trade shows people come up and talk to my husband Matt, who does have white British heritage, and assume he’s the CEO and not me.
"It can come as a shock to them when he says ‘you need to talk to Julianne, she’s the CEO’. This still happens today.
Courtney says: "I was lucky that my family was always focused on education, and they taught me that if myself and my sister put our minds to our schoolwork, we could achieve anything we wanted.
"Yet, they also made me very aware of the structural problems that face people of colour and the fact that we might have to work twice as hard as our white counterparts to reach the same goals.
Sheila encountered racism growing up which impacted her confidence in her own ability.
She says: "As a mother of two young girls (Willow, four, and Autumn, three) juggling my career, new business and parenthood has been wrought with challenges.
She says: "There's still a long way to go. Sometimes, I question whether it's best to show my face as the person behind the brand, or just keep that anonymous.
"However I'm happy with the decision I've made to show my face, even if it means that some people will choose not to buy from me, or work with me because of it.
"It has improved a bit, but you don't see a lot of black bakers as brand ambassadors for the major suppliers of cake products compared to other races.
"The majority of the time you may not believe in yourself, but that's just because of things you may see, or challenges you may face whilst running the business.
"Your own self-belief is the one thing that will keep you going.
"Not others believe in you, but your belief in yourself - remember that and hold on to it dearly.
"I'm proud of myself for going as long as I have.
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"The past three years of running this business has felt like 10 due to all that has been going on in the world these days with COVID, and the cost-of-living crisis.
"It was very essential for me to be able to pivot quickly and come up with new ideas to keep the business running, and I am very proud of myself for that."