In honor of Black History Month, Hello Alice surveyed 3,176 Black small business owners to identify their characteristics and challenges going into 2023.
Published in partnership with Mastercard and the NAACP, the results show that the typical Black owner faces unique barriers to capital that both limit their growth potential and ability to respond to challenges such as inflation. However, Black owners are overall more optimistic about their futures and voiced uncommon perseverance as they pursue innovative ideas and solutions.
Below, read four key takeaways about Black small business owners in 2023.
1) A New Generation of Black Entrepreneurs Is on the Rise
There is a steady year-over-year increase in the number of Black entrepreneurs, many of whom are very young. Roughly two-thirds of Black owners (66%) are under 40, whereas roughly two-thirds (63%) of non-Black owners are over 40.
2) Black Small Business Owners Are Largely Mission-driven
While Black owners said they started businesses for economic reasons, such as to pay their bills and build generational wealth, they widely expressed a desire to give back, make a difference, and help their communities.
3) Access to Capital Is a Unique Barrier to Black Owners’ Success
A majority of Black owners identified raising capital (40%) and growing their business (21%) as their top challenge, outweighing other common challenges such as marketing, customer acquisition, and hiring. Nearly 80% of Black owners are considering a financing application to expand their businesses, meet operating expenses, or pay down debt.
4) Black Owners Are Proactively Seeking Solutions
Nearly 20 percent more Black owners than non-Black owners said they expect their businesses to grow in 2023, and Black owners are currently 36% more engaged than non-Black owners with Hello Alice education and funding resources.
2023 Resources for Black Small Business Owners
Share the following resources with small business owners in your network. Each resource targets the emerging and ongoing challenges recorded by this survey.
Small Business Funding Center
Access to capital ensures owners are able to fund growth, pursue opportunities, and respond to unforeseen challenges. Hello Alice’s Small Business Funding Center connects owners with the full continuum of capital — including loans, financing, and credit cards — they need to run their businesses.
Funding and Financial Literacy Education
Hello Alice offers live events, workshops, accelerators, and digital learning experiences to help entrepreneurs level up and succeed. The following step-by-step guides can help Black owners learn funding strategies and build financial literacy skills:
- Organize Your Finances
- Boost Your Personal Credit Score
- Choose the Right Capital
- Secure a Loan From a Nonprofit Microlender
- Write a Winning Grant Application
- Improve Your Credit Utilization Ratio
- How a Secured Card Can Support Your Small Business
Mastercard Digital Doors®
Get the most out of digital tools and protect your business from online threats. Mastercard Digital Doors® helps owners build digital skills, learn to accept customer payments, and master tips and tricks around e-commerce and digital invoicing.
Business Solutions Center
Hello Alice’s Business Solutions Center curates dozens of offers that save owners time and money. Owners can find special offers on Quickbooks, Finli, and ComplYant — three tools to help Black-owned businesses budget and manage their cash flow.
Mastercard Strive Community
The Mastercard Strive community operated by Hello Alice is designed to provide an online platform for Black-owned small businesses in Atlanta, Birmingham, Dayton, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C.
Create a free Hello Alice account or log in to join a Mastercard Strive community to connect with each other and access a curated list of funding opportunities, tools, and educational resources to help your small business thrive.
About Hello Alice
A Latina-owned company founded by Carolyn Rodz and Elizabeth Gore, Hello Alice (helloalice.com) is a free, multichannel platform that helps businesses grow. We believe in business for all by providing access to all owners, including women, people of color, military-connected individuals, the LGBTQ+ community, persons with disabilities, and every American with an entrepreneurial spirit.
For more small business tips and inspiration, create a free account on Hello Alice or subscribe to our weekly newsletter.