Despite the economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, 88% of black and Latino entrepreneurs in the United States have recorded unprecedented performance in their businesses in the last 12 months. While nearly nine in 10 entrepreneurs met or exceeded their performance expectations last year, almost all worry it was due to increased short-term attention. 73% experienced moderate to significant business growth, and 77% anticipate additional growth during 2022 compared to 2021.
Black business owners are subjected to harsh and even humiliating experiences fueled by racism and sexism on top of the daily challenges of building a business. While 88% said a strong focus on racial equity had increased the attention to their business, this has allowed them to invest in their business in ways they might not have otherwise through product innovation, infrastructure improvement, and hiring. Our one such victor is Garnett Phillip, one of the most inspiring entrepreneurs, mother, and wife from Brooklyn, NYC, and a proud owner of The Rogers Garden- a Rum Bar located in the heart of Brooklyn.
Nevertheless, the brutal reality is that nothing was handed to Garnett. She was made to understand the meaning of blood, sweat, and tears. Yes, that’s Garnett Phillip for you- a woman who has carved her niche as a successful entrepreneur despite the uphill battle she has been through. Today, Garnett stands proud, and so we are!
Garnett Phillip owes her success to resources, advice, institutional support in the early stages, better representation among decision-makers, and support from her community. This is how she emerged as one of the steadfast black-owned business initiators.
Garnett Phillip tells how Black Business Owners can Thrive in NYC but Need Greater Resources
COVID-19 has caused a reduction in business for many entrepreneurs in schedule changes, a decrease in the number of clients, and closures. Black entrepreneurs have been hit especially hard by the pandemic: In the first five months, business ownership for this group fell at a faster rate. Meanwhile, the social unrest that followed the police killings of black people like George Floyd has seen local businesses suffer additional damage. Business owners of color grapple with the mental anguish of seeing others like them lose their jobs and lives.
We African Americans make up 44% and 15% of New York’s population, respectively, but own only 6% and 4% of employers in the city and 30% and 13% of non-employers. The local focus in recent years has been on encouraging these entrepreneurs, both by the city federation and other institutions and community efforts. Still, we often hear in our reports that funding opportunities, networks, and other resources are harder to access if you’re a person of color.
Garnett Phillip Speaks of the Challenges she Faced Growing her businesses in NYV in 2020
Garnett Phillip explains support and growth are what she needed most. And why not?
Some adversities emerged from the pandemic, some related to the past year’s difficulties, and others were more systemic. They said it had been consistently difficult to gain access to capital. Other founders pondered how they could achieve further growth after initial success. For many, staying solvent amid a pandemic became their biggest challenge. And they were dealing with the social upheaval that had been brewing for years provided an additional layer of duress.
As the virus raged, Garnett made a surreal entry into the lives of people used to working on their terms and now thrown into new circumstances that present something of an existential crisis. Conversations about their career path sometimes turned emotional and even sad as she discussed the systemic inequities that might have prevented them from succeeding.
Garnett sees resources for African-American entrepreneurs, and successful Latinos already exist. They aren’t affordable or visible enough for everyone who needs them. The organizations that provide these resources must work to meet the needs. Finding ways to vend when African Americans and their allies needed a tangible sense of community was a challenge she worked quickly to solve.
Garnett Recalls Institutional Support in the Early Stages
Having access to chambers of commerce and other professional organizations in the earliest stages of business planning can be a huge advantage for Black and Latino entrepreneurs striving for success.
Garnett Philip of The Rogers Garden is a magical retreat to connect, have fun, relax, and enjoy the Caribbean vibes. It is Garnet’s passion to reap the island vibes in NYC. However, she wishes she had known about the benefit of social media when The Rogers Garden was still in the planning stages — an aspect to consider.
“What Challenges have you Overcome, and what Challenges do you Still Face?
I have come across performativity, diversity, equity, and inclusion, where stakeholders have discovered that it is their burden to devote time and resources to these initiatives.
Garnett says, celebrate your success! Don’t look back, and keep learning, believing, and exploring
My work focuses on the co-creation of leadership, life management, and entrepreneurship and every day is worth it.
Shout out the positives and praise a new idea as loudly as possible. Provide constructive feedback in private and help improve the product with real thoughts and suggestions. Nothing beats getting a new customer or finding a way to improve your product or service.
Garnett knows that Black entrepreneurs face more barriers than the average business owner, particularly when it comes to financing. In fact, due to systemic barriers, black-owned businesses tend to generate less revenue than their white counterparts. Solutions to this problem could include better and more equitable financial instruments, such as micro-credit to support the growth and viability of these businesses. And she thinks the ecosystem can help change this.
Black founders are over-oriented and under-funded.
In addition to funding, underrepresented (early-growth) founders need belief offered to other founders, follow-on investments, introductions, resources, and a safe space to air issues. Garnett figured out how to do so much with so little and leveraged all help to focus solely on revenue, success, and customer case studies.
Garnett Philip Sets her Rules to Accomplish an Entrepreneurial Mindset
So what are the advantages of entrepreneurship? The experience of responsibility, despite representing challenges, is very enriching on a professional and personal level. Garnett Philip tells the reaping benefits:
- It offers the possibility of developing a rewarding career that will fill you with pride.
- Allows you to perform with autonomy and flexibility by choosing the time and place of work.
- Opportunity to acquire valuable leadership experiences.
- Building a beneficial network of contacts
- You can apply your creativity.
What is the Entrepreneurial Mindset?
Garnett says an entrepreneurial mindset is the set of skills that enable you to identify and make the most of opportunities and overcome and learn from setbacks to achieve success in a variety of settings.
Whether you are looking to create or grow your own business or want to join a company, having an entrepreneurial mindset is essential. Employers value the entrepreneurial mindset, allowing you to increase your achievements and even your academic performance.
How to Achieve an Entrepreneurial Mindset?
To be successful, entrepreneurs always seek to be clear about their objectives. They carry out planning and capture them to keep them in mind. They also constantly evaluate their strategies and decisions to ensure they are on the right track. Try to keep your goals in mind and establish systems to achieve them.
Entrepreneurs recognize that time is their most valuable resource, so they protect and manage it effectively. To plan your business, you must start with yourself. Plan ahead to increase your achievements.
When establishing, implementing, and evaluating strategies, always keep in mind the results you want to achieve. This will allow you to have extraordinary clarity and keep moving forward regardless of obstacles
Most people make life and career decisions based on emotions and assumptions. Outstanding entrepreneurs base their decisions on facts.
Try to access the largest amount of reliable information about your business and make accurate decisions based on data and real facts.
An important difference between successful entrepreneurs and those who are not so successful is that the former are convinced of offering products and services of great value to their clients. This allows them to tirelessly strive to make their business benefit as many people as possible and recognize its significance for the community around them.
Entrepreneurs know the importance of being efficient, so they have a constantly evolving mentality to adapt to market changes. They continuously educate themselves and gain experiences that will lead them to the goals they set for themselves. This gives a confidence boost and higher self-esteem.
Entrepreneurs, especially those who are starting, know that they have limited resources, and that is why they learn to focus their efforts on clear objectives and avoid dispersion at all costs.
As some goals are achieved, or more resources are obtained, some entrepreneurs end up dispersing their efforts, and it is at this point that some of their companies become stagnant.
Some entrepreneurs make the mistake of believing that they must develop their businesses individually. The reality is that the help of a mentor or a friend, or a business associate to achieve your goals can greatly accelerate your progress.
Self-knowledge is Probably one of the Most Important Strengths of Garnett Phillips
Garnett pointed out that self-knowledge translates into valuing yourself more. This allows you to become an expert in the area of your choice. If you do not understand and respect yourself, no one else certainly will. After all, those who understand and appreciate themselves are better able to understand and appreciate others.
Garnett Phillips deems fostering relationships with her co-players to help them become positive action leaders.