Business Owner Rallies For Community Support To Stay Afloat

August is the celebration of Black Business Month. But from the looks and woes of some businesses, there is little to celebrate when it’s not flowing as well as anticipated.

According to KRIS 6 News, being a Black business owner has its ups and downs. Some Black businesses are not being supported in a way that can help them thrive,.

Take, for example, LaToya Rodriguez, who owns Rose Soiree in Corpus Christi, Texas. Rodriguez told KRIS 6 she is still in the process of trying to make her flower shop successful.

“It is honestly rather tough being a business owner in the Coastal Bend in general, not just as a minority,” Rodriguez said. “There is a lot of preconceived notions about someone owning a business is rich or they have it all.”

That lack of support can have a lasting effect not just on the business but the community as well.

“When you call 1-800 companies for flowers, they’re not here. They’re not in our community,” Rodriguez explained. “They’re not going to your son’s baseball game or supporting your daughter’s dance team. The small businesses like mine are.”

Small business attorney Phil Dennis agrees and says funds are the first and worst problem for Black entrepreneurs.

“They don’t have the finance. That’s the first thing,” Dennis said. “They don’t have the real finance. They come out of pocket. So, that means that they don’t have the backup when things like COVID happens, or when the downtimes do come, they don’t have the finance to keep running.”