Blogs

Lisa Romer King’s business plan was born while studying for her M.A. in Business Management when a professor tasked her with writing a business proposal. The assignment sparked something in Lisa and she decided she had to follow through on her idea and bring King's Professional Networking and Placement to life. 

For the past three years, Lisa has been running the business she dreamed of out of Lauderhill, Florida where she serves as a mediator, public notary, credit educator and business advisor to members of her community.  

In the midst of a global pandemic and a severe economic recession, entrepreneur Adriane Anderson was forced to rethink her retirement plan.

A Georgia native and a lover of hosting gatherings, Adriane Anderson opened her event venue Bless the Occasion just last year. She knew she wouldn’t be able to retire comfortably if she continued to rely on her income working at Publix, a grocery store chain, so she embarked on her journey as a small business owner in 2015. She purchased an old home in Stone Mountain, GA, and remodeled the facility—a process that took about four years to complete, as she had to navigate zoning changes and permit requirements. Her business hosts little girls' tea parties, etiquette classes, baby showers, birthdays and small events of up to 50 guests. 

From stay-at-home orders and being denied for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan to testing positive for COVID-19, the past few months have not been easy for Chicago business owner Kejuana Isom. 

Sherry Spellers combined her two passions to create a small business success story: a knack for repurposing old trinkets, with the desire to make women look and feel beautiful.

Her journey as a hairdresser was marked from an early age, when a traumatic incident caused Sherry to lose her hair. “I felt so ugly and ashamed. I knew in that moment that I wanted to help women feel good about themselves, and hair was a great way to do that,” says Sherry.

Faced with a lack of diverse food options, Jaja Chen and Devin Li decided to bring a bit of their East Asian heritage to Waco, Texas. 

Waco Cha started off as a tent at the Waco Downtown Farmers Market selling boba tea, but within a year they gained so much popularity that Jaja and Devin were able to purchase a truck and expand their reach and their services. Not only were they selling boba out of their truck, but they began hosting “Dumpling Night Workshop,” where they teach members of their community how to fold, make and eat dumplings from start to finish. 

As a first-generation immigrant, Anahi Rojas knows a thing or two about chasing opportunities. 

Anahi, owner of Professional Eco Cleaning in Oakland, Calif., moved to the United States 13 years ago to seek new economic opportunities and improve her life and that of her family in Mexico. Initially, she worked as a waitress but soon realized the language barrier would be a problem. She pursued other avenues and became a partner at in house cleaning cooperatives where she learned how to manage a business, and developed her conflict resolution strategies. 

Mark and TJ Goettsch started their business during the Great Recession, so this couple knows a little something about running a business through times of financial crisis. However, when COVID-19 hit, it impacted their business and thousands of others across the country in completely unprecedented ways. 

This blog originally appeared on the blog of our partner CO-STARTERS.

Although some businesses have seen the relief offered by the CARES Act—particularly the Paycheck Protection Program SBA loans—many small businesses have been left wondering if their application is even being considered. 

Not long after accepting a voluntary early retirement package from her long time employer, Southern California Edison, Pat Watts found herself yearning to be back at work. So, she turned to entrepreneurship by taking some of the money from her retirement package and starting her own business. Little did she know, her business would end up expanding across the nation and her workforce training program would focus-in on her own community.  

Small Business Majority’s Outreach Team advocates for entrepreneurs on two fronts: It supports policies that would benefit small firms, and it offers workshops and events that help small business owners grow their companies. We’re sitting down with members of our Outreach Team to provide an introduction and let small business owners know how our team members can assist them.

This week we are spotlighting Awesta Sarkash, Small Business Majority’s Government Affairs Manager.