Lessons Learned As We Kick Off Black Business Month

Living the entrpreneurial dream isn’t always what it seems. There are a lot of late nights (it’s 10:52pm as I write this), a lot of personal sacrifices, financial worries and constant thinking that goes on. But would I go back to the corporate world - not a chance. Becoming an entrepreneur was the best decision I ever made for my career, my self-confidence and my earning potential. It has allowed me to be creative and dream big. But getting here wasn’t easy, and if anything, my race and gender are assets and not a hinderance.

Let me explain. As one of the few Black women television producers in Toronto for many years, my community would turn to me when they wanted to access the media. There definitely was an ignorance of how to get their stories told or how to get positive coverage about all the great things happening in the community. So when I decided to leave my career of 25 plus years in television news, I filled a void in the PR/media consultng world for anyone who wasn’t white, small and medium businesses and women entrepreneurs. I didn’t start out targeting those groups, they naturally gravitated to me because, let’s be real, there is a comfort level and instant understanding that comes when you work within your community. I also enjoyed educating, helping and seeing people who looked like me getting their media shine on!

However, one of the lessons that I learned in my early days of entrepreneurship is that it was important to maintain a professional boundary with clients. As much as we became comfortable with each other (many of my former and present clients are now considered my friends), I was still running business. There were a few times that I let things or certain behaviour lapse because of that familiarity. However I soon learned how to turn those situations into teachable moments. I recognized that there was a learning curve on both sides on how to conduct business in a respectful way, but still develop a friendship that acknowledges business is business when the time comes to get down to work.

Finally, I do believe that being a woman definitely is part of the reason that about 75%-80% of my clients are women. Again, the comfort level is there. My team is also all Black women. I like the fact that I am mentoring and employing young Black women in my business. The melanin factor aside, it is rewarding to see so many Black women from our Find An Expert take their rightful position on the morning show couches and kitchen demos where you would not have seen that even five or ten years ago. And it makes me proud to say, I had a hand in that. Happy Black Business Month!