KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee is rated second in the country for Black entrepreneurs in a report by Merchant Maverick. This is up from when the state claimed the 11th spot in 2022.
"Over the years, there has been an increase in Black businesses because at one point in time, there was a population of Black businesses that were thriving but due to our urban renewal that happened in Knoxville and a lot of surrounding counties, and across the state, it really uprooted and removed Black businesses and spread across the city," said Deidra Harper, the co-founder of The Women, LLC.
Her organization helps Black business owners with resources and helps them find the funding they need. She said Tennessee's ranking is surprising but good to know.
"I want to say that is contributed to the work that we're doing with the women because we do invest in Black businesses," said Harper. "And we have seen an increase and our applications over the last few years."
The Women, LLC was founded in 2020. Harper says there was a gap that needed to be filled and she aimed to do that. Part of the organization's work is to provide access to capital through interest-free microloans.
"In 2020, we had a lot of exposure of injustice that was going on around America," said Harper. "And we had George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and those are just two that really kind of changed my trajectory and thinking and what we can provide as a solution. And then in Knoxville, we were also experiencing a 42% poverty rate. So that was kind of, it just hit the fan. In Knoxville, we only make up 11% of the population for Black Knoxville youth. So we were like, 'What can we do to build wealth in our community?' And some of us are business owners. So we automatically knew that was a barrier to access to capital.
She said she's proud of the growth of the businesses and being able to help other Black entrepreneurs. She said the organization invested in ten Black-owned businesses across Knoxville, amount to around $25,000 given away in capital. The organization also launched a pitch competition in 2023 for Black entrepreneurs.
Jade Adams said she founded Oglewood Avenue, a plant shop, in 2020. She said it started as a business in her home and a few months later, she opened a physical location.
"I graduated in 2019," said Adams. "And then I became a photographer for about a year. And then, when everything kind of shut down, and I couldn't do photography. There were no weddings, there were really no elopements or engagements, anything to really document at that time. I switched to selling some of my house plants online. And then that's sort of like in May. And then we opened up the storefront that year in October."
Adams said she has a degree in microbiology and she didn't know much about starting a business.
"I had no foundation, or I didn't know anything about business. So, definitely, had its hurdles and obstacles. But I did get a lot of support from Knoxville in the beginning. And so that made it kind of easy," she said.
Adams says she was one of the first to complete a cohort run by 100Knoxville, a group aimed at helping Black-owned businesses grow. It's one of many agencies helping Black business owners.
"It was cool to meet other Black entrepreneurs and like business owners, it was also cool to kind of be in an environment where they kind of helped set up my foundation," said Adams. "So they helped me learn good business tax tactics, find a POS system, website, marketing. So it was really cool to have a group of mentors."
She said even though she graduated from the cohort, she keeps in touch with other Black business owners. Now, she even mentors them.
"People still come to this store whenever they want a plant, so I'll see people that graduated the program, where they'll come and say, 'Hi,'" she said. "They tell people about us. So, it's a network of word of mouth as well. Also if I still need help, I don't know everything by any means, I can kind of contact my mentors and people who help ... We still keep in contact. And it's just growing. So every year there's a new cohort."
Harper said this is only a start. She said for Black businesses to grow, the community has to rally behind them.
"Continue to invest in Black entrepreneurs," said Harper. "We exist and the work that we do, we can't do it alone. So if there are other organizations that are out there, that are thriving, that are Black-owned — support them. Because we know that when you support Black-owned businesses, it really helps the economy as a whole."