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At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Rhonda Walker worked as the director of nursing at a nursing home in the St. Louis area. Walker soon began planning her exit strategy, because she couldn’t bear to see her clients die and the nursing staff become seriously ill. The final straw was the day she had a hemorrhage in early summer 2020.
During her recovery, the north St. Louis County native spent time wondering what she would do next. In the year In November 2020, Walker purchased a building in the Grove neighborhood she now calls home. Creole with a dash of soul Restaurant.
But opening a Creole-Southern restaurant during a public health crisis and recession was not easy. Walker was unable to obtain bank financing.
“I was told that the restaurant industry had been hit hard … especially with the Covid pandemic and all the closings, so there wasn’t much to gain,” Walker said.
Walker used her personal savings of about $30,000 and a family loan of about $10,000 to start her business.
For many black entrepreneurs, obtaining capital from lenders or private investors is the biggest obstacle to running a successful business. That made it difficult for black business owners to keep their doors open.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
According to researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, it has the highest number of black-owned businesses. added It’s about 30 percent nationally since before the epidemic — and black women are behind the increase.
Some days Creole receives heavy traffic with a splash of soul, and other days business is light. Walker sometimes takes nursing shifts to make sure the doors are open and her staff is paid.
“Every dollar I make as a nurse, I put back into my business,” Walker said.
Walker’s has been serving Creole shrimp and grits, seasonal fried catfish and Cajun chicken pasta since May 2021. The business brought in about $270,000 in seven months.
Black women are often the breadwinners, and they’re transitioning from working in industries where they make less than their male counterparts to running businesses, said Giselle Marcus, a professor of diversity, equity and inclusion at Washington University in St. Louis.
Andrea Y. Henderson
/
St. Louis Public Radio
“Covid has shed more light on the fact that there are other options, one of which is entrepreneurship,” Marcus said.
In St. Louis, some black women entrepreneurs began making items as a hobby before the pandemic and started their own companies after many businesses closed.
Rachel Burns took her hobby to the next level by opening in May 2020. Bright spoons of cream.
In the year In 2017, the St. Louisian began making ice cream for her friends at gatherings. Her guests loved the delicious desserts, so she began to improve her recipes. In the year In early March 2020, people couldn’t go out to buy ice cream, so Burns saw it as an opportunity to go directly to customers. Burns began serving ice cream to neighbors to let them know about her new company.
“Hi, my name is Rachel, I live around the corner and I started this business and I wanted to give you a little something, I hope you like it,” Burns said. “And after that day, I started getting online orders.”
Andrea Y. Henderson
/
St. Louis Public Radio
At first, she mass-produced mint, goat cheese and fig and lavender ice cream from a commercial kitchen in downtown St. Louis to sell online and at the Tower Grove Farmers Market. And in July 2020, her ice creams were picked up by Schnucks Markets to support black-owned companies in the region. Her products are now sold in more than 20 local markets and shops.
The financial investment advisor credited the pandemic for her success. Last year, the company brought in about four times its sales in the first seven months of its opening.
“We’ve never had a business where Covid wasn’t part of our normal business, so it was good to see what we could have done without it,” Burns said. “But the fact that everyone was at home at the time may have been the reason. [the business] possible”
Andrea Y. Henderson
/
St. Louis Public Radio
Florissant resident and entrepreneur Tiffany Wesley found success during the pandemic. She created a face soap to treat her breakouts due to hormonal imbalance.
“It was a hobby for me, something I enjoyed, I loved,” Wesley said. “My daughter really inspired me and threw me in, so I was like, ‘If this is helping her, it can definitely help others.'”
A few years later, she started making body butters, oils and scrubs in her home, and then opened up. Pure vibrations Online, but she didn’t see much progress until March 2020.
“It was like perfect timing,” Wesley said. “We were in a pandemic, there was a shortage of soap, there was very little sanitizer, you couldn’t get anything in terms of basic hygiene and health and hygiene products,” Wesley said.
Andrea Y. Henderson
/
St. Louis Public Radio
In the year In 2019, her company brought in about $35,000 in sales and $85,000 in 2020. In the year In 2021, she opened a storefront and spa in University City and is considering opening a second location.
Wesley is thriving as an entrepreneur. However, she faced a few obstacles at first. Even though Wesley had good credit, she couldn’t get a bank loan with a good interest rate. She applied for grants and loans from community investors and received about $100,000.
Despite the challenges, Wesley said she sees her business as a way to inspire a generation of black female entrepreneurs in St. Louis.
“It shows that you can see other people who look like you, come from the same background as you, and be able to change communities, especially when you grow up in underprivileged areas. Of course do,” said Wesley.
Follow Andrea on Twitter: @drebjournalist
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