Conversations about race in America have once again come to the forefront in recent days, as have calls to support minority-owned businesses.
Springfield does not have a definitive list of black-owned businesses, though people have curated short lists with established restaurants like Big Momma's Coffee and Espresso Bar and Crosstown BBQ.
Some residents compiled a fairly extensive Google spreadsheet of more than a dozen black-owned businesses in the city, and others have urged people to support causes like the Springfield NAACP, Minorities in Business, Prosper Springfield and Brother to Brother.
The News-Leader this week caught up with a few of the entrepreneurs on that list to hear about their businesses, their advice for other people wanting to start their own ventures and what they'd like to see in Springfield.
Here's what they said:
'Just keep focused, keep your eye on the prize'
Della Gardner calls herself the owner, accountant, janitor, psychologist, lawyer and enforcer at Della's Beauty Supply Plus on Commercial Street.
And all of those things could be considered a second career — she retired from Kraft Heinz in 2016.
Her hair shop was born out of a desire to help people like her sister, Renee Harris, who struggled to find a high-quality, affordable wig after she was diagnosed with cancer.
Harris encouraged Gardner to move forward with her dream, and even after she died in 2015, Gardner vowed to make it happen.
Others are reading: 'It's time to start doing': Springfield black leaders, police chief talk solutions
"I wanted to make sure I was honoring my sister," she said. "She's on my mind every day, and that keeps me going and serving the public."
Gardner found the building on Commercial Street, painted the walls and scoured flea markets and store closures for secondhand fixtures.
She lost a lot of sleep and prayed a lot, but in the end, she said she's proud of what she created.
"I was willing to go the extra mile," she said. "(I'd tell other aspiring entrepreneurs to) dream it, pray about it and don't be all over the place. Just keep focused, keep your eye on the prize."
And all of Gardner's focus and hard work have appeared to pay off.
On a recent day, Della's Beauty Plus was bustling with people asking for hair advice, looking to buy hair to take home to their family overseas or just trying to make a change.
People drive from Bolivar, Lebanon, Joplin and even Kansas to shop at her store, and Gardner said she isn't surprised by the diversity of her clientele. If people need something like hair, they'll go anywhere to get it.
"I serve people from all different ethnicities and backgrounds," she said. "It's been a blessing to know that I have hair that people want, that they look for."
More: 1,000+ expected at Black Lives Matter protest on the square this afternoon
She has found wigs to cover up pandemic haircuts, helped people through marriage troubles and even assisted terminally ill cancer patients as they pick out the wig in which they want to be buried.
"I've dealt with a lot of heads, and nothing fazes me," she said. "I just try to handle people gently and with care because sometimes things are not what it looks like at first."
'What's stopping me from doing it?'
Next door to Gardner's shop, 27-year-old Champale Love-Hudson opened Springfield Braiding Company in October.
The St. Louis native said she moved to Springfield several years ago and noticed there weren't any braiding shops in the city.
Love-Hudson said she knew there were people driving sometimes two or three hours to get their hair done, and so she started looking into it.
"I thought, 'What's stopping me from doing it?'"
A state law passed in 2018 allowed hair braiders to get licenses to operate without completing hundreds of hours of full cosmetology training — something state lawmakers and Love-Hudson said weren't needed because braiders do not use chemicals or any special treatments to get the desired result.
Keep reading: Springfield runner thinks vandalism to her SUV was racially motivated
Love-Hudson said she followed the law closely and got a license as soon as it was available, training other stylists to join as well.
Now, Springfield Braiding Company has six stylists in addition to Love-Hudson, and she said she's looking to train even more people.
She said she hopes to serve as a mentor to young women, especially students, and teach them to provide necessary services.
"I think it makes it easier for people, even for students, to start endeavors when they see someone else doing it," she said.
Her dream is to franchise her shop and serve other communities in the region, and her shop has already made people feel more comfortable moving to the area.
"I've had people who are now clients call me before they moved to town to see what we're about," she said.
'It's not a zero-sum game'
John Oke-Thomas has been a fixture in Springfield since he opened his architectural firm Oke-Thomas and Associates in 1996.
The former president and one of the founders of Minorities in Business said he always wanted to start his own venture, so he took the plunge and has been at it for more than two decades.
It hasn't always been easy.
When the Great Recession reduced demand for architectural services, Oke-Thomas pivoted to also offer construction management.
More: Drury president on killing of George Floyd and others: 'I cannot remain silent'
"The construction management was able to sustain us during the downturn, and now we juggle between architecture and construction management," he said. "That has given us the flexibility to stay in business."
It also isn't easy being a minority-owned business in a "professional" field.
Oke-Thomas said at one point, Springfield had about five minority-owned architectural firms and more than a dozen minority-owned subcontractors.
Now, there are just five minority-owned subcontractors and one architectural firm.
Part of that can be attributed to a lack of acceptance, he said, but another is having the community and other leaders understand that success is not a zero-sum game, at least in the professional fields.
"I think we are so focused on if I lose, you win, and if I win, you lose, and that type of mentality did not help minority-owned businesses," he said. "The way I look at it is if you build the economic pie to be bigger, then one will not have to worry about winners and losers because everybody wins. Everybody is able to get out of it."
The city has long held forums and conversations about how to support minority-owned businesses, but Oke-Thomas said there hasn't been enough action to follow.
"One of the biggest obstacles we’ve had is we talk a whole lot, but we have not done the necessary things that it takes to sustain or keep a minority-owned business in Springfield," he said. "We recognize what the problems are, but that is just one leg of the stool. We've got to now put together how we solve the problem."
More: Pokin Around: When you watch George Floyd dying, this is the America Kaepernick spoke of
He said Minorities in Business started because he and others wanted to get people's attention and show that the community's prosperity depended on their survival.
But there hasn't been enough intentional action to support those businesses so that they can thrive, he said.
"We are interested in networking, we are interested in partnership," he said. "And the goal is not to challenge the status quo, it is to be able to partner with the status quo so we can survive as business entities. For some of the businesses it has been very, very frustrating."
For Oke-Thomas, keeping his business afloat has relied on finding projects in Kansas City and St. Louis, where he said the markets have been more "receptive" to hiring a minority-owned firm.
"It has not been easy," he said. "And anybody that says it has been easy has probably not had the challenges that most minority-owned businesses face, especially in the professional fields."
'We have shown that you can prosper'
Terry Edwards' security business started with a 2005 Crown Vic that had been driven 300,000 miles.
Now, he has a fleet of more than a dozen cars and is working on buying new ones.
Edwards said Ascension Protection Services was born out of his desire to branch out on his own after being a law enforcement officer in Arizona and a security guard for the city in Springfield.
He and his employees provide security for major entertainment venues in Branson, private businesses, security complexes, personal security and even some bodyguard work for celebrities, WWE champions and major music acts.
His business has grown exponentially in the last several years, something he attributes to his employees and the work he has put in to get it done.
It also is a testament to the work of minority-owned businesses in Springfield, which he says have flourished despite the odds.
"In this town, what the minorities have done in business, it's great," he said. "We have shown that you can prosper in an area you're a minority in."
More: Hundreds protest death of George Floyd Saturday, this time at Battlefield and Glenstone
That doesn't mean it's always easy, but he said a can-do attitude can push people over the top.
"Is there racism here? Yes," he continued. "But if you say you can't succeed, that's it."
He said he tells young people and aspiring entrepreneurs that if they believe they can succeed, they will.
"The biggest words I hate hearing are, 'I can't,'" he said. "I tell young people, 'We have so many leaders who have died for us to be able to do what we're doing now. You can do anything you want.'"
Katie Kull covers local government for the News-Leader. Got a story to tell? Give her a call at 417-408-1025 or email her at kkull@news-leader.com. You can also support local journalism at News-Leader.com/subscribe.
"share" - Google News
June 07, 2020 at 10:13AM
https://ift.tt/37j6nqF
Springfield's black entrepreneurs share secrets to success, hopes for the future - News-Leader
"share" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2VXQsKd
https://ift.tt/3d2Wjnc
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Springfield's black entrepreneurs share secrets to success, hopes for the future - News-Leader"
Post a Comment