by Janine Nicole Dennis | Nov 9, 2015 | Advice, Business, Diversity & Inclusion, Entrepreneur, Featured
A few month’s ago, I was searching for articles on female entrepreneurship. I needed statistics and facts around this topic. I was beyond pleasantly surprised to find this Entrepreneur article called: The fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in America. This article not only summarized the state of entrepreneurship for females, but it highlighted a statistic- even I was not aware of. The statistic was: The number of African-American owned businesses grew 322% since 1997. So, while entrepreneurship by females in general grew 74% from 1997 to 2015, black women blew that statistic away.
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Image of Biddy Mason Courtesy of Wikipedia
I believe there are many reasons for this rapid increase in female entrepreneurs and even more so for black women taking this leap.
In this episode I will share the following:
- What I believe is contributing to the rise in females becoming entrepreneurs in general.
- What factors may be contributing to the rise of the businesses owned by African-American Women?
- What does this mean for the future of work?
- Great statistics, but is there room for improvement?
If Entrepreneur can put this topic on blast, so can I. We are going to explore all sides of female entrepreneurship this week.
To get your palate wet for this week’s discussion, check out these articles for more insights:
Who Runs the Business World? Women!
Turning Corporate Lemons Into Entrepreneurial Lemonade
From HR to Entrepreneurship: Honor the Journey
Businesswoman Janine Truitt Talks About the Lessons of Entrepreneurial Dreams
I’m calling out all mompreneurs, womeneurs, solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, boss ladies, and even aspiring female entrepreneurs to join me on Thursday at 11pm EST/10pm CST/8pm PST for “Ask Czarina Live”.
Good News! I promised you that I would be posting the replays of “Ask Czarina Live” to “The Aristocracy of HR” You Tube Channel for those of you not ready to take the Periscope plunge. Fortunately, I have been enlightened that an app named Katch.me exists. Katch.me saves all of my Periscope episodes so I can share and download my episodes. If you’re on Katch, you can check out “Ask Czarina” replays there. Otherwise, I am happy to announce that my replay from last week is up on “The Aristocracy of HR” You Tube Channel.
As usual it will be fun, fresh, and insightful. I look forward to seeing you there.
Want more? Click here to watch the latest “Ask Czarina” episode. Subscribe to “The Aristocracy of HR” You Tube Channel to be notified when new episodes are published.
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Mar 6, 2015 | Ask Czarina, Entrepreneur, Featured, Life
Series Introduction
Every year, I like to find a different way of celebrating my favorite day: my birthday. Since I am turning 32 next month (I know…awww…), I’ve decided to share 32 revelations I have had during the course of my life about everything from life in general to business. Think of it as daily inspiration for you and therapy for me. It is a challenge for me, because I don’t think I have ever published a post everyday in the entire existence of The Aristocracy of HR. Plus, I recognize that while I am fairly generous in sharing on social media and here, I have only just scraped the surface on sharing who I am when I’m not pontificating how HR and Business can do better. Let’s use the month of March to get to know one another better. I hope at the end of the month, you walk away with something you can use in your own life or business.
Day 5 of 31- A Little Bit of Faith
When I took the leap of faith into the world of entrepreneurship, it was not a decision I made overnight. I literally spent a year and a half trying to find someone in my circle of trust to talk me out of this gnawing urge I had to break free of the corporate shackles. Ever time I spoke to someone about my plan or what I was going through at work, they would say: “it’s time to go, Janine.” I must have heard over ten or more times from mentors and colleagues, “you are looking a for a right time to do this and it will never come”.
I’d like to think I am a spiritual woman. I believe in the power of choice and decisions, but I cannot deny the concept of fate. This idea that everyone has a path that is already paved for them is both wild and mysterious. For over a year, whether I read a scripture, my horoscope or spoke to someone- it seemed there were signs everywhere leading me out of my day job and into my business. I’d read my horoscope and it would tell me have faith. I would speak to someone and they would reassure me that things would be fine when I take this leap. Initially, I intended to stay in my job until June of 2015- I had a whole plan in place and I expected it would work. When I verbalized this to colleagues and friends- they said you’re not going to make it. After being out on maternity leave, I revised my plan to December. Again the message was- you won’t make it to December.
When opportunity knocks…
Here’s the crazy thing, I never made it to December. I resigned at the end of September 2014. Even within that plan, I intended to give eight weeks because I was on a high visibility project and wanted to see my previous employer through. Due to lots of nonsense and backlash surrounding my resignation, I started to rethink my generous eight week notice, but I hung in there. I never made it to the eighth week. I happened upon an event happening in NYC surrounding the future of work and merely inquired. Next thing I knew, I was an invited attendee and I moved my last day up. Remember my initial plan of remaining one more year? It was never meant for me to make it. Shortly after putting in my resignation, I found out the day care I had my two little ones in at my previous employer was going up 30%. I also found out that they would be breaking up our team and transitioning each of us into new roles. The daycare tuition hike alone would have caused me to leave; but then I had an innocent conversation with someone connected to the daycare. This person informed me that my children were being underserved for the money I was already paying. I don’t believe I would have been told this before my resignation. The resignation became the corridor to Pandora’s Box as more and more things started to be revealed to me.
Faith over Fear
I tell you this because I was scared to death of my dreams. Being able to be home with my kids and run a business was a synergy I wanted and needed in the worst way. My journey has been fairly linear until now, because I like to have control over what happens next. I never really have control, but I have always controlled what I could. Having faith and courage to do something I couldn’t entirely envision kept me up at night and made me nervous. I conjured up the worst possible thoughts in my head about the potential for failing and the impact to my family. Even after I took the leap of faith, I spent weeks questioning my decision.
Everything happens for a reason
What I have found five months into this new journey, is the potential for failing, the hardships and sacrifices are far better risks to take than remaining in a situation where your fire is being extinguished daily. None of my fears mattered. What was missing was my faith. Some days I had more faith than others. Having just a little faith has catapulted me into a life and career that far exceeds any plans or expectations I had. I could be crazy, but it felt like my friends, family, colleagues, horoscope and everything else was speaking to me at the precise time I needed them to. All of the signs and subtle pushes were intentional messages from on high to get me where I am today. It hasn’t been an easy road, but I am thankful for the divine intervention that has guided my journey so far.
Czarina’s Lesson: A little bit of faith can take you a long way.
