The 2020 Berkshire County
SUCC3SS Report - Entrepreneurship

Overview – I

Domain Description

Entrepreneurship is the activity of setting up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit. Entrepreneurship is a major key in the economic development of any community. 

Domain Vision

Black entrepreneurs and business owners are supported throughout the life of their organization through the community and coupled with services that cater to their unique needs. This creates an influx of cash into the Black community by employing more Black people and increasing investment into other Black-owned startups.  

Domain Goals

• Create a better ecosystem for Black entrepreneurs in the Berkshires. 
• Socioeconomic advancement through business, ownership, and asset building is vital for our community.

Idea Jam Activities

• Record insights into community members’ experience starting a business and being in business in the Berkshires. 
• Identify resources available and resource needs of the community.
• Educate station jammers about entrepreneurship in the Berkshires.

Relevant Context – II

Historical Context

Local

Before the Berkshire Black Economic Council came together, there was very little entrepreneurial support or infrastructure tailored to the unique needs of the Black community. 

This is often addressed through chambers of commerce, economic development, or entrepreneurial support organizations addressing Black economic advancement. The existing organizations did not have the staff, training, or resources to make a significant impact on the problems faced by the Black business community in the Berkshires. 

National

Investing in Black-owned businesses is good business.

“Here’s another misunderstanding: America’s small business owners aren’t white males anymore. The entrepreneurs of the future are women, people of color, and immigrants (who are also the entrepreneurs of our past). The number of women-owned businesses increased 31 times between 1972 and 2018, according to the Kauffman Foundation. Meanwhile, the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs among women-owned businesses is women of color; they are responsible for creating 64% of the new women-owned businesses. Additionally, immigrants start businesses at twice the rate of native-born Americans. 

These shifts raise all kinds of questions for the stimulus and the recovery. Women and people of color are less likely to have relationships with traditional banks and the SBA, which have been the center of the stimulus package so far. Small businesses generally, and women-owned businesses specifically, are much more likely to make use of contractors. Early guidance by the SBA indicated that contractors would be included in the calculations of payroll, but final rules exclude them.”

• CNBC
   

Current Environmental Context

The gap between goodwill sentiment, resources, and infrastructure needed to follow through

During the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd, there was an outpouring of support from our Berkshire community to businesses owned by African-Americans in Berkshire County. However, there was no centralized digital space for the greater Berkshire County to connect with its African-American business owners and easily access their information. 

Many of our allies wanted to connect with and support Black-owned businesses within the Berkshire County Region. The Black community, in a call for more economic support for African American businesses, also intends to direct more support with their dollar to Black and Brown businesses.

There was no public directory for funding organizations to communicate available resources to these businesses, thus creating a communication gap for available resources between resources-based organizations and African American businesses and organizations.

Findings – III

Challenges

• Barriers exist to secure business support for Black and African American small business owners, including the capital, business planning, financial and legal advice and services. 
• Historically, financial institutions have not considered minorities a key segment when it comes to successful businesses.
• Specific to the Berkshires, we have Black and African American community members who are 1st generation and come from low-income homes. Programs and services that do not take this into account are often a mismatch for Black and African community members looking to start their business. 
• Financial Literacy is a barrier for the local community when it comes to starting a business. 
• New businesses can be met with skepticism and parochial attitudes.
• There is no centralized place to market the black communities businesses and products in the Berkshires.
• Difficulties getting loans from banks/ capital to start up. 
• A need for out of the box creative thinking with business plan modeling.

Advantages

• Supporting the diverse talent pool in Berkshire County can help foster entrepreneurial success.
• The Berkshires are small enough that we can make significant progress. 
• Low cost of living in the Berkshires.
• Berkshire transplants usually do well.
• The entrepreneurial spirit is healthy in the community.
• 
The Berkshires is known for Life/work balance. 

Opportunities

• More research and resources around grants and loans designed for Black business owners.
• Development of alternative business models
• Resources for lawyers and legal support. 
• Access to legal representation and resources.
• Available offering of grants/loans for first-time business owners/ grant writing
• Emphasis on supporting all our Black businesses, doing business with them, and continuing to foster and grow momentum.
• Training on how to preserve work/life balance
• Robust supply and diversity program and minority contracts with corporations 

Risks

• Institutional racism blocking access to capital
• Lack of robust diversity, equity and inclusion policies

Insights

What Idea Jam Participants had to say 

Business ideas and feedback surfaced when asked whether jammers had started or owned a business. 

• “I have given thought to opening a business. I love cooking, I have considered opening a soul food restaurant or a mix of West African west indian restaurant. My fear is that there is not enough of us out here to be successful. “

• “I am a makeup artist – I know quite a few people who own their own businesses, young Black, African Americans who own their own business.”

• “I do know someone who started a dispensary, and there was a lot of licensing, loopholes, distribution, and government taxes. It can be pretty complicated depending on what business you are investing in. I am interested in starting my own business.”

• “I don’t know yet what I want to do, there are a lot of things going on with the economy.  My first thought is a Recreation Center of some kind.”

• “I have a sole proprietorship, I’d like to access more resources.”

• “My brothers and I are exploring getting into business, so this is informational to me right now.”

• “I am a freelance artist – i have spent much of my time looking at the nonprofit model. I promote people, especially artists who are marginalized. It is toxic and problematic in many ways as a Black person. I am also looking at alternative business models which are equitable and profitable.”

• “I am interested in LLC / NGO/ Cooperative differences and how to find tax info resources.”

Existing Resources within the Berkshire ecosystem 

Businesses

Organizations

• Black Economic Council
• NAACP, Berkshire County Branch
• Multicultural Bridge
• R3SET Enterprises
• EforAll
• BECMA
• LEVER
• 1Berkshire
• Schumacher Center
• City of Pittsfield
• PERC
• SBA

Groups

Partnerships

People

• Shirley Jackson
• Warren Dews
• Auric Enchill
• Aj Enchill
• Alfred Enchill
• Dubois Thomas
• John Lewis

Analysis – IV

Where are we now? Where do we want to go? What do we need to get there? 

Where are we now?

Overview of the challenges, opportunities, risks, insights.

We need to ADD DATA on Black-owned businesses in the area, similar to the data from jam, to gain more insight into the challenges current owners and prospective entrepreneurs face.

Challenges & Needs

Within the Berkshire ecosystem, we’ve identified a number of areas for improvement, including:

• A need for representation in local organizations (both staff & leadership).
• A need for more personal and professional connections between resources, resource decision makers and allocators, and community members. 
• There is no ecosystem or framework specifically customized to inspire the Black community to go into business and build wealth. 
• There’s a need for robust policies to address racialized barriers and attitudes towards Black folks. 
• Develop an incubator space with established Black entrepreneurs to inspire, guide and support budding entrepreneurs and an entrepreneurial mindset. 
• Some Black folks are not traditionally banked so they do not have the established banking relationship to get loans; therefore, they need more grant opportunities.

Mentoring programs for new and young entrepreneurs.

Where do we want to be? 

Socioeconomic advancement through business, ownership, and asset building is vital for our community.

We believe the Berkshires can be a destination for Black entrepreneurs and business owners to be supported throughout the life of their organization through the community and services. There is a rich and diverse grouping of Black and African American talent in the Berkshires that can be tapped into, cultivated, and supported to help the Black community and the Berkshires as a whole prosper.

 Recruiting, employing, and supporting Black entrepreneurs will help the community increase wealth and provide investment and capital building opportunities within, and for other, black-owned startups.

Suggested Strategies

• A website and centralized marketing campaign for people to find and support Black-owned businesses in the Berkshires
• Black Accountants – Find a good accountant to answer these questions”
• Supplier diversity program
• Entrepreneurial training and support systems for the black community 
• Business directory – # businesses, the business sector
• Community outreach positions at businesses to improve community connectedness 
• Organize more structures that can receive local and state funding for the Black Community that are operated by Black community members
• Fully funded Black Economic Council
• Financial Literacy Program 
• East/West Political Advocacy Support with local political officials economic development funds