2025 State of Black Businesses

Hey honeys and hustlers,

Today is day 3 of my daily podcast challenge for the month of February. Let’s just say it feels like a Monday. Since I’m doing a daily podcast challenge, much of the audio I’m working on will be incorporated into this newsletter. The episode that dropped this morning is about the state of Black business, particularly in North Carolina, but with lessons that are applicable to minority business owners everywhere. I look at reports from Forbes, CNBC, NC IDEA, and more to gather the data in this episode. Some quick stats I thought were interesting:

• 96% of Black-owned businesses are solo-owned and operated

• Black Americans makeup 20.5% of North Carolina, yet only account for 13% of self-sufficient businesses (I believe this is how they refer to full-time business owners)

• North Carolina has been ranked as one of the best places to start a business, yet one of the worst places for workers and families.

I tried to make sense of these numbers and explore how North Carolina (and the South, country, world, etc) can bridge the gap to be the best place to start a business, grow a business, and build incredible teams that provide workers with a high quality of life and a healthy relationship with work.

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and leave us a review!

P.S. I asked folks on Linkedin who they’d like to get a deep dive on for Black History Month, here’s a sneak peek of who’s up next…

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Please Hustle Responsibly,

🤙🏾✨

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