Entrepreneurship

For Rosie Arias, her mission is simple. She wants to keep the world warm one baby at a time.

Whimsical Charm, based out of Long Beach, Calif., was incorporated in 2011 after Rosie’s close friends began having children and she couldn’t find a blanket that was unique and different to gift them. This inspired her to use her fashion degree and sewing skills to make an easily-maintained, practical blanket that looked nice. 

Georgia leads the nation in production of peanuts, pecans, blueberries and spring onions. Don’t forget the peaches. The warm weather, diverse soil types and rural surroundings make for fresh, rich produce. For Sarah O’Brien, owner and founder of Little Tart Bakeshop in Atlanta, this luscious produce is one of the main reasons she moved to the South to start her business in 2010. 

When federal funding programs don’t work for the small businesses they were designed to support, owners may be forced to seek out much riskier avenues to capital in order to keep their doors open. Unfortunately Chef Frisco Thumbtzen in South Carolina is one such example. 

After his military service left him with disabled veteran status, Chef Frisco turned to entrepreneurship. In the military, he worked as a limousine driver and when he was discharged, he was given his own vehicle so he could start up his own transportation business. 

More than a year and a half into the pandemic, many small businesses are unsure if they will be able to recover after fighting to stay above water and accruing crippling debt. Small business owners of color, women and immigrants have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic as they’ve faced barriers to accessing federal relief programs and traditional lending. Small business owner Daysi Del Rosario Rivas Peralta is one example.

Owning a small business can be challenging if you don’t have access to resources and tools to help you understand and manage the operational side of your business. For Javier Haro, this came at a high cost when his short debut as a restaurant owner came to a screeching halt after shutting down his business when the 2009 economic downturn hit the market.

From September 15 to October 15, we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month by sharing resources for Hispanic and Latino small business owners. This year, we asked Small Business Majority network member Jaqueline Vrba and National Latino Outreach Manager Latavia Pineda about their work with the Hispanic community and their favorite resources.

Tax expert Talibah Bayles started her career in a big way, working for the FBI in Washington, D.C, but in 2006 she decided to move back to her hometown of Birmingham, Ala. and launch her own business so she could focus on taking care of her young family. While Birmingham is a much smaller city, Talibah was determined to make a big impact on her community.