Successful Black Female Entrepreneurs

Full enthusiasm I picked up the magazine FAB. A magazine about female entrepreneurs in The Netherlands. Strong, brave and wise women with courage that started their own businesses. They left their comfort zone of working for a boss from 9 to 5 to start their own career. How great, how wonderful. I love to read these stories to inspire myself. As I turned the pages I saw all kinds of beautiful women passing by. I saw single women, married women, housewives all kinds of women with different backgrounds. I continued and went through the pages to look for a woman just like me. I turned the pages to look for cultural diversity. I looked, and looked until I finished the whole magazine. I got to the last page of the magazine and I couldn't find her. I couldn't find none of the women that represent every day women in the culturally diverse society we are living in today. I was very disappointed cause all I saw were the same women, page after page. But not one looked like women I see every time I step outside my door. Not one woman that looked like the Surinamese, Antillean, Cape Verdean, African, Dominican, Portugese women I know. I'm disappointed how is it possible that I didn't see 1 black female entrepreneur in the magazine. I'm so disappointed because I know that they are out there. These women are great in fashion, they are great in cosmetics, great in designing, great in finance, great in management, great in coaching, great in music. But they are not being portrayed in the media at all. Not here in The Netherlands where I live. Why are these women being covered as a secret to be forgotten?

Why do I have to go to an international magazine to read and see more about black female entrepreneurs. There are many, many black successful female entrepreneurs out here in The Netherlands. But they are not given any platform to share their story so they can be a role model for the ladies out here. I want to see and hear more about black female entrepreneurs I can relate to. Women who made it from the scratch. Women who haven't had mommy and daddy with a business of their own. I want to hear the stories of cultural diverse women who had to fight their way through to learn about businesses, to learn how to adapt into an unfamiliar culture cause they never been taught how to talk or how to negotiate with a CEO. I want to see and hear more of these stories. How did they climb up on that ladder, what steps did they took. What obstacles did they faced when they tried to be somebody in a world where no one knew their names.

I want to hear stories about women who didn't have any money in the bank and still managed to start her own business. All around the world, there are black female entrepreneurs making it. I was very happy I was able to turn into a magazine like the O' magazine or Essence to read about success stories of black female entrepreneurs but very disappointed I couldn't find it in a Dutch magazine.

I love to hear stories about women like Oprah and Lisa Nichols, women who had to deal with life and face their reality. Knowing that if they wanted a change they had to step out and change their whole surroundings. Their thoughts, their thinking and the people they hung out with.

I'm still disappointed that it's hard to find success stories of black successful women in The Netherlands. We live in 2015 and it shouldn't be like that. We still have to fight to be seen, to get a platform to share our stories. So I went on the internet and did some google research about black female entrepreneurs. And I found some amazing stories, that need to be shared. Stories to inspire every day women. Women from all cultures.

I have a short example: You may have never heard about it, I didn't until 2005. It was the year I went to the states with one of my dear friends Melissa van Hetten. Also a very inspiring and creative woman. We stayed in New York in Harlem and she introduced me to a beauty line and store called Carol's Daughter.

I was in 7th heaven when I stepped into the store. She told me about Carol's Daughter being introduced on The Oprah Winfrey Show and that it was used and supported by celebrities like Mary. J Blidge, Jada Pinket, Will Smith and Jay Z. We stepped into this amazing store on that day in October I immediately fell in love with the smell of all the products. Being a perfume lover, I couldn't resist to buy the perfume of Carol's Daughter. A sweet almond flavor. The women behind the brand is Lisa Price. She started making hair products in her Brooklyn, New York kitchen with just 100$. Today her homemade beauty line is a multi million dollar business. Unfortunately, I have to fly to the states or order it online if I want to buy a product from Carol's Daughter. Not that I don't like that, cause everybody that knows me, knows how much I'm in love with the states.

Madame C.J. Walker
(Hair/Scalp Products)
United States first self-made black female millionaire

There are more stories of black female entrepreneurs who made it. Starting from the scratch. These stories I want to see and hear more of. While I was researching I found 20 success stories of black female entrepreneurs I wanted to share. Click the link. http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/09/22/20-success-stories-of-black-female-entrepreneurs-you-may-not-know/

Definitely worth reading to inspire yourself and those around you. I know that there are many young ladies out there that want to dream big, that want to achieve more than where they came from but have never been in contact of what is possible. They have never seen ordinary people just like them making it. They never had role models, I believe it's very important to know what is possible to be able to dream about that possibility. If you have never seen success or prosperity how else are you gonna know what success is or how prosperity looks like. If you have never seen beauty how else are you gonna dream and have a vision about beauty.

To the world out there, to publishers, to producers, to the whole media industry here in The Netherlands there are many successful black women out there. Open your eyes and you'll see rich, successful colors all around you.

The road to achieve your dreams

As promised, I'm back with an article how to achieve your goals.

After you did you research, after you answered these questions for yourself. Who am I? Where do I stand for? What are your personal principles? Who do you admire? What am I passionate about? What are my gifts and talents? (The other questions you can read in the previous article about finding your life purpose)

After you’ve found out what it really is that you want to do? What you would love to do? What you would wake up for in the middle of the night to do it? Like me, I will wake up in the middle of the night or at dawn to write my creative words and idea’s down. I can be up in the middle of the night or travel 4 hours a day to work on my poetry/acting projects or to do research and read books about goals and dreams and how to be innovative and creativite in the world today. This is where I live for and I love it!

After that my first advice would be pray over it. I always ask God to direct me in all that I do. I now I need it cause I can be a control freak but at times I can be chaotic too. These are the moments when I have so many idea’s and I want to do them all at once!

But I have learned and I’m still learning to take one step at a time.

Let’s start

Write your vision down - start writing down that dream that you have that you want to achieve. Don’t limit yourself in space, money or time. Just write it down. I believe there is power in writing your vision down. I have done it and I have seen it working. Even God says it: write your vision down so you can see it and read it for yourself over and over again.

Be specific about what it is that you want to achieve - For example I want a job is not specific. Ask yourself? What kind of job do I want? How many days/hours do or can I work? Or I want a man? What kind of man? Dark or light? Long or short? age? With or without children? Be specific.

Ask yourself what is it that I need to get there - Make an A - B - C plan for yourself. You are not gonna get from A to Z. You need to make little steps. Work today to change tomorrow. For example: I want to make poetry/theatre productions.

I went back to school to learn more about making productions, to upgrade my acting and writingskills. This also helps me to create a new network and to stay updated about the latest developments in the theatrescene.

If you don’t have the time or the financians to go back to school to develope that skill that you need. There are other ways to get that education that you need:

Online free courses

• saylor Academy provides academical tuition free courses. From fine Arts to Computer Science. They have it all. For more info: www.saylor.org
• edX Online courses from the worlds best Universities: www.edx.org
• Academic Earth free online courses from top Universities: www.academicearth.org
• There are many, many more online courses you can take just google them.
• The library: The richest place on earth. Think about it, all that is made, all the wisdom, the knowledge that we work with is written and waiting in the library to be found and worked out.

So ask yourself what is it that I need to get from point A to B ……

Make short term goals and long term goals

In order to get to your long term goals you have to make short term goals. Also stay focused and don’t lose sight of why you are taking these classes. Do the homework you get, read the books you need because these are the little steps you need to get to your long term goals. Be patient and write or mark the goals you achieved. Don’t forget to treat yourself for your little achievements.

Set a deadline for your goals - make a time frame. In what time frame do I want to complete Step A. Step B. Step C……….

Be realistic about it. Don’t make a time planning to launch a bussines in 1 month, while you have never studied bussines or don’t know anything about bussiness. Also don’t be to hard on yourself if it takes a bit longer than planned. Don’t give up here, just make a new planning of time that you think you need to get to the next step. Think about the joy and happiness you feel everytime you achieved a goal and don’t forget to read your vision over and over. This will give you the extra boost to push through.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help, information or guidance

With every vision, with every goal you will come across mountains and giants. Obstacles, don’t be afraid or stop when these things happend. We all have them. Ask yourself what do I need to do to tacle this giant standing between me and my goal. If you can’t find the answer by yourself don’t be afraid to ask for help. The best advice I can give you is ask and learn from those who have gone before you. You don’t have to know or do everything by yourself. It’s impossible to know everything. There are a lot of people out there willing to help you or give you advice. If you don’t have them around you search for a helpforum online about that subject, or google it. That is how I get a lot of my information when I get stuck.

You may need financians think about sponsors, crowdfunding, you may need someone to create a website think about a ICT computer students, or make your own website or FB page. Get surrounded, search up that network, surround yourself with people that are also doing that what you want to do.

Don’t give up

Whatever you do, don’t give up. If you fall, lose sight or feel lost. You may even have to cry that’s oke? Let it all out and than get back up again. Cause yes, sometimes you may feel like you are in a rollercoaster ride going up and down. That is life! But whatever you do, don’t give up. What I do is feed my mind. I listen to uplifting, empowerment preachings like T.D Jakes, I listen to motivational speeches like Les Brown, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Harvey, Joel Osteen, Lyanla Verzant. I realise it all starts with the mind. I see it in my mothers life, I see it in so many other peoples life and I have experienced it. It all starts with our mindsetting. We are what we think, we achieve that what we think, Feed your mind with positive words, with positive people, always stay positive. So dream big, challenge yourself and step out.

Believe in that what God has placed in you, even if nobody understands or see your vision. And even if nobody has done that thing before that you want to do. It’s your vision. God has given it to you for you to work out. But it will only happen if you take action.

Believe in that what God has placed in you. Work today to change tomorrow!