May 21, 2026
9 Female Entrepreneurs Share The Secret Sauce To Their Success
Black Enterprise asked a handful of women small business owners to name the one thing that has made all the difference
It’s not an exaggeration to say that the best part of my workday is speaking to women entrepreneurs. Since I launched BLACK ENTERPRISE’s SistersInc. podcast for and about women entrepreneurs, back in 2020, I have been energized by conversation after conversation with resourceful, resilient Black women who are launching and growing businesses.
So I jumped at the chance to attend the How I Got Here Small Business Summit, a one-day event for women entrepreneurs across New Jersey, produced by WhitPR. And while there, I took full advantage of being in a room full of successful female small business owners to ask them about their secret sauce.
The answers ranged from inspirational to practical to completely unexpected. Here, nine women entrepreneurs answer the question: “If you could only name one thing, what would you say is responsible for your success?”
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Tell Your Own Story
I came from a place where I constantly felt like I had to shrink. So now I’m realizing the power of my voice and who I am, and I’m helping other women do that. What has worked for me is utilizing my story and allowing my life to be that representation and testimony to encourage other people. I live this, I walk it, and I make sure that every time I walk into a space, that I remind people.
It isn’t easy, especially when you’ve gone through certain challenges or when you feel like you’ve constantly been disappointed and let down. Sometimes you want to stay in your own bubble. We kind of create a safety net for ourselves. But I realized that that safety net wasn’t keeping me safe, and it wasn’t helping other people. So I had to break out of that fear, and that started with myself—doing the inner work. Sometimes we look at the finished product and we’re like, “I can never get there.” But you can, as long as you’re committed to the work.
Schivane Bonhomme of Dear Sis, Believe Again
Promote Your Brand
My public relations and marketing background has been a catalyst for making sure the world knows that The Nourish Spot exists, and as a result, I’ve been able to leverage that.
Dawn Kelly of The Nourish Spot
Put Yourself Out There
I would say breaking out of my shyness shell and speaking to people and telling people about my idea. That helps me to have my name be spoken in different rooms when I’m not even there. And people remember me and ask me for updates on my journey, and they’ve helped me along the way.
At first, I made my sister come out to networking events with me. I had the feeling in my gut like, oh, I don’t love this, but I would still go. That was two years ago, and now I can show up to these events by myself, but there are still times where I still don’t like it. Every time I go to an event, I sit in my car before, and I call my other sister, like, ‘I don’t want to go.’ And she’s like, “Just go. Every time you go, you meet somebody. You call me after, and you’re like, ‘I needed to be there.’” So I just have to remember those conversations and know I’m going to meet at least one person that I’m supposed to meet that day. So, just keep showing up.
Dre Harvey of Dre’s Beauty Supply
Be a Resource
What makes me successful is my passion for building wealth and helping families navigate a big transaction with knowledge and confidence. That passion came from me being a single mom and needing an extra hustle to save for my first down payment. That extra job was me becoming a realtor, and after two years of saving my commission checks and learning the business, I was able to close on a home. That changed my life.
I host a lot of webinars. I also share resources with friends, family, and my community on ways to better prepare their finances for home ownership, how to apply [for] and get grants. I just want to share that it’s easier than we think, and with a little bit of structure, strategy, and proper financial resources, homeownership can be achieved.
Zulekha Gordon, Licensed Realtor
Make It Easy for Customers
I think any entrepreneur will tell you that it’s not easy. But something that sticks out to me is when a client can tell me that they really enjoyed working with me, my professionalism, you know, the ease that I help them to figure out what they wanted. Creating those relationships means a lot. A lot of my business comes from referrals and repeat clients, so that makes a big difference.
Teisha Peralta of Brown Sugar & Spice Co.
Embody the Right Energy
I am a very bubbly person, and I attract good people. My energy just attracts good energy; energy attracts energy. So be someone who constantly keeps a smile on your face and just be presentable and be open to collaborations.
Erika Wright-Rich of Myx Lokal
Keep the Faith
One day, my fiancé said, “Hey, let’s get back into entrepreneurship and start something.” I said, “Oh, I love flowers.” I had no experience with flowers. But it grew from there. It’s been two years, and now this is my sole job.
A lot of times, I didn’t know how I was going to get it done, I didn’t know how to do it, I didn’t know who to connect with, but I had the faith that it would work out. And I had to persevere and get it done. Move in faith knowing that it will work out without actually knowing how it will work out.
Denaya Melvin of Rich Florals
Build Community
Community is at the core of what we do, and also relationships. My husband and I, we really believe in just each other and pushing the culture forward, and that has been the success of where we are now.
Building community is a process, right? You have to get out and meet people, meet like-minded people. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people and let them know, like, hey, I want to build with you. I want to learn from you. I think that’s how you really build community, just showing interest and learning from others.
Jessica Barnes of Jumpcord Media
Lean Into the Sisterhood
Black women supported me. I’m still standing because of Black women.
When you’re up against the Juggernaut, such as your Pampers and your Huggies, the only way you can survive when you’re an underdog is your community—having community and figuring out what our skill sets are and how to support one another/grow our businesses collectively. So if you have this resource and I have this resource, how do you put them together to make it easier on you, easier on me, especially when you’re starting out?
Nadiyah Spencer of TinkyPoo Diapers
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