Tallahassee, FL, is a growing hub for Black businesses, but there is still room for improvement.
A survey released by LendingTree reveals that the city has surpassed the national average for Black-owned businesses, notes WUSF. Out of Tallahassee’s 7,828 businesses, 549 are Black-owned. Nationally, 3.3% of businesses are Black-owned as of 2022, which is a 22.2% year-over-year increase.
“We found that 7% of businesses in Tallahassee are Black-owned, and that puts Tallahassee tied for 14th among the 50 biggest metros in the country,” Matt Schulz, the chief credit analyst for Lending Tree, remarked, according to the outlet.
While Tallahassee’s statistics appear hopeful, considering the area’s Black population, there is still much work to be done.
“When you contrast that to the fact that about 32% of the population of the city is Black, there’s a lot of room for growth,” said Schulz.
Xclusive VIP Fashions Founder Kenneth Barber commented:
“To that point, it becomes a growing pain.”
Business experts cite access to business knowledge, capital, and seed money as the most significant barriers Black entrepreneurs face in Tallahassee, according to WCTV.
However, there are resources in place to provide a boost to entrepreneurs in the area.
“Resource partners like the FAMU Small Business Development Center, DOMI Station, Jim Moran Institute. And then you have lending partners like the FAMU Federal Credit Union and the Smart Steps Loan Program,” said Darryl Jones, the Leon County’s Office of Economic Vitality’s deputy director for minority, women, and small business enterprise division, according to WUSF.
As Black entrepreneurship continues to grow in the city, Barber emphasizes that this progress has the potential to create a ripple effect, leading to more job opportunities and an increase in Black homeownership.
“It is incumbent upon businesses like myself and the other businesses that we mentioned to create jobs for folks who can have money and eventually have the American dream of homeownership,” he told WCTV.
