Providence Business News’ Everybody’s Business monthly series began with the intention of providing a voice to minority business owners in the tumultuous summer of 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and racial justice reckoning in the wake of the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis.
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Since that time, minority business owners and leaders have been asked their views on conditions in the state and for ways to improve those businesses’ chances for success. The first to be profiled was Lisa Ranglin, president of the Rhode Island Black Business Association, followed by Oscar Mejias, CEO of the Rhode Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
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A breakdown of the racial identity of each person featured in Everybody’s Business. / PBN ILLUSTRATION/ANNE EWING[/caption]
Now after the 50th installment and growing concerns over the pushback against racial justice initiatives and the crackdown on immigration, PBN took a look back at the makeup of the people who have been profiled, what some of the responses have been and how their small businesses have fared since being profiled.
While their fates have ranged from growth and expansion to stagnation and decline, most of the first 50 businesspeople profiled in more than four years continue to operate their organization. Only two businesses have closed and one has been placed in receivership, a far better success rate than shown in U.S. Small Business Administration data that indicates that the survival rate of small businesses nationwide is about 50% after five years.
Since August 2020, PBN has interviewed 18 Latino business owners and 17 Black business owners, representing the state’s two largest minority groups. Meanwhile 10 others identified as Asian, including two Indian and a Filipino. Two businesspeople were Native Americans, both of at least partial Narragansett Tribe descent. Two owners were from the Middle East and one identified as Portuguese.
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THE FIRST 50: A categorization of the industries represented in the Everybody’s Business profiles. / PBN ILLUSTRATION/ANNE EWING[/caption]
Most of those interviewed – 35 out of 50 – said they don’t believe racism is keeping minorities from starting businesses in the Ocean State or succeeding when they do, a result perhaps indicative of the self-reliant mindset of entrepreneurs.
Broken down by gender, the majority of the business owners profiled – 30 – were male.
The most highly represented industry in the series was the hospitality and food service sector, with 13 business owners operating restaurants, bars or involved in food manufacturing. Along with the hospitality industry, manufacturing, construction and design businesses combined to make up half of the first 50 installments. (Two restaurants have closed.)
Exactly 20% of subjects are involved in media, arts or production work. Five others operate in the nonprofit, education or legal services industries. Rounding out the first 50 are retail and fitness (six) and medical fields (two).
When asked where they would direct other minority entrepreneurs to seek support for their startups, those profiled had no shortage of suggestions, identifying a total of 36 support organizations (see top seven answers above).
(Correction: An earlier version of the pie chart placed "education" in two different groupings. The chart now says there were two businesses profiled in the education sector and five in the nonprofit sector and legal sector.)
