(Editor’s note: This is the 11th installment in a monthly series speaking with minority business owners and leaders. Each is asked their views on minority-business conditions in the state and for ways to improve those businesses’ chances for success.)
Geraldine Barclay King opened her African clothing and accessories boutique, Geri’s Bluffing Boutique, at the height of the pandemic. She wasn’t focused on that, she said. She instead was thinking almost exclusively of her products, how she could offer a retail experience that was unique and where to get started.
Initially, her boutique was a temporary pop-up store, in space in the Millrace District in Woonsocket. Based on that experience, she made the leap and leased a storefront on the city’s Main Street.
Barclay King, 47, who came to Rhode Island as a child from Liberia, has used a lean entrepreneurial mindset in launching her sole-proprietor business. She purchased most of her clothing on trips to Liberia, using connections there. Her children, husband and friends are the website models.
The boutique’s clothing appeals primarily to Black Americans who want to celebrate their ancestral roots, but also residents of other races or ethnicities who are attracted to the vibrant colors. This spring, Barclay King helped a teen girl who needed a unique prom dress quickly.
She enjoys helping people discover African art, dolls, fabric and customs.
The shop features clothing for men, women and children, as well as household items. Accessories include handbags and head wraps. Barclay King can explain where the fabric originates – for example, that kente cloth is from Ghana – and how the unique styles can be worn in combination with traditional American clothing.
My startup-business journey was a joyful one for me.
“I sell to a range of women who are drawn to the colors, the patterns, the artistic form of the apparel,” said Barclay King. “Black Americans will come in looking for a particular African apparel. They want a sense of connecting to their roots.”
White women and men also ask about the clothing, coming from a place of respect, she said, and asking if it’s culturally appropriate for them to wear it. Her answer: Yes, if you feel confident in wearing vibrant colors and fabrics, it can be done.
1. Do you believe racism is keeping minorities from starting businesses in the Ocean State or from succeeding when they do? I believe that everyone should have an opportunity to start a business, regardless of their race or economic status. My startup-business journey was a joyful one for me, honestly. The support made it even more of a joy. My support came from every single sector: my family, my friends, local businesses, my local community, my city council, the mayor.
2. How dependent is your business on the support of other minority groups? Is that a sustainable business model? My business concept and the overall [experience] attracts everyone who can benefit from the products, the services and my story. I deliver a retail experience. It is not just coming and buying and going. I make a whole experience out of it. My goal is that when you leave, you learn at least one thing that you didn’t know when you came in.
3. What could Rhode Island do to help minority-owned businesses succeed? The state of Rhode Island policymakers should ensure there is equal access to all businesses in the state, not necessarily [minority-owned businesses]. Make it even across the board. Let’s say you have a small business that’s just starting. You don’t have enough revenue coming in that you can hire someone to run the business while you go out and ... attend these training classes or meet with a mentor. You just can’t do it with a one-man show.
The only thing I would like to see ... is that these resources meet the business owners where they are [working]. In Pawtucket and Central Falls, they have an outreach coordinator who goes to each business, finds out their challenges and needs. Like a social worker for business. They wanted to make sure these minority businesses that are primarily in Central Falls and Pawtucket don’t fail.
4. Are you aware of any minority-owned businesses that have been forced to turn somewhere else other than a bank for a loan? Do you believe the state’s lending institutions generally treat minorities fairly? Financing overall is a monumental challenge. In order for you to apply for these loans, you have to be in business for a certain time, you have to have history, it’s all these different things. If you have a minority business that’s already facing those things from the beginning, they’re not going to go anywhere. How are you going to help someone who is challenged by this? I did not have that problem because I didn’t even go there because I knew I was too new of a business. I had no history, the credit, all of those things. I knew ... the odds would be against me. I used my own retirement, my cash and I tapped into some grants. I met those requirements from a [city] level. I took advantage of that.
I think anyone as a startup will be faced with those challenges. My husband and his brother launched a business before the pandemic. And they had some inconsistencies when it came to the lending and institution requirements. They would call and speak to a lending expert … [but] they’re not speaking the same language. They’re not communicating. So, they ended up not going that route and they self-funded it.
5. If a minority entrepreneur came to you and asked you where they could turn to for support for their business, where would you direct them? The list I put together was [the U.S. Small Business Administration,] the [R.I.] Secretary of State and the Rhode Island Black Business Association. I reached out to [R.I. Commerce Corp.]. I collaborated with a local organization, a nonprofit, that wanted to help me from a marketing angle. I did a fashion show. It helped to get some of the protective gear, some advertisement money, and get people to come out and see what I do.
Mary MacDonald is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Macdonald@PBN.com.