CINCINNATI — Saadia Mingo opened Koald Beauty Spa in Northgate in July 2022. She’s since learned that owning a spa isn’t as relaxing as going to one.
Running your own business is “a lot” she said with an exacerbated laugh. But with a team of supporters behind her, Mingo is making it happen.
“We see successful people and we see the glory, but we don't understand the hurdles that they have to go over to even get to that point of success,” she said.
The Gray Road Church of Christ in Spring Grove held its inaugural Black Business Bazaar on Saturday. Dozens of Black-owned vendors and businesses gathered to promote a range of products and services.
While every business wants to make sales, a dollar amount wasn’t the only metric for success, said host Tammie Renee, owner of Styles by Renee.
“The key to elevation is collaboration, she said. “That's what it's all about today: networking, using our Black dollars to put it back into the community with other Black businesses.”
2.7% of U.S. businesses are Black-owned, according to a LendingTree analysis of 2021 data from the 2022 U.S. Census Bureau Annual Business Survey.
In the the Cincinnati metro, that analysis found only 2.4% of businesses are Black-owned, even though 11.8% of the population is Black.
Access to capital is a major barrier, and a top concern among local Black business owners, according to a 2022 survey by the Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce.
“We don’t necessarily have the same opportunities that are presented to us,” Black Business Bazar organizer Tamica Flowers said. “Hopefully through a connection through networking and collaboration, that we can bring those resources together.”
There were various financial, real estate and credit services at Saturday’s event, which featured businesses of all ages. Renee said a number of business owners were motivated during the pandemic.
“In our community, our people sat at home, and we really thought about how to make a dollar,” Renee said. Her own company was born after she couldn’t work her hair stylist job for a portion of time during the pandemic.
The number of Black-owned businesses has increased 12.5% nationally since 2020, according to the LendingTree analysis.
“I've gotten a lot of great feedback from people here today who have showed me great techniques and marketing tools to be able to use to be able to build and grow,” Bethany Scott, owner of B's Boudoir, LLC said.
For Mingo’s spa, success doesn’t just show up in a finance spreadsheet.
“It's a feeling. It’s a satisfaction. It’s happiness. It’s not money,” Mingo said.
