Nicole Murphy had finally gotten the hang of the entrepreneurship life. She started HomeShare365, a short-term rental management platform, in 2017. Things were going well until 2020 happened, and no one was leaving their homes.
HomeShare365 ceased operations, and Nicole lost everything. She wasn't alone. According to a US News article published in April 2021, Black women had an employment-to-population ratio of 60.8% in Feb. 2020; it dropped 6 percentage points by April 2021. While Caucasian women have seen their rate over the same time fall by 2.9 percentage points, while the rate for white males has fallen by 3.8 percentage points.
Nicole decided her next venture would support her and elevate other Black professionals.
"Seeing the struggles of other Black entrepreneurs, I knew there had to be a way for us to support each other in the business world," Nicole said. "Starting my own business has been challenging, but it gives me the work-life balance I craved and the joy of building a legacy for future generations."
Following up on "Free to Empower All Women Entrepreneurs," we spoke with Nicole about her business, Barter Black, what Juneteenth means to her, and ways to make the startup founder's life less lonely.
Watch the entire interview here.
Enthuse Foundation (EF): Thank you so much, Nicole, for joining us.
Nicole Murphy, Founder, Barter Black (NM): Barter Black is an innovative platform, a community network for Black entrepreneurs to come together and collaborate. Essentially, you're exchanging goods and services with each other. Before, no community was dedicated to us circulating the wealth among each other, the black entrepreneurs. Once I lost my business HomeShare365, I saw how other Black entrepreneurs were also struggling. We need to collaborate and help each other. If we take our talents and create our own teams of businesses, we'll be able to scale and be more successful in this world we call entrepreneurship.
EF: I love how you turned a negative situation into a positive one. Besides the pandemic in 2020, we also saw a state of political unrest due to George Floyd's murder. What role did that have in Barter Black?
NM: Everything fueled my fire and gave me the energy I needed. It was confirmation that we needed to band together no matter what was happening in all different aspects of our lives. We are stronger together. And who's going to help us but us?
EF: We are recording this interview on June 15, so with Juneteenth right around the corner, what does that holiday mean to you?
NM: Juneteenth is our Freedom Day. This is when slavery was abolished. This country was built on the backs of African-Americans. There is no reason why we can't build this ecosystem together. But it also brings up uncomfortable questions and conversations. For example, 'Are we really free?' We want to celebrate the holiday, but then we need to discuss what is still to work on. We've come a long way but must do better for each other.
EF: You are so right. So specifically for Black woman founders, what advice would you provide them?
NM: The advice that I would give to any founder is to find your community. Entrepreneurship is supposed to be done with others. Find people who support you and empower you to do great, even if they are other entrepreneurs. It's amazing when you try to collaborate with business owners as well. You can scale faster with that community.
EF: And you are building that community with Barter Black. So what's next for the business?
NM: I'm super excited about the next steps for Barter Black. Entrepreneurship takes work. Success does not happen overnight. I'm building a tech enterprise that will change how Black entrepreneurs scale their businesses and do business. The platform is the disrupter this economy needs for Black-owned businesses everywhere. Our next step is building affiliates and partnerships with organizations focusing on Black entrepreneurship, so we can onboard founders all at once. Our focus is to help Black-owned businesses grow while saving money.
EF: Thank you so much for your time, Nicole. Any last words you want to share with our community.
NM: It is time to get from behind the screen and meet people. We are used to Zooming, but I challenge people to get outside, meet people, and network. Your network is your net worth.
We must remember that despite a lot of focus on Black founders on Juneteenth and Black History Month, it is crucial to continue supporting year-round when there's less attention on these businesses. Check out "Ways to Turn Challenge into Opportunity for Black Women Entrepreneurs" for more information on specific obstacles Black women encounter and additional platforms dedicated to fellow African American business owners.
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