That changed when she met Shayla Walker and Mishae Parker at a local vendor market.
Shayla Walker, CEO and founder of Sistah Soul Brunch & Mixer, poses for a portrait July 26 at the California Automobile Museum. Lu Young, OBSERVER
“They were talking about this brunch and entrepreneur event they were having,” White recalls. “I love meeting new people and making connections.”
Those conversations brought her to Sistah Soul Brunch & Mixer, a Sacramento nonprofit that supports Black women entrepreneurs with networking, mentorship, and business development. Today, White is one of many business owners who say the group is more than just an annual event; it’s a real community.
According to Wells Fargo’s 2024 Impact of Women-Owned Businesses report, women own more than 14 million businesses in the United States, and Black women remain one of the fastest-growing groups of entrepreneurs. Yet Black women-owned businesses continue to generate lower average revenues than many of their peers and face disproportionate barriers to accessing capital and financing.
Research from the Federal Reserve has similarly found that Black business owners are more likely to be denied financing, receive smaller loan amounts, and rely on personal savings to fund their businesses than white entrepreneurs.
Organizations like Sistah Soul Brunch & Mixer are working to fill a gap that many entrepreneurs say traditional business networks have left behind.
Longtime friends Walker and Parker started the organization in 2021, and on July 29, they held their fourth annual brunch and mixer at the California Automobile Museum, bringing together entrepreneurs, professionals, and business leaders from Sacramento, the Central Valley, and the Bay Area for a day of networking, mentorship, and inspiration.
But the founders say the brunch is just the start.
“We’re not just having events for the sake of having people come together and have fun,” Parker says. “A part of this really is building community.”
Walker says the idea was born during the COVID-19 pandemic as she and many of her friends launched businesses.
“I started talking to a lot of my friends and other people I knew who were new entrepreneurs, and they were saying the same thing,” Walker says. “‘I’m struggling trying to find clients.’
The challenges went beyond finding customers.
Many entrepreneurs also struggled to get loans, connect with banks, and find the resources they needed to grow their businesses.
“I thought, ‘How cool would it be to create a space where Black women entrepreneurs could patronize each other’s businesses, network and build an ecosystem centered around supporting one another?’” Walker says.
That vision has kept growing.
What started as a small gathering of about 70 people during the pandemic has turned into an annual event with keynote speakers, business panels, vendors, networking workshops, and workshops to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses.
For Roberta Stensrud, who started SMUDGE Nail Bar, running her own business brought freedom but also a feeling of isolation.