Carmeanna Eberly left a corporate chief of staff role last summer after almost a decade of building startups and advising CEOs.
“I hadn’t planned on starting a business — but I also wasn’t ready to jump back into someone else’s vision.”
As such, she launched the Bonsai & Brew Studio last June. Her Chicago-based pop-up events company offers bonsai and native gardening education by partnering with independent coffee shops, breweries, and plant shops.
Eberly is an example of why Black entrepreneurship is growing robustly. According to the Gusto 2025 New Business Formation Report, the percentage of businesses started by entrepreneurs last year was up 67% from 2019.
BLACK ENTREPRENEURS OUTDID OTHER PEERS IN BUSINESS OPENINGS
That Black growth rate was much higher than for AAPI (17%) and Latinx founders (25%). Comparatively, the share of small businesses started by White founders fell 12% during the five-year period, mainly due to the surge of new businesses created by the other racial groups.
The findings are from a survey of 1,000-plus new business owners who launched businesses in 2024 by the Gusto Insights Group, a team of specialized economists and data scientists who track the current economic landscape and labor market.
ON-GOING OBSTACLES LIKE SECURING FINANCING PERSIST
Yet even with Black-owned businesses climbing, they still face serious challenges like discrimination, insufficient resources, and accessing capital, arguably their greatest obstacle.
Gusto senior economist Nich Tremper emailed BLACK ENTERPRISE with some alarming findings. For example, almost 90% of new Black business owners stated they needed financing to start their business, versus 75% of new white business owners.
All told, Black entrepreneurs were the least likely to disclose that they received all the funding they sought last year, and almost all of them used personal financing. They were about 10% more inclined than white new business owners to use a personal credit card (33% vs 30%) to get businesses going.
“Entrepreneurs who are reliant on their own financing are less likely to invest significant money in their business, which may limit their growth.”
Financially, Tremper said new Black entrepreneurs were more likely to report being profitable last year (70%) versus new White entrepreneurs (63%) surveyed.
INTERESTING DISCOVERIES AMD TRENDS REVEALED
Overall, the report found some intriguing points tied to business creation, including:
- Women entrepreneurs started 49% of new businesses last year, a 69% gain from 2019 and the largest rate in the five years the report was published.
- A tough job market is making entrepreneurship more attractive. With hiring slow in many parts of the economy, the percentage of entrepreneurs who started a business because they or their partner lost a job rose 66% last year.
- Black entrepreneurs reported starting new businesses for additional income. They were 2.1 times more likely than white entrepreneurs to report starting their business to supplement their existing income. That perhaps links with estimates that Black entrepreneurs can earn over 10 times more than non-Black business owners.
So, what other factors are helping fuel Black business growth? Tremper explained that owning a business increases your autonomy — both over your schedule and over your finances. He noted that Black entrepreneurs cited these as motivating reasons they started businesses.
Tremper shared that 60% of Black entrepreneurs who started their businesses last year did so to build an asset, making them forward-looking and seeking to create wealth for the future.
And Black women keep leading the way. Since 2017, the share of black-owned businesses started by them rose 71%. Tremper said that’s consistent with women overall — the share of women who started businesses in 2024 was 69% greater than in 2019.
INDEPENDENCE AND BUILDING WEALTH AMONG PERKS OF BUSINESS OWNERSHIP
Entrepreneur Carmeanna Eberly of Bonsai & Brew Studio was among them. She said her firm did its first public workshop last July. By late 2024, she said the firm will have beaten its targets by serving over 1,000 customers and generating $15,000 in revenue for its venue partners at sold-out events.
Eberly forecasts her firm’s monthly recurring revenue (MRR) this year to be roughly 150% to 170% higher than when it was tracked for five months last year after the business was launched.
Now, she is pursuing larger exploits. Last month, the business opened a digitally curated affiliate store to sell supplies to customers along their plant journey. Eberly added other plans, including adding the firm’s own plant markets, offering up to four new workshops, and helping individuals across Chicago convert high-maintenance lawns into cost-saving pollinator havens.
“Our plans include expanding into Indiana and Milwaukee in 2026.”
Further, Black entrepreneurs start enterprises to fulfill a passion, gain independence where they work, and possibly collect more money than from a traditional job, among other reasons.
Rosa Thomas, owner of The Savoring Mind, launched her online psychoeducational products business in March 2024. She did so to build income for “retirement” and create security for the golden years. She also wants to provide needed assistance for people at an affordable price, fulfill her dreams of travel, and create a legacy for her child and his family.
She aims to change her business plan from a part-time therapy practice to a full-time digital publishing business this year. New to entrepreneurship, she desires to master the skills to effectively function as a business owner. She wishes to build a solid foundation and presence, then scale if she is able.
“I feel reasonably optimistic that I can replace current contract income within a three-year time horizon.”
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