We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jennifer Laurent. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jennifer below.

Jennifer, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear you experience with and lessons learned from recruiting and team building.

Did your firm/practice have employees from day one? Or was it just you at the start? In either case, tell us the story, help us understand what it was like being in your shoes.

Black Women Vend began as a deeply personal mission. As a longtime South Los Angeles resident, I witnessed firsthand the challenges Black women street vendors faced in navigating the complex web of state, county, and city regulations. Many operated without the necessary permits, exposing them to fines and legal issues. Recognizing this, I founded Black Women Vend to empower these entrepreneurs with the skills, resources, and support they needed to succeed.

Talk to us about what it was like recruiting those first few team members, how did you find them, what was the interview process like, was there anything unusual or unconventional about your recruiting/training process?

In the early stages, the initiative was a solo endeavor. However, as the program’s impact grew, it became clear that collaboration was essential. Recruiting the initial team members was an organic process, rooted in community connections and shared passion. We prioritized individuals who not only had expertise in areas like business development and legal compliance but also demonstrated a genuine commitment to uplifting Black women entrepreneurs.

Several of the initial recruits were actual street vendors who also brought firsthand knowledge and lived experience to the effort. Their insights were invaluable in shaping a program that was both relevant and responsive to real-world challenges.

Our training approach was unconventional by design. We combined traditional business education with holistic support, addressing areas like mental and physical wellness, work-life balance, and brand storytelling. This comprehensive methodology ensured that participants were equipped not just with business acumen but also with the resilience and confidence to thrive.

If you were to start today, would you have done anything differently?

Reflecting on our journey, one aspect I would approach differently is establishing a broader support network from the outset. While the grassroots nature of our beginnings fostered authenticity and community trust, having a more structured framework could have accelerated our growth and impact. Nonetheless, every challenge we faced provided invaluable lessons, shaping Black Women Vend into the empowering force it is today.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

For folks who may not have read about you before, can you please tell our readers about yourself, how you got into your industry / business / discipline / craft etc, what type of products/services/creative works you provide, what problems you solve for your clients and/or what you think sets you apart from others. What are you most proud of and what are the main things you want potential clients/followers/fans to know about you/your brand/your work/ etc.

My name is Jennifer Laurent, and I’m the founder and Executive Director of *Black Women Vend*—an entrepreneur training program and business incubator rooted in South Los Angeles. I’m also a California-licensed real estate broker and community development consultant with a passion for creating pathways to economic justice for historically excluded communities, particularly Black women.

The idea for Black Women Vend was born out of lived experience. As someone deeply embedded in the South LA community, I’ve spent years working alongside tenants, families, and entrepreneurs navigating housing instability, displacement, and systemic barriers to economic opportunity. One day, while supporting a group of street vendors facing fines and harassment for not having permits, it struck me—there were very few resources designed to help Black women street vendors transition into fully licensed, sustainable business owners. That gap is what Black Women Vend was created to fill.

At our core, we are a community-rooted entrepreneur training center focused on transforming informal street vendors into thriving business owners. We provide a suite of wraparound services—from permitting and licensing assistance, to financial literacy training, branding support, vendor opportunities, and access to capital. We host pop-up marketplaces, help vendors track sales, build business credit, and ultimately position them to scale into their own retail or online spaces.

What sets us apart is that we meet women where they are. Our approach is culturally grounded, trauma-informed, and centered on building trust. Many of our participants are balancing caregiving responsibilities, financial insecurity, or a history of exclusion from formal business networks. We don’t just hand out information—we walk with them every step of the way. We also partner with grassroots organizations and legacy institutions alike to bridge the gap between the informal economy and more traditional business development ecosystems.

I’m most proud of the women we serve. Watching a vendor go from selling on a corner without permits to running a fully branded business, with regular customers, digital infrastructure, and plans for expansion—there’s nothing like it. These women are brilliant, creative, and resilient. They just need access, support, and someone who believes in their vision.

For those learning about us for the first time: Black Women Vend is more than a program—it’s a movement. We’re building businesses, cultivating community, and empowering success. Whether you’re a vendor, a customer, a funder, or just someone who believes in equity and entrepreneurship—we welcome you to join us.

To learn more, visit www.blackwomenvend.org or follow us on Instagram @blackwomenvend.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Our most effective strategy for growing Black Women Vend has been staying rooted in three core values: authenticity, consistency, and community.

Authenticity has been our North Star. From day one, we’ve been intentional about creating a space that reflects the real experiences of Black women entrepreneurs. We don’t try to mold our program into what’s traditionally expected—we shape it around what our community actually needs. That means being honest about the barriers our vendors face, transparent about the resources we offer, and deeply human in how we engage. People can feel when something is real—and that authenticity builds trust, which is the foundation of everything we do.

Consistency has helped us earn that trust over time. We show up, over and over again. Whether it’s our regular vendor pop-ups, hands-on business coaching, or the way we follow up months after someone completes our program—we are consistent in our support and our messaging. It’s not flashy, but it’s powerful. Because when people know they can count on you, they stick with you and refer others your way.

And most importantly, we stay rooted in community. Our growth has come from word-of-mouth, community partnerships, and a real commitment to serving—not just extracting from—the neighborhoods we’re part of. We don’t believe in parachuting in with a one-size-fits-all model. We listen, we adapt, and we co-create solutions with the people we serve. That sense of belonging and shared purpose resonates far beyond a marketing campaign—it becomes a movement.

In a world where so many brands are chasing visibility, we’ve found that growing our clientele is really about deepening relationships. When you center authenticity, consistency, and community—growth becomes a natural outcome.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was redefining what success truly means.

When I first launched Black Women Vend, I brought with me a traditional definition of success—metrics like revenue growth, profit margins, scaling, and breaking six figures. Those are the benchmarks we’re often taught to measure ourselves against in the business world. But working closely with the women in our program—many of whom are street vendors and creatives—completely shifted my perspective.

Over time, I realized that not everyone defines success through numbers on a spreadsheet. For some of our participants, success meant having the confidence to share their handmade products with the community for the first time. For others, it was simply being able to pay their bills on time, cover their rent, or create a flexible income stream that allowed them to care for their children or elders. Their joy came from freedom, purpose, and connection—not necessarily from hitting a revenue goal.

That shift challenged me—in the best way. I had to let go of the idea that success looks one way, or that there’s only one “right” path to entrepreneurship. Unlearning that mindset not only made me a better leader and listener, but it also forced me to reflect on what success means for me, too. It’s not just about how much we grow, but how aligned we are with our values, how deeply we serve our community, and how much joy and sustainability we cultivate along the way.

Redefining success has been one of the most liberating parts of this journey—and it’s made the work feel even more meaningful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.blackwomenvend.org
• Instagram: @blackwomenvend and @leimertparkvillagevendors

Image Credits

All photos taken by Jennifer Laurent