We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rachel Holmes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Rachel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.

From a very young age I knew I wanted to be in business, whether that was owning my own business or being an executive at a company. But as I got older I began to notice the lack of representation of black women in executive positions. And my experience of so many times being the only black woman in the room is one that most black women know too well. Black women make up 7% of the population and yet only make up 4% of management positions, and that number drops even lower to 1% when you get to c-suite positions. Black women face barriers due to both racism and sexism and are often forced to prove themselves at a higher level than their counterparts, while also facing pressure to conform to traditionally white beauty standards. All this is incredibly daunting for young black girls beginning to start their careers so I wanted to doing something to help.

I created Black Girls Mean Business to empower black girls to have the skills and confidence they need to be successful in their careers. We provide education on a variety of different business topics completely free and virtual so that it is accessible to our students. Students also receive mentoring from business professionals, networking opportunities, resources like scholarship opportunities, and more! We bring in black women who are leading their industries so our students can learn from them and have the confidence to one day do the same. We also highlight and support our students who already have a small business by donating to them and attending their events. We strive to provide equity and do everything we can to increase the representation of black women in business.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Rachel Holmes, I am currently a senior at UC Berkeley, and I am the Founder & Director of Black Girls Mean Business. I’ve always been interested in business, making several of my own small businesses growing up to sell crafts I had made, and taking business classes at my high school. It was during these business classes that I was able to practice coming up with business plans and pitching them to investors. One of the ideas I had would eventually go on to become Black Girls Mean Business. It was actually my Girl Scout Gold Award, an 80+ hour ongoing community service project, that gave me the push and resources I needed to actually take my idea and make it a reality. So, in 2021 I officially launched Black Girls Mean Business (BGMB) and have been working on it ever since.

Black Girls Mean Business Program is a free virtual summer business program for black girls nationwide. We provide a series of Zoom workshops each summer on a variety of business topics, mentoring from business professionals, networking opportunities, resources, and support to girls who already have their own business. I am very proud that we’ve been able to support nearly 80 girls over the past few years of our program who have shared that this program helped them feel more prepared and confident to start their careers. We have be recognized and featured on The Kelly Clarkson Show, ABC7, NBC Bay Area, 2 Minute-Drill, and much more!

My program is made possible by the support of our mentors, speakers, and volunteers- who all donate their time to provide expertise and support to our students. Helping to spread the word to business professionals and students who might be interested in being a part of our program is what keeps us going. All information about my program can be found on Instagram @blackgirlsmeanbusinessprogram and our website bgmb.info.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I started working on my business plan in 2019, and had planned to do my workshops completely in person and eventually incorporate them into schools near me. So when Covid hit I had to completely pivot and reworking my entire plan. I changed the program to be 100% virtual and to host the workshops on Zoom. This ended up being the best thing that could’ve happened to me because not only did it drastically lower my costs and make my program more sustainable, but it made my program more accessible as well, allowing me to reach students all over the country. Now I see redirection as an opportunity instead of a setback and that mindset has served me well.

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

I used to completely shut down when faced with challenges like speakers dropping out last minute or things not working out the way I wanted them to. The urge to quit was often overwhelming. But through those experiences I learned that those were opportunities to identify weak points in my program, a chance for me to figure out what wasn’t working and adjust to make it even better next year. With that mindset I have gotten closer and closer to a really solid design that works and is valuable. I also am able to adapt on the fly much easier now because I face challenges calmly and with an open mind.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bgmb.info
• Instagram: @blackgirlsmeanbusinessprogram
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-holmes-10b372215/

Image Credits

Zach Harrison Photography
The Kelly Clarkson Show