Featured image: Karneisha Christian is CEO and Creative Director of Pucker Up Lemonade based in Compton, CA
How can we all ensure the success of a vibrant, Black-owned economy across the United States? That’s the question at the heart of a new impact report released by the NAACP and Hello Alice in honor of Black History Month.
Titled “The Black-Owned Economy,” this document is part of a series built on anonymous user data and survey responses from a growing body of grant applications. Analyzing data from the more than 79,000 Black small business owners on our platform, Hello Alice has captured a profile of who these owners are, where they operate, and what they need to succeed.
Key data points include:
- 67% of Black small business owners on Hello Alice are women.
- 38% of Black-owned businesses report social media as their top acquisition channel.
- 36% of Black-owned businesses have a company revenue under $25,000.
- 89% of Black entrepreneurs expect their business to perform better in 2021 than in 2020.
Stories from Black small business owners are sprinkled throughout the report, including Karneisha Christian of the Compton-based Pucker Up Lemonade.
The business started as a lemonade stand at a children’s carnival using a recipe from Christian’s father and lemons from a tree in her backyard. A decade later, Pucker Up now operates a brick-and-mortar location serving up 40 varieties of lemonade and even enlists the help of Christian’s 13-year-old daughter, Charli, who tests new flavors as vice president of research and development. Pucker Up Lemonade received a Hello Alice COVID-19 Business for All Emergency Grant to help respond to challenges posed by the pandemic.
The new year may have just started, but Christian is filled with optimism for what’s yet to come.
“We’re hitting the road with the Pucker Up Lemonade Co. food truck,” she says. “This grant will be pivotal in our sustainability and expansion.”
If your company or organization is interested in supporting this important work or gaining insights about your community of business owners, please reach out to partnerships@helloalice.com.
For media inquiries or interview requests, please contact press@helloalice.com.
