{"id":3455,"date":"2010-06-11T11:58:27","date_gmt":"2010-06-11T18:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eltecolote.org\/content\/?p=3455"},"modified":"2010-06-17T10:58:24","modified_gmt":"2010-06-17T17:58:24","slug":"women-entrepreneurs-thriving-in-the-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltecolote.org\/content\/en\/women-entrepreneurs-thriving-in-the-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"Women entrepreneurs thriving in the Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

Walking into Casa Bonampak<\/a> on Valencia Street, it\u2019s hard to not be immediately swept away by the kaleidoscope of colors. Paper flowers that are larger than life adorn every corner of the store; paper banners and streamers line the ceilings; handmade Mexican folk art, clothing and other crafts are found along every wall.<\/p>\n

This is Nancy Charraga\u2019s dream come true: to celebrate the things that she loves\u2014Mexican and Latin American culture and the indigenous artists that are largely keeping that culture alive\u2014and to make a living though supporting it.\u00a0 In achieving her entrepreneurial dream, Charraga also has made a small contribution toward reversing a national trend, the widening wealth gap that hobbles women of color in the United States.<\/p>\n

Charraga, who is originally from Chiapas, Mexico, works directly with artists to preserve the traditions of culture and community that she holds dear and with which she identifies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of poverty where I come from,\u201d says Charraga. \u201cThis is about a desire to share the beautiful things that come from there with another market.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other market that Charraga refers to is San Francisco in general, but the Mission specifically. And while Charraga always knew that she wanted to share the artistic fruits of her ethnic heritage with others, she had to admit to herself that when it came to running a business, she had little guidance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know what I was doing,\u201d she says. Ten years ago, Charraga was self-employed, selling items at flea markets and fairs. But her real goal was to open a shop.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s when the Bay Area-based organization Women\u2019s Initiative<\/a> came into the picture.<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s Initiative is a non-profit that trains, funds, and provides ongoing, long-term support for women entrepreneurs\u2014women who want to build and develop successful small businesses and, ultimately, achieve economic independence.<\/p>\n

The organization, which has an office on Valencia Street, encourages its clients\u2014women who are \u201chigh potential, low income,\u201d much like Charraga\u2014to hone in on their passions and utilize the skill sets they already have and combine those elements to create a self-sustaining business.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur entire mission is about empowerment,\u201d says Women\u2019s Initiative Interim Executive Director Nicole Levine. \u201cWe\u2019re helping women help themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charraga went through the program\u2019s training course seven years ago. She learned everything from developing a business plan to pricing inventory and services to managing the day-to-day operations. And, once women have graduated the business development program, they have access to not only continuing training, but also a large network of alumni services called \u201cSuccess Link,\u201d which connects graduates to conferences, seminars and other networking opportunities.<\/p>\n

Charraga is not the only business owner in the Mission who is a graduate of Women\u2019s Initiative. In fact, there are close to ten other businesses in the neighborhood that are owned by women who went through the program: Mixcoatl Arts, Arkay Workshop<\/a>, Bianca Starr<\/a>, and Luz de Luna Gift Shop, just to name a few.<\/p>\n

Rachel Kinney graduated from the program two-and-half years ago. She approached Women\u2019s Initiative because she \u201cwanted to feel confident\u201d in opening her own business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know how to do a financial plan, sales projections, the technical stuff that\u2019s essential,\u201d says the thirty-two-year-old Kinney.<\/p>\n

Within a year after graduating, she opened Arkay Workshop on 24th Street. Calling upon her background in metalsmithing and a general interest in crafts and local designers, she filled her store with a mixture of budget-friendly, sustainably produced items like apparel, jewelry and bath and body products.<\/p>\n

Kinney says the program facilitated her transition from knowing what she wanted to realizing that it was within reach. For Kinney, owning her own business meant she was responsible for her financial destiny.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen have a hard time getting paid what men are paid,\u201d says Kinney. \u201cBeing an entrepreneur and having control over that is a step towards being paid a fair wage. An essential part of Women\u2019s Initiative is having control of your own money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now more than ever, the services that organizations like Women\u2019s Initiative provide are vital. Earlier this year, the Insight Center for Community Economic Development revealed alarming data about a widening wealth gap in the United States, particularly with regard to women of color.\u00a0The study, \u201cLifting As We Climb: Women of Color, Wealth, and America\u2019s Future,\u201d pointed out that \u201cwhile income is vital for day to day survival, only wealth can generate further income, provide collateral for loans, be passed from generation to generation through inheritance, [etc.]\u201d The Insight Center warns that \u201cwomen of all races experience a gender wealth gap \u2026 but the disparities are greatest for women of color.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among some of the most troubling findings of the report: Single black and Hispanic women have a median wealth of $100 and $120 respectively, while their same-race male counterparts have $7,900 and $9,730. The median for single white women is $41,500. And nearly half of all single black and Hispanic women have zero or \u201cnegative wealth,\u201d which happens when debts exceed assets. Only one percent of single Hispanic and 4 percent of single black women own business assets compared to 8 percent of white women. Additionally, the report found that \u201cwomen of color are more likely to work in service occupations that usually don\u2019t provide wealth-enhancing benefits such as retirement plans, paid sick days and health insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report offers a series of recommendations to help close the wealth gap for women of color; one proposal is to \u201cencourage self-employment and small business development by women of color by allowing micro-enterprise training\u201d\u2014which is exactly the focus of an organization such as Women\u2019s Initiative. One hundred percent of it\u2019s clients are low-income; 80 percent are women of color; and 20 percent are single mothers.<\/p>\n

Barbara Mark, president of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, says that it\u2019s more challenging for racial and ethnic minorities to be successful because there\u2019s not as much access to opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore and more women are starting their own thing,\u201d says Mark. \u201cCorporate America is sometimes not as inclusive to women, especially ethnic and racial minorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI really believe that [Women\u2019s Initiative] is helping eliminate poverty,\u201d says Levine. \u201cAt the same time, women are becoming leaders in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connie Rivera, 38, opened Mixcoatl Arts after graduating from Women\u2019s Initiative in 2005. Though she was born in Mexico, she moved to the Mission 25 years ago. Like Charraga, it was always a goal of Rivera to go into business by supporting Mexican and Latin American artists, but she lacked the resources and training to make her goal a reality.<\/p>\n

Rivera learned of Women\u2019s Initiative and took advantage of their programs. She says she was encouraged to believe in herself and found guidance from the women who had come before her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought to myself, if they could do it, then I could do it,\u201d says Rivera.<\/p>\n

For Rivera, Mixcoatl Arts represents an intersection of her passions. In opening her own storefront, she has created the opportunity to not only sustain and promote the art and traditions of her native culture, but also to give back what she says Women\u2019s Initiative gave her: to be a role model for other women in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to encourage every woman; to let them know they can make it,\u201d says Rivera. \u201cThey can create the opportunity for a better life like I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicole Levine of Women\u2019s Initiative says this desire to set an example for others is a big motivation for their clients: \u201cThese women are role models not only for their family and children, but also for people in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think of business, you think of white men in suits,\u201d says Karuna Jaggar, Women\u2019s Initiative executive director for the East Bay. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have role models, you don\u2019t see yourself getting to that level \u2026 when women can say \u2018I see people like me\u2019 in those positions, they\u2019re going to think that could be them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nancy Charraga of Casa Bonampak is equally concerned with supporting women in the community. Her multicultural staff\u2014mostly Latin\u2014is comprised entirely of women who all, including Charraga, live within a few blocks of the store.<\/p>\n

As for Rivera, says she\u2019s blessed to have grown up observing her grandparents\u2014themselves artisans\u2014being supportive of one another.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere I come from, men usually decide what to do and they tell you how to do it,\u201d says Rivera. \u201cBut my grandmother was a strong woman who was equal with my grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to Rivera that she uses her grandparent\u2019s relationship as a model for her own relationship with her husband. She refers to him as her \u201cpartner,\u201d in business and otherwise.<\/p>\n

Rivera says that the opportunities and resources that Women\u2019s Initiative offers are unique to the United States\u2014and this is something that concerns her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf something like Women\u2019s Initiative were in Mexico, believe me, I\u2019d be there.\u201d<\/p>\n