{"id":44245,"date":"2020-07-14T15:31:08","date_gmt":"2020-07-14T19:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=44245"},"modified":"2021-04-28T07:58:14","modified_gmt":"2021-04-28T11:58:14","slug":"black-woman-entrepreneur-judi-henderson-mannequin-madness-racism-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/black-woman-entrepreneur-judi-henderson-mannequin-madness-racism-business\/","title":{"rendered":"As a Black Business Owner, She Hid Her Ethnicity. ‘It\u2019s What I Felt I Needed to Do’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: This profile is part of a new series, “Her Perspective,”<\/a> on the experiences of Black women business owners.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Judi Henderson<\/a> is a proud Black woman business owner. Being one wasn\u2019t always an option.<\/p>\n

Henderson\u2019s Oakland, California business, Mannequin Madness<\/a>, has been toughing out economic ups and downs for just about 20 years now. In 2019, she and her 4 employees and 4 contractors sold mannequins to clients here and abroad, raking in revenues that fell between $500,000 and $1 million, she says.<\/p>\n

\"Judi
Judi Henderson, owner of Mannequin Madness, is hoping for a sea change for Black people in the business world. (Credit: Mannequin Madness)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And today, she happily broadcasts her identity to customers, partners and the world. But \u201cwhen I first started [Mannequin Madness], I must say, I made it a point to almost hide my ethnicity,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s what I felt I needed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s not alone — other women entrepreneurs of color have told us<\/a> that they, too, hesitated to let customers know who they were (at least initially). Those business owners recalled concerns over alienating non-Black customers or pigeonholing themselves as a Black-only business unintentionally. In Henderson\u2019s case, she launched her e-commerce store at a time when online shopping was far from the norm, and she \u201cdidn\u2019t want any deterrent for someone who was already uncomfortable shopping online, [caused by] buying from a Black business owner.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Related: <\/i>The Enduring Power of Buying Black<\/i><\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until years later that she became a visible part of her brand — though even then, it was less about choice and more about circumstance.<\/p>\n

Broadcasting Blackness in Business<\/strong><\/h5>\n

When she first started, Henderson says the deck was stacked against her on virtually every front — that \u201cno one was going to loan a mannequin company money.\u201d Nor was anyone going to invest. Professional investors in the tech-centric Bay Area weren’t interested — and even if they were, it’s exceedingly difficult for black women to secure venture capital. Research shows that less than 1 percent<\/a> of VC funding goes to Black women entrepreneurs in a given year.<\/p>\n

The disparities between the inter-generational wealth of white families and families of color hurt Henderson as well. \u201cMy ancestors couldn\u2019t buy property in certain neighborhoods, so the value [of their homes] didn\u2019t increase as much, so there was less to hand down,\u201d she explains. \u201cEven my own home, if I go to refinance that, many times I won\u2019t get a loan, or I won\u2019t get a favorable [interest] rate.\u201d She described it as \u201cstarting already behind the 8 ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

But her bootstrapped business managed to grow steadily over the years, as it developed a reputation for quality and attracted international clients who \u201cdidn\u2019t care that I was selling out of a backyard in Oakland.\u201d She also began to receive business awards and grants from high-profile organizations like Wells Fargo and Intel.<\/p>\n

[Related: <\/i>12 Black Women-Run Businesses That Have Inspired Us<\/i><\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n

Publication of those accolades meant circulation of her picture. But thanks to those achievements, Henderson became more comfortable letting customers know her Black identity. Still, her business primarily sells to white people — less than 10 percent of her clients are Black, she reports. So it\u2019s \u201cnever been something I\u2019m touting,\u201d she says. In fact, \u201cI\u2019ve never even gotten my minority business certification.\u201d<\/p>\n

And like many industries, hers is dominated by white men. \u201cI haven\u2019t met another Black woman in the mannequin space, so there\u2019s no one else to talk to,\u201d she says. The problem even manifests itself in the orders she receives — Henderson has to \u201cactively encourage stores\u201d to carry mannequins bearing non-white features.<\/p>\n

Staying Nimble<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Of course, with brick-and-mortar now struggling to stay open, that has become a secondary concern. Because of the coronavirus crisis<\/a>, Henderson says sales are down 50 percent from where they would be this time of year. Moreover, she\u2019s had to suspend the in-person art classes she would host in her company’s warehouse space, further chipping away at Mannequin Madness\u2019 income.<\/p>\n

Indeed, after 20 tumultuous years — from launching around the time of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to weathering the 2008 recession and a 2014 divorce — she describes the events of 2020 as creating \u201cthe most difficult time ever\u201d for her firm. \u201cWhat\u2019s happening now is like all three, in one,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

\"Being
Being creative offers Judi Henderson of Mannequin Madness an outlet for the stress of running a business during a pandemic. But, she adds, \u201cif I go out of business \u2026 I can\u2019t just go to my family to ask for another million.\u201d Systemic racism means \u201cnot having as much of a cushion, which creates a level of stress that\u2019s just not healthy.\u201d (Credit: Mannequin Madness)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Her ability to pivot amid the turmoil has shown her that she\u2019s \u201cresourceful in ways I didn\u2019t think possible.\u201d Part of her survival strategy has involved letting people rent her warehouse space for socially distanced pet photography. But with brick-and-mortar spaces closed, some permanently, the need for mannequins has simply decreased.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a struggle, but I\u2019m able to be nimble,\u201d Henderson says.<\/p>\n

[Related: <\/i>Embracing Change Pays Off for Judi Henderson<\/i><\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n

And it\u2019s in this instance that she points to her Blackness as a boon, as she says Black people have a unique ability to \u201cmake a way out of no way.\u201d She referenced the entrepreneurs of Tulsa\u2019s Black Wall Street, who were devastated by a racist massacre in 1921. \u201cThey banded together and came back,\u201d Henderson says, adding that resilience is \u201cpart of our genetic makeup.\u201d<\/p>\n

She continued that she\u2019s \u201cso used to the struggle, I forget that others don\u2019t have to. It\u2019s all that I\u2019ve known.\u201d Being creative offers her an outlet for the stress, she adds, but \u201cif I go out of business \u2026 I can\u2019t just go to my family to ask for another million” — systemic racism means \u201cnot having as much of a cushion, which creates a level of stress that\u2019s just not healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

What This Moment Could Mean<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Henderson says she\u2019s \u201cso heartened\u201d by ongoing international protests of racial inequality. But she wants to see lasting systemic changes come of it — for she and other Black business owners to have \u201cmore of a seat at the table,” rather than just, say, seeing customers “buying from Black-owned businesses every Juneteenth.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s excited to see what \u201caccess and awareness\u201d could lead to. \u201cNow that people are paying more attention to minority businesses,\u201d she wants to see inequalities addressed, rather than merely discussed — particularly when it comes to getting funded. Some companies, like women\u2019s investment planning and investing firm Ellevest<\/a>, are already leading the charge by finding and spotlighting companies to investors that advance racial justice causes and lift up women of color.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Henderson is creating collectives with other Black-owned businesses that operate outside the mainstream — either in the type of business they own, like the entrepreneur who runs a stained glass restoration business, or by being Black in spaces where Black people are a minority, like the owners of gymnastics clubs.<\/p>\n

Community is key right now, she adds. \u201cIt\u2019s extra hard to be a Black-owned business in a non-traditional field. It\u2019s a whole other level of stress, and creativity, and resourcefulness.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Related: <\/i>These Two Activists are Elevating Black Women in U.S. Politics<\/i><\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n

More in the “Her Perspective”<\/a> series<\/h3>\n

Why We Need to Focus on Black Women\u2019s Startup Stories<\/a>
\nBusiness ownership is harder for Black women. That’s why we’ve launched a new series, “Her Perspective,” on Black women’s startup experiences.<\/p>\n

Her PR Firm Has Succeeded By Amplifying Voices That Are \u2018Ignored, Dismissed and Muted\u2019<\/a>
\nDreena Whitfield launched WhitPR with a hyperfocus on Black-owned businesses, individuals and organizations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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