BOSS Network invests in Black women-owned businesses

CHICAGO (CBS) -- We're rounding out the end of National Black Business Month.

Morning Insider Lauren Victory shares a story about women of color not only empowering women of color - but also investing in them.

"I like, you know, going room by room, corner by corner," said Janeen Harrell piecing through drawings of a client's home renovation.

The architect and interior designer just moved into her first office. It's an important step to expand iJ Design Studio.

"The hardest thing about starting my own business is really just trying to handle all of it," said Harrell who is two years into entrepreneurship.

"I had to put a sign on my website you know, we're booked for the year. Because we are, we've been really, really busy," she said proud of her success.

Of course that success comes with challenges like the need for a bigger team. "It would be great to hire four people," said Harrell. "But that's very, very expensive."

Then she won a $10,000 grant through "The BOSS Network."

"BOSS is an acronym. It stands for 'Bringing Out Successful Sisters,'" said CEO and founder Cameka Smith who has spent the past 14 years offering business building tools and mentorship opportunities specifically to women of color.

Smith said the biggest barrier for Black, female entrepreneurs is finances.

"I tell people all the time, you can have a great idea but if you're not making any money, you have a glorified hobby," she said. "Even if you have a great business idea, if you don't have the funding to succeed or scale your business, you're going to fail in the first couple of years."

A study by digitalundivided, a non-profit focused on advocating for Latina and Black women entrepreneurs, found less than half a percent of venture capital funding went to female founders who are Black and Latina in 2020.

The BOSS Network wanted to help. Smith created the first-ever "BOSS Impact Fund" with a goal to support 500 Black, female entrepreneurs over three years. SAGE, an accounting and business management company, invested $1.5 million into the first round of winners.

So 35 women from across the country received a $10,000 grant and one year free of BOSS network entrepreneur training and mentorship.

"We got over 15,000 applications which was a little bit overwhelming but it also showed there was a huge need," said Smith.

"I can't tell you how meaningful it is that another Black woman is the one to invest in me," said Harrell who plans to use her $10K to grow her team and spiff up her new space in Fulton Market.