Women-owned businesses surge as pandemic recedes
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) — As the pandemic fades — at least for now — many have been left wondering what's next.
"Who am I now? And what do I want to do with the rest of my life?" Dallas designer and artist Dawn Franklin credits the unprecedented quiet of the pandemic with helping to answer those questions.
"I love designing jewelry," said Franklin. "I hand design each piece. So that's what's important for me, for people to understand that this is rooted in our culture."
Born with both a creative and kind heart, Franklin grew up in South Dallas and spent 18 years as a social worker. Then in the silence of the pandemic, she acknowledged the clarion call for change.
"It forced us to look at life differently," explained Franklin, "to shift our perspectives in terms of what's important, and what's valuable."
Call it, perhaps, a pandemic silver lining. In the two years since COVID-19 brought our lives to a standstill, more women are becoming entrepreneurs, looking to control their own economic destinies even in the face of the uncertainty that comes with owning your own business.
Experts say the factors fueling the surge are often financial, but personal fulfillment is a major contributor as well.
"Every day, I wake up and it's like 'okay, I'm really doing this!'" Franklin admits that going out on her own is both exciting and "terrifying", but the quiet of the pandemic helped give her the courage and clarity to move forward.
Without that pause, she said, "No, I don't know that I would have done it at all. I really don't. That time was very, very important. That time of telling myself, you can, you can. You will, you'll be alright."
Although Franklin's jewelry designs will continue to be available online, she made another bold business move: opening a brick-and-mortar studio in the Fair Park area near the South Dallas community where she grew up saying she wants guests to have an "experience" when viewing her designs.
"To allow people to come in and see it and touch it and feel it, and I can share with them the origin, the history," explained Franklin in her soothing, art filled studio. She explained that her journey and her studio also serve to encourage others.
"So those entrepreneurial girlfriends of mine that don't have a space, this is their space. And that's when I tell them, we will host pop ups, we'll do what we need to do. But this just isn't my space. It's about building community," Franklin said.
All while relying on her faith to keep moving her forward. After all, it's how she got here.
"A showroom was not in my plan, but it was in God's plan ... So my response to that was and is 'okay. I will be obedient,'" said Franklin. "Even when I'm reluctant some days, there's still a peace and a calm on the foundation of all of that because I know that all will be well."
