Meet Trailblazer Makisha Boothe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Makisha Boothe.

Makisha, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
When I was in my early 20’s, I ran a day spa in the Golden Triangle neighborhood of Denver called Ya Ya Spa. I was a Black woman entrepreneur with no access to capital, no entrepreneurial experience and minimal social capital. I learned so much from the experience but the spa ultimately closed because the resources were scarce and the learning curve too deep.

Fast forward 20 years, and I’ve run my own successful consulting firm, coached other businesses through tough times to success. I also along the way have fallen in love with leadership development, training and facilitation through my work in policy and education. I’ve also experienced my fair share of racism, hair discrimination and other assaults that Black women encounter daily. So I started Sistahbiz to help Black women in similar situations overcome those barriers and the trauma they bring so that they can build successful businesses – on their terms – unapologetically.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The movies, The Banker and Self-Made, are out right now. We did Sistahbiz Watch Parties and discussions on both movies. Combined, both movies do an outstanding job of pointing out a few things that answer this question.

The Black woman has to manage the impact of racism, colorism, sexism, and lack of access to banks, investors and capital when building her business and her own capacity as an entrepreneur. It often means encountering all of the normal challenges of entrepreneurship while being grossly underfunded, constantly disrespected and often overlooked, overworked and underestimated.

The movies show how often we encounter these challenges in predominantly white environments, and then sometimes we come home to men who fail to support us. While not all Black men fail to support Black women, I’m unapologetic about keeping it real that we deal with racism and sexism in and out of our own community. It’s traumatic, but the women who overcome find great victory and reward for themselves, their families, their legacy and our entire community.

We’d love to hear more about Sistahbiz Global Network.
I love my work. Some of the women in our community call me the business therapist. I think it’s because I can stay pretty focused on business results, but I know when we need to make space for traumas and healing work that is standing in the way of a client’s business success. I’m proud of the fact that Sistahbiz creates safe space for Black women to grow as entrepreneurs. They feel supported and validated. They don’t have to code-switch or conform to mainstream culture in our space. I also target Black women, specifically, and got a lot of pushback on that for some time.

Black women are still at the bottom of the totem pole with a fraction of the resources, capital and revenue outcomes that their white counterparts have. Here’s the thing though – we’re the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the country. For me, this means that there is demand, and a higher need for support in this population of entrepreneurs. So while I am passionate about working with Black women, it also just makes sense to target this population of entrepreneurs with support services. So if I had to say what I am most proud of, it’s that we’re culturally responsive and our curriculum and programs are high quality. I’m also grateful that so far, we’ve been able to raise over $40k in funds for COVID relief for Black women and provide emergency grants and support. Grantees don’t just receive funds, they gain access to our cash flow strategist and business coaching sessions.

We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
Existing in a world built for men, run by men, where even some women have assimilated to the very elements of business culture that oppress them.

Pricing:

• We also have a monthly membership for $19 a month.
• We also have access to FREE training bootcamps.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sistah.biz
• Email: makisha@sistah.biz
• Instagram: @sistahbiz
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/sistahbiz
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/sistahbiz

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