The Words Await

from BLAC Detroit Magazine March 2022

Access

By Nadira Jamerson

Being Your Own BossDespite limited access to venture capital and resources, the number of businesses owned by Black women grew 50% from 2014 to 2019, representing the highest growth rate of any female demographic, as reported by Forbes. In 2021, Black women became the fastest-growing demographic of entrepreneurs in the U.S., with nearly 2.7 million businesses nationwide. Black women are continuing to be their own bosses and showing America how it is done. To shed light on this rare time in history, BLAC spoke with three trailblazing women who are amplifying the voices of other Black women; Angela McIver, Founder of Trapezium, a national math club, Tori Nichel, Creator of Maison Black and Robin Andrade of SELL ATLANTA. By creating room for themselves and other Black women to share unique ideas, these women built a lifestyle for other bosses to emulate.

Angela McIver

It was after working as an educator with a Temple University after school program allowing firstgeneration, college students from low-income families to study on campus, that Angela McIver realized that while her students were prepared for science and math, they were actually dropping out because of their confidence.

“Less than two percent of Black students in the country take two years of calculus, so we realized that we really knew how to do this and that we knew how to do it for Black children especially,'' says McIver, owner of Trapezium Math Club. Now a national math club working with students in grades K-5 in fostering confidence in STEM, Trapezium started at home with McIver’s own children filling in the foundational math skills they were missing. McIver started by creating a list of things that students should know by fifth grade if they were going to be successful in math in middle school and high school. After looking over her children’s math curriculums, McIver realized that their school was not fully preparing them to succeed in STEM.

By starting her own math club, McIver made sure that own children and their friends were being given all the tools to ensure their success. "I started a math club with my son when he was in first grade with some of his friends. When he graduated from eighth grade, the only kids who tested into advanced high school math classes from their elementary school were Trapezium math students,” explains McIver. “It was the first time in the school’s history that Black students tested into advanced math.” Founder Angela McIver working with a student from Trapezium

Trapezium student solving a math equation Trapezium students working in the classroom

As a mother and educator, McIver is dedicated to improving her children and students’ confidence and now Trapezium serves students in 18 states. “When I realized how much I love math and how good I was at math it was surprising. I never had that confidence,” says McInver. “I want to make sure that students, and Black girls particularly, come out of elementary school feeling that they

can do this.”

Robin Andrade

While her friends were dreaming of going off to college and pursuing their careers of stardom, Robin Andrade became a mother at the tender age of 17. Working low paying jobs and living in a section 8 apartment building, at the age of 21 Andrade took a risk and purchased the building becoming a landlord and homeowner and igniting a passion for ownership.

Now, CEO of SELL ATLANTA, a boutique real estate firm servicing Metro Atlanta, Robin Andrade shares her expertise in the field as a cast member on OWN’s ‘Ladies Who List: Atlanta,’ a TV series showcasing the very best in Atlanta real estate. “I was living in an apartment on Section 8, and it was an apartment building with three families. … I had to beg this lady to even let me rent her house,” remembers Andrade. “It was a beautiful, historic home. The bank called one day and said that the house was going into foreclosure, but because I resided there I had the first option to buy.” Back then, there was no internet…I made phone calls to banks and figured it out. I bought that house, and I was 21. I lived for free for six years and learning how to be a landlord and a homeowner at the same time sparked my desire to have more real estate in my life.”

Launched in 2010, SELL ATLANTA, has sold hundreds of properties in commercial and residential real estate while offering residential, commercial, rental, and property management services. It wasn’t until given the opportunity to share this knowledge with a wider audience on ‘Ladies Who List: Atlanta,’ that Andrade found her calling helping others acquire their dream homes. “I’ve always been in the pursuit of happiness and in the pursuit of some sort of relaxation. When you’re young, you have to wake up at five in the morning to be at school at 7 a.m., to come home and go to work from 4 to 8 p.m., and then come home again and take care of your newborn,” says Andrade. “It’s like the clock never stops ticking. You’re always out of time, and that would build up such anxiety in me. Being an entrepreneur has helped me to find a smooth landing.”

CEO Robin Andrade poses with agents from SELL ATLANTA

Tori Nichel

Designer, and design leader, Tori Nichel founded Maison Black New York because of her passion to mentor budding designers. The creation of her Fashion Scholarship Fund helped seal her name in history as “Designer to Watch” by Women’s Wear Daily and Forbes Magazine. “Other than wanting a house full of kids with a hubby and a dog named Leroy, my life is quite aligned with the vision I had when I was younger. I was blessed at a young age to know what I wanted to do”, said Nichel. “I recognize that not everyone is born with that chip and has to find their why over time. Others are forced to be someone they were not put on this earth to be. It's for that reason I embrace and immerse myself into it, helping others build their dreams on a daily basis.”

In creating Maison Black New York, Nichel honors the voices of other Black designers as a destination to be recognized for shaping global style. Since its founding, Maison Black has showcased works of such designers as Apotts, Esenshel, and Lorraine West. “It’s still really important to make sure that the brand vision is held together. I have a close relationship with each designer, so I need to make sure that their product is shot in the right light and that we’re protecting their brand integrity as well as our own,” says Nichels. “My advice: follow the three P’s: Prayer, Perseverance and Persistence. Ensure your foundation is on lock. I am talking about your sistership crew, tribe, and family. The people who you know have you covered without asking, and the ones who will lift you on days you want to give up because there will be those days. I believe that we only get one shot at life, and getting paid to do what we dreamt of being as a kid is a blessing.”

She laments that women like her are often misunderstood because of their ambition

Tori Nichel, founder and chief creative officer of Maison Black New York

and drive. “Be ready for rejection. Be ready for the no's on why your Black-owned, female-led business is not quite ready for the funding or sponsorship, but do not let rejection stop you,” NIchel advises. “I truly believe if God gave you the vision to create, then He will provide you the resources to execute. When you get those yes — whew, were they worth all the no's. Building a legacy business is something that someone can leave behind for their children.”