10 Women-Owned Small Businesses We Can’t Stop Raving About
Before this year, my support for women-owned small businesses was mediocre at best. Word-of-mouth was the easy part. Continuing to buy products after an initial test-drive is where I fell short. As a self-proclaimed (and since reformed) product junkie, I’d stumble upon something on Instagram or through a random Google search, buy it, love it, and forget to reorder because I had already moved onto something else. There are more than a few ways to support a small business, but consistently spending your hard-earned coins on their product(s) is the most effective.
The pandemic has done considerable damage to businesses in general, with women—and Black women in particular—suffering the most devastating losses. A lot of say we’re committed to economic empowerment but rarely take our support beyond our Instagram pages. National Women’s Small Business Month is an opportunity to keep it real and put your money where your mouth is. Women-owned small businesses aren’t hard to find—they’re in the Target aisle (like The Honey Pot Co.), in your friends’ Instagram stories, and in your local neighborhood. The only challenge is deciding what to invest in, especially if you’re on a tight budget and working on your own passion project.
This list of carefully-curated hidden gems isn’t the be-all and end-all of women-owned small businesses, but it’s a place to start. From home decor to brand consulting and more, here are 10 standout brands you’ll have trouble keeping to yourself.
Mattie James
Mattie is a living, breathing influencer dictionary. A successful influencer in her own right, the BlogHer speaker teaches up-and-comers how to do leverage their brands and elevate their profile with her tried-and-true tactics.
rayo & honey
I discovered this brand while redecorating my apartment earlier this year and fell in love with Roachele Negron’s handmade wall hangings. If your aesthetic leans heavily on positive reinforcement, you’ll want everything from her product range which includes pennants, pins, bookmarks and more.
Nicole Williams
This SHE Media Partner Network member is a details-obsessed strategist that specializes in helping all kinds of brands reach their fullest potential and increase profit. With programs as simple as a strategy session and as expansive as a “Brand360 Accelerator,” Williams truly does it all.
Gilded
A work-from-home station simply isn’t good without a couple of smell-goods in the mix. Although I love incense and burning palo santo, candles are my go-to and this body care brand makes one of my absolute favorites—a luxurious, zero-waste container that houses a myriad of mesmerizing scents.
The Hackerette
SHE Media Partner Network member Kamelia Britton, also known as “The Hackerette,” was inspired by her own personal pivot from nurse to full-time blogger to create a coaching business for entrepreneurs who want to upgrade their Instagram Business skills.
Melanin Haircare
Naturalistas (myself included) rejoiced when O.G. YouTuber Whitney White, also known as Naptural85, launched Melanin Haircare. I have multiple friends who swear by the Multi-Use Softening Leave-In Conditioner—watch any of Whitney’s tutorials and you’ll probably want to try everything.
Dhariana Lozano
From her free resource library to her many online courses and consulting opportunities, Lozano’s website is a one-stop-shop for getting more eyes on your brand and more money in your bank account.
The Lit Bar
In my quest to start ordering books from small businesses, I discovered The Lit Bar, a Bronx-based bookstore owned by Noëlle Santos. The curated lists are truly one-of-a-kind and all online purchases are handled through Bookshop, an online retailer that directly benefits independent and locally-owned bookstores.
Grillz and Granola
The “TrapAerobics” craze begins and ends here—a now digital destination for fitness with flavor and in lieu of the pandemic, group therapy sessions.
Reparations Club
This online concept shop is made for and by Black people. In addition to books, you’ll find apparel, accessories and audiobooks—all of which are just waiting to be shown off on your Instagram feed.
For even more small business recommendations, make sure you’re registered for BlogHer Biz, a month-long workshop series dedicated to educating and inspiring women entrepreneurs during National Women’s Small Business Month.
