Tackling the Racial Wealth Gap

Written by Stephanie Terry, Executive Director and Rinnie Orr, Associate Director

At WEBB Squared, our mission is two-fold:

1. We help Black entrepreneurs make their business dreams come true, and
2. We are closing the racial wealth gap one successful Black business at a time.

Did you know that:

• White people own 86% of wealth and make up 60% of the population.
• White wealth is diversified among real estate, equities, and other assets, whereas non-white wealth is mostly in pensions and real estate.
• Only 4.3% of the U.S. 22.2 million business owners are black.
• Of the 2 million Black businesses, only about 107,000 of them have actual employees.
• Such firms employ more than 920,000 people with a total annual payroll of $23.9 billion. The other 1.9 million businesses do not have paid employees.
• Small businesses in black communities are rarely profitable, less then 1% have a median profit margin above 20%.
• 95% of black business in black communities hold a cash buffer of 2 weeks or less.
• Since the pandemic 41% of black businesses have closed their business as compared to 17% white.

The Racial Wealth Gap defined…

These statistics are alarming, but not surprising. The racial wealth gap is a wealth gap between Blacks & whites created through centuries of racism and discrimination. Centuries The legacies of slavery, Jim Crow, predatory lending processes, and more…contributed to the rise of this gap, and continue to influence it today.

Business data  from the research-based company McKinsey & Company has projected that the Black-White wealth gap in the United States will cost the economy $1 trillion per year by 2028. Studies also  indicate that Black businesses achieving revenue parity with white businesses can become key components in closing the racial wealth gap.  

Our solution: WEBB Squared

Our non-profit WEBB Squared is a business incubator and accelerator that works directly with Black entrepreneurs in rural North Carolina. We wish to help entrepreneurs create successful businesses throughout the state and have developed programs to help them succeed. WEBB Squared uniquely offers custom trainings that address the mindsets that have formed and shaped the present day realities shaped by the racial wealth gap. 

We are also building a strong ecosystem for entrepreneurs that include coaches, service providers, investors, professionals and social pioneers who recognize the radical power and profitability of authenticity, in business and in life.

We know this is work is ours to do. Will you join us?