Cultivating your side hustle

Interview. Black women are more likely than women of other races to be business owners. However, the sad fact is that their business revenues significantly lag behind those of other ethnicities. To combat this  trend, author Kimberly Seals-Allers wrote “The Mocha Manual to Turning Your Passion into Profit: How to Find and Grow Your Side Hustle in Any Economy” (Amistad $15), to show women how to turn their passion into an income-producing (and successful) enterprise. 

There are so many books out there for entrepreneurs. What makes “The Mocha Manual” different?

One of the things I found is that the support for black women entrepreneurs is not there. White women are willing to ask for help; they are very willing to use their networks. I found that many black women were reluctant to go through these avenues.

Is it because of the dearth of role models?

As a former writer for Fortune, I know that frustration of not seeing any high-profile women of color in magazine features. You just don’t see the role models we should. But I have enough success stories in the book to show that business success can happen. 

What is the one thing you hope people can gain from “The Mocha Manual”?

That it’s important to enter into business smartly.  Many entrepreneurs learn from the school of hard knocks, but many black women don’t have that margin of error. They are the heads of their households, the financial providers, and they just can’t afford to fail.     

Dorothy Robinson/Metro