Andrea Harris-Walker leads Bacon Magazine, a platform empowering Black women through impactful stories and features, fostering connection and inspiration within both, the community and culture.
Can you share with us the inspiration behind transitioning from an online business coach to founding a nonprofit organization focused on uplifting black women entrepreneurs?
The inspiration behind it was just seeing so many black women reach out to me as a business coach. I’ve coached over 500 different women and companies within a short period just by having a strong digital reach online. And one thing that I noticed was that these women were serious about business. It didn’t matter if they were at a startup level or if they started to make money and needed to scale. They were taking themselves very seriously. A lot of them weren’t getting any type of capital or visibility whatsoever, but they were literally showing up, paying their coaching bills faithfully, showing up for the program, and investing in themselves. And when I saw that, and it continued to happen, I asked myself, “Why isn’t anybody talking about this?”
You hear about it. They dabble into black women in business and what they’re doing, but there wasn’t a publication or an organization that I saw that was highlighting black women in business at the next level, meaning yes, these girls are branding at a level of Target and Sephora, big branded levels, and no one is talking about this. So I was inspired by seeing so many women who were investing in themselves and taking themselves seriously, and I said, what can I do individually? Sure, I can help these women one by one by coaching them, but what can I do at a corporate level, at a greater level, to serve more people at the same time? And so I transitioned to highlighting these women instead of trying to individually work with them one-on-one at a startup level. And I believe that’s the reason why our organization went kaboom in the first year.
That’s awesome. What were some of the common mindset patterns and obstacles you observed among black women entrepreneurs that motivated you to take this action?
The common mindset patterns that I observed were not necessarily things that were, I wouldn’t say positive or negative, but they were things that I could identify with in my life as a black woman, just the lack of support or what that looks like in our community when we say things like, you know, support your family and friends the same way you support those celebrities you don’t know, right? That mindset is like a cultural mindset that we have about what support looks like and where it’s going to come from. And from my personal life, just being, I guess, an online influencer at some point, selling products and services and starting in the digital landscape, my very first sale that I ever made online was from someone in Australia. And I’m in Los Angeles, California. So that really kind of changed my perspective to see that there are people that are going to be around the world who do not know you, that do not have personal contact with you who resonate with the things that you’re talking about.
Can you describe some of the negativity towards black women, particularly in online spaces?
I literally just wrote an article last night about this topic. So it’s so interesting that you bring this up because clearly, I’m not crazy, right? We’re not crazy. People are saying that like we’re the big bad wolf and the villain. And I mean, it’s always been a problem before online, right? I’m a millennial. I’m 39 years old. It’s always been a problem. Before we had smartphones, before there was MySpace, this has always been a problem. It just wasn’t highlighted at a grand scale, right? So when you come online, it seems like it’s new, but I don’t think it’s new. I think these things have been happening for a long time. I think a lot of it has a lot to do with the patriarchal mindset that operates in an unfair way. Personally, I see it all the time. And I think it’s disgusting. I saw it heightened around the times when Kevin Samuels really became like the grandfather of whatever he was doing online. That really set the tone. And it’s been happening for the past few years in ways that are just indescribable.
It’s coming from other people of color, Black people, Black men, and non-Black people. I’m at a loss for words, honestly, because it’s so disgusting. But that being said, right, this is also a reason why our nonprofit organization was created. Our mission is, simply put, to preserve the positive image of Black women. So my call to action after seeing and hearing that was to create an organization that was going to preserve her positive image and literally highlight the opposite of the stereotypes that Black women have to face every single day.
As Bacon Magazine continues to gain recognition and influence, how do you ensure the voices and achievements of Black women entrepreneurs remain at the forefront of your platform?
I think to achieve that; we have to constantly remind ourselves of our differences. And before we produce content, we have to ask ourselves, who does this serve? Right? Because it’s so interesting in the online media space, because we’re a magazine and a nonprofit organization, and we dabble a little bit in entertainment news. But it’s interesting, because somehow online, Black news has become gossip news. And it’s like, if you’re not giving that, they’re not necessarily tuning in. I think understanding who you represent and who you’re here to serve kind of draws you back. I believe we’ve fallen into that trap a few times, where it’s like, kind of give the people what they want. But then it’s like, okay, I’m gaining all this recognition in this audience, but this is not my audience. Right? The audience is for Black women to be recognized alongside our allies. It’s not just about Black women; it’s about those who support us. Does it matter if that is a man or a woman? Does it matter what race, creed, color, sexual orientation? We need allies.
Now, could you share a specific success story or testimonial from someone who has benefited from the resources and support you provided?
Within our first year, we provided over $230,000 of free advertisement space to black businesses. So when you look at our 163-page, you know, issue, and you see 75 ads in there, if they’re not traditionally a big brand, then more than likely they were provided with free ad space. So we saw so many different things in studying the field, like the wealth gap and how most of them are investing in themselves. We also knew that we were a new publication, and we wanted to come out just a little different, actually giving away and serving more than just asking for money or asking for things or asking for donations. So we kind of started with just giving a lot. And within that, there were hundreds of black business owners who literally received free ad space.
And I believe it’s a big thing because out of the seven issues… I don’t want to reveal our next cover too early, but out of all of our issues, except our very first issue, we’ve had the luxury of celebrities wanting to work with us. What we do is we leverage the celebrity’s celebrity to gain visibility for people like, you know, Ziggy Hair Care or Nella Vitamins, or, you know, these small businesses that can’t really get that recognition yet because, number one, they can’t afford traditional advertising space. I’m not going to talk about any other magazine names, but if you’re looking at what they’re charging for ad space, it’s a condo in LA.
As a leader in this industry, what advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly Black women, who are seeking to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals?
I am a huge mindset person. I believe it comes from an athletic background. I’m like a cat. I’ve lived many lives. A lot of people just don’t understand that about me. But growing up, I’ve always just been a controversial figure in my own world, right? And so this is why I’m huge on mindset. A lot of people don’t know this about me, but I played basketball at a high level. This was before the WNBA really existed and things of that nature. I’m a six-foot-tall woman, okay? I’m a bigger woman. I have a bigger body, and that has always bothered everyone. You know, my body has been a problem. My voice has been a problem. The power I possess has been a problem. My clairvoyance has been a problem at every single job on every single team and in every single way in my entire life, right? That’s just the truth. I am a problem.
It’s a good one, right? But I’m a problem for people who don’t want to change. I’m a problem the way Amanda Seales is a problem, right? We’re just going to get to the forefront of that thing, and a lot of people aren’t ready for that type of, “Hey, yo, I’m just going to hold you accountable.” So to just bring that up, I’m a good problem, but I’m a problem, nonetheless. So with that being said, I had to learn a lot about mindset and how to hear, accept feedback, process things, and understand who I am through the grid of it all, right? What I have determined at the end of the day is that you need to follow your first mind because it’s usually your correct mind. Your higher self is never going to steer you in the wrong direction. And so Black women in business have so many obstacles. They have so many people who don’t believe in them, and this is not even coming from outside of our community.
There’s a problem within our community wanting to, with jealousy and bitterness, rip down things that people are working hard for, or, you know, we get scared when we see someone is ambitious. And so I know I’m talking strong, but the Black woman is going to understand exactly what I’m saying because this is her daily existence of having to overcome these mindset obstacles. And though she appears sharp on the edges and looks good, there’s still something deeper going on inside.
BE’N ORIGINAL
