MBE Magazine

Kim Perrymond can plan a celebrity’s party without breaking a sweat. She has worked events for Bravo TV, singer K. Michelle, and entrepreneur Pinky Cole, and her company, EZPZ Party Planning, now trains other planners and runs a software company built for creative business owners. But none of that came easy, and none of it came first.

You answered emails, handled sales, checked invoices, packed orders, solved customer issues, and locked the door at night. That level of ownership built the business. It also built a habit that may now be hard to let go of. Many entrepreneurs, especially women and minority business owners, carry extra pressure. You may feel your work must be twice as sharp, twice as reliable, and twice as risk-proof, making the idea of handing off control feel impossible.

For many entrepreneurs, the past year has felt like navigating constant uncertainty. Rising costs, hiring challenges, fluctuating demand, and tight financing have forced business owners to make difficult decisions while continuing to pursue growth. There is some encouraging news.

Business growth creates pressure on space long before leaders expect it. More staff, inventory, meetings, and equipment can turn a functional workplace into a daily constraint. Smart expansion starts with business space planning as your business grows rather than a search for more square footage. A growing business needs space that supports workflow and customer experience. Learn some of the ways you can scale your business workspace with expanding needs.

For the suppliers looking to navigate enterprise conversations today, meet John Taylor (JT). When Medtronic needed to reshape how a global medical device company thought about its supply chain, JT was at the forefront. When ADM needed someone to build supplier diversity infrastructure that could operate at the scale of one of the world’s largest agricultural processors, he led that build too.

Creative Investment Research released a new analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ June 2026 Employment Situation Report, concluding that the apparent improvement in the national unemployment rate masks a labor market that continues to weaken beneath the surface. While the headline unemployment rate declined to 4.2 percent, the report finds that much of the improvement resulted from declining labor force participation rather than stronger hiring.

Last year, more than 300,000 Black women lost their jobs in the federal workforce. The layoffs came fast. Their bills did not stop coming. For many of these women, the next step was not a new job search. It was something bigger: starting their own business. Dr. Rosie Thomas has watched this shift happen up close. As founder and CEO of Thomas Financial and Thomas Tax Academy, she has spent more than 20 years helping Black women build businesses that last. Her clients are not just chasing income.

“What would happen if you couldn’t come to work for 30 days?” A few years ago, I asked a business owner that question. He laughed. Then he stopped laughing. The reality was that payroll would stall, client relationships would suffer, decisions would pile up, and employees would spend most of their time waiting for answers. Unfortunately, his situation wasn’t unique. In fact, many business owners wear indispensability like a badge of honor without fully recognizing the hidden cost it creates.

Growth is a major objective for most businesses, but scaling successfully requires far more than increasing sales or expanding operations. Companies that grow too quickly without building the right operational systems often experience setbacks that slow momentum and create unnecessary expenses. Many organizations focus heavily on marketing, hiring, and customer acquisition while overlooking the internal risks that naturally increase during expansion.

Dr. Brandy Williams did not set out to become the woman every overwhelmed, exhausted entrepreneur calls when her own doctor will not listen. It found her. It started with one phone call. A patient she had known for years, a woman who watched her diet and worked out for years, called Dr. Williams in tears. She had gained weight, she could not explain. Her OB-GYN blamed her symptoms on her sex life instead of looking at her hormones. She felt unheard, confused, and alone.