Former RSD exec offers advice to Black business women
15th July 2024 · 0 Comments
By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer
Baton Rouge native and business owner Lakeisha Robichaux spoke as part of a July 6th panel during this year’s ESSENCE Festival weekend featuring 30 Black women business leaders looking to spark new opportunities and support lasting success for Black female business owners. (The panel was not an official part of the ESSENCE Festival.)
Sidni Shorter, a Baton Rouge native and the CEO of the Utah Black Chamber of Commerce, organized the panel, which was sponsored by JP Morgan Chase and Company. The panel examined how businesses owned by Black women can continue to grow and scale, and also emphasized the importance of Black female business owners using one other as resources for partnerships, as well as general support and advice.
Robichaux said an important part of the discussion focused on health and wellness. When a business owner is getting a company off the ground, there will be a lot of long nights. Work-life balance is difficult to achieve, especially if a spouse and children are involved. The panel stressed the importance of having a good relationship with a primary care doctor, as well as having a trusted confidant from the business world who can relate to another entrepreneur’s problems. Even if they cannot come up with a solution to the specific problem, that confidant can help the business owner’s health by simply listening to them vent.
“When times get rough, you have to let it (your frustrations) out,” Robichaux said. “You can’t hold it all in.”
Robichaux worked for many companies and organizations before starting her own. She worked in human resources for Fortune 500 companies like CVS and Dollar Tree. She has also served as the executive director for the Recovery School District. In 2014, she made the choice to start her own company, Chief of Minds, a comprehensive human resource strategy firm that works with businesses across the United States and internationally.
“We make HR easy for our clients,” Robichaux said.
Some of the work Chief of Minds does for its clients includes looking at whether or not the organization has the right people in the right roles. If a person isn’t working well in a role, how can they change things to help that person? Chief of Minds also looks at whether or not a client’s business could be helped by partnering with other organizations. An example would be teaming up with a local university or community college to strengthen the client’s employee pipeline.
Robichaux extended the Chief of Minds brand with the business development membership platform BizChiefs, which provides access to tailored workshops, coaching sessions, and other resources. She is also president of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce and the author of the book “Growing Beyond the CEO: How to Build, Engage, and Retain a High-Performing Team, From One to Hundreds of Employees.”
When asked to give her thoughts about the state of Black-owned business and Black-female-owned businesses in America, Robichaux said there are many challenges in securing funding and support. She said the obstacles are even greater for Black women who often do not have a foot in the door in the industry they are looking to establish themselves in. This is especially true in male-dominated industries like construction.
“We have to work harder to build relationships,” Robichaux said.
In 2019, the Fearless Fund sought to bridge the gap in venture capital for women of color. However, the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the fund from making more grants in Georgia, Alabama and Florida. The lawsuit came from the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER), run by conservative activist Edward Blum.
The court result was disappointing for Robichaux, and it makes her skeptical that things will improve for Black women business owners in the near future. But she has not abandoned hope yet.
“I am hopeful and prayerful things will get better,” Robichaux said.
This article originally published in the July 15, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
