The Boss Network continues to help Black, female entrepreneurs connect and thrive
ORLAND PARK, Ill. (CBS) – Entrepreneurs tend to do it all. They're the company planner, accountant, and inventory specialist.
An Orland Park business owner is trying to keep her head above water while managing everything. Morning Insider Lauren Victory shared what recently helped the business owner, and other Black female bosses, bloom.
Chevarrie Levy is embarrassed by her mess, but it's all related to the beauty she creates from within.
"I've always had this passion to make things really, really pretty," Levy said.
It's a passion that, along with the pain of losing her son Cortney, inspired her to create her own silk flower rental company. She named it "Cortney Blooms."
"How could I not connect him to a place in my life I've had to bloom from?" Levy said.
The Orland Park mom wants to bring some joy to other grieving families by hosting floral arrangement workshops and offering a service of rotating bouquets to decorate gravesites.
"So with the subscription boxes, it makes sure that your family or loved one always has something out there," Levy said.
But her business can't expand without better website functionality. Storage would help too.
"I felt blessed," she said.
CBS 2 interviewed Levy after she learned she was one of 25 Black female entrepreneurs picked for a $10,000 grant from Bringing Out Successful Sisters, also known as The Boss Network.
Founder Cameka Smith shared the good news with other winners. About 18,000 women applied.
"Less than 1% of Black women get access to capital and that's a very low number," Smith said. "So I knew that this was going to be really important to my community and the number of applicants show that it definitely is."
2022 grant winner Janeen Harrell told CBS 2 last year she planned to use the money to organize her Chicago office.
"We've got out materials library fully up and running," Harrell said. "We've bought more technology to help support the efforts that we're doing here in the office and so absolutely the grant is just the gift that keeps on giving."
Levy said because of the network, "the load isn't as heavy because I have people I can talk to."
Mentorship is another perk of being a Boss Network winner, infusing budding businesses with cash and confidence.
The third round of Boss Network grants will go live next January. All in all, it's a three-year, $1.5 million program in partnership with the software company Sage.
