Welcome! 

What is this directory all about?  I'll share my story.  When I moved to San Antonio during the pandemic because of the impossible cost of living in San Diego, I was shocked by the number of restaurants and stores that were closing.  I also noticed the concentration of wealth in the North and Northwest areas of the city.  

I started digging into the history of San Antonio and I learned about the effects of systemic government sponsored redlining in the '30's that made it impossible for black owned businesses to get loans or for African Americans to get mortgages.  This persists today on many levels, and now we have the effects of gentrification and displacement as well.

According to the San Antonio Small Business Assessment Report of 2020: 

• Hispanic and Black residents make up 60% and 9% of the population, respectively, but they only own 24% and 2% of all employer small businesses.

• Other than the pricier neighborhoods on the North Side, poverty and inequity still closely mirror redlined neighborhoods that were labeled in the 1930s as “hazardous for lending” due to their make-up as communities of color. 

• Industries hardest hit by COVID-19 are overrepresented by Black-owned businesses, and Hispanic-owned businesses operate in industries that are impacted but surviving. 

• Business owners of color in San Antonio, facing a loss of community identity and commercial displacement, lack access and awareness to the services they need to survive, sustain, and scale their business.

• In the U.S., over 30 million small businesses employ nearly half of the national workforce and create approximately two thirds of new jobs. 

I decided to create a unique directory of diverse and inclusive small businesses that the entire city of San Antonio could support. I designed my logo to highlight the historic government sponsored 'Redlining' policy (red line at the top), the blue S represents a river of life bringing the North and South, East and West, together. The multi-rainbow colors obviously represent diversity and inclusivity. 

I then formed an LLC to learn how to create my own small biz from scratch and hope I can help others who want to do the same to establish a legacy for their families.

I am a mother of two wonderful adult children.  My son is enrolled in college studying Theater, and my daughter works in Philanthropy at Pride San Diego.  I am so very proud of them both!

I am a Partnered Business of Compassionate USA and of Charter for Compassion.  Anyone can become a part of the movement by signing up and: 

1) affirming the Charter for Compassion 

2) Signing Up or Partnering with Compassionate USA and taking the free Coursera Course on Compassion.