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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.
Welcome!
My journey to San Antonio during the pandemic opened my eyes to the clear economic disparities that persist in our city today. I started digging into the history and learned about the lasting effects of systemic redlining, a policy that suppressed economic opportunity for communities of color and continues to influence today’s landscape.
The data is clear. According to the 2020 San Antonio Small Business Assessment Report:
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.
Poverty and inequity still closely mirror the redlined neighborhoods that were labeled in the 1930s as “hazardous for lending.”
Industries hardest hit by COVID-19 were overrepresented by Black-owned businesses, and business owners of color, facing a loss of community identity and commercial displacement, often lack access and awareness of the services they need to survive and scale their business.
My business is a direct response to these inequities. The platform is built on a two-part mission:
To provide a valuable directory: We elevate the visibility of small, diverse, and inclusive businesses across the city, making it easy for the entire community to find and support them.
To invest directly in our members: A core part of our business model is to use a portion of our revenue to pay for professional certification fees and Chamber of Commerce memberships for the businesses we serve. These costs are a major hurdle, and our goal is to help our members unlock larger contracts, build key relationships, and achieve lasting success.
I started this journey by forming my own LLC, learning how to build a business from the ground up, with the hope that I can help other entrepreneurs establish a legacy for their own families. I am so very proud of my two wonderful adult children, who are a daily inspiration for my work.
Welcome to our directory. Together, we can build a better San Antonio.
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.
There is no fee for small businesses to register basic listings in the SmallBizSA.com directory and we offer a $60 for 12 months Featured Listing option. Simply Click Here to register and select the option that works best for you!
Thank you for visiting and I hope to find your listing request in my inbox shortly!
Warm regards,
Ann F. Horst
Thank you for supporting
Small Biz San Antonio!
Mission and Vision
Mission and Vision
Mission: As a mission-driven social enterprise, our mission is to empower diverse and inclusive small businesses in San Antonio. We do this by operating a platform that connects them with the community and by reinvesting a portion of our profits into a fund that helps cover their certification and Chamber of Commerce fees. This work is a direct effort to create a more equitable and compassionate local economy for all.
Vision: To become the leading model for a restorative economic ecosystem, with a mission to empower communities to dismantle systemic barriers to small business growth and create a blueprint for a more equitable economy that can be replicated for Compassionate Cities nationally and globally.
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