Intuit QuickBooks surveyed 2,069 Black-owned businesses with 0–100 employees in recognition of Black History Month. Supporting the national Black History Month theme of “African Americans and the Arts,” the poll investigates how Black company owners bring innovation and support for the arts to their small enterprises, which is causing change.
Black small business owners are driving the small business sector forward, whether through technology or by becoming trailblazers in their families and communities. According to data from this year and last year, prejudices, stereotypes, racial inequities, and the ripple effect of uncertain economic conditions pose a threat to the innovative advancements of Black small business entrepreneurs.
Assisting Black business owners with the difficulties of entrepreneurship can free up more time for innovation and have a prominent impact on the culture and economy. According to poll results, the majority of small Black-owned firms are innovating. In the past year, 84% of Black-owned small businesses have innovated their operations.
New notions from Black-owned companies include improved money-saving strategies, new management procedures, and new goods and services.
In competitive markets, small businesses can safeguard their innovative ideas by using intellectual property. Black-owned small enterprises not only promote innovation but also legitimize it. Eight out of ten, or 82%, Black small enterprises own a patent, trademark, or copyright, and over 84% intend to apply for one in the upcoming year.
Black-owned small businesses approach innovation differently, with many embracing artificial intelligence (AI). Around 84% of Black company owners use AI to help them run their businesses. Among them, 39% say AI helps them develop ideas or inspires them, 36% say it assists with customer service, and 35% say it helps them analyze data.
