TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A recent survey found the capital city has double the percentage of Black-owned businesses compared to other U.S. cities.

The survey from Lending Tree found more than 500 businesses in Tallahassee are Black-owned. One of those businesses is Xclusive VIP Fashions by Edward owned by Kenny Barber.

He said he has seen some growth in Black-owned businesses, especially in Frenchtown. But he also said there’s more work to do as it’s often difficult for Black business owners to find capital, or “seed money” to launch their ideas.

“When you get to that point, it becomes a growing pain. Then that’s where businesses of economically distressed communities suffer,” he said.

Katrina Tuggerson, the president of the Capital City Chamber of Commerce, said the study means things are trending in the right direction. And she gives major props to Florida A&M University.

“It’s the largest Black business in the state of Florida. So if you look at what trickles down in the community that holds FAMU, it can’t be nothing but greatness,” she said.

Through partnerships between the various chambers of commerce, universities and state or local governments advocates say Tallahassee has created an environment for folks to start businesses that would otherwise be unable to do so.

“The challenges that minority businesses have is that those families don’t have the access or those financial resources for their investors to invest at a level that provides any level of significance, right?” Antonio Morris, the president of the Big Bend Minority Chamber of Commerce said.

Both chambers cited the Small Business Development Center at FAMU, and the city’s Office of Economic Vitality for helping Black businesses.

But Barber said there’s still plenty to do, especially in Frenchtown, where student housing is quickly outpacing local shops.

“So it’s incumbent upon businesses like myself and the other businesses that we mentioned to create jobs for folks who can have money and eventually have the American dream of home ownership.”

The percentage of Black businesses in Tallahassee is double the national average, but with about a third of Tallahassee’s population being Black, there’s still plenty of room for new entrepreneurs to try their hand.

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