In Charge
Women-owned businesses abound in the Cape Fear region
Whether it’s adding a multimillion- dollar-generating division to a family-owned business, taking an “all in” risk by opening a boutique, or providing a place where customers stock up on nutritious food, area women have made the plunge to small business ownership with great personal and professional results.
“Women are starting and growing their businesses at a rapid pace in our state,” according to BRILES JOHNSON , executive director of The Women’s Business Center of North Carolina, which provides assistance to women- owned businesses.
There are an estimated 11.6 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. that employ nearly 9 million people and generate more than $1.7 trillion in revenues, according to the 2017 State of Women-Owned Business Report, commissioned by American Express OPEN.
The number of businesses owned by women in the U.S. has more than doubled in twenty years, as has their revenue, according to the report.
North Carolina has an estimated 331,000 women-owned firms, making it the No. 10 state nationally.
In December, STELLA KELLER BLACK and her sister, ATLANTA MARIE CARRERA, took over KELLER’S INC. , an independently- owned fire protection systems company on Gordon Road, from their mother. Owning a woman-owned company “was never part of the plan,” for Black.
“My sister and I made our place within the company,” she says.
Black says the business has an engineering focus due to the nature of the work.
However, she and Carrera, lacking engineering backgrounds, tapped into an idea that’s turned into a department that generates about $4 million dollars in annual sales: their In- Stock “Quick Ship” Program department that, as the name implies, ships parts.
Black’s been with the company for more than thirty years and serves as president while Carrera is CEO. The company is certified as a woman-owned by business the North Carolina Department of Administration’s Historically Underutilized Businesses program.
TIEA KASEMAN studied fashion merchandising in college, later working for clothing manufacturers. When she moved to Southport from Ohio, she noticed the large number of women- owned businesses in the area, which gave her the incentive to start her own boutique, a longtime dream of hers.
She brought her current SHOPGIRL storefront on North Howe Street about fourteen years ago and added a Sunset Beach location about ten years ago. Kaseman says retail stores, particularly those like hers that sell women’s fashion, tend to be women-owned.
KAREN STEWART (below) co-owns LOVEY’S MARKET in the Landfall Center with MARIE MONTEMURRO . Lovey’s, which they opened fifteen years ago, is a natural food market and café.
“I think women have become more aggressive and competent,” about owning businesses, Stewart says.
Networking with other women who own businesses can be challenging for owners like Black, whose company’s work is conducted around the country and overseas.
She recently joined the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce to connect more with local business owners, including those headed up by women, and now sits on the board of directors.
Black says she stays on top of ways to improve the business through the manufacturers of the products she uses.
They often host conferences and other events, providing fertile ground for networking and sharing information on topics such as national employee pay scales and a variety of other business-related issues.
“Within the fire protection industry, a woman in business is a rarity,” Black says. “There’s a small group of women throughout the country that I network and stay in touch with.”
Kaseman (left) recommends women contemplating business ownership to go “all in” and commit the resources needed to support a solid business plan.
The payoff for owning a business?
“I love it,” Kaseman says, even when that’s a little harder to remember at midnight while still ordering merchandise.
“I feel very blessed because I love what I do.”
Editor’s note: This story recently appeared in the annual Women in Business edition of the Greater Wilmington Business Journal. To suggest an area female business owner to highlight, email editor@ wilmingtonbiz.com.
