Original text

Bridging The Racial Wealth Gap

美国的种族贫富差距是少数族裔和整体经济的负担. 尽管在过去的20年里，美国中等家庭的整体财富在增加, 少数族裔家庭和白人家庭之间的差距变得更加普遍. 

在美国，65%的黑人居住的州在一系列类别中低于全国平均水平, from economic opportunity to public health, to healthcare quality to employment.

这种不断扩大的种族差距给少数民族和黑人带来了许多不利因素, families, and communities. This limits the economic power and prospects of minorities. The worst of all is that these effects are cyclical.

Whether it’s the lack of access to capital or more systematic issues, there are many factors to unpack. Outside of the clear negative effects for minorities, the US economy is impacted by the racial wealth gap. 

This article will look at some challenges minority owners face, the impact of closing the wealth gap, why to support minority businesses, and more.

Challenges for Minority Business Owners 

Minority owners may only make up around 20% of small businesses 在美国，但我们为一个非常单一的市场带来了多样性. Covid-19 and widespread, 2020年，系统性的不公正给小企业主带来了挑战, especially if you are a minority business owner.

全球都感受到了疫情的影响，几乎改变了所有企业的运营方式, from buying masks, implementing social distancing, or altering business channels entirely.

These new expenses impact your profits, especially as a small business. Despite this, business owners mostly avoid charging their customers more in fear of losing more customers. 

Impact on The Economy 

Self-employment can help improve a family’s earnings, diversify its wealth base to nonpersonal assets, and patch shortfalls. 然而，真正的问题是获得资本，这对少数族裔来说要困难得多. 

Minorities are less likely to be granted small business loans, and these loans are vital for economic development, but the definitions are fairly vague and broad. 

贫富差距的扩大对少数族裔及其财务前景不利, but it also weakens the entire US economy. 少数族裔用于经济投资的资金减少，导致提高工资的能力降低, create jobs, and improve homes' value.

影响经济的另一个问题是，大多数地方正在走向无现金化, 随着传统现金密集型行业对信用卡支付需求的飙升. That is creating new issues that weren’t prevalent before. So, if you need to collect payment from your customers, it will be of the utmost importance to rely on payment services that can integrate well with email marketing services, track the status of invoices, and ensure that you do not run into any issues.

有一种普遍的误解，认为财富是有限的, 因此，帮助其他社区和少数民族会减少其他人的财富. This ‘us vs. them’ mentality needs to be a thing of the past; it’s inaccurate and damaging.

在美国，小企业是仅次于自有住房的最佳财富来源, but despite this, 有色人种被拒绝贷款的频率更高，利率也更高.

In the wake of two crises this year, one medical and the other racial, it is more important than ever to help small businesses, especially those owned by POC, and help rebuild the US economy. 小企业还雇佣了一半以上的劳动力，创造了60%以上的新就业机会, 由于我们国家的财富不平等，它正处于一个关键的状态.

Why Support Minority-Owned Businesses

We need entrepreneurs. 我们是一个已经发展成为全球超级大国的国家，黑人和少数民族是我们社区的支柱. We need to continue to push and keep the entrepreneurial spirit strong.

Immigrants are twice as likely to start businesses than US nationals, but they are often classed as second-class citizens in our broken system. 因此，支持这些少数族裔企业主对改善我们的经济至关重要.

Support can come at a consumer, a community, or even a government level. 我们可以为更大的目标贡献不同的资源，支持少数族裔拥有的企业，鼓励更多的企业成长和创业. 

疫情给少数族裔企业主带来了新的挑战，但也为他们开创在线业务和打破常规思维创造了更多机会. If it is your dream to sell your one-of-a-kind products online, then you will need a great eCommerce platform. You'll also need a reliable host to store that website, 你会想要利用你能负担得起的最好的电子商务平台.

作为消费者，将购买力集中在少数族裔拥有的企业上可以支持当地经济. 你可以通过创造新的就业机会，帮助大型组织对缺乏代表性的问题承担更多责任，为缩小种族贫富差距尽自己的一份力量.

More companies can diversify their partnerships and hiring, 政府可以实施创业项目和计划，鼓励少数民族自我投资. 这可能是我们缩小我国种族贫富差距的开端.

The money you spend in the community often goes back into it, 而花在跨国公司身上的钱会让一些人的银行账户充盈. 找到少数族裔企业来支持并不是一项艰巨的任务，也不需要从通常的情况下做出巨大的改变. 快速的谷歌搜索可以告诉你你可以支持的本地企业在哪里. 

Closing the Wealth Gap and the Future

美国的少数族裔面临着一系列限制其财富发展的因素和变量.  When these are left unchecked, 这种差距可能会进一步失控，并对整个美国经济产生不利影响, not just on minorities. 

银行可以采取措施改革抵押贷款利息税收减免等政策，使所有收入水平的人都受益, not just the high-income families. Also, 帮助少数族裔家庭加入自动储蓄工具，也可能有助于改善财富不平等，并有助于提升所有美国居民储蓄的潜力. 

In terms of established banking relationships在美国，少数族裔领导的公司和其他企业之间确实存在差距. This impacts access to capital and creates an issue from the ground up, so we need to support these businesses. 

治疗不是一个简单的过程，因为其中一些问题是系统性和根深蒂固的. 然而，承认并理解这个问题无疑是朝着正确方向迈出的一步. 

只有理解了问题，我们才能开始瞄准问题并着手解决问题. 毕竟，这符合国家的最大利益，因为它的价值可能超过一万亿美元. 

所以，如果你是少数股东，相信自己的直觉，永远记住你是自己的老板. 如果你能应对企业所有权的独特挑战，你就会成功并茁壮成长.