RICHMOND, Va. -- Mareesa Dawn is a frequent vendor at Shockoe SwapMeet, a monthly market located in Richmond's Main Street Station.
On Sunday, her vendor spot is among more than 40 different small businesses, as part of the market's Women's History Month celebration. More than 60% of them are run by women.
"So there's moms, there's young girls, and their friends that are just starting businesses. There are seasoned people that are doing it. I'm 57 years old as a woman business owner. So I love that, too," Dawn said.
Dawn said she's been in the business of marketing for 15 years, making it her mission to help blooming women business leaders who may be too scared to start.
"They're intimidated," Dawn said. "It's not like anybody's welcoming them in. We kind of have to kick in the door. And this is us kicking in the door."
According to a report by Nerdwallet, women started 1,821 net new businesses every day in 202. About 64% of new women-owned businesses were started by women of color the same year.
The same report says women receive just 7% of venture funds for their startups and receive an average of almost $5,000 less in loans compared to men.
Dawn shares the same goal with SwapMeet's co-founder, Cameron Hadnot, who often leaned on her expertise when creating the pop-up market.
"From the start of our market, it was women-led as far as our vendors were concerned," Hadnot said.
While the profits from market may vary for each vendor, vendors said the space to start makes all the difference.
"You'd be surprised at how big that can be for someone. Just a month, a day, where they know they can make some money and meet new people, network and have a good time," Hadnot said. "But also, it's important to try to make a living, and just creating a space for that to happen was really important to us."
For more information on future events with the market can be found here.
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