What to Do When Funding Is Being Rolled Back For Black and Brown Women in Business.
The Mental & Emotional Playbook for Black and Brown Entrepreneurs
If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve noticed the changes that directly affect or indirectly affect funding for Black and Brown entrepreneurs; one may see it disappearing as fast as foam on a latte.
Government grants: frozen
Private initiatives: rolled back
Grants and diversity-focused programs are being cut.
Just to name a few. So, what do you do when it feels like all external funding sources are vanishing? You shift your focus inward because one of your greatest assets is your mindset.
Let’s talk about the mental and emotional strategies that will keep you moving forward when money isn’t flowing as easily as it should.
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The Perspective: Surviving vs. Claiming in a System Not Built for Us
If you ask me what one of the mental barriers I work the most with women of color at the beginning of their journeys is that their business depends on external funding, meaning if they dont have that loan, that grant, that credit card, they can’t have a business. And yes! External funding is a part of running a business, but it is not everything, and here is where we require the mindset shift.
Here’s one truth: Your success has never depended on external funding alone.
What really determines the longevity and surfing this economic changes is how you:
Mentally adapt to financial setbacks (More like flexibility to adapt)
Emotionally navigate scarcity and uncertainty
Strategically shift from seeking external validation to creating internal sustainability
Let’s break that down.
The Practicality: Applying These Three Mindset Shifts to Help You Thrive
1. We Claim Our Voice With Money - We Build on Our Terms
The traditional funding world is built on layers—VCs, banks, accelerators—who ultimately decide who gets to win.
However, Black and Brown women have a long history of thriving without permission. Think about:
Madam C.J. Walker – Built a multi-million dollar beauty empire in the early 1900s without access to traditional funding, instead relying on community-based sales and entrepreneurship.
Sylvia Woods – Founded the legendary Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem, turning a small loan from her mother into a business that has lasted generations.
Juliana Pache and the #BuyBlack Movement – Leveraged digital platforms and grassroots organizing to promote Black-owned businesses, proving that economic empowerment can start with community-driven initiatives.
Bricia Lopez – Expanded her family’s Oaxacan restaurant, Guelaguetza, into a nationally recognized brand, proving that cultural heritage can be a foundation for entrepreneurial success.
In times when external funding didn't exist for us or was widely inaccessible, they built, grew, and thrived despite systemic obstacles.
So, your biggest mindset shift will come from asking yourself: If funding never comes, how can I make this work anyway?
2. Reframe The Fear-Based Thinking: Money is a Tool, Not the Goal
When funding is being rolled up, it’s easy to fall into scarcity mode: “There’s not enough money, so I can’t grow.”
But like I said before funding is just one tool for growth. Other tools include:
Leveraging Partnerships – Can you collaborate with other business owners to share resources, marketing efforts, or costs? Community is what is going to drive growth during this time.
Prioritizing Profitability – Instead of scaling fast with external funds, how can you optimize what you already have for sustainable growth? Think ROI, ROI, and More ROI. If it doesn't give you a direct ROI, then pass it on.
Exploring New Revenue Streams – Are there additional services, digital products, or community-based funding models you can tap into?
Shift the question from “How do I get funding?” to “How do I generate value with what I already have?”
3. Master Your Emotional Triggers Around Money
The emotional side of financial stress is often what makes or breaks an entrepreneur. When money feels tight, it can trigger:
Fear of failure
Frustration about systemic barriers
Anxiety about survival
This emotional weight affects decision-making, making us reactive instead of strategic.
What to do:
Identify Your Money Triggers – What specific financial fears are holding you back?
Detach Your Worth from Funding – A lack of investment doesn’t mean you or your business are unworthy.
Practice Financial Grounding Techniques – Develop routines like journaling, visualization, or taking strategic pause days to reset your mindset around money.
The more emotionally regulated you are, the more you can make clear, confident financial decisions.
Rewiring Your Ways: The Game Plan for Moving Forward
Here’s your mental and emotional blueprint for growing even when all of these rolled-back things are happening:
Audit Your Business Model: What’s your most profitable and sustainable offering? Focus there.
Leverage Your Community: Who in your network can support, invest in, or promote what you’re doing?
Refuse to Shrink: Keep showing up, even when it feels like the odds are against you. Visibility creates opportunity.
Sis, You were never meant to rely on a system that wasn’t built for you (And that is where traditional financial education has failed us ). Your power is in your ability to build, adapt, and create wealth on your own terms.
So tell me: What’s one way you’re pivoting in the face of financial challenges right now?
Alejandra Rojas
Founder, Brown Way To Money