A Community for Black, Indigenous, Women of Color Entrepreneurs and their families.
We Vibrate Higher, Together.
Sometimes the most transformative thing you can do is Just BE.
We are a community of multiracial and multicultural micro-entrepreneurs on a journey toward healing, restoration, and shared prosperity. Just BE centers the needs, well-being, and brilliance of women of color and their families, co-creating purposeful opportunities for learning, healing, and collaboration.
[Our Membership]
It Really Just BE Like That.
Cultivate abundance, joy, and collective wealth with the support of a symbiotic community.
As a member, you can access:
Monthly Kindred Connection Business Support Groups
Quarterly Radical Rest Workshops
One-on-One Somatic Coaching
Micro Business Local Policy Collectives
Nurture your spirit.
[Core Focus Areas]
As equity and liberation-seeking entrepreneurs, we often carry the trauma of extractive capitalism while trying to build sustainable self-employment within the very system that has harmed our communities. As a BIWOC-led organization, Just BE deeply understands this complexity. That’s why we go beyond traditional business support to embrace the full lived experience of burnout, mental health, and historical economic disenfranchisement. We keep it real, honest, and grounded in our shared experiences, working to co-create sustainable, inclusive economies that truly support us all.
Our Core Focus Areas guide us through this journey –> →
01.
Community
Building
Through peer community building, we create identity- and culturally-affirming mentorship spaces that provide business insights and emotional support.
02.
Power
Building
We honor our entrepreneurial journey as an intergenerational one; rooted in our birthright of economic self-determination. By organizing locally and politically to build power, we carry forward our ancestors’ vision, birthing a society rooted in care and grounded in the truth that we are part of something greater than ourselves.
03.
Somatic
Healing
Through somatic coaching, we address the systemic barriers and intergenerational trauma impacting our intersectional identities as multicultural micro-entrepreneurs. Together we heal trauma, reduce stress, and grow our capacity for aligned, empowered connection.
04.
Cooperative Economics
We cultivate shared prosperity through cooperative operational development—integrating tools like bookkeeping, workflow automation, and democratic decision-making. This approach builds values-aligned businesses that uplift our collective well-being and long-term community wealth.
$250k+
In capital generated for BIWOC Entrepreneurs by Just BE since 2016
17%
of Black women are starting or running new businesses
(compared to 10% of white women, and 15% of white men)*
2.7
Million Black Women-owned businesses in the United States
2,800+
BIWOC Entrepreneurs served by Just BE since 2016
256
new BIWOC-owned businesses are formed daily!
*Sources: Forbes, Deeply Rooted, JP Morgan Report.
[ Meet the Executive Director ]
Hope Henson-Lehman
Hey, community!
Thank you for being here. I’m Hope.
I am a healer, solidarity economist, and black feminist creative with 13+ years of experience in economic justice work through workforce, leadership, technology, finance, and business development.
As a second-generation Black Women Entrepreneur, I’m passionate about building collective economies and community wealth models rooted in healing that holistically resource and sustain BIWOC Entrepreneurs, their families, and communities for years to come.
[Our Partner Ecosystem]
Our Current Partners
Partners and Sponsors Who Have Contributed to Our Success
Just BE Featured In
Community
Blessings
My experience with Just BE has been really rewarding as a community member and former vendor of the 2019 For the Culture Holiday Market. Just BE creates magical experiences for Black Women entrepreneurs rooted in a strong sense of community care. I wish every business community could have this energy. I feel seen in Just BE spaces - that are powerful in their centering Black women liberation and healing.
Latisha Baker
OWNER, LATISHA BAKER ARTWORKS