KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Beloved, a pop-up boutique in Crown Center, opened Sunday. The store is run by Nia Project and sells products made by Black women entrepreneurs in the Kansas City area.
The boutique’s main goal is to boost the morale of young women, rather than focusing solely on making a profit.
Ma’Lia Roland sold cupcakes at the grand opening. She is a member of the Nia Project and will be working at the shop this summer.
“When I was in junior high school, I loved baking as a hobby, so I started giving away sweets, and then all of a sudden, someone said to me, ‘Why don’t you sell these? I think they’d sell really well,'” Roland says.
The Nia Project is a nonprofit that invests in young Black women in Kansas City, helping them build confidence, collaborate with their peers, and grow as they learn.
“Beloved” is the nonprofit’s latest strategy.
Interns like Roland will be running the store for a limited time, gaining hands-on experience, with profits going back into the Nia Project.
Rowland said she sees the summer as an opportunity to network.
“I’m really shy and I’m not used to that sort of thing, so I can go out,” Rowland said.
Teri Burns is the founder and president of The Nia Project. After retiring from corporate America, she wanted to give back to young women in business.
“Young people are starting companies, but they’re starting without the right tools, the right resources,” Burns said. “I looked around Kansas City and nobody was doing that from an entrepreneurial standpoint, so I said, ‘Let’s give it a go.'”
Walking into the store and seeing other women who have made it big reminds young entrepreneurs to believe in themselves.
“The fact that it’s going somewhere, at least we know it’s something that’s going to help people,” Rowland said, “and also the experiences and the people and the relationships that I’m building.”
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