When COVID-19 hit, Shabria Jerome was employed as a nursing assistant. She was also enrolled in lessons to become a nurse at the time, but when schools and other public places were shuttered, everything came to a standstill.
The single mother was forced to leave her job when schools became dispersed in order to care for her kindergarten-aged child.
“I had no other option but to quit my career because finding child care for my daughter was really difficult. So, that’s it,” the South Boston resident, 29, told GBH.
Jerome made the decision to start her own business after leaving her position as a nursing assistant. This was informed by encounters with white superiors who frequently turned down her requests for promotion, actions she believed to be motivated by racism.
Jerome, on the other hand, is from a cooking family. While everyone prepared Creole foods, one of her uncles made spices. She was considering her next side business when her sister made the recommendation that she follow family custom and start a business selling seasoning blends.
“Literally I had a conversation with God and was just sitting there like, ‘I need something to do,’” Jerome said. “And that’s when she [my sister] gave me the idea… It was so casual, so nonchalant, like, you know. So I felt like she was pretty much the vessel I needed.”
She did research for well-known seasoning manufacturers like Goya and McCormickGoya, coming up with the term “Continental Flavor” for a line of spices from every continent. She gained valuable knowledge at Foundation Kitchen, including financial planning, food safety, and networking with other business owners.
”It’s interesting hearing everyone’s story,” Jerome said, “and it makes me not feel as bad. ‘Oh, okay, I’m not that broke.’ Or, you know, it makes me feel better about what I’m doing. “
She later developed the Caribbean spice blend she called “Sazon” and launched a website with input from her family and friends.
Starting her business selling spices, according to Jerome, was not simple. Because numerous attempts to obtain a grant were unsuccessful and banks were unwilling to provide her with a loan, she was forced to squander her savings and rely on friends. She had no credit history, after all.