Written By: Francheska “Fancy” Felder
The Sistah Shop needs our help!
In what owner Aisha Taylor Issah, describes as one of the hardest videos she has ever recorded, she shared that The Sistah Shop needs our help to raise $50,000 in thirty days, or they will have to close their doors at their Atlanta location in Atlantic Station.
Like many Black businesses during this time, the second brick-and-mortar location that Issah opened in 2022 as an extension of Sistahs in Business Expo is facing closing due to the current economic climate. “As a leader and as a business owner, you never want to have to share that things aren’t going well and that what you are doing is not enough,” says Issah.
Featuring over 100 Black women-owned brands, The Sistah Shop is more of the retail side of the Sistahs in Business Expo. Issah and her team continue to provide opportunities for event vendors to be seen and purchased. It opened its first location in New Jersey in 2021 and then opened a second shop in Atlanta. Its products range from beauty to apparel to books and stationery.
“While it has been an incredible run, these last several months—almost a year, really—have been difficult,” Issah says in the reel shared on Instagram. She went on to explain that they have tried a number of strategies to get back on track, such as paid traffic, organic traffic, and influencer traffic, but there are still expenses that they need to cover to keep the doors open.
Activate #SaveTheSistahShop! To raise funds, the campaign includes three t-shirt designs that can be purchased, and the funds go directly to saving the shop. Anything you purchase right now helps this Black-owned business, but when you purchase one of these shirts: When My Sistah Wins, We All Win Tee, Support Sistahs Tee, and My Sistah is My Business Tee. The shirts are $28 plus taxes and shipping and run up to a size 3X.
The New Jersey location was closed in April of this year after their landlord wanted to triple the rent, so Issah knows what it is like to terminate a business. When asked if they had a contingency plan, Issah explained that she had some ideas should the worst happen, but explained, “I do trust God, and I believe that He has a plan.”
Since making the announcement yesterday, Issah has been flooded with messages of encouragement. Other business owners are thanking her for being so transparent because they are experiencing similar situations.
You can purchase a shirt, make tax-deductible donations, and, most importantly, share about the campaign to help elevate Issah’s story. The Sistah Shop is needed. It’s not just Issah’s business but a gateway for hundreds of other Black women entrepreneurs to experience retail.
Click Here to Donate to the Campaign!
