In 2013, Tia Upshaw began her career as an entrepreneur.

Her inspiring journey on this career path began when she had a hard time finding work.

“I could not get a job, I had young kids, and I did not have child care,” she says. “All those things were factors where I did not have the traditional education to hold a job.”

Upshaw became a successful businesswoman, owning a cleaning company, a lipstick line, and a short-term rental property. She bought her first home and became financially stable.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Upshaw had time to reflect, and decided to help people who faced similar challenges with their career aspirations.

“I decided to start an organization that will help other Black women that may look like me, be where I’m from, and deal with the similar barriers I’ve dealt with, so they never have to go through life like I did,” she says. “I didn’t want them struggling on welfare, (or) depending on a child tax benefit, arguing with their partners, and struggling to go to food banks, because I went through that.”

In September 2020, Upshaw started the Blk Women in Excellence as a society in Nova Scotia and British Columbia to support and empowers Black women entrepreneurs. Since its inception, the organization has worked with 107 women to help them with their business start-ups,. Today, 264 Nova Scotian women are members. The organization has trained 87 Black women and delivered nine entrepreneur start-up programs and eight mentorship initiatives.

“I had a passion to start giving back,” Upshaw says. “The whole mandate was to build a group of women that support each other once a month. It has been amazing to meet many strong and amazing women over the last three years.”

Upshaw is proud of the impact of the organization’s work in such a short time. The organization has helped Black women who want to realize their dreams in starting a business. It includes guiding them on registering in Joint Stocks, undergoing a human resources process to employ staff as well as whether they want to run a small business from their home or set up shop in a commercial space.

Upshaw nominated herself for the TD Advocate Diversity Atlantic Award because she wants to hold financial institutions accountable for their community support. She also wants to highlight the uniqueness of her organization’s work in this region.

Upshaw continues to hold banks accountable by advocating for more resources and opportunities, to help more Black women to take the leap and become entrepreneurs. “There’s no other organization east of Ontario that works for Black women except for Blk Women in Excellence. I wanted to create that space for Black women entrepreneurs because sometimes, we are at the bottom of the totem pole.”

Upshaw says it is a good feeling for Blk Women in Excellence to receive this honour. It helps by putting the organization on the map and adding credibility to the growing operation.

“Someone said to me, “You’re not just an organization, you’re a movement,” Upshaw says. “It hasn’t happened in Nova Scotia or the Atlantic provinces to have someone speak both ways, be bold, and advocate for so many Black women. Creating that movement allows us to keep moving a little bit further.”

Championing equity, diversity, and inclusion in the community is something Blk Women in Excellence thrives on. They want to continue the legacy of movements like Black Lives Matter.

“You don’t see Black Lives Matter shirts and sweaters, and people going crazy on social media anymore, because the government always has the components that they want to work with,” Upshaw says. “There is a new fight, a new cause, so when that happens, the community and social media starts following that trend. For me, Black lives will always matter, and I will continue to advocate and push diversity regarding the entrepreneurship landscape, especially in Atlantic Canada.”

For Blk Women in Excellence, the movement continues through its work.

“We want to create a hub for Black women in business that supports them in business but has facilities too. They can come and have child care at these facilities. Most Black women in marginalized communities in Nova Scotia are single moms, so we want to have that type of support. We want health and wellness support in this space at least two to three times a week, because you don’t know what someone’s facing at home.”