Meet Takisha Clark the First Black Woman to Own a Postal and Shipping Franchise
Meet Takisha Clark the First Black Woman to Own a Postal and Shipping Franchise
After experiencing homelessness for over a year, Takisha Clark accepted a position as a receptionist at a nonprofit that helped victims of drug and child abuse. Being in that environment and seeing the trials and tribulations of victims helped reshape her own determination to rise above what she had gone through.
Moving up in the organization strengthened her as her entrepreneurial spirit took her to work part-time in credit repair which led her to open Good Faith Tax Services. Realigning her vision and making a decision to go into the postal industry allowed her to start Capital Postal and Mailbox Service. With a second location recently opening in Long Beach, CA, her business is steadily growing as sales are rising.
THE INDUSTRY COSIGN spoke to the entrepreneur about her starting a postal business, how she coped business-wise through the pandemic and future plans for her business.
Being the founder and C.E.O of Capital Postal & Mailbox Service, you are the first black woman to own a postal and shipping franchise. What drove you to start this company and how has business been for you?
Being the Founder & CEO of Capital Postal & Mail Box Service has been a great experience for me. I learned a lot and it has not been easy for me starting off. But once I put my full focus and dedication the business started to grow, and things started getting better. I faced a lot of challenges in the beginning, but the consistency and not giving up is what made it all worth it. What inspired me to start Capital Postal, I always wanted to work in the Postal industry, but it was hard to get a job at the post office. So, I decided to start my own independent postal shipping retail store. Unlike the Post Office, we offer a variety of services that everyone needs.
As a Black woman entrepreneur, what were some of the difficulties you encountered in starting and then maintaining your business?
As a black woman entrepreneur, some of the difficulties I encountered were knowing how to hire the right employees was a challenge for me. Learning how to put a system in place for my business was a challenge in the beginning. Once I became very knowledgeable of those two things it became much easier to navigate the business aspect of working on the business instead of in the business
What inspired you to become an entrepreneur? How would you be able to inspire others to pursue their dreams?
I always had an entrepreneurial mentality. I have had several businesses in the past. I always wanted to be in control of my own destiny. I enjoy being an entrepreneur. It has its ups and downs but it also can be very rewarding when you put the hard work and dedication in. I will be able to inspire others by giving back and sharing my story with the world. Becoming a mentor and showing people what I know to help them become successful.
With the recent pandemic having an effect on the world, how has this virus altered your business acumen? What effects did it have on your business?
When the pandemic hit, it was like we were afraid to keep our doors open. The anxiety of not contracting the virus from dealing with the public weighed heavily on me. But what I decided to do was remodel my store so that my employees and I would lessen the risk of us coming in direct contact with others, so that we can still continue to work and keep the business open. We are an essential business so we actually were one of the few businesses that remained open to serve the community during the pandemic. Business was doing great during the pandemic and we saw a significant increase in sales. So, this has proven to be definitely a pandemic-proof business in this industry.
What do you feel is your biggest achievement thus far and what do you anticipate doing in the years to come?
