Mother And Daughter Make History As They Open First Black Owned Gas Stations In Florida
- Anu
- September 14, 2020
- Cover, News
- Lashawn Flowers and Shanita Vickers, mother and daughter black owned gas station, south florida
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A 51-year old woman and her 35-year old daughter are the new proud owners of the only Black-owned gas station in South Florida.
Lashawn Flowers and Shanita Vickers have made history as women entrepreneurs.
Lashawn and her daughter, who both grew up in Deerfield Beach, Florida, began their roots in entrepreneurship as the owners of a local hair and nail salon called Girlz Collectionz and later a local bar and nightclub called Groove City Bar & Lounge, which is currently closed because of the pandemic.
Having to pivot sparked the idea of purchasing a gas station.
“We actually purchased two Shell gas stations,” says Lashawn. “We were able to negotiate a two-for-one deal.”
She says the process of purchasing two franchises was not hard, but it was a fairly tedious process. After completing a credit application, she had to prove that financially she really did have the capital to complete the purchase. The whole process, however, took just three weeks.
Lashawn says that she and her daughter are partners in this business, and are partners in their other businesses as well.
“I really value having a family-owned business because family is who you can trust,” she says. “My daughter, Shanita, is a wonderful mom of two beautiful children and also a phenomenal entrepreneur who is awesome to work with. We work well together because we understand each other.”
But having her daughter at her side doesn’t mean that she underestimates the value of hard work. “I don’t believe in failing in anything I do,” Lashawn adds. “If you don’t work your business, it won’t be a success. You absolutely must put in the hard work.”
