Editor’s Note: The following article is a collaborative effort between the Iberia Chamber of Commerce’s Positively Iberia and the Daily Iberian. To commemorate August as Black Business month, Positively Iberia Program Manager Marti Harrell and the Daily Iberian’s Ellen Fucich conducted an interview with three local African-American business owners: Arielle Collins Boswell, owner and pharmacist at Village Pharmacy in Loreauville; Terrence Etienne, owner of Fit and Fresh meals in New Iberia; and Ronald Mitchell of Mitchell Tax and Credit Repair of Jearerette. Positively Iberia airs on KANE-AM and FM every Thursday during Teche Matters at 10 a.m. Look for the frequent collaboration between Positively Iberia and the Daily Iberian to continue in September.

August is Black Business Month, a national awareness month founded by John William Templeton and Frederick E. Jordan Sr. Black Business Month is meant to “Drive the policy agenda affecting the 2.6 million African American businesses.” 

As stated in Thursday’s Positively Iberia broadcast, National Black Business Month is particularly important as the nation reels under the continuing crisis of COVID-19, as the virus has had a disproportionate impact on Black communities. Even before the crisis, minority entrepreneurs, who own 37 percent of all U.S. businesses, faced greater challenges in the marketplace.

First, we spotlight Arielle Collins Boswell, New Iberia native, graduate of New Iberia Senior High. She earned her Doctorate in Pharmacy from Xavier University of Louisiana in 2011. She opened Village Pharmacy & Wellness in Loreauville in January. She is a certified immunizer and a member of the Louisiana Pharmacist Association. She’s married to Anthony Boswell, and she is also a new mother, welcoming a baby girl into the family a few short weeks ago.

Daily Iberian: Your mother, Savitra Collins, is also a pharmacist and owns City Pharmacy in Jeanerette. How did your mother’s career inform your choices?

Arielle Collins Boswell: My mother’s career informed my choices since I was a little girl. I was always with her, in the pharmacy, at the hospital. I shopped at Ackal’s Pharmacy in New Iberia. I loved the fact that pharmacy gave so many career avenues, whether in academia, or hospital pharmacists, immunizing pharmacists now with the pandemic. There are a variety of options. I saw my mom being able to make an impact on the community, while still having time to spend with us. It was a way to have a healthcare career without being tied down to obligations that other jobs would have demanded.

DI: Why did you choose Loreauville as the location for your pharmacy?

ACB: There are several reasons. My mother is a native of Loreauville, and Loreauville had a pharmacy there years ago. I saw that there was a need for it in the community. I did some research, did some praying on it and opened in January.

DI: Is there anything that really surprised you about owning your own business?

ACB: There’s always something that needs to be done, always something you didn’t expect. You just have to maintain your professionalism and be ready to handle anything that comes up, from computers going down to a pandemic. It’s always a surprise, and it extends to the time when the doors are closed as well.

Next, our spotlight turns to Terrence Etienne, a highly motivated and creative young man who overcame his own health challenges and brought that knowledge and strength to help others. He owns Fit and Fresh Meals, and supports healthy living on a daily basis. He says that he never imagined the business would turn into such a success when he started in his home kitchen 3 years ago. 

DI: As a person who is a foodie and also trying to get healthier, I’m curious. The meals you prepare are so diverse. Where do you get your inspiration and recipes?

Terrence Etienne: The inspiration comes from my family. I come from a big cooking family, so everybody wanted to cook better than everybody else. Plus I get inspired by my customers, seeing people getting results, that inspires me. As far as the recipes, that is mostly trial and error. I basically cook how we cook, and find ways to make healthier choices.

DI: You’ve had many struggles in life, not only with eating but other challenges as well. Give us the best advice you have for young people who want to be their best selves.

Terrence Etienne: Don’t be afraid to take a chance on yourself. If I had started this three years before I did, I don’t know where I’d be right now, but I was so scared to take the leap. My advice, if you have a good idea for a business, run with it.

DI: You put a lot of energy into your passions, healthy eating and fitness. What do you do to relax and ‘do nothing’?

TE:  Relax? What’s relax? Really, I like to spend time with my wife and do things with the kids, that’s my relax time.

Next, Ronald Mitchell of Mitchell Tax and Credit Repair. Ronald is a graduate of Jeanerette High, a business administration honor grad of Southern University, and has an MBA from Tulane. He’s an enrolled agent with the IRS and specializes in tax and small business development with his primary location in Jeanerette. 

DI: Tell us, what is the tax advice you’re most often asked to give?

Ronald Mitchell: Keep up with what you spent and keep receipts, and stop using cash! Keep an accurate record of your spending, and that is best done with your debit cards. 

DI: What is the accomplishment in your business you are most proud of?

RM: I can use my experience as a guide and help business owners get grants. As a business owner,  I understand the importance of using all of your resources.

DI: Tell me about winning paper boy of the year for The Daily Iberian.

My route was in Jeanerette, it was my neighborhood, so if I missed somebody, they would be on the phone, looking for the paper! But the good thing is, many of my old subscribers are my clients these days, and I am able to help them do their taxes and be financially secure.

Positively Iberia will continue celebrating the month over the next two weeks by taking a trip back in history and discussing “The Green Book” exhibits, panels and special movie screening.