Photo courtesy of Asia Thomas/Facebook
The COVID-19 pandemic has created many entrepreneurs. Asia Thomas is the latest business owner to venture out on her own. The single mother of three recently became the first Black woman to purchase a Subways franchise in Duluth, Georgia.
According to Black Business, Thomas is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University and earned her MBA at Florida International University. Thomas initially worked in corporate America. However, once the pandemic hit, she had to find other work outside the office. Thomas began researching ways to earn extra money to provide for her family.
“I met a young, Black woman who worked for Subway headquarters. She encouraged me to apply, and so I just happened to submit an inquiry. It was almost like it was destined to be,” Thomas told We Buy Black.
While the Georgia native started saving money to achieve her goal as a business owner, she surprisingly met a Subways franchisee who wanted to sell the restaurant due to its low revenue. Thomas took a leap of faith and purchased the local restaurant chain, hoping to increase sales.
In one month, Thomas doubled the franchise profits since purchasing the property. She reached those groundbreaking numbers while operating the restaurant alone. The previous employees resigned after doubting Thomas’ efforts to turn things around.
Now, the business owner is focused on increasing profits, buying additional franchises, and encouraging others to follow in her footsteps and become entrepreneurs.
“I’m definitely going to buy more,” she said. “I would feel like a quitter if I didn’t buy more.”
According to a 2021 study from the Harvard Business Review, 17 percent of Black women in the United States were likely to start or run a new business. In contrast, 10 percent of white women and 15 percent of white men were less likely to become business owners.