Beauty is big business, but women—particularly Black women—are often shut out of the business side and dismissed as mere consumers. Providing support to underrepresented entrepreneurs is part of why LaCresha Neal, senior business and career librarian at Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library, started the Glow & Grow program, which provided research tools, technology training, and community for beauty entrepreneurs.
Neal shared the story of the initiative in the June 27 “Breaking Barriers, Building Brands: Supporting Beauty Entrepreneurs in Libraries” session at the American Library Association’s 2026 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago.
“I’m now the beauty librarian,” Neal declared. “I just made that my thing.”
The multi-pronged program included a LibGuide that Neal developed for entrepreneurs, training on databases the library offers for business research, technology programs on topics like digital marketing and branding, and community programs such as a cosmetics drive benefitting Dress for Success. It culminated in a trade show with panels, networking, and a pitch competition that awarded $1,200 in funding.
Glow & Grow served 364 attendees with a budget of $2,500—which included the pitch competition award, payment for five program presenters, and $50 to print certificates. “It wasn’t a cohort, but if you did stay through the whole thing, it felt like you took a course,” Neal said.
The program ended in August 2025, but the community it helped build remains. “I’m still getting questions to this day about it,” Neal said. She has planned a program with a descendent of Madam C. J. Walker who has written a book about her ancestor, the Black businesswoman whose lines of cosmetics and hair care products made her the first self-made woman millionaire in the United States.
Whatever the market niche, Neal encouraged librarians to think big when it comes to supporting community entrepreneurs. “Every librarian has a Glow & Grow waiting to happen,” she said.
She found support in unexpected ways. “At first I was scared to tap into my network, but the number of people who responded within 24 hours, knowing I had no money to pay them with, was amazing,” she said. For another program she created on food entrepreneurship, she went to an industry event and one of the speakers—whom she didn’t even talk to—emailed and offered a free presentation. “Go to things that aren’t necessarily library things,” she advised, “because people think we’re amazing.”
