Comments on: Why all Black people should NOT start their own businesses…

By: hoodgirl

hoodgirl — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 18:38:12 +0000

When I started my business in 1995, I had a clear MISSION of helping low to moderate families in the community to improve their financial status. That said, I only FOCUS on low to moderate families in my community and it has been both challenging and rewarding.

Initially, I was amazed at how there were so many rumors circulating that I did not own my business and was merely fronting for an old Jewish man. Needless to say, after years of sleeping on the office floor, delivering service to clients in the wee hours, reinvesting profits to self fund business growth, avoiding debt to continue offering services at the most economical price to improve the clients financial status, today my business is a household name to low to moderate families in the community.

When your MISSION is clearly defined and you pursue it daily there is no greater marketing than referrals from clients that know that you CARE about their best interests which will ultimately result in a successful business regardless of the ENTREPRENEUR”S ethnicity.

By: Nicholas

Nicholas — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 04:45:56 +0000

If you are black, having a product and the ability to deliver it below the price being spent everyday, and still cover expenses and make a reasonable profit, does not make a successful Black business. I should know, because I have been delivering such a product for 2 years. For the first 2 quarters I targeted the Black Community and would be out of business if I had depended on my community. I will not give up on us, but one lesson I learned so far, is that we just don’t trust one another. Leading me to belive that the prevailing logic among us blacks is that the White mans Ice is just colder.

By: Miles

Miles — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 01:33:23 +0000

While I agree that the whole “buy black” thing is overplayed as a viable solution and I also agree that blacks need to target diverse markets to get a foothold in economic solidarity, the influx of corporations into black neighborhoods is not “our own fault.” Many of the corporations are ridiculously subsidized by taxpayers’ dollars and they have a ridiculous advantage in cornering markets over average black entrepreneur.