(ThyBlackMan.com) For the first time in my thirty-five years in Washington, DC, something historic is in the air when it comes to small business.
What is happening reminds me of the famous quote from the movie, “Field of Dreams.” “If you build it, he will come.”
In a similar manner, the Trump administration and the U.S. Congress have challenged me to build a field of dreams for small business. “If you identify the right small business-owners, they [Trump and Congress] will join hands with us to help grow their businesses.”
I have identified some of the most successful, talented, entrepreneurs in the U.S. They look like the United Nations—Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, and Indian.
They are the embodiment of the American dream, but their stories have yet to be told.
I am building the proverbial field, but my biggest fear is will enough entrepreneurs come.
Sometimes, the extremely successful people that I interact with can be a bit on the arrogant side.
Indubitably, you can be very successful and yet be humble; you can be very successful and yet be open to learning new things and new approaches.
Unfortunately, many successful entrepreneurs have the attitude that since they are already successful, why do they need to alter their approach to how they do business?
Great question!
My response is very simple, “People do business with people they know.”
What I have discovered about many successful people is that they have relationships within their core business circles and thus conclude that they do not need people outside of that circle; this thinking generates lots of money for me.
When they call me in the midst of a crises because they lack certain relationships, I charge them a serious premium for the years it has taken for me to build the personal relationships that I have.
I am totally amazed that you can be worth several hundred millions or billions of dollars, but cannot call a governor, senator, or congressman on their private cell phone; or cannot get directly to a CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
When you operate at the highest levels of power, there are rules of engagement that are not written down.
I tell my clients they are not paying me for my successes; they are paying me for my failures.
It is through my failures that I have learned to navigate the game of power. It is through my willingness to adapt that I have become the genius that I am.
For those who know me, they know that me and Donald J. Trump are the only two genius’ left on this earth. We both have big brains, big words, and big IQs, but I digress!
How does light exist without darkness? How does victory exist without defeat? How does love exist without heartbreak?
What Trump and the U.S. Congress are doing, unwittingly, is forcing us to ride the bike without the training wheels.
It would have been nice if they had given us advance warning, but we have to deal with the hand we were dealt.
I am speaking in terms of the removing and outlawing of affirmative action, preference programs, and other minority set-aside policies.
My godfather, Art Fletcher, wrote the affirmative action law for former president Richard Nixon. He was one of the highest-ranking Blacks in the Nixon administration.
Entrepreneurs, especially Black ones, can spend all their time arguing about the merits of these programs or waste time attempting to revive these programs; but it is already a fait accompli.
In the immortal words of one of my closest friends, Jesus of Nazareth, “It is finished.”
I have had private conversations at the highest levels of government and the private sector and I have been charged with identifying the cream of the crop of successful entrepreneurs from across the country so that these political and corporate leaders can be made aware of who these cutting-edge business-owners are.
With this reimagining of how small business interacts with the government and the private sector, having relationships with the right people is going to become even more important.
In this new business climate, screams of racism will fall on deaf ears. Racial extortionists like Al Sharpton, the NAACP, the National Urban League, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will all begin to fall by the wayside.
Those legacy small businesses who made their millions under the old system will wither on the vines unless they adapt to the times.
These companies have an analogue mindset in a digital world and the two cannot co-exist.
If you want to learn how to navigate this new business environment, you should attend our inaugural year-end legislative policy briefing on December 2-3 in Washington, DC. The theme is: “People Do Business With People They Know.”
We will have key members of the Trump administration and key members of Congress brief us on legislation and policies that were enacted this year dealing with small business. They will give us a preview of legislation and policies they will be pursuing in 2026. Finally, they will discuss how small businesses can have a seat at the table.
Areas of focus will be the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and Treasury/IRS, to name a few.
Details will be emailed this week.
If you are ready to think a knew thought, try a new path, and to get an inside glimpse of the power game; if you are a small business wanting to become a medium size business, or a medium size business wanting to become a large business or a large business wanting to become a prime contractor, then this event is tailor made for you.
The question is, are you ready to grow into a world never dreamed of before?
Staff Writer; Raynard Jackson
This talented brother is a Pulitzer Award nominated columnist and founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. BAFBF focuses on the Black entrepreneur. For more information about BAFBF, visit www.bafbf.org. You can follow Raynard on Twitter; RealRaynardJ; on Gettr: RaynardJackson.
Can also drop him an email at; RaynardJ@ThyBlackMan.com.
