How to Successfully Run a Black Business Correctly

                  How to Run a Successful Black Business Correctly


1} The first rule of thumb is DO NOT GIVE THE HOOK UP! Do not allow ANY of your customers to take advantage of you by giving them unwarranted price breaks. This cuts deeply into your bottom line and hurts you in running your company or store properly.  You won't be able to buy the wholesale products you need to buy and you won't be able to hire the staff you need when you give customers unwarranted price breaks on items that another customer is perfectly willing to pay full price for.  We are about stabilizing BLACK communities, not giving out unwarranted handouts.


2} Don't hire unqualified friends who are usually in the business of doing little work for even more favors.  Hire qualified people through ads in Black newspapers or trusted internet sites.  [ Call you area library to ask what those sites are.]


3} Don't give up.  Save a little money each month towards your business so you get the things you need to ``go professional'' as soon as possible.  Be ready to wait and work. It has taken me 37 years to get my business to where it is today.  I must not be a Jewish Wiz Kid who has all the answers and makes a Billion Bucks in the first three years.  This has NOT been my experience.   Be patient, have good business manners and good business sense.  Be willing to go the extra mile for a customer. For example, I have a pharmacy who knows I rarely have cash on hand to pay for my prescriptions right away. He lets me pay when I get the $  { MONEY }.  This allows me to be a trusted and loyal customer.  The Big Name pharmacies won't do this, so I don't go there.


4} Be ready to pull all-nighters when you have to.  I recently had to get a mailing out so I stayed up all night  -- & I mean all night when I say all night -- to get the mailing in the mail the next day or when I had $ { MONEY }  to mail it.  I was perfectly able to take a nap the next day, so I caught up on sleep and was fine.  The mailing brought me all kinds of residual assistance in moving my businesses forward and allowed me to see more clearly who my friends are & who is just playin around with my time & efforts.  Clearly a good expenditure of time & { MONEY }.


5} Look for high-quality bargains from Black distributors... When a Black store or wholesalers ``does you wrong'' feel free to ask other Black stores or Black corporations if they know them  & if they have had a similar problem.  Warn the Black business that they may well lose your business if they don't make the desired positive changes you will write them IN WRITING, if you feel this is necessary. Keep a list of Black businesses that you like & find trustworthy, well run, polite, clean & responsible.


6} If you don't have a business degree, look around and call around for classes at the Free Library, the area universities, and other places like community centers or Black churches.  Not everyone has a fancy degree from Wharton School. { By the Way call the Wharton School if you live in Philadelphia, & ask if they are planning any more free community classes on entrepreneurship and or personal finance. I attended such classes & found them very helpful for getting me to this good point with my businesses.


7} Have the right attitude.  If you don't feel great about what you are selling & how you are selling it, why would anyone with a lick of sense want to buy anything from you? I always say you need much more than a willingness to work & a good product or great service to run a successful Black company.  Are you only out for money?  People can see through this & are less willing to buy from you or use your services.  I have never been a great salesman, but I LOVe  { MONEY }. GOD knows, however, that I LOVe People even more! I think this will pay off in the long run.  I know when I get ``up & running'' that I will be able to hire good people at a good rate. At this point I really LOVe what I do, so I am not ``selling with drudgery'' everyday.


8} Be willing to pay good salaries.  Don't be what some Black people call ``an oppressor.''  Paying good wages allows people to have money to buy your products and / or your services . When I worked at Macy's in New York, [ Harold Square ] I used to spend one half of my paycheck at Macy's because I LOVed the job so much -- and I wasn't even making $20.00 an hour. I was making just above minimum wage or so. But I simply  LOVed my job because I was pretty young and rather stupid. { I should have been buying stocks and bonds way back then like my Uncle Ken -- a police officer at the time-- told me}.


9} Always look your best and make sure your store looks its best. Always have the right attitude.  This may take some effort, but it is worth the effort.  When you look great, you usually feel great and that rubs off on your customers, supporters, financial investors,  & employees.  If you are an ole fuddy dutty type who only LOVes { money } , like I was before 37 years of therapy, self-study, life & just talking things out with friends & family, maybe you should NOT be in business & should sell your business right away.


10} Get plenty of exercise & face the music. If there is a bill in the mail you don't want to face or  something you have to do for your business that is difficult or hard to do, get it done right away and get over it. Successful Black business people are great at dealing with reality. The exercise is to help keep you in top shape for a long day of work. Even if you have diversified duties, getting plenty of rest is always a great idea also.  You will feel more energetic, open minded, think clearer, & be ready for a full day of work & more able to interact with staff more positively.  Exercise also helps you control your stress level & feel more comfortable in your skin as well as be more easy-going, calm and collected.