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(ThyBlackMan.com) Black business ownership is a goal for many. Most fail in their attempts and might be better suited for teaching the pitfalls while those who succeed are held as examples. Their paths to success are often studied and shared as examples. Note, the business owners with the bigger wallets will share their secrets to success gradually in interviews while others might see their path to success as a means to more money.
Which it is. People want money, people don’t really want to be told what to do, people tend to want to be the boss—never mind the stress and responsibility that comes with leadership. If you’d like to be rich like them: buy their book, attend their seminars and luncheons, and so on.
An interesting question presented to me by ThyBlackMan owner C.T. is “Why do you believe so many of us have fallen behind business-wise.” Now, I’m not involved in business but I’ve observed things and I’ve been consulted and helped in some friends’ business endeavors. There are a couple of things that contribute to falling behind but here are the three I’ve noticed the most.
Things Get Real Real Fast for Aspiring Black Business Owners
When hearing about others’ success some folks might picture themselves in a similar position. They might start making plans for a business and getting a list of what they will need and who they need to talk to. What’s missing is research. Reading up on what goes into running a business, what all you will need as far as permits, licenses, location in relation to the demographics you’re servicing, and having the talent in place.
This all becomes a problem when the idea for a business involves a lot of moving parts. As a result, many aspiring Black business owners find out very quickly that sh** ain’t sweet and end up blowing through resources before getting to launch. Perhaps they’re expecting sales out the gate and that they will cover operating costs with what they make as opposed to having some funds in the tuck to float the company for a while.
Our established business owners will say that’s amateur hour—a rookie mistake. They would be correct.
Lack of Desire to Learn About Business and Lack of Charismatic Names to Promote Business Literacy
That’s a mouthful but it goes hand-in-hand. Business, finances, economy, trading—all of those are areas of business that require time to explain because of the layers involved. These areas are all intertwined. People aren’t going to want to sit through lectures for the most part. Those willing to do so have a grasp of business but aren’t guaranteed to be successful—they can hope if they fail it isn’t disastrous.
Without that knowledge, someone diving into the entrepreneurial side of life will likely sink without fail. To get the most Black business owners out there, education is important and should be shared to improve success rates. The knowledge is out there but sometimes you simply have to ride with the one willing to teach.
And just like high school and college, sometimes the best teachers or the ones willing to teach aren’t the most charismatic. Without immediate incentive or some sort of penalty, those teaching need to be engaging or able to teach with some razzle dazzle.
Just look at getting grant money. We’ve been told for years that the money is there and there are ways to get it but ehh…most messengers have been like listening to wall of text. That is until Matthew Lesko and his question mark suits came along and he was able to dazzle folks into buying his books so they could find out how to get the money.
If you build it, they will come—but put a flashy sign out front to pique their interest. Sometimes educators have to be part performer to be effective.
“Too Many Bosses”
To quote DJ Paul’s verse in Three 6 Mafia’s “Dangerous Posse”.
“Cause it be too many loses, too many bosses
Too many n@@@@@ that’s wanting they own office”
Everyone wants to be the boss and not everyone is suited for it. Not only do they want to be the boss, they want to be hands on. Some don’t even realize they can be the owner—the big boss—and not have to run things. Sometimes the boss allows for their company to grow and be successful without being involved directly. They have a good mind for the Three Ts of time, talent, and treasure.
They used their time to build up the treasure to afford the talent. Those talents operate the company, the boss collects their share. Of course, that’s where people want to get and going back to the importance of education—some potential owners don’t know how to get there.
Tying into that is not wanting to cooperate with others on an enterprise because they want to be the Big Boss over it all. This is something I notice with multiple independent record labels in a city or multiple Black comic book imprints. Banding together, organizing and seeing who will oversee what could create so many Black powerhouse businesses.
However, there’s still that need to have your name first, your name on top, an apostrophe “s” after your name—and that can hinder things. There’s no telling how many Black business owners didn’t reach their potential or were derailed because they didn’t want to collab.
What are some things you believe stop Black people from progressing further in business? Let us know below!
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.
