Like many young Black entrepreneurs my journey as a Black startup has been hell-a challenging. I think every Black startup has to see themselves as a pioneer, especially if your innovation caters to Black audiences or problems. Our stories mirrors one of hard work, determination, in the face of surprising hostility.
Black start ups face a tremendous journey, as a people we have focused so narrowly on civil rights and racial justice we have neglected to build any type of infrastructure that support enterprising ideas or initiatives. Our social and religious organizations have dominated the Black agenda so feverishly that we rarely hear any thoughts or ideas from great business men and women. This is shocking since our social inequity is deeply connected to our social economic status. As a Black entrepreneur you find yourself not only fighting to create new pathways for yourself and other Black entrepreneurs but bumping heads with old social and religious institutions who see your ideas as competition.
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The real problem in the Black community is the small number of institutions that would benefit from black innovation, such as Black banks, funding communities, venture capitalist, and marketing forces that organically organize the Black dollar enabling entrepreneurs to succeed. In 2007 1.9 million Black businesses earned a half a percent of all US earnings. Even more surprising 94% of Black businesses had no paid employees. Black entrepreneurs need new institutions that are designed to not only help them create businesses but to succeed at them. Currently Black entrepreneurs are saturated with organizations that that want to educate the Black entrepreneur, teach business plans and business principles. As if the Black entrepreneur exist on an equal playing field and education is our only barrier to success. The truth of the matter is we need money, we need capital and an organize pathway to the African American consumer and community. Pathways that will ensure the success of every Black entrepreneur. In this way poverty, unemployment, health and even institutional racism can be mediated through the creation of successful Black businesses. Black businesses that take on the values and character of Black people they serve and slowly become our new institutions.
So next time you see a brother or sister building something give a word of encouragement and support, fundraise and volunteer, together we can create a new wave of businesses that reduce poverty, unemployment and increase our quality of life.
Yahya John is the Executive Director of Uni-Five.com an entrepreneurship network that celebrates, fund raises and volunteers for entrepreneurs.
You can join Uni-Five the Movement at www.uni-five.com/unity/160
