When building your business means hiding that it's black-owned

Discussion in 'Getting Ahead: Careers, Finance and Productivity' started by 4north1side2, Apr 17, 2016.

  1. goodlove

    goodlove New Member

    It is weird but true
     
  2. flaminghetero

    flaminghetero Well-Known Member

    :rolleyes:

    Whaaaaat????

    If drugs kill businesses then there would be NO white businesses anywhere on earth.
     
  3. 4north1side2

    4north1side2 Well-Known Member

    A major part of the reason is because us blacks have experienced shitty customer service first hand when it comes to black owned businesses like barbershops which are notorious for this. This motherfuckers are greedy as fuck. They'll tell you to schedule a appointment right, you come on time but they'll tell you to they'll be with you shortly because they homeboy the local star athlete or drug dealer comes thru. You might walk in instead and see its full but before you walk out, they'll assure you you'll be up shortly which turns into a 1 hour and 30 minute wait.
     
  4. goodlove

    goodlove New Member

    Lol.

    Hell has frozen over....lol

    I agree with you
     
  5. The Dark King

    The Dark King Well-Known Member

    Lol I know my bad lol
     
  6. andreboba

    andreboba Well-Known Member

    Great thread and discussion topic.

    As a Black person it's so easy to rationalize not putting your own face on the front of a non-stereotypical Black owned business and fronting a White person as the face of said business.

    But at the same time there are numerous examples of Black owned companies who gained a foothold by simply offering the best deal for customers and emphasizing QUALITY output and superior customer service above all else.

    I've seen it time and again, even the hardest brotha can charm the socks off your mother if he puts his heart and mind into it.

    The fucked up thing is both methods work.:smt100

    Either doing White face, or rolling with who you are head to toe.

    I had a similar dilemma a long time ago a couple years out of college with an Indian guy I went to college with, and we just decided to go with the Black and Brown.

    We ended up getting a feature piece written on us in the local paper of a major media market because we were 'unique'.:smt080

    Mistrust, lack of business acumen and not being prepared to process and fill the orders we initially had killed the dream but the lesson remains.

    As a minority there are going to be a significant percentage of non-Black customers who give you a chance, and how you get the job done after the fact will determine to what extent you business succeeds or fails.

    I'm still one of those cats who's DISGUSTED that George Foreman and Wally Amos sold their companies to big corporations.

    [​IMG]




    http://foodtellsastory.tumblr.com/post/111638729178/famous-amos , well worth the read.:smt023

    The hidden revolutionary in me says always stand Black and proud.

    But the other man inside me who needs that money is thinking if a non Black person is going to be dumb enough to be racist, I'm more than willing to flip that ignorance and use it against them.
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2016
  7. beccaomecca

    beccaomecca Well-Known Member


    Parking in rear... i bet.
     
  8. goodlove

    goodlove New Member

    I feel you on every point. I can't disagree with anything

     
  9. blackbrah

    blackbrah Well-Known Member

    Can't hate on this.
     
  10. KWillo

    KWillo Active Member

    But those drugs came into the Black community after forced integration, though.
     
  11. andreboba

    andreboba Well-Known Member


    This is a profound point and often overlooked. Asians and Arabs have tried to front their businesses with White Anglo sounding names and White spokespeople to represent to the public that their business was All-American.

    I recently found out one of the most successful plumbing and AC businesses where I live, Michael and Son, was started and owned by an Arab immigrant.

    At the same time Americans, despite the reality of racism in American culture, respect authenticity.

    In the digital tech world, being a minority isn't seen as a negative, for example.

    If I were starting a typically non-Black business, I think a good bet is promoting the diversity of your venture instead of hiding the fact it was started by a minority.

    There's no point in moving forward economically as a people if we are unwilling to show our good works to the public.
     
  12. K

    K Well-Known Member

    It's important to know what your target market is and how they perceive things. You do things that are aligned with that. It's actually rather simple, but people want to make it more complicated.

    Many many years ago I managed a HVAC contractor and his biz. He's Japanese and most of his customers were as well. He played that up - they are a tight community. However, the name of his biz was a "white first name" (not his name even though he had a very "white" name) and it started with two a's....so it came first in the phone book. That's how he got the nonJapanese customers.

    You have to know where being part of a particular group (ethnic, gender, whatever) is a benefit and when it's not, and use that to your advantage.
     

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