High-Flying Citigroup Executive Allegedly Robs His Bank with a Computer

 

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How to Do Business with a Fortune 500 Company

We can either talk about how opportunities are not being handed to us or we can discuss how to take advantage of the opportunities that are being given?

As a small business owner, I want to be part of a dialogue about how money can be made NOT about how I am being hindered from making money. What do you want to talk about?

There was an article about the discrimination by major organizations against black businesses via the “NON URBAN DICTATE” initiative. This particular initiative is geared towards black and Hispanic consumers NOT black businesses. That doesn’t make it any more palatable, it is just a point of clarification.

With that said, there ARE major organizations who want to do business with minority and women small business owners. They understand that African Americans and Hispanics will be the new majority in the 21^st century.

Therefore, they are looking to do business with minority business owners that can help them maximize the revenue that can be generated via these communities. I have said it before and I will say it again, in a capitalistic society, the bottom line is revenue.

Did you know that Macy’s had a Workshop at Macy’s initiative that held workshops this past Spring? These workshops were specifically targeted to minority and women small business owners to prepare them to do business with Macy’s.

The hard truth we need to face about ourselves is that, more often than not, we are not prepared to do business with major organizations like a Macy’s.

Are you ready to take advantage of the opportunity when it comes?

If you want to know how to do business with Fortune 500 companies, go to the Four Steps to Getting Business With Fortune 500 Companies to read and listen to the discussion I had with Ms. Lynda Ireland, President and CEO, of the New York/New Jersey Supplier Diversity Council (The Council)

In addition, I spoke with Corey Smith, Former Director of Supplier Diversity at NBC Universal to get additional tips on what it takes to get business with a Fortune 100 company! As a corporate member of The Council, his organization looks to The Council to provide viable vendors who can do business with NBC.

Let us not perish for lack of knowledge

As consumers and small business owners, we should be focusing our attention on the companies that respect us as viable consumers and viable strategic business partners.

If you are a serious about making money and about your business, then take the time to read and listen to my discussions with Lynda Ireland and Corey Smith. Nuff’ said!

Bio: Danielle Douglas is President of Inspire Enterprise. Get more great information to learn How to Be a Successful Entrepreneur

Are You Planning to be an Accidental Entrepreneur? If so, think again!

Some bad news!

The unemployment rate continues to plague us. African Americans have been the hardest hit with unemployment. According to a survey that was done by Dr. Boyce Watkins, 38% of you have experienced a lay off in the past three years. If you haven’t personally experienced a lay off, you know a friend or a family member who has.

Across the board, we are in a dismal state: unemployment, wealth creation, and the value of our homes have diminished substantially. Recently, there has been much talk about how hiring has significantly slowed down again. We don’t need the economic reports to tell us what we already know.

Some good news!

Did you know that from 2008 to 2009, African Americans and older Americans had the greatest increases in starting their own businesses?

Although, that can be considered great news, we still must be cautious in our optimism. These challenging economic times can and has been a primary motivating factor for individuals to start their own businesses when they have been laid off for a significantly long time.

And now some ugly news!

One of the worst reasons to start a business is because you believe you have no other options. It’s like getting married just because the woman is pregnant. It requires too much sacrifice and hard work to do it for that sole reason. Here are Ten Questions You Should Answer if you are considering entrepreneurship.

For a lot of us who have started our own business, we have tapped into our personal savings, 401k plans, and/or home equity. Of course, we expect a return on investment. More often than not, that doesn’t happen. Ninety-five percent (95%) of small businesses go out of business in five years.

Am I advocating NOT starting a business? Of course not!

If you have always wanted to start a business and you see this as an opportunity to do so, great! Most successful entrepreneurs started out in a traditional work setting where they learned some great skills that enabled them to make a successful transition to entrepreneurship. So, you have one thing in your favor.

If you want to know what else it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, read The Decoding of the Successful Entrepreneur – Here’s the Secret Formula.

What I am advocating is that if and when you take that leap into entrepreneurship make sure you acquire the essential business skills necessary to be successful. A lot of small business owners fail because they are great at their craft but don’t have the “know how” to run a successful business.

Don’t Just Do It!

Like marriage when entrepreneurship is done for the “right” reasons and there is a solid foundation of skills and know-how, it can be wonderful. When not, it can suck all your financial and emotional resources right out of you. Be Prepared!

Bio:

Danielle Douglas is President of Inspire Enterprise. Get more great information to learn How to Be a Successful Entrepreneur.

Wealthy Woman Leaves $40 million to her African American Nurse

And they say that good nursing can’t pay the bills…

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If You’re Not Telling Your Own Story, Someone Else Is.

We all said our goodbyes to the Oprah Winfrey Show last month with regret, with glee, or with indifference.

However you may feel about Oprah, she deserves respect due to her ascension as one of the most powerful and influential women in the media industry. She has risen from talk show host to owning her OWN network which gives her the ability to decide what she wants viewers to see.

She was able to capitalize on this opportunity because of her great success with her own production company, HARPO Productions, which produced her show as well as other successful shows like Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, and Rachel Ray. The verdict is not quite out yet on The Nate Berkus Show.

Recently, there was an article written about the relevance of Essence magazine for today’s black woman.

Although major companies like BET and Essence magazine were started by African Americans, they have since been bought by major conglomerates. The crux of the problem was touched upon but not really addressed. “Other” folks continue to define who we are and tell our story.

We fail to keep in the forefront of our minds that we live in a capitalistic society where the only thing that matters is what will bring in the greatest revenue. We get angry. A perfect example is the Father's Day Hallmark card for single black mothers. We ask ourselves and each other, why can’t they ever see the positive things that are going on in our community and write about that?

If we want our story to be told correctly then we have to tell our own story and manage the images and perceptions that other people have of us. It is imperative that we are sitting at the boardroom table where those types of decisions are being made. This applies to every aspect of our lives may it be media, entertainment, sports, and etc.

We have to give Oprah some credit. She could have BUT she didn’t sell Harpo Productions to the highest bidder after twenty five years. She decided to parlay her power into a bigger opportunity to bring about even greater influence. She decides what shows go on HER network.

We should take note. It should be clear to us by now that we must control our own destiny and create our own history. In a capitalistic society, where money yields power, one of the primary means to do that is to become extremely successful entrepreneurs in major industries.

I understand Oprah is not THE only black entrepreneur who has had significant success in the boardroom. Of course, there are others who are famous and not so famous!

Nevertheless, the time has come for us to create what we want for ourselves instead of waiting or expecting others to give us what we believe is our just due.

Bio:

Danielle Douglas is President of Inspire Enterprise. Get more great information to learn How to Be a Successful Entrepreneur.

The Rush Card Under Investigation by Florida Attorney General

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38% of African Americans Have Lost Their Job in the Last Three Years

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Dr. Boyce: Black unemployment Rises Again– a State of Emergency Ensues

 

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Yes, Bill Collectors May Be Following You on Facebook, Twitter and Everything Else

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Dr. Boyce and Rev. Al Sharpton discuss Black Unemployment and the Onslow Ross Prosecution

 

 

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Technorati Tags: al sharpton,black politics,black scholars,dr. boyce watkins

Pastor Onslow Ross: A Crook or a Victim?

 

Is this pastor a crook or a victim?  Why he got 10 years in prison.

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Technorati Tags: pastor onslow ross,black preachers,african american preachers

Huffington Post: Black Unemployment and the Great Black Disconnect for Obama

Dr. Boyce Watkins

Professor, Syracuse University

Posted: 05/ 8/11 03:51 PM ET

 

President Obama has a problem, a very serious one. The president's problem is what I would call "The Great Black Disconnect." This divide is the place where black America's love and appreciation for the Obamas disconnects from the intense economic suffering of the African American community. Like a festering and infected wound that remains untreated, President Obama's support within the black community is threatened by the fact that the people who love him most are suffering unlike anything our nation has seen over the last 50 years.

This week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its unemployment numbers for the month of April. The figures were consistent with the jobless recovery that has taken good care of Wall Street, but created homelessness on Main Street. The national unemployment rate grew from 8.8 percent to 9 percent, which will surely perpetuate President Obama's somber ratings on economic performance.

 

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Technorati Tags: black unemployment,black scholars

Friday Flash Feature: Denise Bolds Teaches Single Black Moms How to Raise Their Sons

Leslie DeTouche, Your Black World 

Many single black moms are not sure how to raise their boys.  Well, Denise Bolds has some solutions that work.

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Study: Minorities Still Locked Out of Most Institutions

  

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, YourBlackWorld.com, Scholarship in Action 

I took a look at an ABC News picture of President Barack Obama sitting in a Situation Room with lead advisers watching the assassination of Obama bin Laden.  Everyone had a tense look on their face, as 10 years of hard work suddenly came down to the wire.  I couldn’t help but notice, as I scanned all the faces across the room, that there were only two women present (Hillary Clinton and another woman in the back), and one bi-racial black man (President Obama).  Every other person in the room was a white male. 

What startles me the most is that millions of other Americans can look at this picture and see absolutely nothing wrong with it.  The “white guy’s club” has always been the status quo in leadership positions.

Teen Joblessness, Violence Expected to Hit Record Highs This Summer Due to Cuts in Federal Funding

CHICAGO, Reuters — A record-low one in four U.S. teenagers will land a summer job in the coming months as a result of a still-poor job market and lost federal funding, according to a report issued on Monday.

As a consequence, urban studies experts said cities like Chicago — where summer unemployment among African-Americans aged 16 to 19 years approaches 90 percent — could experience a rise in street violence.

Soulja Boy Is the Latest Rapper to Waste His Money on Stupid Stuff

Your Black World Reports

 

Soulja Boy is now bragging about owning a $200,000 Bentley.  He sent this message out on Twitter:

“ 2012 Bentley GT I'm the first one with it in Atlanta!!! Shipped from England.”

Our Your Black World psychics see another tweet coming in about five years:

“Bentley just got repossessed by the IRS and I’ll be done with my bankruptcy proceedings tomorrow.”

Brothers….please learn to save and invest and stop making black people into the most ridiculous consumers in America.

 

Join the Your Black World Coalition at YourBlackWorld.com

Russell Simmons’ Open Letter to President Obama: Don’t Forget Our Plight

Your Black World Reports

 

I listened to your speech last week at Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network's 20th anniversary dinner, talking among friends and close supporters. This was an annual African American dinner, a very important one. While I know that any Democrat would have fulfilled their promise to come back if they had won the '08 election, I also know the significance, and the special burden it poses on you, as the first African American President, at the same time.

Still, I woke up the next day feeling uneasy, not because you didn't take issues of direct significance to the black community head-on -- like the fact that one in three black children go to jail once in their lifetime or that black people have an unemployment rate double the amount of white people -- but because nowhere in your deep and thoughtful remarks did you talk about the elephant in the room that affects ALL Americans, irrespective of color: the growing ranks of poor Americans, Americans struggling not just to meet their mortgage payments but to eat, sleep under a roof, educate their kids and pay their basic bills.

Black Americans Not Getting Good Financial Advice

 

by TEWire
Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Afro American Newspapers
Originally posted 4/27/2011

Only two out of every 10 African-Americans are on a path to achieve their retirement goals, according to a six-month-old survey of Blacks conducted by a major wealth manager.

 

Report: Newspapers and Websites Lack Diversity in Sports Reporting

 

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Some 320 websites and newspapers that belong to Associated Press Sports Editors slightly improved their racial hiring practices last year, according to a study released Wednesday, though they failed again to make any strides in gender hiring for key newsroom positions.

The report, released every two years by the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports, gave those outlets a C plus, up from a C in 2008, for racial hires and an F for gender hires in jobs including sports editor, columnist, reporter and copy editor.

Oil Companies are Making Less Gas but Much Higher Profits

 

 

Gasoline prices are skyrocketing — and so are oil company profits.
Exxon Mobil Corp. earned nearly $11 billion in the first three months of the year, a rollicking 69% increase over its performance for the same period last year. That's on sales of $114 billion.
It's the same story for the other big oil companies. Royal Dutch Shell turned a profit of $6.3 billion in the first quarter, and BP — despite lingering costs from the Gulf Coast oil spill— made $7.1 billion.

 

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Should You Need a License to Braid Hair? A Woman Files a Lawsuit Over the Issue

 

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World – Scholarship in Action 

Jestina Clayton is a woman in Utah who is originally from Sierra Leone in West Africa.  She does African braiding part-time in order to make extra money.  She is now being confronted with the loss of significant income, since a law in the state of Utah claims that you must have a full cosmetology license in order to braid hair.

Clayton filed suit this week in the court of law.  She is being backed by the Institute for Justice, a Virginia-based organization that helps people like Clayton challenge unjust laws.

Black Unemployment Reaches Depression Levels in Many Major Cities

by Janell Ross, Huffington Post 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- In the decade leading up to the Great Recession, Wanda Nolan grew accustomed to steady progress.

From an entry-level job as a fill-in bank teller, she forged a career as a commercial banking assistant, earning enough to become a homeowner. She finished college and then got an MBA. Even after the recession unfolded in late 2007, her degrees and her familiarity with the business world lent her a sense of immunity to the forces ravaging much of the American economy. Nolan was an exemplar of the African American middle class and the increasingly professional ranks of the so-called New South.

But in September 2008, everything changed.

McJobs Are Not the Cure for An Ailing Economy

Editor's note: Annette Bernhardt is policy co-director of the National Employment Law Project, a national advocacy group for the rights of lower-wage earners. She was lead researcher on NELP's recent report, "A Year of Unbalanced Growth: Industries, Wages, and the First 12 Months of Job Growth After the Great Recession."

(CNN) -- We are starved for signs that the economy is picking up. So when McDonald's threw its doors open to hire 50,000 workers nationwide, media networks scrambled to film applicants lining up across the country for that increasingly elusive piece of the American dream -- a job.

A Black Prof Discusses Racial Bias in Financial Decisions

Your Black World reports

Have you ever tried to get a loan, and felt that you weren’t being treated the same as if you were white?  What about watching that promotion at work being given to the white guy down the hall when you were the one slaving night and day for 20 years?  Well, this feeling is not uncommon.  A recent survey at YourBlackWorld.com showed that nearly 90% of African Americans feel that they’ve experienced some kind of discrimination in the workplace.  In spite of our having a black president and attorney general, new laws have not been introduced to help people of color fight discrimination in the workplace.

Black Family Wealth Has Virtually Disappeared

by Dr. Boyce Watkins – YourBlackWorld.com 

The first decade of the new millennium brought a lot of things that the world didn't expect: the ability to order a pizza on your home computer, cell phones that allow you to talk to your friends face-to-face, and our nation's first black president.

One other unexpected event of the last decade is the disappearance of a century's worth of progress in reducing the wealth gap between black and white Americans. AsRex Nutting at Market Watch so accurately notes, wealth levels of the black family in America have declined dramatically during the past decade, and they show no evidence of getting better any time soon.

According to Nutting, "In a country where access to capital is everything, most blacks have nothing."

 

Would You Pay $50,000 to Meet Oprah Winfrey?

 

It turns out that Oprah Winfrey is partnering with CharityBuzz to auction off her quality time.  The expected running price is going to be $50,000. Would you pay that much to meet with Oprah if you had the money? 

The money is being raised for human rights and Oprah is auctioning off four tickets to her show in Chicago and the chance to meet her backstage.  Perhaps since it’s for charity, it all makes sense.

Technorati Tags: black celebrity gossip,oprah winfrey

BP One Year Later: Corporate Greed 101

 

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World – Scholarship in Action 

It’s a year after the start of the infamous BP oil spill that stole the attention of the nation for several months. One year ago today, the oil giant began the process of spilling five million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, killing everything in its grasp, starting with 11 oil workers who were near the initial explosion. After taking out the workers, the spill generated an unprecedented genocide on local wildlife, killing thousands of fish, birds and other species that lived within the ocean. The BP beast also murdered local businesses that depended on the Gulf for their livelihoods, with almost none of those businesses being able to restore their full economic value.

Tourists are no longer interested in swimming in water that was so heavily polluted just a few months ago.

 

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Tyra Banks Heads to Harvard Business School

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

Media superstar and modeling-model Tyra Banks recently announced that she's headed to the Harvard Business School. While it's still not clear if she's getting an official degree (I assume its a short-term executive education course; I can't imagine someone with her experience and schedule taking too much time off for school), one has to be impressed with her decision to continue educating herself. Some might think that education is simply a thing you tolerate long enough to make money to support yourself. Nothing could be further from the truth, since learning should be a lifelong process.

"I started last summer and I didn't really talk about it. It was very incognito, my name and everything, but I decided to talk about it [now]. I think it's a positive thing, especially for girls to see that you can still continue to educate yourself and you can still be fabulous and fierce and celebrate your femininity," Tyra said to MTV News.

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Black Female Entrepreneurs Give You Virtual Assistance

 

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University - Scholarship in Action 

Most of us think that a personal assistant is someone who lives and works right next to you. In the age of technology, it is no longer necessary to be in the same room or even the same country as the person who handles your daily affairs. With technology, cell phones, and other ways for us to remain connected, it's quite simple to work with someone every day of your life and never even see them. It is because of their brilliant use of technology and entrepreneurship skills that the ladies with JustGo Virtual Assistants are today's Dr. Boyce Watkins Spotlight on AOL Black Voices:

What is your name and what do you do?
Our name is JustGo and we are a company that provides new age administrative and personal assistant services to high profile speakers, authors, entrepreneurs, and small businesses. Our assistants, although in another state, are able to complete and fulfill client requests and wishes through the use of internet, email, fax, phone, and/or chat. We may not be able to personally pour your daily cup of coffee, but we can definitely have it delivered to you. JustGo presents a comfortable and convenient opportunity to those professionally inclined individuals with impeccable administrative and computer skills to work from home while also gifting its clients with money saving services that reduce over-head expenses and relieves the pressures of routine responsibilities. This frees the client to focus on tasks that are more profit generating or gives them the opportunity to enjoy leisurely activities they otherwise may not have time for.

 

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Dr. Boyce Watkins Spotlight: A Couple Makes Both Money and Love

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One reason that we do the spotlights here on AOL Black Voices is to profile businesses, organizations and individuals who are doing outstanding (but perhaps unsung) work within the African American community. While most media enjoys highlighting the dysfunction of the black community, we believe that there is plenty to celebrate. What I love about Ayize and Aiyana Ma'at is that they've found a way to use their love to create the financial fuel that helps to sustain their family. As certified relationship counselors, they also work together to help other couples find the love they've been seeking as well. It is because of their empowered commitment to strengthening the black family in America that Ayize and Aiyana Ma'at are today's Dr. Boyce Watkins Spotlight on AOL Black Voices:

 

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Dr. Boyce Watkins: Choosing Not to Run Away from Your Destiny

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

I went to see “The Adjustment Bureau,” the new film starring Matt Damon and Anthony Mackie. Mackie has become one of my favorite actors as of late after taking some very bold and promising stands on how black Hollywood can address the racism they are constantly facing from the white Hollywood establishment. Rather than standing around moaning about the inequities of their profession, Mackie has simply said that we need to stand up and start creating our own films. I love what Mackie had to say, because you can never gain anyone’s respect by begging.

 

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Dr. Boyce: Does Education Always Lead to a Better Job? Nope

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

An economist for whom I have tremendous respect, Paul Krugman, recently wrote a New York Times article which put the debate over education into context. I found the article interesting as I prepare to speak at the National Black Law Students Association Convention with my colleague, Charles Ogletree at Harvard University.
I've been thinking a great deal about how to help our community understand the meaning and value of a good education (here are some of my thoughts on the matter if you're interested). I've preached relentlessly that being well-educated is incredibly important for all of us, and that we should be willing to fight to the end to make sure our kids get what they need from our woefully inadequate school systems. At the same time, my recent appearance at the Black Achievers Banquet in Louisville, Ky led me to conclude that further discussion is necessary. I saw quite a few young people doing amazing things, but it's my hope to help us all understand that an education is not simply a path to getting a job with some corporation that will have you doing meaningless work for your entire life. Sure, that can be part of the plan, but it can't be the entire plan altogether.

 

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