Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. As a business owner, one of you goals should be to maximize efficiency. Maximizing efficiency will allow you and your staff to get the most done and save money in the long run. The following contributed post is entitled, Encouraging Ultimate Efficiency In The Workplace.
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Running your own business can be an extremely rewarding project, as there’s scope for respectable profit and a great reputation amongst many other benefits. However, when your company is not reaching the goals that you had set out to achieve, it can be much more of a disappointing and infuriating scenario that may seem impossible to work through. One of the biggest reasons that productivity can take a hit is the overall efficiency of your business, and luckily there are many different things that you can do to start moving forward. So, if your business is struggling to achieve targets and may need some restructuring to become more efficient, then read on to uncover some of the best tips and tricks that you can make the most of today!
One of the worst things that you can do as a business owner is to scrimp on staff training, as without the right knowledge your employees will not be able to do their jobs properly. You need to make certain that your staff have access to constant training sessions and extra learning opportunities that can allow them to understand their role inside and out, and help to ensure that they can use machinery in a safe and secure way whilst working as fast as they can. You simply cannot expect your employees to learn everything they need to know on their own, and if you leave them to fend for themselves then their productivity rates will no doubt be at an all time low. Efficiency will take a huge boost as soon as your staff know how to get their jobs done in the best way, so it’s up to you to set the standard and show them exactly how it’s done.
Don’t Be Afraid To Outsource
When your business is going through tough times, it’s tempting to let go of staff and appoint more work to other employees to reduce your overall spend, however this will do nothing to improve your efficiency or standard of work. Many business owners are afraid to let go of the reigns and ask for help, and that’s why so many tasks are completed in house – yet, outsourcing other professionals to perform just a few tasks can take a huge weight off your staff’s shoulders, and allow them to focus on their regular tasks too. It needn’t be expensive to seek out services like stock plan administration, marketing campaigns and other specific topics that your employees don’t have the time or skills to cover, and it will really help to improve your efficiency quite dramatically at the same time. These professionals would not be able to function if the service they provide isn’t top quality, so you can still retain ultimate peace of mind knowing that your projects are in good hands.
Encouraging ultimate efficiency in the workplace has never been so simple when you are able to make the most of the top tips and tricks detailed above.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. As a business owner, you must consider the presence of consciousness on the part of the consumer. Consumers who once supported your business may divest, if they feel as though you’re practices are fair or ethical. The following contributed post is entitled, Why You Can’t Afford Not To Practice What You Preach In This Age Of The Conscious Consumer.
Being seen as a business that cares is non-negotiable in the age of the conscious consumer. No longer are customers willing to put their money towards companies that don’t align with their goals. What’s more, the booming online market means they don’t have to.
This has been the case for a few years now, and it’s led to fantastic ethical shifts in company processes. More businesses than ever now donate to charity, and even major corporations are implementing environmental focuses. If you’re to stand any chance at competing, the chances are you’re doing the same.
The trouble is that, as the internet allows consumers to delve deeper into business processes than ever, surface appearances are no longer enough. In fact, the reputational damage of customers learning that you don’t practice what you preach behind closed doors could see you struggling or even having to shut shop.
Ethics really do matter that much, and you should be implementing focuses like these at every level to ensure results. For proof, consider the following company failures that have left consumers questioning whether brands care at all.
Partnerships that go against ethics
Once, consumers had idea what companies were partnering or selling. Now, this information is online for everyone to see, and it can be damaging if you make agreements with businesses that don’t share your upfront ethics.
In recent years, this has most notably been the case for cruelty-free makeup brands, many of whom are owned by some of the worst culprits for animal testing. As can be seen on https://ethicalelephant.com, such consumer discoveries in recent years have led to boycotts on even front-running ‘cruelty-free’ brands.
The moral of the story is simple. Don’t preach one thing, then let money sway you to the opposite. Or, in other words – never partner with a company that doesn’t share the same outlook.
Companies have also been caught out for only prioritizing ethics in the public eye. For instance, countless brands claim to care about recycling yet come out as the worst contenders for landfill under the surface.
Again, remember that nothing goes under the radar anymore. In an age where consumers can access recycling reports and more, even something seemingly small like pouring vegetable fat down the drain could throw your ethical makeup into question.
Companies should, therefore, be making an effort to maintain ethical focuses, even behind scenes, either by turning to companies like https://gfcommodities.com/our-services/used-cooking-oils-recycling/ to recycle fat instead of draining it, or making sure to separate warehouse plastics ready for recycling. And, all of this should be standard even when no one’s looking.
Conclusion
Presentation matters in modern business but, make no mistake, so does what you do behind closed doors. In fact, given that claiming an ethical focus and being found to go against it is worse than making no effort at all, you could say that sticking to your supposed ethics business-wide is vital for staying on top in 2020 and beyond.
Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. If you’re running an at-home business which relies on some sort of inventory, you may eventually need to think about incorporating a warehouse into your operations. There some considerations for expanding in this manner. The following contributed post is entitled, Upgrading to a Warehouse for the First Time.
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If you’re a solo entrepreneur or at-home business owner then the idea of having a warehouse for your inventory and operations can sound daunting. However, it’s usually the next step up from working out of your home or garage and can offer you countless opportunities to scale up your operations. Whether you’re printing shirts, designing software or 3D printing the next big tech device, we’ve put together some tips on how you can cope with upgrading to a warehouse for the first time.
When upgrading to a warehouse, it’s a good idea to discuss what your needs are with the rest of your team. If you’re still a solo entrepreneur, then think about what you’re going to need the space for. Perhaps you’ll have an area dedicated to the production of your items and maybe you’ll need to build an office area for all your computers and support staff. Once you’ve decided on your needs, you can then start to think about how much space you’ll need and how much you’re willing to pay.
Plan out your space
Make sure that you’ve got a plan for all the space you have. If you think that you have a bit too much space for what you currently need, keep those areas clear for the future. The last thing you want is to stunt your business growth because you’ve amassed a pile of junk and clutter in an area where you need to put a new machine or build an office. Without a plan, you’re going to have a tough time deciding where things should go, and this will only complicate things later in the future.
Get serious with organization
Whether it’s using a proper inventory management system or having labels on everything, it’s going to be vital to start using serious organization methods in order to keep tabs on everything. If you don’t, then you’re not going to know if an employee steals something and you won’t even realize if someone’s broken into your warehouse and stolen a whole crate of inventory.
Ensure your warehouse is protected
While most warehouses are going to have some kind of basic protection such as a steel door or even a password-protected entrance, it’s vital to examine the warehouse yourself to see where the vulnerable entry points are. Since you’re no longer running your business out of your home, you’re not going to be able to wake up and react to a thief. In addition, the fact you’re in a warehouse means you’re a prime target for thieves because there’s likely something valuable in your location. As such, make sure you contact security professionals to help you secure your location and ensure that it’s safe from intruders.
A warehouse is essentially just a huge open space that you could basically do anything with. You could set up a studio for shooting photos, you could create a little area for your office, and you can even turn it into a full production facility if you have space and machines for it. What you do with your warehouse is up to you and there’s no denying that having a warehouse with so much space opens up countless opportunities.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. The decision to start outsourcing is a critical strategic move for any business. Successfully outsourcing can propel your business to the next level if it is done correctly. The following contributed post is entitled, Which Areas Should Your SMB Outsource?
Outsourcing is something that many startups don’t consider for themselves. They wrongly believe that it’s something that comes much later down the line, that it’s something that only much larger companies and corporations can benefit from. Outsourcing is where you hire a third party to tackle a designated area of your business. It could be a one- off job or it could be ongoing such as managing an entire department. It’s something that any company can utilise, but is especially ideal when first starting out, as instead of spending money on larger premises, more equipment, hiring and training staff and more, you can pay a company to tackle that area.
Manufacturing This is something that most smaller and medium sized businesses choose to outsource, and for good reason. Manufacturing yourself requires a lot of money and materials upfront to get started, from steel watertanks to machinery, power tools, vehicles- not to mention warehousing space and qualified staff to run everything. Outsourcing your manufacturing is usually the best option until you’re a much larger company.
IT Your website, social media and all elements of your business online are some of the most important. When you outsource your IT department you can be sure you’ll never be left with a website that’s not loading properly, or issues online that could be costing you money. Research shows that online customers are impatient, if someone clicks on your site and it doesn’t work they’ll click off within three seconds and may never return.
Blog Writing Blogging is great for business, it makes your site look professional and helps you to gain followers and more interest in what you sell. However, writing high quality content on a regular basis is time consuming. Outsourcing the work for freelance bloggers means your blog will stay updated, and you won’t have to find the time or man power within your own team to do this.
Video Editing Along with a well written blog, high quality videos on your website or on a Youtube channel for your business can help you with your success. These videos can go viral and be used as promotion, or they can be instructional guides if what you do or sell requires this. They could involve a landing page video which introduces and talks about your business giving more information. But they need to be done well, outsource to a video production or editing company for the best effect.
Human Resources There are many legal considerations when it comes to human resources, as this department deals with things like bullying in the workplace, employee theft, hiring, firing and other very important issues. When you work with a specialist HR company you can be sure that everything will be handled fairly as they will be well versed in the ever changing law.
You can outsource just about any area of business these days. Not only does it save you money, but it can give you peace of mind too, as when you hire a professional company, you know that they’re professionals in their area and you can trust them to do a good job.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. There are different kinds of businesses. In terms of types of businesses, some are considered ‘Small Niche’. There are a couple of qualities that are favorable to being in this type of business. The following contributed post is entitled, Are You Suited to Running a Small Niche Business.
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For a lot of new entrepreneurs, their end goal for running a business isn’t always to have international success on their first attempt. Many smarter entrepreneurs are more focused on gaining experience and usually have exit strategies that involve making their business somewhat successful then selling it and trying something new. This is often a smart strategy especially if the business you’re starting up doesn’t relate to your interests in any way.
One of the most popular options for learning about business is to run a small niche company. With a smaller audience and the need for targeted marketing, it can help you develop and nurture a unique set of skills that will give you the upper hand in a competitive market later in the future. In fact, some people might find that starting a niche business that they’re passionate about could be their end game all along. After all, if it’s something you truly love and are wholly passionate about, there’s no reason to start over again.
So let’s look at what it takes to run a small niche business and if you’re well-suited to it.
By pushing yourself in your niche business, you could potentially become an expert before the term is even defined in your industry. Becoming someone that has plenty of knowledge and experience in the niche will make you an authoritative source of information and this can greatly help with your marketing efforts.
You need to follow regulations and rules
If you’re thinking of starting up a relatively new and niche business idea that isn’t well-documented, don’t be surprised when regulations and rules come down on you hard. Luckily, a lot of this regulation information is available online. For instance, you can create a dispensary business plan that explains all of the rules and regulations by visiting the right exhibits and events, or just seeking the right information online.
You’ll need to focus your research and development
Your research and development need to be cutting edge if you’re going to start a niche business. You need to be at the forefront of development, so don’t take this part lightly and ensure you invest plenty of resources to make this successful.
You have to engage with your audience for success
If you’re a niche business, your audience is going to be much smaller than if you were to operate a mainstream business. As a result, you’ll need to engage with them on a regular basis to keep them interested, and also to keep them up-to-date with your business developments.
Operating a small business itself isn’t challenging, but when you’re focused on delivering to a niche audience, it can be tough to stay in business. The skills you learn from running a niche business will help you in the long run in your career as an entrepreneur, but you might even find that through all the challenges, you could have a business idea that you want to take to the top.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A key to any business is customer satisfaction. Improving your customers’ satisfaction will assure their continued patronage of your business. The following contributed post is entitled, A Quick And Easy Guide To Improving Customer Satisfaction.
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Improving customer satisfaction is one of the best ways to keep your audience coming back to work with you time and time again. It’s also a fantastic way to gain referrals, slowly building your client base. Ensuring your customers are satisfied with how you work with them will help you to grow your business, and develop a strong reputation. Anybody can start a business these days, and it’s important to note that customers rarely come back to you because of your product – they will come back because of the service they have received.
Below, we’ll take a look at quick and easy ways to improve customer satisfaction. Take a look.
Ask for Feedback You can’t go wrong when you ask for feedback. The thing about feedback is, if you don’t ask for it, you’ll rarely get it – unless a customer is unhappy. Ask them to review products they purchased recently, or fill in a quick questionnaire. This insight is valuable, so make sure you use it once you have it.
Personalize Each And Every Interaction Personalizing each interaction with your customers will make them feel valued. Make sure you have a way to track all interactions, and ensure each employee takes a personable approach with them. You can remain professional while showing the customer that you remember them and that they are important to your business.
Give Clients A Dedicated Account Manager A dedicated account manager often means your customers will build up a rapport with the employees they are working with. Ensure your team realizes how important building these relationships is. It’ll be so much easier for your customer when they can speak to the same person if they need to – and this is what will keep them coming back.
Aim To Communicate In Various Ways Some people like speaking on the phone, others prefer email. Make sure you provide various methods of communication so that every preference is catered to. You can even use services like Textbetter.com to send clients reminders of their appointments in text form.
Really Hone Your Customer Service Techniques Customer service is key, so make sure everybody who has direct interactions with your customers are trained to the fullest extent.
Make Sure Customer Service Reps Are All On The Same Page All of your customer service reps should be on the same page. There’s nothing worse than receiving great customer service, only to then be let down the next time you need something.
Make Working With You An Experience A customer should enjoy the entire experience of working with you. From the packaging, to the instructions, and even your tone of voice, make sure they enjoy the experience.
Find Ways To Show Your Customers You Care Showing your customers you care is an ongoing process. You could:
● Send freebies ● Give discounts ● Host competitions ● Randomly refund their order
Some ideas might not seem great for business, but it’s a small price to pay to keep a lifelong customer.
Two key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. The great Robert Kiyosaki has often stated businesses are team sports as no one can possibly know and or do everything by themselves. No matter what kind of business you’re running, if it’s going to be successful, it must be a team effort. The following contributed post is entitled, You Can’t Run A Business Alone.
It takes a range of skills to run a successful business. While some business owners attempt to be a Jack-of-all-trades by learning all these skills themselves, this often results in talents being spread thin and each task not being done effectively.
Learning to outsource the help of others could help your business to run more effectively. You can then focus on honing your core skills, while trusted professionals can handle the tasks that you’re not so competent in. Below are just some of the aspects of running a business that are worth outsourcing.
Legal support
Business law can be complex. Rather than spending hours per week educating yourself on all the ins and outs, it can often be beneficial to hire the help of a legal advisor.
This can be particularly useful when dealing with legal disputes. There are firms as found at https://www.fleeson.com/practice-areas/corporate-and-commercial-litigation that specialise in corporate litigation. Such aid could help you to avoid a lawsuit or help you file a claim against someone else.
Legal advisors can also be useful to hire when helping you to understand certain licenses and requirements that you may need to. They may also be able to help you write contracts, as well as protecting intellectual property.
Financial support
It can also be worth hiring experts to help you make important financial decisions. This could include taking out loans or making investments – with the help of a professional you can find the best interest rates or find the best ROI. Financial advisors may even be able to help you cut costs when you are financially struggling and could even help you to manage business debts.
A lot of companies also hire accountants to help with general bookkeeping. This could be important for ensuring that your tax returns are completed accurately and on time. Accountants may also be able to help manage your payroll if you have lots of employees working for you. This guide https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217784 offers information on what to look for when choosing an accountant.
Marketing
Marketing is essential for attracting new customers. While you can do a lot of your own marketing (tasks like social media marketing and blogging can be easily DIYed), there are certain marketing tasks such as web design and SEO where you may want to hire a professional due to the added complexity of these tasks. Some business owners build their own website and try to take on their own SEO, however creating a professional site and improving your own rankings is no easy task.
You may also want to hire marketing companies to help you when organising events. Trade fairs and conferences may require lots of preparation work including building banners and arranging catering, all of which can be outsourced to save you time and energy.
IT support
Modern businesses are reliant on digital technology. By outsourcing IT support, you can help to implement the best digital technology out there so that your business is as efficient as possible. This could include connecting to the cloud, setting up VoIP an even choosing the best business software.
Some IT consultancy agencies may even be able to offer 24/7 tech support if you’re having trouble with bugs or viruses. Such companies may be able to offer remote help, saving you from having to visit a technician. It saves you having to try and solve these problems when you may have limited IT knowledge.
Human resources
A lot of businesses require extra manpower in the form of employees. It could be worth outsourcing help to assist you with the recruitment process, as well as helping to possibly manage the payroll and any benefits schemes that you may want to offer.
HR consultancy firms may be able to help you with all aspects of human resources. Meanwhile, recruitment agencies may be able to specialise solely on the process of sourcing employees. Do your research online into HR companies so that you hire the best company for the job.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. When you launch a business, it’s important to think about what’s working and what’s not working. In some instances, wounds and losses are self-inflicted. The following contributed post is entitled, Are You the Reason Your Business’s Growth Is Stunted?
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Entrepreneurs hate to think about it, but it’s entirely possible that you’re the reason that your business’s growth has halted. There are countless different factors that could affect your business’s success. From changing your target audience to creating the right website content, there are plenty of ways for you to change your business and gear it for success.
But what about the possibility that you’re the one stunting business growth? Here is a list of potential situations where you could be the one causing your company to slow down its growth.
You’re not pivoting your services and products for newer audiences
In order to grow your business, you need to consider appealing to a wider audience by pivoting your products and services. This can be challenging if you don’t have a vision of where you want to take your business.
You’re not learning new skills to improve your knowledge
Growing your own skills is important if you want to grow your business and lead a team of loyal employees. You may want to sign up for oil and gas revenue accounting training if you have gaps to fill in your financial department, or you might consider studying the technical side of your business so that you have an easier time finding the right suppliers and third-party services that could grow your company.
You’re refusing to take risks that could propel your business
Taking risks is an important component of any successful business. In order to grow, you have to be willing to take risks that could lead to failure. If they do fail, then you’ll have to muster up the strength to learn from those failures and apply them to future risks.
You’re too afraid to take a loan or search for alternate sources of funding
Loans are a great source of funding, but some business owners can understandably be wary about borrowing money. Unfortunately, it’s one of the best ways to grow your business because the injection of cash can be used on many things such as hiring new employees, developing new products or even starting a new business location.
You’re scared of firing or reassigning team members that aren’t being productive
Some business owners dislike the idea of firing team members, especially if they’ve been with the company for a long time. If you’re not willing to let someone go then it’s a good idea to consider reassigning them or even investing in their skills to place them in a more productive role. However, if a team member isn’t helping your business grow, you need to have the courage to let them go.
You’re failing to invest in your employees and their wellbeing
Lastly, make sure you’re willing to invest in your employees and their wellbeing. From kitting out their office with ergonomic furniture to putting them on a course to learn new skills, there are lots of different ways to invest in your employees so that they become more productive members of your team.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Whichever type of business operation your running, one of your top concerns should be security. If you have an office building, there are ways to secure it. The following contributed post is entitled, Four Ways To Secure Your Office Building.
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As much as you may think your office building could never be compromised, it’s that laid back viewpoint that might end up causing it to happen. When it comes to the security of your building, it’s good to always look at how you can update and improve it to keep your staff safe and the workplace secure. Here are four ways to secure your office building.
CCTV can be really handy to help you in a situation where your building has been damaged or broken into. Not only that, but it does help as a deterrence from any criminal activity a lot of the time. Depending on where your business is located and how valuable it is in terms of its financial value and worth, it’s important to have an extra layer of protection. CCTV is something that for many was not something people wanted purely because it felt like it was an invasion of privacy. However, in order to help stop crimes from happening and to deter anything bad from happening to the workplace, it’s good to have eyes on your property constantly, even when the office is closed. So invest in some surveillance where you can for the sake of your building.
Have A Lock Up Procedure All Staff Now
A lock up procedure is worth having written down as an official document and taught to all those staff members who might be responsible for opening up and closing the building. That might be a select number of people who are key holders, but it also might be for those who want, on occasion, to work later than usual or on the weekend. By having a document outlining the steps on locking up properly, you avoid anything from being left unlocked and being a potential danger. Not only that, but making sure all appliances are off and therefore there’s no fire risk is also important.
Invest In A Keycard Entry System
For the main entrance of your building, it can likely be a hub of activity for the most part. However, whatever layout your business is in, whether the entrance is attended to or not, it’s good to have an extra layer of security in the form of a keycard/barrier entry system. That way you know that no one can get in without a card or fob. You can get these easily from plastic-id.com, and it’s worth having in order to help protect your staff and any guests that are in the building throughout the day.
Hire Security
And finally, if you’re a company that has a significant amount of staff and is a business that’s known very well, it might be best to hire security. Having a doorman – or doorwoman – at the front entrance of your building can be good. That extra muscle might be something that’s needed to usher out unwanted guests and to just give more peace of mind to your staff.
Securing your building shouldn’t be something you ignore, so try to find ways to make it even more secure than it already is.
“Integration hurt black businesses. There used to be black businesses all up and down Jefferson Avenue and William Street!”
This essay is a follow up to my piece discussing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of the burning house, and Dr. Claud Anderson’s prophecies involving the issues plaguing Black Americans today. In this piece I will discuss whether a result of “Social Integration” was the destruction of black businesses. While we celebrate the victories of the Civil Rights Movement, many have questioned the aftereffects of those historic victories.
Different Generations And Experiences
Many of my writings discuss growing up in Buffalo, NY as a member of “Generation X”, specifically, some of the familial, social, cultural and racial aspects. My generation grew up in Buffalo following the exodus of the city’s steel industry, in addition to the ‘post-Civil Rights’ era. Our elders, the “Silent Generation” and the “Baby Boomers”, grew up in Buffalo when the steel industry boomed and experienced the Civil Rights era. You could argue that we came of age literally in two different worlds and are now existing as adults in two different worlds mentally.
The opening quote of this piece comes from a gentleman named “Gus”. Gus is a retired black business owner, a Baby Boomer who owned a steak shop near the corner of Jefferson Avenue and William Street in Buffalo. In addition to the pizza and wings it’s classically known for, there are also numerous steak shops that make nice greasy Philadelphia-style cheese steaks which is what Gus’s restaurant, “Gusto’s”, specialized in. They were very tasty, let me tell you.
Gus was the stepfather of one of my best friends and at many holiday gatherings, there were talks of the ‘old Buffalo’ when there was an abundance of black businesses. Readers familiar with our city might associate that time as being the pre-Humboldt Parkway expressway era. In addition to the steel industry and a vibrant city economy, not having the Humboldt Parkway expressway there is something else I can’t imagine, as it has been there my entire life, running from downtown Buffalo out to the suburbs and to the airport.
Gus’s revelation amazed me as I couldn’t imagine our city any other way than what I’d seen in my 20 plus years, at the time. If what he said was true, there was an abundance of black proprietors and entrepreneurs located on real estate which is now considered blighted and more than a little bit rough (now being gentrified). I went into that neighborhood quite a bit to play basketball at the William-Emslie YMCA, but I didn’t hang around there much otherwise.
So, what happened to those black businesses? Where did they go? And why does it matter 40-50 years later? Gus and many others attributed it to “Social Integration” following the Civil Rights Movement.
Civil Rights And Social Integration
Civil Rights and Social Integration are most discussed in terms of education, access to jobs and the right to use the same facilities as other races. Key efforts of the Civil Rights Movement involved securing voting rights and desegregating society in general; most notably in education, the professional world and the desegregation of public institutions down to drinking fountains and bathrooms.
The end result was that black people could now go to the same schools as white people and could, in theory, have equal employment and access to all parts of society. I said in theory because there was still separation of races and ethnic groups. Growing up I heard stories of white flight in my hometown (and other urban areas) as black families spread out into white communities. Apparently, the neighborhoods which were mostly black in the era that I grew up in, were once mostly white, but gradually became all black as those white residents fled to the suburbs.
Growing up, the definition of Social Integration was usually discussed in societal contexts. One was dating. My father once told me the story of a classmate in college taking a verbal jab at him, saying that ‘integration’ was his favorite subject mathematically, because it was a thought that he liked white women. But what are the other contexts for integration? Yes, and perhaps the biggest is Business/Economics.
Black Buses, Black Taxi Cabs, Black Theaters And White Ice
The prelude to this piece is my essay regarding Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of the burning house. In the second half of that document I introduced Dr. Claud Anderson, a staunch advocate of reparations and black economic empowerment. Check out that piece for an in-depth discussion of Dr. Anderson and his philosophies. I also referenced Dr. Anderson’s interview on the popular radio show, “The Breakfast Club”. I wanted to include excerpts from the interview in my Dr. King piece, but I realized that it warranted its own separate essay. The following dialogue between Dr. Anderson and one of the hosts, Charlemagne “Tha God” sheds light on what happened to black businesses across the United Sates following Social Integration:
Dr. Claud Anderson: I grew up in Winston-Salem, NC and we weren’t looking for any Social Integration. Do you know why? It’s because we had our own businesses there. My family had the only black bus line in the entire United States, the only black bus line! And when I say a bus line, I’m not talking about two or three buses. We had over 500 buses in Winston-Salem, NC! And guess what, we had that from 1927 up to about 1967.
In Winston-Salem we Blacks also had our own cab companies, our own restaurants, our own hotels, our own school systems. Do you know what killed our buses? Social Integration. When suddenly you all started talking about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. going down to Montgomery, AL wanting to integrate the bus lines – integrate whose bus lines? White bus lines! They didn’t want to own or control the resources. They just wanted to sit in the front of them (the buses).
Now you tell me. What does that indicate? That you want to get on the bus and just sit on the front of it? Now if the bus is moving, then the back of the bus will be where the front of the bus was in a fraction of a second, and everybody gets off at the same time. So, in Winston-Salem we had our own buses, so when that movement was successful and the blacks who were in Alabama came up to Winston-Salem, blacks in Winston-Salem said, ‘We want to ride in the front of white buses!’ We said, ‘We don’t have any white buses.’ They said, ‘Well get some, so we can ride on the front of them!’
Charlemagne “Tha God”: I feel like a complete asshole because I never thought about that. That whole time they should’ve been trying to establish their own bus companies as opposed to wanting to ride someone else’s. You all boycotted for a year just to want to ride in the front? I never thought about that (laughing).
Dr. Claud Anderson: You’re a smart man! In our “Safe Bus Company” – you can find out about that on your computers. See, we owned the buses. We owned the resources. All our mechanics were black. All our drivers were black. Our electricians were black. Everything was black!
We each had two cab companies in Winston-Salem. The whites had the Blue Bird and the Yellow Cab Companies. We had the Harris and the Camel City Cabs. But guess what. Once that integration movement started, do you know what they wanted? Blacks didn’t want to ride in black cabs anymore. They wanted to ride in the white cabs. In Winston-Salem, we had our own movie theaters, the Lincoln and the Lafayette. There was a Lincoln and Lafayette in every black section of every major city in the United States. The whites had three movie theaters. They had the Far Sight, the Carolina, and the State Theaters. We didn’t care, because we had our own movie theaters. So, guess what. Blacks didn’t want to go to the black theaters anymore, we wanted to go to the white theaters.
Charlemagne “Tha God”: We swear white ice is colder!
Dr. Claud Anderson: I saw that happen once. I was in Tallahassee, FL giving a speech. I was standing on the corner talking to a black real estate developer. A black guy owned a grocery store across the street. A guy pulled up and we watched him, like me and you are talking now. He pulled up to the grocery store and went over to the ice machine. He opened an ice container and pulled out a bag of ice. He looked at the ice container, rolled it around and then put it back into the machine.
He then turned around, backed his car up to where we were standing to a place called Jack’s Liquor. He went into the ice machine and it was made by the same company. He looked at it, rolled it around and then went inside and bought it. I told the person I was with that, ‘I’d never seen that before! I’m going to ask him about it when he comes out of the store. I said, “Sir, let me ask you a question. Why is it that you would not buy the ice from the ice machine over there at the black grocery store, but you came over here to Jack’s Liquor?”
He said, ‘Oh I don’t want to buy Mr. Williams’ ice. I don’t like it. It’s too lumpy! White ice is smoother.’ I said, ‘I know white ice is colder, but now I also know it’s smoother.’
The Ownership Position
“Black folks never learned the importance of owning and controlling!” I think this quote from Dr. Anderson sums up this whole discussion. I must admit though that it’s much more nuanced than that. Why would a race of people completely forsake their own businesses to patronize someone else’s? I think that after enduring chattel slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow and segregation, I believe that there was a mass psychological need to feel whole, to feel equal and for acceptance by the larger white society, which is understandable. But is there a point where it went too far?
Something black people in the United States still struggle with as a race today is a sense of belonging. This happens both within our own race, and then regarding what’s referred as the Dominant Society. It’s crazy to wrap your mind around all of it, but it’s real. If you’re black and are perceived as having too many white qualities, you’re not black enough. And there are black people who feel more comfortable assimilating into the Dominant Society. Some are accepted, but it can also be a never-ending quest for some, with consequences on both sides.
Though we had what we needed in our communities, there was still a need to be accepted and to have access to things that were denied to us, socially and in terms of white-collar careers. But did that require forsaking our own businesses and economic power? Not only were there once black businesses, but also black institutions of all kinds. Black Wall Street in Tulsa, OK comes to mind and there are numerous stories about it being destroyed and why.
But there were also the Negro Leagues. It’s amazing to think that all the great black baseball players were once all concentrated in one league and that league eventually died out so they could integrate the Major Leagues. The same thing is true for our Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). There was a point at which they got the best and brightest black students and even athletes. Now they’re competing with larger and more well-funded Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). Many have permanently closed for this reason.
The Modern Challenges In Running Black Businesses
Not only have we put most of our emphasis on attaining white collar careers to work in institutions created by others, but there are also issues about creating and sustaining our own black businesses today. In many circles you hear stories of black people not supporting each other’s businesses, but supporting those of other groups. You hear stories of poor service. You hear stories of the services or goods being too expensive and of lesser quality. Then there are also many, many stories of black patrons wanting ‘hookups’ or discounts simply because the proprietors are black. There are also discussions that black entrepreneurs must be careful about solely targeting black people as their customer base, based upon the issues described.
Nevertheless, I do think that we must figure out how to retake ownership of our economic power. In my essay about Dr. King’s vision of the burning house, I listed Dr. Claud Anderson’s points for rebuilding black communities. He first described building communities and families and then figuring out how to keep the dollars within the community. Growing up on Buffalo’s eastside, I only have memories of corner stores being owned by Asians and Arabs. Go into any inner-city now and you’ll see the same thing for the most part. Most of the convenience stores, beauty, hair and nail shops are, in fact, owned by Arabs and Asians, some of whom have responded to customers with violence in retaliation to toxic behaviors towards them which in some neighborhoods are the norm.
There have been numerous stories in recent times of violence being perpetrated against black women at beauty supply shops, for example. Men, such as Tyrone Muhammad in Chicago, took steps to protect the women and tried to send a message to the foreign proprietors by throwing a brick through their window. After getting out of jail, he returned to the shop to see the same women getting their nails done, like nothing had ever happened, as opposed to her finding black nail shops.
Closing Thoughts On Black Businesses And Social Integration
I’m going to close this piece by saying that I’ve been blessed based upon the family I grew up in, and that I was able to ascend academically and professionally. One of my professors at Johnson C. Smith University told me numerous stories about the racism he endured when working on his Ph.D. at the University of Cincinnati. Aside from the challenging work itself, my doctoral studies as the University of Michigan were mostly smooth. I do acknowledge though that the Civil Rights Movement was critical in providing me the opportunities to go to school.
Furthermore, after being locked out of parts of society and suffering through the hardships endured by the descendants of African Slaves in the United States, it’s understandable that the focus would be on inclusion and assimilation into society. That said, much of it seems to have been done at the expense our own black economy, and going forward, if possible, we must figure out how to rebuild it as most everything seems to stem from it. Other groups have maintained and built their economic power. We should too.
The featured image of this piece is that of the street signs of Grider Street and Kensington Avenue on Buffalo’s eastside. The McDonald’s I worked at in my late teens, which was black owned, sits further down the street from that sign on Delevan Avenue and Grider Street. During that time, I think there were two other McDonald’s restaurants on the eastside that were black owned. The image in the middle of the piece was once again generated by “Creative Designs” by the very talented Tamara Coleman. If you want to learn more about Tamara and her work, contact her via email at: Tammy-cole@hotmail.com.
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