In today’s top news, Michelle Obama says she’ll pass on watching coverage of the Republican National Convention, the MLK Memorial inscription has still not been changed one year after its dedication and Olympian Gabby Douglas is launching a gymnastics tour.
Michelle Obama says she’ll pass on watching coverage of the Republican National Convention. [AP]
After a year, the MLK Memorial inscription has still not been changed. [BET]
Gabby Douglas is launching a gymnastics tour. [AP]
Republican Gov. John Kaisch says, “We have to convince African Americans that they can start and own businesses.” [HuffPo]
A Black entrepreneur acquires a state-of-the-art telecom firm in Detroit. [PRWeb]
Beanie Sigel was arrested after drugs and a gun were found in his vehicle during a traffic stop. [BET]
A remake of the classic Diana Ross movie Mahogany is in the works. [BET]
In today’s top news, Chaka Khan calls Clive Davis’s pre-Grammy party “insanity,” Whitney Houston’s family chooses to have a private funeral for the singer and Beyoncé gets back to business following the birth of Blue Ivy.
Chaka Khan says Clive Davis should have canceled his pre-Grammy party in the wake of Whitney Houston’s death. [BET]
Whitney Houston’s family chooses to have a private funeral for the singer. [CNN]
Beyoncé gets back to business following the birth of Blue Ivy. [BET]
One woman spends a year only shopping at Black businesses. [MotherJones]
Nicki Minaj explains her striking Grammy performance. [BET]
Nearly 600 Ugandan girls have been forced into the Malaysian sex trade. [TheMonitor]
Ray J dishes about his friendship with Whitney Houston. [BET]
With the number of businesses owned by blacks jumping to 1.9 million, a 60.5 percent increase, between 2002 and 2007, it’s apparent that more people are embracing entrepreneurship whether out of necessity or desire. Approximately thirteen years ago, Melinda Emerson decided to leave her professional career as a television producer to strike out on her own and create what has become an award-winning production company. The “SmallBizLady,” who is considered one of America’s leading small business experts, wants to help others follow their dream too. With her first book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works, Emerson offers a straight-talk, month-by-month planning guide to starting a sustainable and profitable business. Emerson provided us with 10 tips to help you prepare to become your own boss:
1. Do a Life Plan: You should figure out what you want out of life and build your business around it. One way to go about developing your life plan is by founding out how much money you need to make in order to be happy.
Taal & Antoinette Martin in front of their restaurant in China called Mexican Kitchen.
By Steven Barboza, The Atlanta Post
Within approximately a decade, China has accelerated its urban infrastructure development by creating futuristic skyscrapers and sleek, high-speed trains, resulting in the belief by many that the country has surpassed the United States in economic dominance. In fact, nearly half of Americans (47 percent) think China is the world’s leading economic power, according to a Pew survey.
It’s no surprise then that African Americans have begun to head East in search of entrepreneurial and employment opportunities. After all, the unemployment rate for blacks in the U.S. is 15.8 percent, nearly twice the rate of whites at 8.6 percent. China may have billions of people, but its unemployment rate is only 4 percent, and the demands of modernization can equate to employment if you’ve got the talent needed and the courage to make the move.
“In 2005, [my husband and I] had an opportunity to come to China via a family friend who lived here for many years, and [our friend] asked if we’d like to open a new restaurant,” said Antoinette Martin, a former food writer and New York City restaurant manager. “I thought it would be a great opportunity.”
BET Founder and businessman Bob Johnson is still on a roll, expanding his business investments in some unlikely places: Liberia, recovering from a brutal civil war, and Haiti, recovering from a deadly earthquake.
This year, the tireless entrepreneur and former owner of the Charlotte Bobcats announced the launch of a building material manufacturing factory in Haiti.
Now, the millionaire and owner of RLJ companies plans to make a similar investment in Liberia’s reconstruction effort with a similar factory. Watch the CNN video interview above to see why Johnson is making investments some might consider risky, get details on his new business ventures and hear more about his expanding international investment.
“If I can get in first and make the right connections, you’ve got a good chance of not only making an investment that will return a very good reward,” says Johnson.
Untapped markets with limited competition in both countries present lucrative opportunities with incredible growth potential.
Recently, I got the chance to interview the Virginia-based businessman.
He’s the CEO of a food services hospitality management company that pulls in well over $300 Million annually and was named Black Enterprise’s 2010 Company of the Year.
His rise to success is inspiring. But what’s even more motivating is how he strategizes to keep his privately owned firm profitable even during a recession.
At 12-years-old, he knew exactly what he wanted to do in life so he’s surprised when college students near their senior year and still don’t know what they want to be.
His laser-focus on navigating his businesses through challenging times and helping to guide young people to success, are admirable qualities in any executive. For Thompson, though, they take on more weight because of his remarkable rise to business success and his insistence on reaching back to help others.
In the interview, he spoke to me about his business, how he got into it, surviving the recession, the secrets to his success and where he sees himself in 10 years.
Just in time for the holiday season, the company that creates the Chia Pet Plant brand has created (drumroll, please) Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia Pet President Obama.
Black Web 2.0 covers website and application launches; culturally relevant Internet industry news; and mainstream Internet industry news from an African-American perspective. We also analyze emerging web trends and how they apply to web properties that target African-Americans or African-American culture.
"Nothing is assumed." That's the unofficial motto of “Tell Me More,” the new Monday-Friday talk show with host
Michel Martin. Grounded in lively interviewing and compelling storytelling, the program seeks to present
diverse new voices, cross borders, challenge conventional wisdom and discover how other people think.
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