December 4th, 2007
Let’s Buy From Black Owned Business, OK, Where?
A concept of economic empowerment involves buying from community based companies. The theory is to keep the money in the community. Another concept is to buy from black businesses and help these businesses grow. These theories are meant to lead to more jobs for blacks and more opportunity for small business by keeping the money in the hood. We have watched other races support each other in business with out a problem. .Unfortunately we have not shown the same desire in the black community to support each other. I know there are some exceptions but as a whole we can do better. I am providing links to some of my favorite black businesses and urge all of you to comment and leave a link for a black owned business you know of.
We have the barber shop and hairdresser shops down, and they are well known black businesses. What about when you want to purchase an ipod, TV, or a Mercedes Benz. How about office products, tools, dress clothes, insurance, software, computers, or any multitude of products? Who you going to call? We know when we die, there is a good chance we can find a black owned funeral home, but what do we do inbetween? Here goes my few.
Global Recruiters Network of Oak Park
Gil Mccoy, Magnetic Office Products
Don King Productions
Afriware
Aunt Kissy’s back porch
webdesignforkids
That is only 6, please comment and lets share names of black owned business.
December 4th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
JD, you are exactly right. I did a podcast which will air during the week of Kwanzaa on this very topic. Being in business isn’t easy, so we need to show them our support.
Here are a couple I use and have found to be very reliable:
http://www.sportacularplayers.com
http://www.myautopartsforless.com
http://www.cmrdesigngroup.com
http://www.trinihost.com (mine)
http://www.leadbusinessnetwork.com
http://www.aaaffairs.com
http://www.divinitydance.org
December 4th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
I forgot to let you know about a project I’m working on with a friend of mine called liberatemagazine.com. It’s a site where entrepreneurs can share their story of how they got started and what keeps them motivated. We’re always looking for businesses to interview and it’s currently free to submit your story. We want a diverse group of people and experiences, so it’s open to all businesses. Just sumbit the questions to me via email and I’ll get back in touch with you.
We hope to bring it to print one day, but need to find someone to help to make it happen. Here’s the link to the questions http://www.liberatemagazine.com/liberate-staff
Thanks.
December 5th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
Theo, thanks for your list! I will visit.
December 5th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
Theo, you have a great project, I will have a look.
December 7th, 2007 at 10:10 am
December 7th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Black Banks
Black Advance Bank Baltimore MD
Black Alamerica Bank Birmingham AL
Black American State Bank Tulsa OK
Black Broadway Federal Bank, F. S. B. Los Angeles CA
Black Capitol City Bank & Trust Company Atlanta GA
Black Carver Federal Savings Bank New York NY
Black Carver Municipal Bank Brooklyn NY
Black Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company Nashville TN
Black Citizens Trust Bank Atlanta GA
Black City National Bank of New Jersey Newark NJ
Black Columbia Savings and Loan Association Milwaukee WI
Black Commonwealth National Bank Mobile AL
Black Community Bank of Lawndale Chicago IL
Black Consolidated Bank and Trust Company Richmond VA
Black Douglass National Bank Kansas City MO
Black Dryades Savings Bank, F.S.B. New Orleans LA
Black Dwelling House Savings and Loan Association Pittsburgh PA
Black First Independence Bank Detroit MI
Black First State Bank Danville VA
Black First Tuskegee Bank Tuskegee AL
Black Gateway Bank of St. Louis Saint Louis MO
Black Highland Community Bank Chicago IL
Black Home Federal Savings Bank Detroit MI
Black Ideal Federal Savings Bank Baltimore MD
Black Illinois-Service Federal Savings and Loan Association Chicago IL
Black Imperial Savings and Loan Association Martinsville VA
Black Industrial Bank, National Association Oxon Hill MD
Black Landmark Community Bank Memphis TN
Black Legacy Bank Milwaukee WI
Black Liberty Bank and Trust Company New Orleans LA
Black Mechanics & Farmers Bank Durham NC
Black Mutual Community Savings Bank, SSB Durham NC
Black North Milwaukee State Bank Milwaukee WI
Black OneUnited Bank Boston MA
Black Seaway National Bank of Chicago Chicago IL
Black South Carolina Community Bank Columbia SC
Black The Carver State Bank Savannah GA
Black The Harbor Bank of Maryland Baltimore MD
Black Tri-State Bank of Memphis Memphis TN
Black TrustAtlantic Bank Greenville NC
Black United Bank and Trust Company New Orleans LA
Black United Bank of Philadelphia Philadelphia PA
Black Unity National Bank of Houston Houston TX
Black Urban Trust Bank Washington DC
Black Woodlands Bank Beaufort SC
December 7th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Dwight, I approved your great message and for some reason It did not post.I would love to share your information
December 7th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
William, thank you for this great list, I did not know there was this many
December 9th, 2007 at 9:53 am
Jim, I have a similar post on my blog that was inspired by the Top 10 Reasons to Buy Black post you had last month.
You are doing an outstanding job in promoting Ujamaa to your readers. Thank you for doing what you do.
peace, Villager
December 9th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
We are a black owned and operated web development company since 2004. We focus on developing websites and web applications for small and medium sized businesses.
Contact me at nlaycoax@squishdesigns.com for a consultation!
December 10th, 2007 at 11:26 am
I know exactly what you mean about communities helping each other’s businesses grow. I come from a Chinese family and both my parents are entrepreneurs. Ever since I was a child, I’ve seen and met some of their suppliers and big customers. Most of them, if not all, are also Chinese. So I guess that’s one example of keeping connections within the same circle.
December 10th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Villager, thanks for the props, you are coming up on 1 year this week. All the best to you
December 10th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
jen chan, thanks for the great information!!!
December 11th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Nicki, thanks for the information.Your business would be a good feature post for our readers. Let me know if you have interest
December 11th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
you said: “amouse, Thanks for your thoughtful contribution to this debate. I do not see corporations as evil, I have worked for some very large ones.The point is ;if a black company can provide a competitive product with good service, we should provide that business a fair opportunity to win our business.Sometimes we buy Ice from the whiteman, because it is colder. We must trust our own people.I would gladly hire all black if we are the best and most qualified for the job. As a recruiter, I get to see times when any little excuse often times will ruin a black canidates chances to work for a white firm.We have many qualified and talented professionals that miss opportunties because of their skin color”
You work in HR from your profile so maybe you have more experience in hiring than me, but my experience in the SF legal community has been the opposite. Even the very top firms here fight tooth and nail for any black candidate, no matter how unqualified he/she is. These firms take diversity VERY seriously. Only 3% of law school students are black… they are the most fought-over students by firms during recruiting. I am a white male… when I was a student I was top 35% of my class at a top 50 law school, on law journal, etc… not the best student but pretty qualified. I didn’t get any call back interviews with big firms… but had some black and latino friends in the bottom 35% of my class get high paying summer associate jobs with top big firms (and later get hired at 110k starting salaries). Oh yeah and my law school gave all minority students special free tutoring and special study aids with professors old exams that regular students didn’t get.
I don’t have a problem with affirmative action, I am in fact a big supporter of it. But it is really ridiculous when minorities are getting all of this extra help and are so sought after by firms and then to have you come back and claim that minorities are still being discriminated against in hiring.
If you want to help black people focus more on where the REAL social inequities are - high school and grammar school education is where poor minorities first fall behind others. Don’t complain where there is no problem - hiring - for the few minorities who make it that far (college, grad school) they are totally set. You’re just distracting from where the real problems are.
December 11th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
JD,
Sure! Let me know what you are looking for, and I’ll get started!
Thanks!
December 12th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
amouse, I am flattered that a white lawyer would contribute to this blog. Thank you!Your firm is doing diversity a terrible disservice if you chase unqualified minority canidates. My old company Abbott Laboratories did an outstanding job in attracting minority Lawyers. It can be done and I hope their are some attorneys that are reading that can steer you toward talent. I have hired many many people and as a recruiter, I do see skin color making a difference in hiring. My experience is most blacks are over qualified for the positions they are granted.
December 12th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Dear Amouse,
Are you sure you work at a good law firm? I mean, why would they chase after unqualified candidates? Are you sure that is the case? I mean if the black lawyers they are hiring have passed the bar, what makes them unqualified?
December 12th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
Just wanted to Make Mention of a place called [url=http://www.moneymakersupperroom.com/Marketing-Inner-Circle.html]“Internet Marketing Inner Circle” [/url]
Founded by Willie
Crawford. And by the way, this is
the network of people world that
publish 20 Ways to Make $100 Per Day Online
Jim Legington is a member
of “TIMIC” founded by Willie Crawford
and this place is great for teamwork.
December 12th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
Wanted to Suggest reading David Stewart’s Book “Doing Business By the
Good Book” Founder and CEO of “World
Wide Technology, Inc. that Black Enterprise indentified as the nation’s largest African American
own Company.
December 13th, 2007 at 8:39 am
The point is if a black company can provide a competitive product with good service, we should provide that business a fair opportunity to win our business. Home based business is very possible and feasible to build up a part time income. However, you need to be aware that only about three to five percent of all business opportunities are actually profitable. Therefore, you need to make sure that you stick with what you know will work for you.
December 13th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Adrianna,great question! I wonder if it is the color of their eyes?
December 13th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Rev. Jim, I have the book in my shopping cart and will place the order soon. Thanks for stopping by.
December 14th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Adrianne, diversity is very important to most big firms. The legal world is completely different than the 60’s and 70’s old white male good old boy clubs. Additionally, it is also important from a business perspective. Minority attorneys can often do a better job connecting with clients from their cultural background. Additionally, many large corporate clients also take diversity very seriously and will REFUSE to hire a big law firm if they don’t have any minority attorneys working on their case. Hence, it is strongly in these firms economic interest (and for the good of their overall firm experience) to hire minority attorneys. The problem is there are so few minority attorneys coming through the legal pipeline (due to inequities down the line in high school and grammar school) so many firms have to have aggressive affirmative action programs to recruit minority attorneys. I don’t have a problem with this - I am a big supporter of affirmative action. But at least in my experience in my business, minorities are not discriminate against in hiring. Granted, I work in the liberal san francisco bay area and not the deep south so that may explain some differences in hiring.
December 16th, 2007 at 2:11 am
JD,
I’m a big proponent of supporting black owned businesses, but I’ve also been burnt by some. This hurts a lot because I’m not trying to get the hook-up or get over on them. All I want is for someone to get the job done. I don’t want to get into here, but it can be difficult at times. Plus we tend to have a distrust amongst each other. But yet I still try because together we can get a lot more done.
December 16th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Theo, your point is one that is troubling but true. The fact is I have been burntas well but more often by white firms. Are we less forgiving of each other?The sad thing is no one trust us not even us.That is why we must strive to be twice as good.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:10 am
December 23rd, 2007 at 11:43 am
This is a great blog and it should be listed on blackbusinessservices.com of others to see.
Find Black Businesses on BlackBusinessServices.com
January 23rd, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I happen to work in a company owned by a Nigerian that deals primarily with agriculture. Africa, espeically Nigeria, is a very fertile ground for investments. There is a significant amount of capital in the government, and they are always interested in new projects. Yes, there are several people who are fraudulent, but only a handful are.
Nick
jaguar club
January 27th, 2008 at 1:50 am
I am in need of a African American owed collection agency, any where in the US. Thanks !
February 8th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
I am a Black woman trying to grow my small business, and I apprciate the opportunity to let people know we are out there. Thank-you
March 6th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
This article make me notice how important is thinking in our future.
Starting a business is easy if we are timekeeper and work hard.
Many thanks.-
March 25th, 2008 at 9:57 am
As an Online Marketer and owner of blackbusinessservices.com, I find that many black owned businesses fail because of fear of spending and trying new marketing ideas. Blacks rather buy the latest handbags, shoes and phones than to invest in their own communities and with other black owned businesses. Only the few black owned businesses that have managed to intergrate and adopt the marketing skills of other cultures have and will continue to prosper online. All the money I have made and am making online was due to over 7 years of studying online marketing from whites.
March 25th, 2008 at 9:59 am
this is a great blog, feel free to add it to http://www.blackbusinessservices.com.
April 29th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Black business owners are better-educated than they used to be, and they are more likely to provide. But they often do this on a part-time basis in addition to a full-time job, so the revenues of black-owned businesses as a whole are substantially lower than those of all small firms. And despite faster-than-average growth in numbers, growth in sales revenue for black-owned firms merely kept pace with the national average.
June 10th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Hello,
I am an African American seamstress living in South Louisiana. I make girls pillowcase dresses (sundresses) in sizes newborn to age 10. I offer boutique quality, but not the high boutique prices. Please stop by my store and take a look. I can also do special orders. The web address is: http://jennifersjumpers.blujay.com. Thanks for the great web site!
July 7th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
I will be visiting Chicago and am interested in patronizing African-American owned establishments; particularly restaurants, lounges/bars, and retail stores. The website “VisitBlackChicago” doesn’t seem to be active anymore. I’d like to ask the bloggers for their top 5 establishments in the areas I mentioned above.
Thanks!
July 8th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
DivaSoulrebel, check out Edna’s or Macarthers, on Madison for Soul food, Afiware in Oak Park on Lake street, for books, shirts etc, doggy Inn on north ave and esquire on madison for drinks and the 50 yard line in harvy for drinks as well.
July 16th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Theo, your list of links is a treasure! Thank you for posting them here! How’s the project going on? If you need help, let me now! I am interested in it too! I would love to take part!