Book Review: Black Business Secrets: 500 Tips, Strategies, And Resources For The African American Entrepreneur
by Dante Lee
Publication Date: Nov 15, 2010
List Price: $15.95
Format: Paperback, 336 pages
Classification: Nonfiction
ISBN13: 9781401929541
Imprint: SmileyBooks
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Parent Company: Bertelsmann
Read a Description of Black Business Secrets: 500 Tips, Strategies, And Resources For The African American Entrepreneur
Book Reviewed by Kam Williams
"Black Business Secrets is dedicated to transforming the
devastating statistics that African-Americans are much more likely to fail
in business than their white, Asian, or Hispanic counterparts due to a lack
of fundamental business education, insufficient economic development, and
resources… [The book] offers business tips that will help you get the ball
rolling—from consulting to franchises to preparing to enter emerging
markets…
Contributions from experienced businesspeople have been central to compiling
this wealth of information. They generously gave of their time to provide
this warehouse of knowledge… to ensure that your business will shine
throughout the 21st Century."
— Excerpted from the Introduction (pg. 10)
During these dire economic times when the overall unemployment rate in the
U.S. is at 9.8 %, you can be sure that that figure is at least double in the
African-American community. And after the Democrats took what
President Obama
referred to as a "shellacking" on Election Day, they appear prepared to
capitulate to the Republican demand that the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy
be extended.
If you’re presently out of work, I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for the
supposedly-stimulative effect of that windfall for the rich to trickle-down
to you in the form of a job. Instead, may I suggest perusing a copy of
Black Business Secrets: 500 Tips, Strategies, and Resources for the
African-American Entrepreneur.
This invaluable how-to tome designed with ambitious self-starters in mind
was written by Dante Lee, a bona fide success story in his own right. He is
the CEO of Diversity City Media, the umbrella organization for a number of
marquee internet sites including
BlackNews.com, BlackPR.com,
HBCUconnect.com and
BlackHistory.com. Mr. Lee founded the
company in 2000 while still in college, and it has mushroomed over the
course of the past decade into the largest network of premier
African-American web properties.
In Black Business Secrets, the author shares a cornucopia
of practical advice based on his experiences about what’s involved in
getting a profitable money-making operation off the ground. But Dante
doesn’t rely only on his own anecdotal evidence here, for he also conducted
informative tete-a-tetes with such sepia captains of industry as chocolate
chip cookie magnate Famous Amos, BET Network founder
Bob Johnson, "Reallionaire" Farrah Gray, and
reigning wunderkind Ephren Taylor, who is the youngest CEO of a
publicly-traded company.
Among the hundreds of tips revealed and elaborated upon in the text are
morsels of wisdom ranging from "Learn to Have Thick Skin" to "Don’t Wait for
the Phone to Ring" to "Learn to Speak Like Obama" to "Never Check Email in
the Morning." Although much of what’s printed on these pages might be easier
read than done, Mr. Lee certainly has a knack for serving up a delectable
winning recipe in easy-to-follow, step-by-step fashion.
A plausible primer for financial success for any aspiring entrepreneur armed
with a viable business idea and the requisite amalgam of guts, determination
and common sense to make their dream a reality.