August is Black Business Month


This August has been proclaimed as the 10 Annual Black Business Month.

When you think about it, August is the only month on the US calendar that doesn't have an official holiday, like Labor Day or an unofficial holiday like Halloween or St Patrick's day. That certainly doesn't mean there aren't fun things to celebrate. Most people take a vacation during August and that should provide ample opportunity to support a black business. Minority business success is driven by the same dynamics as others - customers buying products and services and getting value for their dollars.

According to James H. Lowry, co-author of Minority Business Success: Refocusing on the American Dream, "Black Business Month is the right time to remember that minorities will become the majority of the US population by 2045. Driven by sheer demography, minority businesses will need to deliver value that American corporations expect - touching every level of the supply chain."

Minority businesses will become increasingly important to America's economy and minority economic underachievement is a major liability: The adverse economic impact of minority underachievement will only grow as minorities represent a larger portion of the work force. Their success in wealth creation will determine the fortunes of the nation. So if America doesn't make minority business a priority, the US economy is destined to stumble.

The "Procurement Culture" is getting dated and struggling to deliver results. Adding supplier diversity to traditional procurement is ineffective, as mandated diversity-spend targets remain tactical and not strategic. Minority businesses are occasionally relegated to low-value or peripheral work that doesn't directly support the value chain. The current procurement approach does nothing to develop the skills, scale and financial stability necessary for minority businesses to grow partners that can create and deliver value.

Minority start-ups need support in order to create wealth: Increasing available capital is just one requirement for building successful minority businesses: Those investments also need to generate long-term revenue streams and wealth creation. Minority businesses need to be developed while having access to the skills and resources to see them through the entire growth curve: from start-up through scale up.

James Lowry further states, "wealth flows out of lackluster economies into the coffers of the nations that do a better job of value creation" and America won't prosper without a comprehensive strategy for doing better. We can't move forward with an ad hoc strategy that leaves our economic engine idling; do something or buy something from a black business - refer your friends and neighbors and remember you can make a difference. "

African American Buying Power Insight (Research performed by Ethnic Technologies)

• By 2015 African Americans will represent $1.2 trillion in buying power

• African American household earnings grew 63.9%, to $75,000 from 2000 to 2009 according to Nielsen.

• The African American population reached 40.7 million in 2010, 13.6% of the total US population.

• Between 2002 & 2020 the African American growth rate is projected to be 1.3% a year and by 2020 make up 17.2% of our total population.

• 39% of African American's live in suburbs and nearly three-tenths of households are middle and upper class.

• African Americans outpace the total population in many mobile shopping behaviors with over 32% having used a mobile device to locate a retailer, over 20% to read product reviews and 20% use mobile to keep a shopping list.

• SMS is the number one desired means of interaction for African Americans with over 40% preferring this method.

• African American Generation Y is significantly more likely than other AA generations to express their ethnicity through their digital content choices, especially for content around business, finance, fashion, food and product.

• African Americans want to remain culturally distinct at the deepest, most important levels, even as they make huge strides in education and business. This desire deeply effects how they view the world, who they trust, what organizations they belong to, what they buy, read, save and connect with.

Source: Wayne Kinch/Ethnic Technologies, LLC.

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