Filed under: Personal Finance, Dr. Boyce Money
Douglas made it clear that the greatest obstacle that African Americans face when trying to start their own business is a lack of access to capital. In an interview with AOL Black Voices, Douglas said this:
"Overwhelmingly, respondents number one frustration is lack of financial resources as it relates to start up capital , access to capital in general, and identifying viable resources to help them attain capital."
Douglas also said that a lack of know-how serves as a tremendous impediment to African Americans seeking to take the plunge.
"In addition, respondents felt frustrated that about their lack of knowledge in regards to how to start a business. In their opinion, this issue could be mitigated if they had a mentor or some form of support," said Douglas.
When I joined the Entrepreneurship school here at Syracuse University, I found myself curious. I wondered how there might be effective ways to utilize the tools in the program to help revitalize the urban community within our city. One of the things I had to express very early was that there are unique concerns and needs among the black community that don't apply to anyone else. It's difficult in a place that doesn't hire very many black professors to help others realize that tremendous value, potential, impact and complexity that business ownership has in black America. We have unemployment that is much higher than whites, our wealth levels are lower than whites, and we also struggle on matters of financial literacy.
Therefore, as President Obama pushes to stimulate the economy along with Congress, it should be remembered that the black community's unique challenges must be considered as part of the equation. Funding should be increased to small businesses, and doors need to be opened for African Americans to find access to the critical capital necessary to see our great ideas blossom.
At the same time, African Americans must kick open the doors that politicians refuse to open for us. The building of black business is an important part of our wealth building strategy, and building wealth is the key to power in America. Additionally, many of the companies that are not hiring us are owned by other people, so it's about time we made a push to own those businesses ourselves. The final thing of value added to your life by understanding entrepreneurship is that by creating a "side hustle," you can find ways to diversify your streams of income. Even if you make a lot of money, you are never quite secure if you are getting all of your money from just one place.
Danielle is offering a free webinar on owning a business, which you can sign up for by clicking here. As part of the promise I made at the "Measuring the Movement" forum hosted by the National Action Network, I will be writing and speaking on issues of entrepreneurship for the remainder of the year.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.