Kamau's Business Blog Page - The World's 1st Black and Minority Business Blog!
Friday, July 29, 2005
Minority Businesses Boom
The number of minority-owned businesses soared 31% to more than 4 million from 1997 to 2002, the Census Bureau said Thursday in a new survey illustrating the growing economic impact of minority entrepreneurs. The survey, done every five years, is closely watched by marketers, economists, politicians and others for clues about shifts in what has become the USA's fastest-growing small-business sector. "It shows where jobs are coming from," says Betsy Zeidman, director of the Center for Emerging Domestic Markets at the Milken Institute, a think tank in Santa Monica, Calif., focused on economics.
Entrepreneurship experts and minority-business advocates say the growth reflects broader start-up trends. Professionals who leave big companies amid layoffs or early retirement are starting businesses instead of going to work for other companies, says Earl Graves, founder of Black Enterprise magazine. What's more, minority students who once would have worked for corporations right out of college are instead starting businesses. "The nature of business is becoming more entrepreneurial," says Harry Alford, CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. The 2002 Census figures show that among minorities, Hispanics continued to own the most companies: 1.6 million, a 31% increase from 1997.
Yet African-Americans moved to catch up. The number of their businesses soared 45%, to 1.2 million, ranking them No.2 in minority-business ownership. That's a switch from 1997, when Asian entrepreneurs for the first time pushed past blacks. Zeidman says it is noteworthy that the report shows continued growth in revenue among minority businesses, because that boosts chances of corporate prosperity and job growth. Annual revenue at Hispanic-owned businesses, for example, rose 22% to an average $143,866 per company. Still, that figure -- and those for other minority firms -- continued to lag revenue at companies owned by whites: an average of $417,395 per firm, up 5% from 1997.
The gap illustrates the importance of minority businesses getting better access to investor dollars and other sources of capital so they can expand more, Zeidman says. The survey also tracked business ownership by gender. The number of companies owned by women jumped 20%, to 6.5 million. That was twice the rate of growth of all businesses. The proportion owned by women rose to 28.3% from 26% in 1997.
More marketers from Microsoft to Ford Motor in recent years have focused on adding minority and female-owned businesses to their supplier networks and targeting them as customers. That's because many of those small businesses will potentially grow to become much bigger, increasing their appetites for software, vehicles and other business goods, says Sharon Hadary, head of the Center for Women's Business Research. (Excerpts - USA Today)
Article courtesy of USA Today.
Entrepreneurship experts and minority-business advocates say the growth reflects broader start-up trends. Professionals who leave big companies amid layoffs or early retirement are starting businesses instead of going to work for other companies, says Earl Graves, founder of Black Enterprise magazine. What's more, minority students who once would have worked for corporations right out of college are instead starting businesses. "The nature of business is becoming more entrepreneurial," says Harry Alford, CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. The 2002 Census figures show that among minorities, Hispanics continued to own the most companies: 1.6 million, a 31% increase from 1997.
Yet African-Americans moved to catch up. The number of their businesses soared 45%, to 1.2 million, ranking them No.2 in minority-business ownership. That's a switch from 1997, when Asian entrepreneurs for the first time pushed past blacks. Zeidman says it is noteworthy that the report shows continued growth in revenue among minority businesses, because that boosts chances of corporate prosperity and job growth. Annual revenue at Hispanic-owned businesses, for example, rose 22% to an average $143,866 per company. Still, that figure -- and those for other minority firms -- continued to lag revenue at companies owned by whites: an average of $417,395 per firm, up 5% from 1997.
The gap illustrates the importance of minority businesses getting better access to investor dollars and other sources of capital so they can expand more, Zeidman says. The survey also tracked business ownership by gender. The number of companies owned by women jumped 20%, to 6.5 million. That was twice the rate of growth of all businesses. The proportion owned by women rose to 28.3% from 26% in 1997.
More marketers from Microsoft to Ford Motor in recent years have focused on adding minority and female-owned businesses to their supplier networks and targeting them as customers. That's because many of those small businesses will potentially grow to become much bigger, increasing their appetites for software, vehicles and other business goods, says Sharon Hadary, head of the Center for Women's Business Research. (Excerpts - USA Today)
Article courtesy of USA Today.
NEW YORK'S BEST-KEPT SECRET: FREE JOB TRAINING FOR WOMEN OF COLOR
Nonprofit kicks off nine-month training for 2005-06 in computers, business writing, and other office skills.Tuition-free training for the underserved minority, unemployed and immigrant women of New York.
New York, NY (BlackNews.com) - Grace Institute, located on New York's East Side, is now recruiting students for its 2005-06 class, with open houses scheduled for Aug. 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31. The nine-month program offers classes that meet 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, September through May. The coursework covers computer skills, typing, business English, business math, and job interview strategies.
Women who complete the program then receive internships and job placement assistance. These are jobs with a future: Salaries typically start at $30,000 and up; and most come with full benefits packages, including health insurance and tuition reimbursement, for college or advanced training.
The results are inspiring. Consider just a few of our graduates:
* Carla: Before coming to Grace Institute this past year, Carla, 35, fled domestic abuse to live in a shelter with her four children. At Grace, Carla not only secured the job training she needed but made Dean's List and parlayed her musical talent into founding and directing a women's chorus, which sang proudly at graduation. Today, Carla is an administrative assistant with a solid salary and benefits, at a leading Manhattan law firm.
* Audrey: Audrey, 34, held one low-paying child care job after another in New York after arriving from Grenada in 1995. A single mother with a three-year-old daughter, Audrey worked hard at Grace to make Dean's List and to secure an internship at a prestigious Manhattan law firm. In September, she will learn whether her internship will become permanent employment.
* Nancy: Nancy, 36, has been struggling to learn English since immigrating from China in 1995. She followed her husband Jie to Queens, where the couple live with their three children, including a severely handicapped daughter, age 11. Nancy, however, has worked hard to secure services for her daughter and to make Dean's List at Grace. She is now an administrative assistant in the social services division of a social services agency in Chinatown, where she hopes to be a social worker herself some day.
What is Grace Institute's background?
The program (www.graceinstitute.org) was founded by the shipping magnate W.R. Grace over 100 years ago and has educated more than 100,000 women. In recent years that education has concentrated on administrative assistant skills, enabling 200 or so day school graduates each June to jump from dead-end, minimum-wage retail and fast-food jobs to jobs with advancement potential (Another 100 or so students are already-employed night students). Requirements for admission include a commitment to attend the nine-month program, basic English fluency, a green card or citizenship, and a high school diploma or G.E.D.
What kinds of women has Grace served in the past?
* Women who are out of work, on unemployment or public assistance, or stuck in dead-end jobs
* Women immigrants trying to realize the American dream
* Women who face one personal crisis after another, from domestic abuse and family illness to homelessness-and even a precarious existence in city shelters
* Women starting new careers or even new lives-after divorce or after their children have grown and left home
Applicants are encouraged to attend an open house. There they will interview with the Grace staff and take a brief test to determine skill levels. The Wednesday open houses will be: Aug. 3 (12-6 p.m.); Aug. 10 (10 a.m.-2 p.m.), Aug. 17 (10 a.m.-2 p.m.), Aug. 24 (4-6 p.m.), and Aug. 31 (10 a.m.-2 p.m.).
Grace is located at 1233 Second Avenue, at 64th Street. Staffers can be reached at 212-832-7605 for further questions about the program.
For more details, visit: Grace Institute
CONTACT:
Noreen Haider
Grace Institute, New York City
212-832-7605
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Myth # 3 About Starting an Internet Business - I Have to Do Very Little Work to Sustain an eBusiness.
I read all the time that people feel they are going to run their Internet businesses on autopilot in their pajamas, and then rake in all this moulah. This is a big misconception falsely perpetuated by Internet marketers promising get rich quick schemes to their prospects..
Running an Internet business is labor intensive and time consuming. While you can run it in your pajamas, if you desire, nevertheless it is still a lot of work. Writing content for your website is very time consuming in and of itself. There are also tasks like search engine optimization, website promotion, email and blog updates, design and maintenance of your site. In matter of fact the list of tasks is endless.
I you are looking for a fast buck with no work, an Internet business is not for you. However, if you are the kind of person that is a proactive go-getter which never quits, an Internet business can offer your great upside potential.
Running an Internet business is labor intensive and time consuming. While you can run it in your pajamas, if you desire, nevertheless it is still a lot of work. Writing content for your website is very time consuming in and of itself. There are also tasks like search engine optimization, website promotion, email and blog updates, design and maintenance of your site. In matter of fact the list of tasks is endless.
I you are looking for a fast buck with no work, an Internet business is not for you. However, if you are the kind of person that is a proactive go-getter which never quits, an Internet business can offer your great upside potential.
Chase Helps Blacks and Hispanics with Home Ownership
THE CHASE HOME FINANCE MOBILE HOMEOWNERSHIP CENTER DRIVES THE BENEFITS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN AND HISPANIC HOMEOWNERSHIP INTO URBAN COMMUNITIESNew York, NY (BlackNews.com) - The Chase Home Finance Mobile Homeownership Center, co-sponsored by Freddie Mac, is driving the benefits of African American and Hispanic homeownership through its financial literacy tour into major urban communities in the East, Midwest and South.
Although African American and Hispanic homeownership has increased during the last decade, the April 2005 U.S. Census indicated that African American homeownership is at 48.8 percent and Hispanic homeownership is at 49.7 percent, both lag behind the 69.1 percent homeownership rate of the U.S. population.
"This is an important opportunity to educate communities on the home buying process so people can start building equity through homeownership," explained Tom Garvey, Executive Vice President, Chase Home Finance.
This is a significant part of Chase Home Finances $500 billion Chase Dream Maker CommitmentSM launched in 2003. It is a pledge to help millions of traditionally underserved minorities and communities by increasing home financing across the full economic spectrumfrom low to moderate income borrowers. Homeownership is instrumental in building wealth and financial stability.
Already, the Chase Home Finance Mobile Homeownership Center has rolled its retrofitted resource center into African American and Hispanic communities in Pennsylvania, Georgia, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. This summer, it will be situated in communities throughout Chicago. The Chase Home Finance Mobile Homeownership Center features mortgage specialists, educational workshops and financial counseling services handled by experts from the local community. Onboard is access to a broad range of home finance solutions: online information on the home buying process to mortgage approval from Chase Home Finance professionals. In addition, there is credit counseling and free check-ups on credit scores.
The Chase Home Finance Homeownership Mobile is a collaboration between Chase Home Finance, Freddie Mac, and The Community College Foundation. Additionally, Chase Home Finance has partnered with local housing and credit counselors, real estate professionals, city housing departments, churches and schools in each community.
"The Mobile Homeownership Center brings information directly to where people live, work, play and pray," said Bob Tsien, senior vice president of Freddie Mac. "We are proud to be working with Chase Home Finance on this unique approach to help people learn the facts about homeownership."
With the 2004 merger of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank One Corp., Chase Home Finances parent company now includes more than 2,500 Bank One and Chase bank branches in 17 states. Chase Home Finance, an Equal Housing Lender, is headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey and is one of the nation's largest residential mortgage lenders, serving more than four million customers.
Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned company established by Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac fulfills its mission by purchasing residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage-related securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and two million renters in America. For more information about Freddie Mac, visit: Freddie Mack
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Black Enterprise Has a Great Article on Obtaining Business Financing and Grant Availability!
I recently read a great article at Black Enterprise about an Entrepreneur in the financing industry that is really working hard to get financing for Black Businesses with viable ideas. Read the Story On Grant Availability with the Government
Boost Your Site's Traffic Visit the Updated Search Engine Blog
Many of you are interested in running an Internet business to increase your business' sales and profits. I have been working on providing free information with a new seris of blogs called "99 myths about search engine marketing". The point of this series is to really give you an idea of how search engines work Check Out the SEO Blog Here
