If You Don't Have A Team, Then Recruit

So I watched that piece on NEWBOs last night on CNBC and I have to say, I was thoroughly impressed by the way it was put together.

Not to be confused with the organization, New England Women Business Owners, NEWBO's as coined by Lee Hawkins of the Wall Street Journal, refers to the New Black Overclass. It might take some getting used to, but I'm sure this term will make it into the national vernacular in no time. We are no longer relegated to just lower, middle, and upper-class.

This new Black Overclass, refers to a generation of self-made African Americans who have achieved a level of success that dwarfs that of most others in their respective industries.

Last night's show profiled Lebron James and his 3 three partners in LRMR Innovative Marketing & Branding, Kirk Franklin (gospel music), Terrell Owens (football), Torii Hunter (baseball), Robert Johnson (RLJ) and the Williams Brothers of Cash Money Records. There were a host of others who had cameos including, Russell Simmons, Sean Combs, Lil Wayne, and Melody Hobson.


Above and beyond each of their stories and how they came to reach the level of success they obtained, what sticks with me is the team of people they each must have around them to achieve their goals and maintain their wealth.

If one seeks to be a NEWBO, your team must also be in the same mental plane. Vision by itself is copper. Vision coupled with talent is silver. However talent, teamed with vision and management is gold. But if you want to go where others have only dreamed of, it takes an exceptional team of people to mine acres of platinum and diamonds.

The objective here is not to count millions or diamond rings, but to highlight the achievement of these individuals and show the possibilities of what creating generational wealth can do. The great grandchildren of Sam Walton (of Walmart) will never have to worry about funding their education, that worry has been eliminated from their consciousness. Although most of the wealth that is being created in Black America, is concentrated in the sports and entertainment world, it doesn't mean that there are not Blacks in medicine, publishing, law, journalism, real estate, hospitality, and every other field. If managed and organized properly, the combined wealth of today's NEWBOs - when combined with political access - could open plenty of doors for generations to come.

Jay-Z once said that: "All us blacks got is sports and entertainment, until we even Thievin, as long as I'm breathin / Can't knock the way a nigga eatin - fuck you even!"

However, that was in 1995. Jay-Z himself has attained certain levels of wealth that most Americans will never see, but despite is musical talent, his business acumen has been honed by choosing the right team members and partnerships. Roc-a-fella was/is not a one-man show.

So as you ponder your route to success, start putting your team together. You might not be able to approach it as the Steinbrenner's do the Yankees (by throwing money at the best), but you can still seek out those with talent that share your vision.

If you don't have a team, it's time to start recruiting.

-whatdabusinessis.com

Focus on the Finish Line, Not the Hurdles

So I'm getting on train this morning and as I'm about to sit down I feel someone breathing on my neck. Well.......she wasn't really breathing on my neck, but she was very close.

Any way, after the awkward moment, I realized that it was a girl I worked with back in 1992. Both of our parents worked for a nursing home and were in the 1199 Union, so we got summer jobs at the same nursing home.

Oddly enough, she and I share the same birthday, but she is nothing like all of the other Aries I know.

Within our 30 minute train ride, she mentioned the word depressed 4 times, the word stressed 3 times, and was just overly miserable.

Her main issue was that she wanted to have children (3 to be exact), but came out of long relationship over a year ago. The second issue is that she is working, but hates her job. The third issue relates to the first. A few years back she had an offer to take a job out of state, but opted to stay for the sake of her relationship. Right now she wants to go back to school for medicine, but can't decide whether to go or not. Basically she feels that being 30 is the end of life as she knows it.

I beg to differ.

Like I told another friend of mine later in the day, some times you gotta focus on the finish line, not the hurdles in front of you.

In all the books I've read and all the stories of people overcoming difficult odds, none of them mention life being easy or stress-free.

In life you are going to face a lot of obstacles. Some of them will be easy to get over, others you might have to go around, but there will always be hurdles.

There will be hurdles at work, hurdles at home, financial hurdles, hurdles dealing with your health, hurdles concerning friends, family hurdles, social hurdles, political hurdles, and a lot more, but most of them can be scaled.

They will come at you fast, so you have to be on your A game in all situations. The only way to stop the hurdles is to drop out of the race and if you do that then all the hurdles you managed to get over were in vain. You have to focus on the finish.

That's where the pot of gold is. No one enters a race in the hopes of losing. Likewise one should not approach life expecting defeat.

The young lady on the train sounded like she was ready to throw in the towel. The honestly of it is that no matter what I said to her, her rebuttals were focused on all the mistakes she had made in the past.

Who doesn't have regrets? There are a quite a few things I wish I could change or have done better, but those hurdles are all in the past.

So as you go about your day, life, relationships, and business, remember to focus on the finish line, not the hurdles.

Financial Recap #1

Every so often we like to put things in to perspective, just so you have a true picture of what's going on in the financial world.


As of 5:20 on Thursday evening (2/19), Robert Allen Stanford - the Texan billionaire whose firm has been accused of milking nearly $8 Billion from clients - has been located in Virginia. Just in case you haven't heard of him, this guy basically sold junk cd (certificates of deposit) to unknowing investors, from his base in Antigua. However, he was not arrested, just served with civil papers according to CBS news.

The Dow Jones industrial average is now at a 6 year low after closing at 7,465.95.

President Obama has signed the monumental $787 Billion economic stimulus plan, but unlike last year's $600 stimulus check, it is going to take months and years to feel the effects of this plan.

Bernard Madoff's wife apparently withdrew more than $15 Million from two accounts just days before he was arrested for running a decades-long Ponzi scheme.

Donald Trump's casino group has filed for bankruptcy protection - for the 3RD time. Although Donald only holds 25% of this company and opposed the move, his name is there so even the wealthy are feeling the economic crunch.

Lastly, the first major wave of federal refund checks will be deposited into bank accounts tomorrow morning. So if you filed your taxes before 12pm on February 5th, you should be in the black in a couple of hours. How's that for a stimulus?


-whatdabusinessis.com

Is Your Business on Life Support?

A friend of mine called me up today trying to get me to tell him whether or not to pull the plug on a project he was working in.

The truth of the matter is that I really was not sure what to tell him in regards to this particular venture, but it got me to thinking about a book I once read - The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick), by Seth Godin.

In the book, Mr. Godin discusses the peaks and many values associated with building a business.

You see every venture, project, or business will have periods of decline and uncertainty, but some of them will never breath again - no matter how much air you pump in. I don't know first hand, but I assume that it is very hard to take someone off of life support.

Likewise, if you are passionate about something, it is very difficult to pull the plug on it. The truth is there is no definitive point on where or when to let an idea go dark. As the owner of one business on life support, I too know what it is like to not let go.

In certain businesses, the window of capitalization, is only open for but so long. If that window shuts, it might be very difficult to let air in. Your options become fewer and fewer by the day. You can either leave the house quietly through the back door or throw everything at the window until it breaks. You can also punch at the window until it breaks or throw your entire self at it and hope for a soft landing on the other side.

In business, as in life, there are certain times when no amount of money, energy, or assistance can help you - it all comes down to your gut and instincts. However, depending on your resources - you can keep a business on life support for years, but some will eventually die without producing offspring.

The choice is not simple, but you will know at some point if your business is on life support. It is up to you to decide whether to pull the plug or buy a generator.

-whatdabusinessis.com

What's In It For Me?

$13 (Thirteen dollars)

Yeah, I know I'm selfish, but you're probably thinking the same thing.

What's in it for me?

I'm still wrestling with all this financial information, job-loss stats, market data and the ginormous stimulus figures that are being tossed around so nonchalantly.

It's almost in comprehensible. Everywhere I turn there is talk of the stimulus plan, Congressional in-fighting, President Obama, and "the worst financial crisis" since the Great Depression.

$789 Billion that should be able to solve a lot of problems, but what's in it for me?
One version of the plan called for up to $830 Billion. Where's the other $41 Billion? Does that mean that some problems will not have a resolution?

I mean really, a couple of months ago President Bush gave $350 Billion to U.S. banks to unfreeze the credit markets (T.A.R.P. money), but it hasn't trickled down to those that need it most - homeowners in jeopardy and those holding notes backed by their loans. I've looked at what the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the Financial Times have written over the past couple of days and it's still not clear. I honestly don't have time to read all 300+ pages of the bill, so I'll have to guess what will come out of it like everyone else.

What I gather is that lawmakers in Washington and bankers on Wallstreet are all playing guessing games. Lawmakers are guessing that if we print more money, offer minor tax breaks ($13 more dollars in your take home pay weekly), and confuse the public that this problem will resolve itself. Bankers are guessing that if they make some concessions (giving up the million dollar bonus) to Congress, that they'll get more money to line their pockets and not lend to the public.

Truth is, this financial crisis is not a simple problem, however, it can be solved over time if we attack its root. Outside of sheer corporate greed, the problem facing America originated in the housing market - which has essentially been left out of all discussions regarding this stimulus plan.

It's like getting your teeth whitened to cover up your cavities.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but the only things I see in this stimulus bill for troubled homeowners is a $7,500 credit for new buyers and the promise from the nations largest banks to hold-off on all new foreclosure proceedings for three weeks. That might help some, but not enough to lift the economy. What about those homeowners who are under water and looking to refinance?

Let me offer my two cents.

1) The average U.S. mortgage is $1,295. If you tripled that, you're looking at $3,900. There are currently 1 million homeowners in jeopardy of losing their homes.
Why not cut them each a check for $3,900 - which would cost only $3.9 Billion. Why not make this a loan payable over 10 years to the federal government equivalent to the current 10-year Treasury note? Couple this with a refinancing credit of $1,100 to the banks holding notes from these homeowners and a three month moratorium on foreclosures and this should solve the problem of 1 million households. At today's (2/12) 10-yr treasury note rate of 2.73, the governments outlay of $3.9 Billion would generate $37.17 x 1M monthly or nearly $4.5 billion over 10 years.

2) There needs to be some sort of reform on how house values are calculated during this economy. The current comparative-pricing concept used by appraisers does no service to the homeowner in need of refinancing in this market. Perhaps a replacement cost approach similar to those used by insurance companies might work better to stabilize pricing.

Of course this doesn't solve overlying economic issues, such as unemployment, social security, and market confidence, but in my defense, I'm not an economist.

Sorry to get so technical on this, but if those in Washington and on Wallstreet are guessing, I might as well do the same.

For now, I can't wait to spend that extra $13.

-whatdabusinessis.com