I am on the Small Business Advocate Radio Show today with Jim Blasingame and a female African American entrepreneur, Clara, at 5:30am California time. I’m usually not this perky so early in the morning! Matter of fact, I’m rarely awake at 4:30am!

Jim wanted to know from Clara and I whether we thought African Americans get the short end of the stick when it comes to political correctness, entrepreneurialism, and education. You’ll be surprised by my direct responses on the Small Business Advocate Show.

Below you’ll find my outline I prepared for you last night for Jim’s radio show. I came to the show this morning more motivated to talk about breakthrough solutions for entrepreneurialism for African Americans instead of a pure focus on racism.

The Donald’s Advice for Starting Your Business (my advice will work for anyone who wants to start a business)

1. Good paying jobs won’t be coming back anytime soon
   1. Jobs are being outsourced faster than they’re being created
   2. Globalization is here to stay unless there’s some dramatic catastrophe such as a world war
   3. The best option right now for you if you’re unemployed and you’re over 40 is to start your own business
2. The first question to ask is whether you are cut out for entrepreneurialism no matter your affiliation
   1. Most people are not cut out for entrepreneurialism no matter their origin
   2. You see higher rates of entrepreneurialism in groups who have no other choice such as immigrants to the United States
   3. African Americans may not have a choice right now other than entrepreneurialism given the jobless recovery
3. Side-step racism (real or imagined) and breakthrough the “I don’t know you” paradigm
   1. We live in a global economy, so collaborate with all people with different origins to broaden your appeal and connections
   2. Don’t become even more isolated from the broader economy
   3. At work
   4. Socially
   5. I’m not saying there isn’t racism, but breakthrough it
   6. you’re different and they are too, so what
   7. My father made it as an entrepreneur even though he couldn’t read or write, but he understood business is about relationships; he spent time cultivating relationships and delivering with consistent service and rarely lost a customer in 25 years
4. Education is the first step in entrepreneurialism and the basics are often free or low cost
   1. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is a good place to start
   2. The Small Business Development Center is excellent because it is hands on helping you start your business
   3. Your local colleges have programs in entrepreneurialism
   4. Collaborate with other entrepreneurs online and offline and learn to speak the language of an entrepreneur
   5. Use the Internet to access free, valuable information on starting and running a business
   6. Read motivational and business books and minimize TV time
   7. Hire a business coach if you can afford it
   8. Model other entrepreneurs like Magic Johnson, Donald Trump, Martha Steward, or anyone in your life who’s successful
5. You don’t just start and run a business
   1. You develop skills such as accounting, advertising, finance, legal, marketing, sales, operations
   2. You learn to connect with target markets, manage employees, and influence people who you have no control over
   3. Innovation is the only sustainable way to stay in business whether it’s new products or clever marketing
6. Entrepreneurs don’t think small
   1. This is a leadership game
   2. You must inspire others to get behind your vision
   3. It’s about developing trust relationships with the right people
   4. You must build a team of people who are committed to making your vision real and they must complement your abilities
   5. You must know more about your area of business than anyone else in your company, including your competition, markets you serve, technology, regulations, politics, what makes your customer tick
   6. So many problems in the world need someone like you to solve them. There’re no shortages of innovations people will pay for to increase security, save time, make them more safe, and so on.
7. It’s difficult work for anyone to accomplish the things on my list no matter their affiliation, so get started now
   1. Don’t wait until you’re ready
   2. It’s a lifetime journey
   3. Start your entrepreneurial education right away
   4. Be realistic
   5. Don’t take no for an answer if you know it can be done
   6. Lead with your heart and soul!
   7. Get rid of things from your life which stop you from spending time on the entrepreneurial projects you are passionate about (family, friends, and bad associations)
   8. Change your associations to people who are successful in their lives
   9. Be a valuable resource to others – “Give and it shall be given to you…”

What do you think? Comment below and give me your perspectives on entrepreneurialism for African Americans in the United States. I’d love to hear about your personal stories.

I’ll be back on the Small Business Advocate radio show with Jim Blasingame soon to talk about other aspects of this topic for you.

For more information on starting your business, you can sign-up for a 30 minutes strategy session with me to discuss your desires, fears, frustrations, and goals.

To the right of this post, I have eBooks you can select for download. My eBooks include financing your business, investing in commercial real estate or buying or selling a business.

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Related posts:

1. “The Small Business Advocate Show”
2. Breakthrough Sales Ideas for Small Businesses In 2010