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Discover the History of Black Business
Are You a Participant in the Latest Phase of Black Business History?
 Montclair,
NJ (BlackNews.com) - Being a pioneer and going against the grain of
traditional convention is a hallmark of Black business - or so it
would seem to Kamau Austin, the Internet marketer with almost
evangelical zeal. Upon reflection, Austin makes an impassioned
review on what he calls "the 4 stages of Black business
development." He feels he is riding the latest wave of Black
business success in the present international business stage.
"International business for African Americans is being made more
possible by the Internet and information technology," forecasts
Austin.
Austin further posits that "Black business has gone through the
emancipation stage, the segregation stage, the integration stage,
and is now in the international stage." He asserts, "This is a very
promising time for the growth of African American business." Much of
Austin's opinions come from his experience running his own Internet
businesses. Austin is the author of a well-received book on search
engine marketing entitled, Always On Top: How to Get a Top Ranking
for Your Website Every Time!
He is currently receiving national exposure in major magazines and
radio stations like XM Satellite Radio, American Urban Radio Network
(AURN), and even Fortune Magazine Small Business. Why is Austin's
story so compelling for the national media? "I can only speculate
why the national media is covering our business lately," says
Austin, "It may be related to the central marketing importance of
search engine-driven Internet marketing. Search engine and
eBay-driven Internet marketing offers Black businesspersons the best
opportunity to prosper in the new international informationeconomy."
But why does Austin feel that international business empowered by
the Internet is the latest and greatest development in the future of
Black business? Do his insights have any merit?
Austin responds with the following anecdotal illustrations for his
paradigm of black history development, "The first stage of black
business history was the emancipation stage. During the emancipation
stage, some Blacks were able to acquire their freedom and owned some
land-even in slave-holding states. Although these ex-slaves owned
land, becoming financially successful during this stage was very
limited and challenging.
"The 'segregation stage' was certainly part of life for the first
free blacks and their communities. Since Blacks were isolated or
segregated into their ethnic communities (many times not by their
choosing), an inherent merchant class of black entrepreneurs and
professionals developed. This early merchant class of entrepreneurs
and professionals serviced segregated Black communities and
enclaves. The symbolic black entrepreneur of this period is, of
course, Madame C.J. Walker, America's first Black millionaire.
Communities like Black Wall Street and Rosewood are cited as
enclaves of a black merchant and entrepreneurial class of
neighborhood. The peak of this period was the 1970s and 80s with the
rise of the Black media outlets like Ebony, Jet, and Black
Enterprise magazines.
"The Integration stage of Black business was and is concurrently
tied to the access of African Americans to better education in the
nation's accredited and top colleges or universities. This education
allowed some Blacks to become managers and CEOs of major
corporations. Eventually, many of these managers began their own
businesses and gained access to capital. The symbolic figure of the
beginning of this period is Reginald Lewis, the first African
American to own a billion-dollar business, TLC Beatrice Holdings.
However, towards the end of the Integration stage, we see the seeds
of internationally successful black entrepreneurs beginning to take
root.
Business persons like Oprah Winfrey, Don King, Bob Johnson, and
Eunice Johnson, the co-founders of BET, illustrate the aplomb of the
current crop of Black entrepreneurs to transcend racial barriers and
ethnic businesses to reach international audiences and general
market businesses like the NBA, professional boxing, major movies,
and even Broadway."
Austin further points out that while the first group of
international entrepreneurs relied on better access to capital,
mainstream institutions, and education, Black business genius isn't
just the purvey of this fortunate class. Austin feels, "where's
there's a will, there's a way!" Blacks with more meager means still
have big dreams and have made them a reality. He points to how hip
hop is now reaching an international audience beyond inner-city
youth. Major mega-music moguls like Russell Simmons, Sean "P. Diddy"
Combs, Master P, and JayZ are the next crop of Black billionaires in
training.
However, music, fashion, and media icons aren't the only ones making
big waves in black business. The future also looks bright for
diverse groups of African Americans empowered by the Internet and
information technologies to take Black business to the most advanced
phase of their business development the-International stage.
Austin points to the largest black business, which now is a
technology business - Worldwide Technologies. David L. Steward, a
committed Christian and author of Doing Business by the Good Book,
is the CEO of Worldwide Technologies. Steward has been able to grow
Worldwide Technologies to a $1.5 billion corporation without the
capital markets. Worldwide Technologies is privately owned and a
testament to the ingenuity and determination of black entrepreneurs.
With these diverse examples of Black business success, Austin feels
the greatest challenge to personal progress is not racism, but our
own mental barriers to success.
Austin feels his understanding of history has led him to seize the
Internet economy as his ticket to financial freedom. Almost six
years ago, Austin was too poor to afford a computer and could not
login to Windows. Today, he runs a search engine marketing business
with workers in diverse parts of the country and the world. In an
Information age, the search engine gives us access to this
information. He feels that search engine promotion is the
cornerstone of any successful Internet marketing strategy. You can
see his book Always On Top at http://www.alwaysontopthebook.com/.
Take advantage of his free search engine marketing courses at
http://www.searchengineplan.com/
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