New Millennium Activism
want to be a revolutionary? start a business
2007-09-06
By Donna Johnson & Boyd Klingler

Back in the day, there was a certain block in the neighborhood bustling with energy and commerce. Jitney cabs chauffeured customers up and down the boulevard and children played safely under the watchful eyes of caring “aunties.” On the corner was the local watering hole, a brick-red establishment with polite patrons, one that closed at a decent hour. Next door was a mom-and-pop grocery store with slanted bins that displayed fresh fruit and vegetables in the windows. Next to it was a record store, stacked with the latest albums and 45’s, and next to that, a soul food diner with a candy counter at the register. Then a beauty parlor, a pool hall, and a dress shop.

All of these thriving businesses were owned and operated by hard-working black folks living The Dream.

But a 40-year wave of urban renewal, city planning and selective neglect has washed away that (mostly) idyllic scenario, leaving in its wake grid after grid of inner-city blight in every major city across America.
In the last decade-and-a-half, decaying communities have been showing signs of life, mostly in the form of residential renovation and new home construction. Dilapidated storefronts, however, remain in abundance. If you’re tired of driving past rundown, rotted out commercial spaces, there is a solution. No, we don’t mean write your city council member—we mean start a business.

In this millennium, capitalism is the new community activism. Small business creation is the most vital way to combat crime, eliminate poverty, and stimulate economic activity.  As a bonus, starting your own business means you can finally tell your boss where to go.

According to a report released by the Census Bureau in 2006, Black-owned businesses are among the fastest-growing segments of the American economy. The most recent data available reveals that the number of black-owned businesses grew by 45% from 1997 to 2002, more than four times the national rate. Your start-up could be the next step for a community pulling itself up by its own bootstraps.

There are government incentive programs that give preference to businesses that settle (and hire) in “economically distressed” areas called HUBZones, meaning Historically Underutilized Business Zones; in everyday parlance, “the ‘hood.” Potentially lucrative government contracts and subcontracts are attached to these kinds of initiatives. So why, in the face of glowing statistics about an upswing, are many of these opportunities still going unanswered? Fear of huge capital losses, lack of experience, not knowing where to start are just a few of the perceived obstacles. Yet, there are people out there who know the score.

The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) is an organization staffed mostly by volunteers whose mission is to help start-ups succeed. Yet despite the counseling, workshops, managerial and technical support they provide, its programs are largely underutilized. Modest budgets prevent them from coming to you, so make it your business to get to them.

One of the biggest objections raised by HubZone developers is the lack of disposable income in the community. In neighborhoods without a lot of equity, you might consider service-oriented enterprises; for example, a temp agency or a cleaning service. But if your dream is to immortalize your grandmother’s recipes by opening a bakery, you can still be a big success so long as you keep a reasonable pricing structure in mind. You can still be profitable by charging neighborhood commuters $2.00 for a fresh doughnut and a hot cup of coffee. Given the right business model, you can compete with McDonald’s, which, by the way, started out as a one-location family business opened by brothers Richard and Maurice in 1937 when America was in the depths of the Depression.

Whatever your perceptions of the economic climate today, remember that small business owners create 98 percent of the jobs in the U.S.
There’s always a desire to “give back” to the community once you’ve achieved a certain amount of economic prosperity and financial security. Why not start your own business and accomplish both at the same time?

Donna Johnson and Boyd Klingler are Giving You the BusinessSM, in an occasional column for EbonyJet.com. Send your business and finance-related questions to our e-mailbag.