Entrepreneurs

Apple is set to acquire headphone maker and music company Beats Electronics for a reported $3.2 billion. This deal could literally nudge rapper/producer Dr Dre into billionaire status and make him one of the most respected black entrepreneurs in the history of the music industry. He didn't do it alone, he worked with Interscope's Jimmy Iovine as his business parter to build this incredible 7-year-old  empire. Originally the duo worked with Monster electronics on a deal to distribute Beats but the deal went south a few years ago and Iovine and Dre cut ties with Monster. [...]

Frederick Hutson is the CEO of Pigeonly, a platform that identifies and organizes data on the incarcerated. A born black entrepreneur, he launched and sold his first business at the age of 19 while on active duty in the Air Force. He left the military (with an honorable discharge) to build his second business which he also sold for a profit. The serial black entrepreneur’s love for business continued when, at 21, he saw his friends' St. Petersburg FL-based businesses struggling and thought of a solution — a more efficient way to traffic marijuana. [...]

Entrepreneurs have surely experienced those days when you notice things are not going well immediately. There is some truth to the adage "I got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning" and it appears that it's all downhill from there. So what can you do to turn that around and make the day more productive? Here are some of the things I have done in the past that have worked...(Click "Next" after each segment) Go Back to Bed! If you can afford to, go back to bed for a couple of hours. [...]

By Michael Glauser, Next Avenue Contributor The Silicon Valley approach for building companies has become the main strategy taught at many business schools. It goes like this: You create a prototype you can quickly test, preferably in the tech industry. You find a group of users and gain proof of concept. You raise capital and scale the business as rapidly as possible. You plan an exit strategy that may include going public or selling to an industry buyer. You shoot for a 10X return to investors. [...]

Customer Trust takes a while to develop. It's all a part of the reason they do business with you. We have to remember they are spending THEIR money. LISTEN to what they want but offer suggestions if you think it will help One of my greatest pet peeves is telling someone who I am paying what I want and them telling me that's not what I want. A couple of years ago, an industry contact got me a great audition with a huge Voiceover agency in NYC. [...]

I have been very blessed to be able to connect very well with my clients. One client in particular who doesn't support anyone in my field had lunch with me one day and he explained to me that he did not see the value in what any of us did so he was not going to support any of us. I am always put aside when I am lumped in with every else because I think we all do something different and I bring something different to the table. [...]

  Want to be a Successful Entrepreneur? Here are my BEST Lessons Learned After 25 Years in Business Being a black entrepreneur is extremely rewarding. Unfortunately, there are other aspects to it that are very challenging. When you're the boss, it is often difficult to have leverage or to have camaraderie with people that work for you. You have to maintain a level of authority. Most of the time, black entrepreneurs, surround themselves with other black entrepreneurs because they understand each other best. Working for yourself is and is not what people think. [...]

Feeling drained and down lately? Who have you been keeping company with? Ultimately, we all want two things in life... to feel good and to have control. We can't always have either, both or one of the other at all times when it concerns others but we CAN CONTROL how WE FEEL. I could literally end the whole story with that last sentence because it's JUST THAT SIMPLE. [...]