Negotiate Your Prices? The High Cost of Lowering Your Bottom Line This is a tough question. Some say no, never negotiate your prices, and I was once told by a woman never to discount your prices because clients will never see the value of your I agree wholeheartedly with her, but that was before we had this huge economic problem. [...]

Starting a Business? A few things You Need to Know Starting a business? Here are a few tips to help you along the way. I've been in business now for 23 years. I've been very lucky because it's been estimated that up to 85% of new businesses fail within the first four years or less. Some studies state as high as 60% of new businesses fail within the first year. [...]

Are you a producer, singer, promoter, blogger, writer... whatever kind of black entrepreneur you are this information can help you. My name is Kevin Ross and for many years I was a DJ on several radio stations. Truth be told I was good at it but I hated it, I could not be myself and I saw a lot of dirty deals and many of my bosses were not in it for the love of the craft but they were crooks trying to make as much money illegally as they could. [...]

Clients Are Not Buying Your Services? Here's Why ... No matter what business you are in, if a client doesn't see the perceived value of what you do, you won't be in business for long. How do you achieve that? First and foremost you MUST find a hole and fill it in and fill it well in order to have a successful business, second make sure you are not perceived as an annoyance. MOST black entrepreneurs are perceived that way for several reasons. [...]

Things all black entrepreneurs MUST DO to be taken Seriously. Quite often we are TOO focused on the PRODUCT and not the PRESENTATION... which can GREATLY affect our business. Here are some tips on how to avoid some common mistakes and to make your business look professional even if you don’t have the budget. Enjoy Be The Relegated Professional If you are in business and you cannot relegate yourself as a professional in your field of business then you are in the wrong business. Being a professional opens many doors to expand your brand. [...]

Reason's You Should NOT do Favors in business You work hard for what you have and you have done a great job at holding it together. Don't waste your valuable business time and energy on people who want you to bend over backwards to offer them services for free or at outrageous discounts. People of ALL business types will try to pull a fast one on you by asking for unreasonable things that don't help you grow they actually HURT your business. Keep in mind, IF THEY CONTACT YOU... YOU are in the driver's seat baby. NOT THEM. [...]

As always, here are some quick tips to build your business. These are things that we often overlook but could generate more revenue, of course, this is on top of providing great service. Not a lot of budget? Use services like Fiverr and Upwork. 1. Hire a young Social Media Whiz Kids are becoming marketing machines and they are better at it than expensive ad agencies because they don't rely on flawed research.....THEY LIVE THE LIFE. [...]

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. [...]

Over the last few months I have been doing many beta tests. Not only on my online business but the company that I keep through my business which is outrageously important for your personal growth. Not surprisingly, I have found that almost ALL of the people that I know/knew who have their own businesses are either not as advanced as I am in business. Most of them are struggling and out of about 50 there may be one or two who are at the same juncture as I am right now. [...]

Make More Money with Your Business: Time to stop the Struggle Make More Money - One of the greatest complaints and challenges in business is almost always finding ways to make more money. [...]

Please Banerghatta National Park During a recent trip, I was helping a relative who is in need get a bus pass. It's been many years since I've had to get a bus pass myself so I was not familiar with the process. While we were standing there, I was completely unaware that we were being watched. I was explaining to my relative that I didn't really know what I was doing. The cost of the bus pass was $25, all I had was a $20 bill and a $10. [...]