Hotep
If you listen to Major Black Influential “Spokesman” you will continually hear a repeated message. " Buy Black and Think Black First"
I just finished reading How to make Black American Better and one of the topic addressed by Tavis Smiley was that we as Blacks need to begin to think black first and buy Black.
Thus, meaning if were looking for someone to clean our carpet, we should consider all of the black owned carpet cleaning companies before we considering any other racially owned business.
Now, We are all consumer in this growing society and I will attest that I don't always consider "Buying BLACK"
I have a problem spending money (The little I have) at a place where the lighting is dim; customer service is terrible, among other things.
I am not saying all Black Business are terrible I support many here in Columbus, but I will say that there are some that I wouldn't step foot in if you paid for everything I brought.
I believe that BLACK Businesses need to step up their game and as consumers we need to stop using the EXCUSE, YOU KNOW OUR PEOPLE.
So, How do you feel about "BUYING BLACK AND THINKING BLACK FIRST”?
Prince...
its not about environment to me, its about the actual product...like even if you do have dim lighting and etc(EXCEPT ROACHES, i cant deal with bugs)...i wouldnt mind, cause maybe she cant afford all that stuff now ....but for example my hair....if the lady cant do my hair and its a beautiful setting, i would still curse her out...but if the lady was in a horrible part of the neighborhood and could do the greatest hair in the world, then i will go back constantly...but yeah in terms of actually providing the best product to their consumers, then yeah black people could step up their game a bit without the attitude
I think that we should support Black businesses whenever possible. Unfortunately in many cases, it is not an option because the only providers of the good or service are not Black owned.
Another thing to consider is where those businesses do business. There are many Black-owned retail stores and companies that are serviced by Asian suppliers, so ultimately the profit to the community is lost. Not saying that you shouldn't patronize Asian businesses, but rather that in a market economy you have to find the lowest cost supplier to be competitive, regardless of who the proprietors are.
Ideally, that business should have some type of responsibility towards or involvement in the community, either locally or affecting Blacks as a whole to maximize the dollar's worth. Holla!
its all about the quality of goods and services. i will buy from a black vendor if they are peddling quality wares or services, but i won't support them just to say "i buy black" if they are on some corrupt tip.
I will spend my money on the vendor who offers me the best goods and services for the most reasonable price.
The problem Black people have is they try to "get a job", instead of making a career. If individual communities would pool resources and try to start a legit business, we wouldn't even need this post. Unfortunately, this is not the case
Okay I feel that...I really really do
But I'll be honest....I'm on a budget and I will not buy from blacks if it is not cheaper....I am sorry
Whereever it is cheaper...please believe I am there!
I think that the biggest problem is that we as black people have an overall shortage of money. Its not necessarily always that price that you have to take into consideration, its also the quality of the product. In an effort to give a better price for something, there are too many black owned businesses that are willing to cut corners and either buy from cheaper suppliers or anything else of the like. Can't continue to do this if we want to become as independent as possible let alone be able to support each other. We are actually LOSING money if we don't produce products that hold their value. Think about this simple situation:
If your yard is any thing like A&T's, then we all know about the infamous vendors that are there to give you all the latest little trinkets that are in style. They have everything from cellphone covers, to bootlegs, to belts in every colour of the rainbow. Let's just take into consideration the belts. Yes, they're generally cheap as hell (until Homecoming, then he mysteriously jacks up the price by $15). They aren't high quality belts, but they're really cheap. Now if you're already a broke **** college student, then you're kinda breaking your budget just to but that belt. Now if that belt is low quality, then its gonna break sometime soon, and you're gonna have to buy another one on a constant basis. However, if you go to the mall and spring for a nice $20 belt that will last for like 20 years then you don't have to spend that money again, and you can therefore hold onto it instead of losing out by going to the black dude.
Catch my drift?
I have an issue with "buying black" and that goes for any service that I might use. I have noticed that there is a lack of communication and organizational behavior amongst black businesses. I refuse to get service from a consumer who acts as if I am a person they met off the street. I'm going to need for black businesses to step up their game and learn business ettiquette so they can get services from myself as well as anyone else who cares to buy anything from them. The question isn't why aren't Blacks buying products manufactured by black people. The question is why aren't black businesses acquiring skills such as business ettiquette, professionalism, and ways to build and expand their businesses? In short, I believe that they should get their stuff together before they can expect business from me.
I think the atmostphere depends on with whom you're dealing with and the kind of product that you're buying. For instance, if you go into a hip hop clothing store, do you really want someone to act like they're working in Macy's? Most high end hip hop clothing stores that I go into are not only just clothing stores, but places where black folk come to meet and greet. Places where people come to find out what's going on amongst our people. Would you rather be greeted by Trenton, the clerk at Bloomingdale's or Tyrone, somebody who could feasibly be one of ya homeboys.
Well, I find that to be a BIG problem because people who run black businesses are so lax in their habits that they almost forget the fact that they are actually running that business. You can chat or chill with your boys out in the street but when you are trying to facilitate something, it's only about business. You just answered the question. The reason people are not buying Black is because black products are only targeted toward one market segment. Maybe that's their strategy but is it effective? Um, obviously not if we are sitting here talking about it. If black businesses want their businesses to grow and expand, they need to start acting a little bit more professional in their businesses.
This seems to be a common theme. These kinds of businesses aren't experiencing problems because they are Black-owned, but rather because they are simply poorly managed businesses.
When White-owned businesses are run by unprofessional, disorganized employees or the product is unsatisfactory, they too will not be succesful.
So the larger question at hand is why aren't Black entrepreneurs seeking the proper training and experience when starting / operating a business. I'll come back to this topic later with my thoughts. Holla!
