Black Collegian Career Center

So Want to Start Your Own Business? 

The late twentieth century and the early twenty-first century may very well become known as a "Golden Age" for entrepreneurship in the United States. As modest as the gains might seem, African Americans are cashing in on the boom in business start-ups also. While young entrepreneurs knowledgeable about the new economy are cashing-in in a dramatic fashion, those Black-owned businesses which had their beginnings in the old economy are often doing well also provided they have become knowledgeable about the impacts of the Internet and e-commerce. 

Perhaps nowhere has greater strides been made by young Black entrepreneurs than in the field of entertainment. The entertainment industry - from print, to television, to music, to film - had been a somewhat fragmented business from its beginnings. The new available technologies have forced together the various channels and produced an industry that promotes and operates music, print, television, and film simultaneously and often under the control of one company. Young Black entrepreneurs saw and understood this revolution and have profited from it. The Russell Simmons and Puffy Combs, the Queen Latifahs and Oprah Winfreys of the world are but obvious examples of a number of African Americans who have mastered the "art of the deal," to use Donald Trump's phrase, and became millionaires because they understood their business, were possessed with a vision of what could/should be, and more to the point, understood the possibilities of new technologies. 

Similar stories appear from the world of fashion and other businesses related to entertainment, including advertising and promotions. These businesses no longer necessarily operate as separate entities, but are now seen as merely separate aspects of the same business. Understanding of the business tools of the twenty-first century of course, applies to all businesses; the entertainment industry is but one dramatic example. 

If the understanding that business opportunities abound for those who understand the necessity of mastering the Internet economy, the direction the entrepreneur should take her/his idea becomes clear. The first realization that should happen is that channels of adverting and distribution are major concerns. That is true because no matter how good the music, how great the concert, how fabulous the clothes, how dazzling the television program or film, they still must be sold. And how you choose to sell, and how well you sell, have become more important than ever. Enter the Internet. 

Selling and Customer Service Online - The New Economy 

Selling goods online or "e-tailing" has made sellers and customers realize the value of customer service. The nature of doing business online means that every "store" is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and available to potentially anyone in the world with a computer. The question becomes: are you prepared to handle that? If I want to hear /buy music from you over the Internet, and you cannot deliver, neither the sound nor the CD, how long will it take me to find a web site who can? When whatever goods or services that I may want are equally available on other sites - twenty four/seven, why should I bother with you? And keep in mind; potential customers may be waiting to buy all over the country and all over the world! Do you understand how that works? Do you really understand how different doing business this way, is from the old way of opening a shop and hoping someone walks in? Can you dig it? Those who have become wealthy in the last fifteen or so years understood it, do you? 

Do you understand that the most effective way to do business these days is to have an understanding of how the Internet can be used? This holds true for everyone not merely those in the entertainment industry. If your dreams do not include the Internet as one channel of advertising or distribution, your dream may be dead before it is born. Think about it. Although using the Internet to transact all or some aspect of our enterprise is the means to survival in this century, the reason may not be intuitively clear. Doing business on the Internet means we cannot establish "face-to-face" relationships with our customers. Translated that means the only thing that will distinguish us from our competitors on the Internet is the quality of the service we provide. 

Quality customer service can be defined as giving the customer what she/he wants, when it is wanted, delivered to the customer in the manner requested, and offered at a price the customer is willing to pay. The Internet provides more efficient ways of meeting each of those customer demands - and as we have already established, if you can't meet the customers' demands, you will not be in business long. For those who do business on the Internet this means that the focus must be on how quickly the word can get out about what I am selling and at what price and how quickly the requested good or service can be delivered when compared to my competitors. 

Those who would be entrepreneurs often fail to realize that there are many products competing, for the customer's attention such that the availability of the product or service is not an issue - what ever you want to buy, you can find more than one seller - but what remains an issue is how far is the retailer willing to go to meet the needs of a customer? If I am in a time bind, will the retailer special order or take other means to retain my business? If I have special needs, will the retailer go the extra step to meet my needs, or simply tell me, "We don't carry that" and let me walk out of the store or website? If I walk out of the store/website and find that some other retailer will meet my special need, am I likely to return to the original retailer who would not? 

This is where online shopping has revolutionized customer service. Availability of goods and services online has revolutionized concepts of customer service primarily because selling online means that the seller (retailer) has to be fast, and get it right every time. That is the only way the customer will return to visit your web site. That is a lesson that needs to be learned well also-, there are no real second chances on the Internet. Once I visit your site and you fail me, I can just as easily find another web site while sitting in my chair. 

Summary 

If you are young and have been thinking about starting your own business, remember this: There perhaps has been no better time to do than the present. You have access to education, technology; you have plenty of role models of young African Americans who are achieving success. Among the characteristics of the young successful Black entrepreneur is an understanding of the new economy and an understanding of the Internet. 

The Internet has become among the most efficient means of doing business ever created, because it permits you - the seller - to be available twenty-four/seven and reach potential customers across the nation and the world. An important path to success - one that cannot be ignored - is quality customer service. Given the available means of advertising and selling, you must get it right the first time and every time. Customers are less likely to give you second chances. 

If you truly understand these basic concepts, then the potential for your idea to become successful is very great. If you don't understand all the implications of the Internet, then the possibility of not achieving your dream will remain small. Go for it!