Success and Hard Work Go Hand-in-Hand

I believe very strongly that success and hard work go hand-in-hand. Anything worth doing is worth doing extraordinarily well, which will take a major effort. I grew up in Chicago and attended Princeton, studying international relations and public policy. But during one summer, I worked at Ariel Capital Management, a money management and mutual fund company. That experience convinced me that was where my future would be.

The stock market represents a major source of wealth creation in this country. But we've done a lot of research here, and have concluded that African Americans have been largely left out. This is due to many factors; lack of knowledge, lack of exposure, and lack of diversity in the industry. African-American children don't grow up knowing mutual fund managers.

Ariel was the first and, for some time, the only minority-owned firm offering public mutual funds. Our goal is to help educate our African-American community, and make the stock market a subject of dinner table conversation. I believe the stock market represents the best performing type of investment, and will continue to do so over the long term. So you should make the stock market a part of your long-term investment strategy. It doesn't take a lot of money. You can invest as little as $50 a month. So don't sit on the sidelines because you think you can't afford it. Think long term of the benefits of compounding. Learn to ride the ups and downs of the market. You must have patience.

An increasing acceptance of diversity is creating a lot of opportunities in the financial field, not only in terms of race, but also of age. This past May, I took over as president of Ariel at age 31. But you have to be ready to take advantage of those opportunities. There's a lot of responsibility involved in taking on other people's money, money for a first home, or a child's college tuition, or retirement. It weighs on you every day, so you want to do the best job you can.

Get involved in your community. It will come back to you in fulfillment. So work hard to prepare for the many great learning experiences and terrific people out there in the world. Make them your future.

Mellody Hobson is the president of Ariel Capital Management, Inc.