Supporting,Purchasing, Customer Service and

Managing One.....

You read the title correctly, now let’s get into some thangs, shall we !

Let’s start this off right...

Buying and Supporting from Black Owned Businesses..

For those that are familiar with me, you know I am all for buying and supporting black business. I even have a fashion blog on Instagram @stylistlalatoodope , that is dedicated to fashion and highlighting dope black owned brands, designers, creators,etc.

Everyone wants to support shop black owned but they’re so damn hard to find ! Why is that ?

Well for one, all of these non-black owned fast fashion brands, are constantly getting pushed through the

algorithm so much with paid advertisements, sponsorship and partnerships deals, that often times black owned brands and creators are overlooked.

It’s not until one of these fast fashion brands steals a black designer’s designs or ideas that people recognize who the real originator is. People are constantly stealing from black innovators time after time and it’s like ...

It’s very frustrating to the black community because we put our blood,sweat, tears and probably indulge in something illegal just to get our businesses off the ground ! We aren’t granted the same opportunities as others, especially when it comes down to receiving funding, taking out business loans and finding out basic information to help get people started.

I will say though, that’s not an excuse just facts, and if you really wanted to find out certain information you’ll do the research.

That also goes for finding black owned brands, it may be a little harder but they are there. Do the research, ask others around you or find blogs like

* cough cough* @stylistlalatoodope that can help lead you to the right direction in buying black.

WE SPEND TOO MUCH MONEY NOT TO BUY BLACK

We need to start being more conscious about our black dollar. It is in our best interest that we start being more mindful of those that will get our coin, those that profit off the influence of black people and giving it to those that truly deserve it. While we are at it, we should come up with ways we can pump our black dollar back into our communities. There needs to be a way to have more accessible information that will help startup, support and grow black businesses.

There are literally tons of black orginaztions growing rapidly to encourage and help black people to make extra income. One popular organization being, Forex.

My observation of the individuals that participate in Forex are predominately black. Black Forex Traders grind my gears sometimes because SOME of y’all not ALL, have a lot of black people coming together to make money moves but from what I see, I never see y’all talking about supporting black business, investing your Forex money into strictly buying black businesses, buying property to for black communities or even wearing anything black owned.

But I’ll chew y’all up another time....

Dear Black Businesses,

Please give us something we honestly want to buy and support.

Sincerely,

A black person wanting to shop ALL BLACK.

No seriously, stop giving us , the audience the bare minimum and expecting us to support or buy from you. Stop looking for automatic support just because you are a “black business”. AHT AHT, that’s not how this works.

Learn your audience. Cater to your audience.Be able to take feedback and captialize from their needs and wants. Have actual passion behind your business and don’t go into things for a quick coin.

“ADVICE: It’s okay to fail, make mistakes, have bad reviews, etc. but it’s not okay to repeat the same actions and expect different results!” - Centra Lee

Customer Service!

BLACK BUSINESSES WE HAVE TO GET WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE. Period, that’s it.

Let’s get serious here, we ALL really have to improve our customer service skills.

YOU CAN NOT HAVE A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS IF YOU DO NOT HAVE CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS!

I’ll be the first one to tell you that the customer isn’t always right but it’s about the customer serivce you give them that can change a situation for the better or the worst.

Some of our people do not know how to be professional or even know how to talk to people and that’s the problem.

Making the smallest accommodations for your customer can go along way.

Managing A

Black Owned Business

As many of y’all know I had the opportunity to manage a black owned business this year and I must say it was one of the most interesting experiences of my life!

I loved my experience with working for a black owned businesses. I loved servicing customers that predominantly look like me.

BLACK PEOPLE DO SUPPORT !

But baby... Our people can be something else.

For Starters, some of our own people come into black establishments with so much entitlement and a negative approach, they make the experience unwelcoming for themselves.

The “discount” mindset has to come to end. If you do not go into white establishments with your hand out for discounts, DO NOT DO IT TO YOUR OWN PEOPLE !

Managing V.S. Owning

When it comes down to Managing V.S. Owning this is a major conflict I faced.

As a manager, I can only manage what’s put in front of me. As much as I want to, I can not go the extra mile for a company that is not mine.

I found myself having this problem a lot. Being such a visionary with extreme passion, I find myself giving MY ALL to everything. Giving all of my ideas, strategies, insights, connections, customer base etc.

And when it’s all said and done, you’ve seen more work come out on your side than anyone’s else....

Often getting told, “ You’re not my boss” to facing the hard truth in realizing they are right and you are not the boss. At the end of the day, this is not your company and you’re just here to manage...

Now you don’t face that problem when work for yourself.😅

ALL IN ALL SUPPORT BLACK BUSINESSES!

PAY FULL PRICE!

AND CIRCULATE THE BLACK DOLLAR.