Supporting black business sounds good, until its actually time to support a black business. In the real sense of it, most black people are very well aware of the power of the black dollar and how far it stretches. We line the pockets of these CEOs and fund the vacations for these executives. We are one of the largest consumer demographics in the United States, and one could only imagine if we redirected the money that we funneled into these cooperations into our own communities, then black prosperity will be at all-time highs.
Below are three simple reasons why we need to invest more in black businesses.
1. As it regards to the quality of some black owned products or business, that simply depends on where you go, and your perception shapes your reality, so your view of quality and mine might differ. However, there have been some folk who use this as an excuse as to why they don’t shop black. Granted, I’m sure their reasoning is rooted in some sort of experience.
I must remind people that quality is something that does not happen overnight. How many times have you stood in the line to return an item at Walmart because you weren’t satisfied with the “quality,” but ended up buying the same exact item months later? How many times have you walked back in the line at Burger King to return that sandwich cause it was a tad bit undercooked, then you waited in the line while they made your sandwich over with “quality.” The point being, quality is a hit and a miss, and each business should at least be given the opportunity to improve on such quality and make things right.
2. The cost of running a small business is never easy. The operational cost to run a business has to be offset by the revenue that is made. Creators are constantly looking for ways to find more cost friendly material, but in all honesty that is no easy task. This explains why the cost is so high. I am sure that the business would love to get as much of their product out there, but it is simply a matter of cost. The more we support black business, the better chance their brand can expand, which means that over time there will be more merchandise in stock, prompting promotions and deals to spring up. The misconception that black artists charge so much for their shirts simply because of greed is a huge misunderstanding and is, often times, very far removed from the truth.
3. The customer service regarding the black owned business is probably as good as it will ever get. More often than not, the business is very technologically savvy and utilizes some form of social media. For the places that aren't on social media or don’t have a number listed, the email service in which they use is effective and the response is usually timely. There is also an emphasis on customer service because they realize that the brand is the most important part of their business, so reviews and word of mouth is key to sustainment. Corporations could care less if you don’t come back because their service reviews don’t actually correlate to their net profit, more often than not.
There should be a concentrated effort to bring back the black dollar to the black community. There is a whole demographic of people who are committed to buying products that are made in America simply because of their xenophobic and nationalist attitudes, usually dressed as patriotism, but I digress. The bigger point is that these individuals are willing to tip the wallet a little further because they believe in that cause. And to some extent, maybe, just maybe, we can try doing the same thing for maybe a shirt or two from a black business. We not only have the money, but we also have the content out there.
Support a black business today! You’ll feel great about it later!
