Trailblazing Entrepreneur Dante Lee’s New Book Praised As The “Black Business Bible”
As a 20-year-old college student, Lee developed a promising business concept. And by 30, this self-made entrepreneur had built Diversity City Media, known for its marquee online businesses-BlackPR.com and BlackNews.com-into a national marketing and PR powerhouse with Fortune 500 clients like McDonald’s, Verizon, and NASCAR.
Lee’s ultimate goal is to put more African Americans on the path to entrepreneurship through the wealth of real-world experience presented in Black Business Secrets: 500 Tips, Strategies, and Resources for the African American Entrepreneur (SmileyBooks, December 2010, Paperback original, ISBN: 978-1-4019-2954-1, $15.95).
“The astonishing growth in the number of African Americans who own their own business is cause for celebration,” Lee says. “There were 1.9 million Black-owned businesses in 2007, up 60.5 percent from 2002.” Despite this success, Lee asserts that Black entrepreneurs continue to face some of the same challenges they had to contend with 50 or more years ago, such as dealing with a double-standard when applying for financing.
Black Business Secrets offers more than just a roadmap, it provides a top-of-the-line GPS that shows the quickest and safest routes to building a successful company, pitfalls to avoid, and strategies to outsmart, outperform, and out earn the competition. “And you don’t need to have an MBA or even a business class to do it,” Lee stresses. “You do, however, need a good business coach.” Black Business Secrets covers all aspects of entrepreneurship, and poses questions relevant to aspiring African American business owners, including:
* Is your financial situation situated? “Take an honest look at your basic assets and liabilities,” Lee urges. “Your personal credit score impacts your business credit. Have you calculated your net worth, planned for start up costs, applied for seed money, and put a financial safety net in place? The sooner you start thinking like an entrepreneur financially, the better.
* Are you clear about what you do and how to sell it? Many entrepreneurs network, meet lots of people, and collect business cards, but they don’t clearly communicate what it is they’re selling. “A successful entrepreneur is able to answer the question, ‘What do you do?’ in 90 seconds or less,” he explains.
* Can you do well while doing good? Is social entrepreneurship for you? Social entrepreneurship-applying business and entrepreneurial principles to tackle social needs-has worked successfully within the African American community for decades. “It testifies to our capacity to sustain communities and build economic stability,” he says.
* Are you ready to be a marketeer? “Business is 10 percent what you’re selling and 90 percent who you’re selling it to,” Lee advises. “Every company is a marketing company. By harnessing the power of social media promotion via Twitter and blogging, you can expand your influence and gain more customers. You won’t sell anything if you have no way to let potential customers know you exist.”
A special feature of Black Business Secrets is the wise counsel of superstar African American entrepreneurs, including Bob Johnson, founder of BET, and Gwen Richardson, founder of CushCity.com. He further explores what innovative business greats like Russell Simmons and Shawn Jay-Z Carter have accomplished through “social entrepreneurship.”
Lee also breaks down business-busting myths such as one has to quit a job to start a business, loans and grants are impossible to secure for African Americans, and consumers of other ethnicities won’t buy black products. Whether seeking to create a home business, neighborhood store, or multi-million dollar empire, Black Business Secrets offers aspiring entrepreneurs a blueprint for success.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dante Lee is the president and CEO of Diversity City Media, an African American marketing and public relations firm based in Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 2000, this award-winning company is known for its marquee online businesses BlackPR.com and BlackNews.com. Showcased in Ebony’s 2010 Young Entrepreneurs List, Lee is also the co-founder of the social networking powerhouse Lee Moss Media.
For more information about Black Business Secrets, or to schedule an interview with Dante Lee, please contact Kira Citron at kcitron@hayhouse.com or call 646-484-4963.
