The Elephant In The Room Preventing Black Businesses From Succeeding

It’s not a secret

There is a curious irony in the United Kingdom and the United States of America, demonstrated by the feeble to no joined up effort to leverage the manifest vigour, vibrancy and vitality of their respective Black populations and their business enterprises.

Apart from the occasional lip service by some individuals and agencies of the State (which more often than not have their own not-always-visible agendas), there does not seem to be much being done to harness Black populations’ brains and brawns estimated to generate up to £15 Billion business revenues in the UK and $200 Billion in the USA in 2017.

This remarkable “lack of ambition” in the social and economic psyches of these two advanced economies, particularly when also viewed in the context of Black peoples’ estimated annual spending powers of £500 Billion and $1,300 Billion in the UK and USA respectively, can only be properly understood with the help of a study of 20^th and 21^st Century history of racial interactions around the world.

It is almost as if the forces of racial domination and intolerance on the one hand are trumping those of common sense and collective humanity on the other.

Unsustainable power-plays

That this is not a state of affairs that is sustainable long term does not seem to bother powerful players who currently benefit from the status quo. Even when data proves that their own economic performance would be substantially boosted by an improvement in the activities and overall performance of their Black communities.

The practical consequence of the economic and social systems of these two example countries is the entrenchment of a playing field that is not level. A playing field that is not just skewed in favour of non-Black majority groups but specifically designed and constructed to disadvantage Black communities.

Take for example, the grotesque lack of access to business funding and capital investments. In like for like comparisons, Black owned businesses are almost 3 times more likely to be denied business loans than White owned businesses. Even with much twisting and turning, no one has been able to provide logical explanations of this discrepancy.

The denial of access to funding and capital in turn ensures that entrepreneurship in the Black community cannot take off or grow as quickly or as much as in comparable White communities.

The loud noises one hears at this point in the discourse seem to be coming from the many groups that would rather not characterise the situation as a problem, and would certainly not wish to portray it in these terms.

By now, shouts of “unhelpful”, “regressive”, “ungrateful” and even “racist” are now drowning out everything else.

But these shouts by apologists for the status quo are not new at all. They are best ignored, as they generally serve to dilute and weaken the resolve of people working hard to disentangle the age old systems of inequity underpinning the unlevel playing field.

 

Exactly what is needed – a level playing field.

Awkward and best avoided

One thing can, however, be clearly stated without risk of disagreement. The subject is a very uncomfortable one to discuss for many people, Black and White alike.

It is also exceedingly awkward for most, especially those who have not given it too much thought. Not to talk of those directly and indirectly benefiting from how things are.

The dysfunctional playing field is the huge elephant in the room. It is the main constituent of the basket of actual reasons why the Black community (and within it the business owners) are grossly under-performing economically.

This “unlevel” playing field creates an entrenched system of inequity and negative conditioning that work on many levels in virtually all countries and manifests in so many ways as to be sometimes confusing and mostly too complex for most people to want to deal with.

Painful, embarrassing and expensive

The prevailing state of affairs is painful to endure for most Black people who have given it concerted thought. It can also be very embarrassing for many (Black or non-Black) to confront. Last but by no means least, this situation is hideously expensive to ignore!

As is well known, if an issue or problem is not honestly and fully acknowledged, there is no real or practical prospect of fixing it long term.

Black Business Champions is therefore challenging this humongous elephant, not only to boldly call it out openly and vigorously, but to also take practical steps aimed at resolving the underlying causes, once and for all!

In the process, we see very many opportunities for our Black business colleagues to profit like never before and exceed their business goals and expectations.

The Black Pound / Dollar / Euro

It is widely acknowledged that the Black Pound / Dollar / Euro is extremely powerful, but only for as long as it remains circulating in the Black community. As soon as it leaves, it ceases to be a Black Pound / Dollar / Euro.

This transition out of the community is in itself not necessarily a bad thing, if it is proportionate.

However the way things stand at the moment, there is no Black Pound / Dollar / Euro, for all practical purposes, as the Pound / Dollar / Euro does not stay within the community long enough to do anything good for the community.

This sorry state is a direct result of many Black consumers not consciously doing business with Black business owners, perhaps out of an ignorance of the quality or value on offer from them, comparable to what is available elsewhere.

Diagnosis: Pernicious Anaemia

And therein lies the tragedy! We’re bleeding money so much and so quickly that our community is in a state of what I have diagnosed as “Chronic Pernicious Currency Anaemia”.

The repercussions are dire, not just for the community, but also for the wider economy of each country and the global ecosystem as a whole.

The prescription for this Chronic Pernicious Currency Anaemia that Black communities suffer from is the suite of solutions and services delivered by Black Business Champions.

Solutions and services such as an exclusive global and functional community, unique and dynamic business directory, advice and mentoring from business leaders and high-quality and actionable educational content.

Your participation in this global movement is as timely as it is welcome. It is also evidently one of the greatest acts of self-interest you could possibly engage in.

Have you also seen the elephant in the room? What do you want to do about it today?