Black Entrepreneurs Are Their Own Worst Enemies.

(ThyBlackMan.com) I received a massive response from my column last week.  I wrote about the Trump administration being open for business, especially for small businesses, and even more so for Black businesses.

I was subsequently contacted by a small group of extremely successful Black entrepreneurs.  Many are household names and each generating hundreds of millions of dollars up to a couple billion dollars of annual revenue.

I had no previous relationship with any of them but was aware of who they were.  They asked if I would be willing to meet them out west for dinner and that they were willing to fly me first class, pay for my hotel and pay me for my time.

The next day after checking my schedule and determining that I would be able to adjust some meetings on my calendar; I called them and indicated that I would be able to fly out west to meet with them.

Between dinner and breakfast the next morning, we spent about six hours having leisurely conversations.

In the beginning, I had this sneaking suspicion that these guys were willing to invest their time and money toying with me as some kind of social experiment.  I had no proof, but this was how I felt.

It reminded me of Eddie Murphy’s classic movie, “Trading Places.”   I was the Eddie Murphy character, Billy Ray Valentine.

But the mood changed and things got real when I flipped the script.

By any measure, these entrepreneurs would be deemed highly successful and were good corporate citizens in their respective communities.

I was thoroughly shocked and disappointed at their lack of business and political sophistication, despite their success.

One of the first things I do with a new client is to perform what I call a “forensic assessment.”

I want to know in one sentence what their business’ core competency is; what are their top three priorities for the year; and for them to list the ten most influential people in their rolodex.

They looked at me as though they were insulted by my questions; it was like they were asking with their eyes, “Don’t you know who I am?”

I had them right where I wanted them now, so I began to make them even more uncomfortable.

I asked each of them could they pick up the phone right now and call their governor, U.S. senator, or U.S. congressman on their private cell phone?  Or could they pick up the phone and call the president of the United States or one of his cabinet secretaries?

Not one could answer in the affirmative.

They each said they “don’t do politics, they are businessmen.”

Game, set, and match!!!

This unsophisticated mindset has permeated every Black institution in America; from our HBCUs, businesses, churches, civil rights, fraternities, sororities, and even our families.

The Black community’s default position when we do not get something we want is to blame it on race, white folks, and of course the obligatory, Doanld Trump.

We are our own worst enemies, not white folks, racism or Donald Trump.

As a matter of fact, Trump has created the most level playing field in the history of the U.S. when it comes to business and domestic policies.

Trump and his administration are very simple:  identify the problem and offer a practical solution.

You cannot operate within this paradigm if you do not have the right relationships.

As I am wont to say, people do business with people they know!

Most Black entrepreneurs who are engaged on some level of the political process do it within the Democrat Party.

Please make it make sense.

The Democrats are, by definition, antithetical to entrepreneurship.  They want to increase your taxes, personal and business; increase regulation of your business environment; and mandate the salary you pay your employees, etc.

I would never go to Michael Jordan if I had a heart problem; I would never go to McDonalds if I were a vegan; I would never go to a sorority and ask them what it is like to join a fraternity.

I have never met a Black businessman who has used the federal appropriations process to their benefit; or was at the policy table when legislation was being written.

As a businessman, how much would it be worth to you to know what the top issue being focused on by the Senate and House Armed Services Committee going into 2026; especially relative to small business.

Trump and the federal courts have gotten rid of affirmative action, which I think is good for America and great for Black entrepreneurs.  Why?  Very simple.

Blacks are not the primary beneficiary of affirmative action; it is white suburban middle-class women—people who need it the least.

My Godfather actually wrote the affirmative action law for former president Richard Nixon in nineteen sixty-nine.  His name was Arthur Fletcher, the highest-ranking Black in the Nixon administration.

I am in contact at the highest levels of the White House, Congress, and corporate America.

My biggest frustration is finding Black entrepreneurs who are ready to play at the level I play on.

My sweet spot is not helping businesses fill out forms to be certified as a minority this or a minority that; my job is to take companies who can hit the ground running immediately to meet with decision-makers and close deals!!!

It all starts with relationships.  I was stunned that not one of the guys I had dinner with could pick up the phone and call a CEO of a Fortune 500 company.  NOT ONE!!!

With all the revenue and success, where are relationships?

Black businesses are thinking with analogue ideas in a digital world.  They are using a dial-up approach to business when everyone else is using broadband.

To all my entrepreneurs, just think about the number of business conferences you attend in the course of a year.  Tell me the number of times the CEO of a Fortune 500 company actually participated in your conference and had something meaningful to say and issued a specific call to action.

Most Fortune 500 CEOs always send their resident Black or Hispanic or their diversity guy who has absolutely NO power or authority!

 

 

Finish story here; Black Entrepreneurs Are Their Own Worst Enemies.