A Toast 2 Wealth

It does not matter, if we are in a recession or not, black business owners have always had problems of becoming successful like other races of entrepreneurs.  The difference in learning how to become successful during this recession is any potential successful black person who desire to make a fortune can allow the effects of this recession drive them keep focused on their goal of success; therefore, any other past era when there was no recession may not have driven an them to be all they can be.  So, this is the most powerful thing about facing this recession and for the most part, some good will come out of it.  During this recession, you will learn not to allow this recession or any other personal hardships to get in the way of your success.  If you are black and you have always thought is was difficult to succeed because of your race, then you must wipe that out of your mind, regardless of who reminds you of it, for that has been one of the barriers that has stopped us from obtaining success.  The thought of being black is no different from the thought of being a part of this recession.  Think about it for a moment. There are a lot of people of all races that has allowed the this recession to control their destiny to failure and just because most people have lost their jobs, living out on the streets, losing their homes and valuable possessions, they begin to accept what has happened to other people and this is the very reason why they will not beat this recession.  Do not allow this to be you, whether it is being black or not having enough money during this recession.  Please do not look at your color or your lack of finance, just because other people see that about you.  That is the most powerful key that can reform your life for good.  During this recession, begin to program your mind with dignity and allow faith to control your thoughts.

A lot of African Americans followed the teachings of Rev. Ike for years, instead of following the Word of God.  Although, Rev. Ike said a lot of good things, most people who listened to him remained in their personal circumstance of financial lack.  If you do not remember Rev. Ike who recently died of a stroke at age 74, let me tell you who this man was.  Rev. Ike (Frederick Eikerenkoetter)  was, the original prosperity preacher who taught the African American community how to achieve wealth.  In the 60s and 70s, prosperity preachers we have today: Dr. Frederick K. C. Price, Sr., Creflo Dollar, Bill Winston and various others were unheard of during the peak years of Rev. Ike’s ministry.  Reverend Ike was born on June 1, 1935, in Ridgeland, S.C., to an elementary school teacher and a Baptist minister from Dutch Indonesia.  Rev. Ike was so popular he had a lot of the black church preachers against him and other preachers who did not join him while accusing him of stealing money from people.  Now, as we see, there are many preachers who have took over Rev. Ike’s way of prosperity preaching into billion dollar corporations and sadly, many people are getting excited over the sermons, but still are not earning a million or billion dollar income.  Remember this, do not worship the preacher, worship God and you will have it all.  Didn’t God say, Seek ye the Kingdom of God? (Luke 12:31, Matt. 6:23, ) He did not say seek man, money or solely how to get money, he said seek ye the Kingdom of God.   Throughout history, black people have focused on the wrong thing and naturally, this is the reason for financial lack.  Spiritually, if you follow the laws of this universe, then you will receive what belongs to you.  If you have suffered for a very longtime, search your soul and evaluate your mindset; what sort of things have you focused on over the years?  In the end, Rev. Ike died of a stroke and money could not heal him, only God and it was his business, if he focused on the Kingdom of God for healing to occur.

On this post, we do not want to focus on the life of Rev. Ike; however, he had to be mentioned as an example, because there are many black people who have listened to him and other prosperity preachers for many years and yet had nothing, still remained in the ghetto, still struggling working for corporate America and dealing with racism, still borrowing money in order to survive and the list goes on.  We must get down to the core of the problem.  The first problem is that many black people denounce being black and this has caused not only the curse of poverty, but a separation from God.  Therefore, refusing to accept who you are will not make God very happy.  Therefore, how can you receive anything from the one who has created you, if you are not happy how he created you.  Many black people have hated the way they were created so much, their time of focus have been on how they appear.  If you focus on hating yourself or spend a lot of time broadcasting what you are mixed with, how can you possibly focus on more important subjects: God (first), the Kingdom of God, then on business?  You cannot do it.  There are millions of black people who are not honest to admit it, but focusing on the wrong things throughout our lifetime can cause poverty and it is extremely dysfunctional.  Your whole conversation should not be about how race or placing the blame on another race for what you do not have, but change your conversation on the Kingdom of God first, then talk about success and anything that is going to bring you up, not down.  Furthermore, anytime someone you know who maybe black desires to focus on a subject that is the same old senseless discussion or make you feel like you are not progressing, begin to change the subject or start speaking to people who are on the same mental level as yourself.   Therefore, move away from the same old ways that have not helped the black community and start being you and be grateful for the way God created you.

Now, we dealt with the spiritual side, let us deal with the business side.  If you desire to become successful during this recession, do not cater only to the black community.  I heard a lot of people say, as a black person, you will not get any business from white people.  This is not true and even if it was true, what about other races of people?  You can provide a service or product for all races.  Business was never designed to cater only to get white people as customers, business is designed to attract all people, because money has only 1 color, green and it is those green bucks that gets the bills paid.  Get the subject of race out of your thinking and stop following what the average black entrepreneur that has never worked.

There are many African American entrepreneurs who keep focus on black media and see many reports on black business  owners who would prefer black people to be their only customers, because they see a lot of their wealth going to the white business owners, the only reason for this, is simply because of the black consumer’s mindset, they choose to spend money with white merchants, because of their own (self) prejudice.  So, you have to turn things around, plan an empire or a venture that is going to reach the masses of people, because spirits have no color.  You have to change your mindset, began to think like a millionaire or billionaire.  The owners of McDonald’s, Microsoft or Disneyland created for diverse consumers, not 1 particular race and this is why they are earning billions of dollars.  You cannot afford to allow those same negative ways of thinking to restrain your success.  It is a fact, the way you think about yourself, others will see you.  Therefore, if you begin to see yourself just as a successful spirit, you will no longer think of being black, as a set back.  Stop listening to and attending the same town hall meetings every year that attracts hundreds of black people, because many times the focus is on race.  If you don’t believe it, what is the name of their theme, every year?  When you begin to focus on how your business can make all consumers feel welcome when they visit your place of business, then you will be seen only as an entrepreneur, because your inner spirit has been empowered to change how people see you, regardless of being an African American.

Begin reaching out to all sorts of people who are in need during this recession.  Give them a regular discount, every time they buy from you.  If your customers know they will continue to receive a discount from you, it will not be difficult for them to spend money, although they maybe struggling from this recession.  Then, you want to create something fun.  When you include something that will entertain people, this will help keep their mind off of their financial hardships, then this will encourage them to somehow come up with the money to purchase goods from you.  People love entertainment when shopping and looking around with their family and friends.  Thirdly, beat competitors who are selling the same thing.  Make your prices low enough to attract more customers to your business.

In this article, you may have had to do some soul searching, but just maybe you will finally succeed.  A lot of times, African Americans may not prosper, because they have not evaluated their own lives, but when you begin to evaluate what may have held you back for so long, it is a great possibility, you will prosper during this recession.