It’s not racism. It’s not white supremacy. It’s the black ego that destroys prosperity. Let’s open the envelope.

Living Space

In black culture, they love to make fun of each other for not having their own apartment. But that’s because these people do not understand the importance of cash flow management.

Where I live, it’s not uncommon to see an Indian family share a 2 bedroom apartment among 4-6 adults. It’s not uncommon for the Hispanic population either. But for blacks, it’s a sin.

Paying rent by yourself with a car note puts a strain on your cash flow but if split amongst 4-6 people, it no longer becomes a strain. I’ve personally seen 4+ adults from other cultures share one car. But black people have to “stunt”.

Stunting is just that. Stunting growth.

Here’s another snippet for consideration. Why are black parents so eager to force a young adult out of the home at 18?

Sometimes it’s because the offspring doesn’t contribute financially or they’re just a social burden. Argumentative, disrespectful, whatever… Sometimes the parent(s) are just ready to have their own space.

But what if the culture was to have a family business? Then nobody would be a burden because they’d have a home large enough to accommodate privacy and a lifestyle that affords limitless happiness.

Usually, it’s all finance related. Fix your money problems and you won’t have any problems.

Fashion Culture

What’s the average fashion budget for a black woman? It’s grossly incomparable to a Jewish or Indian woman. Once you add up the expensive pocketbook, weave, red bottoms, makeup etc., I just don’t know how they survive.

The truth is, it’s not the person purchasing the equipment that is to blame, maybe. It’s the peers. Black women will drag another black woman for not having her eyebrows threaded properly or having her edges “laid”. It’s oppressive, really.

Remember the “What are thoooooose?” campaign? It was the pressure of having the latest sneaker brand. This is the priority of the black American. If you don’t have the latest, then you are ostracized.

[bctt tweet=”White supremacy isn’t oppressing black people. Black people are oppressing black people.”]

And who do we have to impress? Each other? How are we letting people who don’t pay our bills dictate our lifestyle?

If you have friends like this, remove yourself from the circle. Get educated friends that inquire about your investment portfolio, not your closet. The former is the type of person to hold you back. They are also likely to not have an investment portfolio.

[bctt tweet=”If your friends don’t have investment portfolios, you need new friends.”]

Black Business Culture

Black entrepreneurship is struggling, in some areas. In many markets there is oversaturation. For example, the many all natural essentials brands that have emerged over the last decade.

Blacks see a black peer open and store, and they don’t join that business, instead, they decide to become a competitor. But the only person they are competing with is themselves.

If in fact, the white monopoly is the problem, wouldn’t it behoove blacks to join forces to compete against the white monopoly instead of competing with each other?

But the problem is envy and ego. The black entrepreneur doesn’t want to split profits and glory. Everyone wants to be “the man”. But Scottie Pippen earned the same ring as Michael Jordan. Jordan even took a pay cut to allow cap room for better teammates.

Most businesses aren’t even out of the red yet. How can you stick your hand in the pot before there’s even money in the pot? GREED!

What do you want? The comfortable lifestyle or media glory and fame. If it’s fame you want, then you’re not fit for business.

Solutions

Investing does not always mean forking over cash. This also includes TIME – time is money. You can trade your work effort for ownership in a company. They call this “sweat equity”.

This could be as simple as promoting the owner’s product in exchange for commission or shares in the company. It could be more extensive, like becoming the accountant or marketing arm of the company.

Think long-term. Don’t think about how much money you can make now. Chances are, that’s small money. Think about how much you can make when the business is worth millions.

Would you rather split $1,000 or split $1,000,000? Who wants to put in all that time and effort to run a business and still have to go to work on Monday? Wouldn’t you rather work for yourself?

I understand the possible frustrations of a business owner. You don’t want to give a portion of your company to someone who isn’t doing the work. There is a solution for this.

It’s called “vesting shares”. The partner would not gain any equity in your company without first proving they are of value. The most common utility is a “4 years vesting 1-year cliff“.

With this utility, the partner would not earn any shares until their first-year anniversary with the company. If things go south before the first year, they earn nothing. Low risk, high reward.

Final Thoughts

Join forces. Split an apartment between four people, start a business, split expenses, sacrifice the “lavish look” in the short-term and actually be wealthy in the long-term.

Don’t listen to the naysayers and people on Twitter making fun of you because your mattress is on the ground and you have three roommates. Think about the money you have piling up in your bank account.

These people have tons of clothes with no space to put them all anyway. Sacrifice now, so later you can have a closet the size of their bedroom and a bed worth their monthly salary. Then you can hire them and be THEIR boss. 😂

In order for this to work, all parties would have to limit their ego. Everyone is going to have to take a loss at some point. Usually, this happens with disagreements, which are prevalent when starting a business.

Be mature. Don’t think about yourself. Think about the health of the business. If it’s good for the business, it’s good for you. If you get outvoted in a meeting, take it on the chin. Whether you’re right or wrong doesn’t matter – it’ll be a learning lesson for all of the business owners.

Limit the partying. Throw business parties instead. Events like networking or product introduction parties. Find a way to mesh your entertainment with business. What’s better than having fun and making money at the same time?

A business run by many people is going to become profitable faster than one run by just one person. And you’ll have way less stress.

Here’s a quick story:

In my early twenties, I had two groups of friends. We each had three separate record labels but every day we hung out with each other. How stupid was that? Then one day we all put our egos down and joined forces.

It felt like we had overnight success. Every aspect of our music endeavors grew exponentially. The music was better. Our shows had a packed house. We gained recognition and earned our first spot on cable TV.

It’s why rock bands thrive while the solo rap artist starves. A recording session may cost $500 for one single (including mixing and mastering). For one person, that could be a financial strain. But split amongst 5 people it’s only a $100 investment.

The same goes for marketing & equipment expenses. Being a solo artist can make one go broke. Get a team.

Look out for the red flags and DON’T OVERLOOK THEM. Trust your intuition. The moment you feel like someone is egocentric, remove them from the equation immediately. Save yourself the time and the headache.

There’s always that one person that says, “I’m not the one rapping so why do I have to put money up?” But they’re sitting in the recording session (being a distraction) and dancing on stage taking attention away from the artist. 😑

Keep these people at bay. Work with people who see the bigger picture and then flourish.

Racism would dissolve if black ignorance did. Blacks don’t work together because their “culture” feeds the ego.

Learn more about investing by reading my other post, “Why are black people poor?”. There’s pertinent life-changing information there for EVERYONE.