Magic Johnson, who has gone from basketball star to a mega successful businessman, knows something about entrepreneurship. And recently he helped The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) reach out to entrepreneurs. ICIC teamed up with the Small Business Administration, and Bank of America to invite more than 100 growing inner city companies from around the nation to pitch their ideas to potential investors in Los Angeles.

Programs that match money with entrepreneurs who are in need of money are all right in my book. This is a great example of a program that is gathering business people from all across the nation to provide an opportunity to discuss their needs with interested venture capitalists while also helping them to improve their pitches so that they can secure even more funding.

Related articles

• Magic Johnson Helps Urban Entrepreneurs (harlemworldblog.wordpress.com)
• Urban Entrepreneur Partnership Awarded Grants to Continue Entrepreneurial Education and Coaching Model (kauffman.org)

While the situation may or may not be improving in the United States (depending on how you fared the recession)–the truth is it is going to be harder than ever to find a traditional job in the US for decades to come. If corporations can take their resources overseas–what is to prevent the self-made entrepreneur from doing the same?

A flourishing entrepreneur learns to leave no stone unturned in the quest for new customers and markets. As infrastructure and education break down the digital divide, look to forge new opportunities among the Black Diaspora–particularly in Africa.

The Africa Report outlines 11 Ideas for 2011, for improving the quality of life within the continent. One is a “Teach Africa” program to accelerate learning in African countries. The site states:

The typical African youth is a literate 18-and-a-half-year-old female, living in a rural area but not attending school, according to a World Bank report, Youth and Employment in Africa. If he or she is working at all, it is the informal economy. The report also notes that “In 2005, 62% of Africa’s overall population fell below the age of 25.”

Imagine the positive social and financial opportunities made possible through such a program, particularly if done in concert with African American communities in the United States. Or perhaps your business can benefit in these international markets? Read the full story at The Africa Report and weigh in with your thoughts!

Ten Game-Changing Strategies to Achieve Success and Find Greatness
By Randal Pinkett & Jeffrey Robinson,
Authors of Black Faces in White Places: 10 Game-Changing Strategies to Achieve Success and Find Greatness

Establish a strong identity and purpose. Your ethnic and cultural identity is a great asset. Amplify it as a competitive advantage. A strong identity reflects an appreciation of your uniqueness and its value. A strong identity grounds you; a well-defined purpose gives you the self-confidence to know you can choose your own path, rather than follow society. Start by asking yourself, “What does it mean to be Black or African American?”

Obtain broad exposure. Seek out different experiences, perspectives, places, and people that bring about a healthy level of discomfort. Moving beyond your comfort zone will expand your worldview and sense of possibilities, contribute to how you construct your identity and define your purpose, and enable you to develop and grow.

Demonstrate excellence. Being good at what you do is not enough. You must be excellent. Achieving excellence takes combining the gifts and passion you naturally possess with discipline (the time, effort, and hard work you are willing to put forth) and your beliefs (the translation of your thoughts into empowering actions and outcomes).

Build diverse and solid relationships. Historically, African Americans have had to adapt to the codes of the white majority. But in a global marketplace and a United States where minorities are the majority, code switching encompasses a wide array of standards and norms. Reach out and network with the aim of creating a culture where everyone sees the value in learning more about one another.

Seek the wisdom of others. There is always something you can learn from others, whether younger, older, less experienced, or more capable. Learn from others’ mistakes as well as their successes. When you seek the wisdom of others, you develop your own. Learn from your peers. Find a mentor, and be one, too. The best way to learn is to teach.

Find strength in numbers. Surround yourself with people who share your perspective, affirm your values, and support your goals. Cultivate an inner circle whose members are all comfortable with each other, trust each other, and watch out for each other. (The key isn’t necessarily ethnicity, but compatibility.) Get involved in collaborative organizations, which range from Black Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities to the NAACP.

Think and act intrapreneurially. Apply an entrepreneurial mindset within an established organization to effect institutional change. You must maintain a strong sense of self-determination and work within the system to make a big impact.

Think and act entrepreneurially. You must take control of your career; you must dare to be in the driver’s seat of your destiny; and you must be in a position to pursue your economic prosperity. The entrepreneurial mindset of passion, creativity, resourcefulness, courage, and resilience is mandatory for success in the twenty-first century. Work outside the system to build wealth for yourself and the community as a whole.

Synergize and reach scale. To redefine the game you must create mutually beneficial connections between people and between organizations to fulfill their collective purpose — and then amplify their collaborative actions to have the broadest or deepest possible impact in a way that levels the playing field for everyone.

Give back generously. Each and every one of us represents the continuation of a countless number of legacies and we can blaze trails for others to follow. Today, African-American giving is no longer only about survival or even helping each other; it is about empowerment and collective self-determination. To address the many challenges in our community, we must leverage our combined efforts through organizations and businesses to reach as many people as possible.

© 2010 Randal Pinkett & Jeffrey Robinson, authors of Black Faces in White Places: 10 Game-Changing Strategies to Achieve Success and Find Greatness

TheCASHFLOW – Three Days to Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference.

Things are coming together as Atlanta prepares for the BE Entrepreneur’s Conference next week. The CASHFLOW is running a content where you can win tickets to the event by tweeting about their tix giveaway and including the best business advice you ever received.

I won’t be able to attend, but I’m sure that some of our Hustletown readers will be representing black entrepreneurship from all over the nation.

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• Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference + Expo: May 16-19 in Atlanta (thehustletownchronicle.com)

The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)

This year’s theme is “Engineering a Global Impact.” The conference boasts over 200 sponsors and exhibitors from known companies as well as prominent colleges, universities and government agencies from the U.S. and Canada.

“It is with great pride that we host the convention in Toronto, as NSBE recognizes the importance of doing business globally,” said Stacyann Russell, NSBE National Chair.

“Our pre-college and high school members will gain a stamp on their passports as well as a stamp on their personal outlook on life,” added Carl B. Mack, NSBE Executive Director.

Visit nsbe.org for more information on this powerful event, including details about technical workshops, speakers, competitions and hands on activities for middle and high school students.

Hustletown readers: Are you a member of any national organizations such as NSBE that have made a difference in your career? Let us know in our comments section below!

Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco

The Web 2.0 Expo is produced by O’Reilly Media, Inc. and TechWeb. This year will be the fourth annual event for designers, developers, entrepreneurs, marketers, business strategists, and venture capitalists intent on establishing a web for the 21st century.

“It’s not just about how companies use the web as a platform,” said Sarah Milstein, Web 2.0 Expo Co-Chair and TechWeb General Manager. “It’s about how they fit into an ecosystem or create new, larger ones. What we’re interested in this year is the new wave of companies that have the potential to build new economies and exploring exactly how that is done.”

Web 2.0 Expo offers several educational opportunities, networking, and a tradeshow. This year, the event launches One Day Intensives featuring expert speaker panels in a classroom environment.

Tracks for the conference will showcase topics such as: Strategy & Business Models, Social Media Marketing, Design & User Experience and Development.

To learn more about the 2010 Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco or register visit: http://www.web2expo.com/sf

1stFriday.com, Inc.

“We believe that African Americans have unique social and professional information needs – our issues and problems are very area-specific. Connections is the only social and professional networking platform that serves the needs of African Americans at the local level,” said 1stFriday.com CEO Jay Ward.

Connections boasts Geo Social networking tools

Connections is open to everyone, regardless of whether their city hosts an active 1st Friday chapter. According to 1st Friday.com there are now 29 U.S. cities with First Fridays chapters, where African Americans gather to connect. A Connections profile will allow visitors to search for other African Americans with similar personal or professional goals, join groups, or send and receive messages from other Connections members.

“The more people who join and use the Connections network, the more useful it will become for the Black community. That’s our goal,” said Ward.

Hustletown readers: Is Connections poised to become the new Blackplanet.com? If you use this site or plan to, tell us about your experience below!

“Tech Connection is a prime example of how the local tech community comes together to share ideas, network, and build collaborative relationships. If you are involved in the tech community, this is an event you will want to attend,” says Walter Ulrich, President and CEO of HTC.

Houston Technology Center is a non-profit business accelerator that educates entrepreneurs and assists emerging companies in Houston’s key technology sectors: energy, information technology, life sciences and NASA- originated technologies. HTC’s goal is to enhance Houston’s position as a leading city for starting and growing emerging technology companies.

See here for the entire story, and more information on how to attend this event!

1. Branding. A Facebook Page poses limitations to attaching your company logo throughout, while a blog gives you more opportunity to leave a lasting impression.
2. Blog Entries Beat Facebook Notes. Belicove believes notes do not attract as much attention, while blog’s allow for categories, thread post commenting, and SEO.
3. 3rd Party Analytic Tools Run on Blogs. Business owners need to know everything possible about what is driving traffic to their content. Facebook offers “limited visibility” into these key metrics.
4. Search Engine Optimization. The ability to customize meta data will help your blog achieve higher rankings for search engines, which leads to more website traffic.
5. Ownership of Content. Your blog content is a business asset. Even though Facebook reversed a decision in its terms of service (the decision allowed the site to keep account info even after a user deletes it) do you really want to have anything less than complete control?

Read Belicove’s full article here.

Hustletown readers, how is Facebook increasing your business? Share your insight.

I attended the second annual African American Internet Marketing Summit yesterday in Chicago at the downtown Wyndham hotel. I didn’t attend last year and was excited about this year’s topical focus on Internet Marketing. Ken Smikle does a great job of organizing this event and Interactive One was one of several outstanding sponsors. I met a few folks that I will continue to network with and all-in-all the information that was presented was quite helpful.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

The summit caters more to marketing professionals who are working with companies that have realized the need or are aspiring to improve their connection with the large and lucrative African American consumer via online platforms. The summit doesn’t quite hit the mark in addressing the unique needs of African American internet marketers who are using online tools to sell products and services or in educating aspiring marketers in the tools of the internet marketing trade. You get a bit of that but it’s more of a session for dealing with the big guys and successfully executing profitable marketing campaigns that serve our community and provide a financial return for advertisers. It’s difficult to meet every need and African American Online Marketing is a fairly broad theme. The focus of the summit is appropriate for the audience and the industry speakers and presentations are spot on. I’ll probably attend again next year, but there is still a need for educational seminars for African American internet marketing entrepreneurs who are serving the needs of small businesses and/or not-for-profit organizations who need to establish an online presence.

PRESENTATIONS

• The Latest Research on African-Americans, Social Media and the Internet: Oveda Brown, Manager of Multicultural Marketing for Arbitron gave a presentation on The Latest Research on African Americans, Social Media and the Internet. It was obvious to everyone in the room that the digital divide has closed and that African Americans are over-indexing in many categories of internet use when you factor in mobile devices that have internet access capabilities. We are huge users spending six hours a week several times a day visiting dating sites, looking for jobs and downloading movies among other things. We’re also getting much more comfortable making significant purchases and lead all categories in mobile usage.
• Chaos or Opportunity: How to Navigate Economic Uncertainty. Kevin McFall, President of Red Clay Digital and Co-Founder/VP of RushmoreDrive.com and Angela Benton, Publisher of BlackWeb 2.0 provided an excellent panel discussion regarding the challenges and opportunities for Black media platforms as they related to advertising funding and corporate support. They shared their belief that targeted African American online media platforms can be viable whether black-owned or otherwise but they must be clear about their purpose, their marketing strategy, and the real extent of their reach as a basis for financial backing. The African American market is a niche and there are many niches within the niche. Content producers must be comfortable in knowing that the size of their audience may not be a big enough draw for significant advertising revenue and a different funding model may be required.
• Digital Decisions: Is Your Content Audience or Advertiser Driven? Smokey Fontaine, Chief Content Officer for Interactive One gave a great presentation about what Interactive One is doing to provide effective marketing solutions for African American marketing while superserving our community via radio, television, print and online media. It was an excellent presentation and Interactive One has come a long and successful way since it’s humble beginnings in Washington DC with Cathy Hughes providing visionary leadership all the while.
• The Advertiser’s Perspective: What Clients are Looking For. The summit ended with a presentation featuring key industry perspectives from advertising executives. The panel included senior leaders from industries that continue to struggle with the relevance of online marketing to African Americans despite clear and convincing data that indicates the profit potential for those who get it right. Among the speakers were Don Moore, President of Burrell Digital; Brian Anderson, President Energi; and Sherman Wright, Co-Founder of Commonground Marketing. There was an outstanding exchange on what the giants of search, radio and other industries could learn and where opportunities remain for those who can effectively and convincingly make the case for targeted marketing to our niche. Don’s presentation of Burrell’s work with American Airlines on Black Atlas was especially enjoyable.

ICEMAN TAKEAWAYS

I drove up to the summit from Indianapolis. The summit began at 9:00 am and I was a few minutes late because I did not plan for rush hour traffic even though I left Indy at 6:30 that morning. Note to self: next time, drive up the night before.

I intended to play it low key, wanting to get a sense of the kinds of professionals in the room and the quality of the content. Both were excellent but again, not quite specific enough to my interests in this niche. There were a number of senior executives from marketing firms along with sales consultants, buyers, publishers, media directors, and designers. These are folks responsible for managing the goals and execution of client campaigns intended to create awareness and drive purchases for their brands. There was great information shared but on an order of magnitude that is more of a case study material for maverick entrepreneurs and less of the brass tacks discussion and demonstration of what works and how to get it done. Again, much respect to Ken Smikle of Target Market News for an outstanding summit.