Recently I had the opportunity to be a witness to the ode of “what goes around comes around”. You see, being black in business I’ve had to grit my teeth plenty of times when potential patrons would use whatever reason they would for taking their business elsewhere:

“We want to expand our options.”
Translation: We don’t want to work with someone who works from home.

“We want to go with someone more established”
Translation: We don’t want to work with a one man operation.

“We want to find a better fit.”
Translation: We don’t want to work with someone…your…skin color.

It’s cool. If it’s one thing I’ve learned about being in business for myself, is that you definitely will have to deal with all of the deals you won’t get. And you’ll wonder whether or not your skin color has anything to do with it. It’s natural. Suck it up and continue to do good business, excuse me, I mean GREAT business, but take care to pay attention when you’re getting an unfair end of the stick. Ignorance is not bliss.

So lately I’ve been extremely involved with a heavy educational video project. The producer on this job is a white male, and he is great to work with. We are a great team and have been producing great results for these videos lately. In the sense of working with someone “more established” (see translations above), he foot the bill.

As my production company has provided the shooting, he and his team work to do the editing and finishing. It’s a great combination. I’ve been able to concentrate on filming a great product for him, and he deals with all of the client drama.

Recently there was a snafu in communication with one of his biggest clients and him and his team. Don’t worry, I had nothing to do with this one. However, the miscommunication was a big one. And there were threats that they were going to find another production company to work with.

This of course had nothing to do with me and my team. Besides, we were just providing the footage. But I did get a chance to pow-wow with my guy and see that he was completely nervous about what may come of it. Being in a situation before where I goofed and didn’t meet the client’s expectations I know where he was coming from. And I tried to give him all the advice I could to quickly put H2O on those fires.

Well the client backed out anyway. After being disappointed with the miscommunication, his client discussed the mishap with their other colleagues and they suggested a different company altogether. I refer to them as “The Bigger Guys”.

They have Bigger offices. Bigger employee numbers. Bigger cameras. Bigger projects. And of course Bigger headaches.

Everyone has a “bigger guy” in their field. Whether or not “bigger is better” remains to be judged on a case by case basis…

Anyway, after losing this huge client (they gross in the millions) he was kind of crushed. Feeling like he had done all he could to woo them and keep them, they still found a way to give him a good reason for leaving. Unacceptable business acumen. And he didn’t look like me, work from his house, or handle most of his business on his own. He just became a victim of don’t drop the ball when the game is on the line.

Do I feel that the client could have given him a second chance, sure. It’s all politics. Sometimes no matter who you are or what color you are, you only have one chance to make a bad impression.

It was just good to see good business get the fair shake overall and be able to share with someone their sentiment of feeling defeated. It’s exactly my point of why no matter what, being black in business means being on your A game at all times. Because sometimes skin color won’t matter.

I have a really good colleague of mine that I do some video work for and we have a great business and personal relationship. We’ve worked on numerous projects and have gotten each other business several times. He happens to be white, and we’ve never had any issues with race, color, status, or creed. But that’s generally normal for me.

We’ve done all types of corporate work, been around plenty of million dollar clients and have done a tremendous amount of creative projects. There’s been times where we were able to handle it ourselves, and other times where he brought in an assistant of his to help us out.

Recently we had a big project where his assistants weren’t available so he asked if I had anyone who could help out and such, so I made a recommendation and confirmed their availability. Because I know what kind of world we live in and what being black in business has taught me, I told him that my associate was another black guy and asked would that cause a problem with some of his clients by having not one, but two brothers show up on the set.

He was floored.

He honestly could not wrap his head around the fact that things like that actually have to be thought about when being black in business. He was intrigued to know more. So I told him stories of showing up for consultations with clients, to then showing up to the do the work with my associates and we get funny looks and everyone feels uncomfortable. And even at some weddings where I’ve showed up at the rehearsal to funny looks and people stopping me like I’m obviously in the wrong place, then the next day treating me and my staff like a bunch of outcasts, I thought it was important to have the conversation with my colleague before we set up this major shoot.

The best example I have of this phenomenon (if I can call it that), was a two day documentary shoot I had. I wasn’t able to get my 1st PA for both days. So I alternated between my 1st PA and my 2nd PA. One was white, the other one was black. The client and all of his associates and interviewees were white. I can honestly sit here and say that there was a big difference in how my PAs were treated on those days, to the point where I had to say something about it. I was quite appalled that people would be so ignorant.

So once I filled my colleague in on my thoughts about, he said it should be just fine and was now glad to have that insight on how some of us (blacks) have to think when doing business. We’ve talked about it several times since and he’s still amazed. He’s told me on several occasions “I had no idea what you guys had to go through”.

And that’s the joy of not knowing. When you’re not really a victim of anything, you kind of go on living your life just to be living it without regard for those who are victims. His ignorance of the race card in black business had done him justice up until that day. I can’t say it was comforting to see him marvel over why I had to think about stuff like that, because it was kind of sad to me to think about it as well. But it was an opportunity to share and learn. And I think it’s important for all of us who are black in business to consider our welcoming situations and our non-welcoming situations.

We still work together. But he has a new respect for me and my authenticity. And I’m sure he’s probably gained it for some of his other black colleagues as well.

The joy of not knowing…

So I was out with family the other night at a restaurant, and as soon as I walked in and sat down a waitress came up to me and said “Sorry to bother you, but Larry wanted me to come out and say hi to you”, and walked away.

I was like ok, and the rest of my family looked at me like “what was that all about?”. And I’m like, “I don’t know a Larry, but he said hello, and it’s nothing wrong with that”.

It’s not like she came out and said, “Larry said where’s his money?”, then I might have been worried.

So we’re going along and I’m figuring if Larry is looking at me from the kitchen or his office, he’ll figure out that I’m not his guy. Besides, I didn’t know anyone named Larry, and we we’re in town for a funeral to a city I had never been. Either this was about to be someone from waaaay back that I don’t remember who just happened to remember me, or a case of mistaken identity.

A waitress comes up to me again and says “Larry wants to talk to you”, and I follow her to the moment of truth. I meet Larry and the first thing he says is “aww, you’re not AJ” and I’m like “nope, but it’s nice to meet you anyway”.

We laugh and chat a bit and he tells me that he thought I was his friend AJ, and he was going to give me his discount card for the meal. But then he asked me if I wanted to use it anyway, and I told him sure. He handed me his card and said present it when we get the bill and I told him thanks and I’d be sure that he gets it back before we leave.

Now I didn’t know this guy and he didn’t know me. And he had no reason to give me the “manager’s special”. But as I walked back to my table I couldn’t help but think that maybe just because I was authentic in meeting him and going along with his story letting him figure out he had the wrong person, that he decided to share his card with me anyway even though I wasn’t his friend.

As we kept eating dinner I thought of how many times in business have I mistaken a potential client for something they weren’t, and how because of my assumption, I either proceeded to gain the business or lose it altogether. I remembered the thought of being authentic and just how much further that really gets you in life. I thought of times where I tried to make my business seem like something it wasn’t. Or times when I went along with the assumption of what someone else thought my business was. And then reflected on all of the business and repeat business I get just from being authentically who I am and not who someone else wants me to be.

I had a new client say to me the other day that before she decided to hire me, she had interviewed several other designers and that she had gotten a lower price from a few others, but didn’t get the “warm, fuzzy, authentic feeling” that she got when speaking to me, and that’s what helped her make her choice. It was one of the best compliments I’ve ever gotten in business. I didn’t get the business because of the best price, the best service, or the best product. I got the business from just being myself, authentically. You can’t put a price on that.

The family and I had a great meal and on the way out I thanked Larry for letting me and my family use his card and receive a discount on our meal. I’m forever sold on this restaurant. And will frequent the chain again and again. And although I may never see Larry again, I’ll remember his kind spirit every time I sit down to eat there. Thank you Larry for giving me an opportunity to be comfortably authentic with being myself.

I can always tell the other black business owners I run into that have put some serious thought into their business. They usually clamor to me about this great idea, and wonderful marketing strategy and this unique niche that will separate them from the competition.

Then they turn to me and ask how can they do that without letting the world know that their black.

As black business owners we struggle with the concept in being in business for yourself and showing up with knowing you already you got one strike against you. I live in a fairly black populated area, and when I’m talking to potential non-black clients and they ask where I’m located, they get hit with the double strike. A black man from a black town. I can only say this because I’ve seen the discern in potential client’s faces after peering at my business card asking about my location and getting the slow “…ooohhhh….you live in (xxxx)”. If I had a dollar for every time that had happened I wouldn’t need to be in business, I’d be rich!

So I’ve struggled with the whole location bit, appearance bit, and trying to do everything I could possibly do to not scare off potential business because they weren’t intelligent enough to see past a skin color. We’ve all done it before (black business owners), diversified our marketing material, hired a virtual assistant, even contracted some non-minorities to give off the appearance that it’s ok to do business with us.

You can read some of the other blogs on here about other experiences where being black in business wasn’t necessarily a winning ticket into getting a new client, but the biggest story that I have with this topic was changing the location of my business.

I had several upper echelon executives visit the studio from time to time and would marvel at some of my work. And they would always ask if I had any plans on expansion, training, and hiring more staff. We’d talk for a minute, and I’d mention that I thought that my location was part of the reason of my slow expansion. They would both respond with the same thing: get a P.O. Box in a suburb area, put that on the business card and see what it does for business.

I understood exactly what they were saying, but was somewhat disagreeing because I felt I could only “fool” my clients for so long. I actually have to meet with some of my clients, so it would only be a matter of time before the gig would be up.

But there was something to what they were saying. I thought about it and how it could possible work with a slight revision.

I went and got a PMB (Post Mail Box) with an actual street address and also added a second phone line to the business that would be the representation of that address.

So I now had a way of telling whether or not you were calling the old location or the “new” business location.

As soon as the word was out that a “second” location was open, it instantly starting getting more business. Which was strange because it was still the “same” business. Just had a different phone number to go along with the old one.

I’ve continued the charade now for two years and business is up 40%. Now I can’t say that this one thing is the reason, because I’m sure that all of the things I’ve done over the years have contributed to the growth of the business, but I can’t help wondering what would have happened if I never tried it.

I tried for so long to try and hide the fact that I was running a black owned business in a majority black city that I lost track of just being your authentic self and concentrating on providing a good product and great customer service no matter what. It wasn’t until I was at a trade show working and there was a huge crowd at our booth, and an interested patron broke through and asked was I the owner. I answered yes and to my surprised she responded “good, because I like supporting black businesses”.

I paused for a minute. I had been thinking that I would get more business appearing to not be black owned, and I finally ran into an opportunity where it was actually to my advantage.

Nowadays I still have both numbers because of the history obviously, but my focus is more on being a great business than appearing to not be black owned. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be concerned with race and business, however if you’re just your authentic self and do good work, then the rest will take care of itself. It ain’t nothin’ wrong with being black owned…..

The title of this post is strictly for us black professionals. I hold us to a higher standard and expect our customer service to be top notch. But we already know my dilemma….

I was sitting at home this weekend watching TV when a commercial for a BBQ Rib Joint (yes I know how ebonical that sounds – but we’re talking ribs here, sue me ) came on the screen that I had never heard of. The first time I seen the commercial I just paid attention to the layout, music choice, and how it was shot, being the video production guy that I am. The second and third time I seen the commercial, those ribs on that grill started to look mighty tasty. I decided I was going to make the trip to the Rib Joint for dinner.

Now although the Rib Joint was a good 30 minutes away, I thought that if the ribs tasted as good as they looked through the TV, it would be worth the drive. Plus, I had a friend in that area I could go by and visit and maybe we could have a rib tip taste fest.

I arrived at the place and there were two other cars in the parking lot and a few patrons waiting on the inside. It was a beautiful day to make the trip, and I couldn’t wait to mow down on some good ol’ fashioned BBQ.

When it was my turn to get served, the lady behind the glass yells out “Can I Help You?!” in the most annoyed way I have ever heard. I started to say “no you can’t in that tone of voice”, but seeing that I had drove a half-an-hour for this delicacy, I wasn’t going to let her stop me now. I proceeded to tell her my order to which she interrupted “are you going to speak into the vent so I can hear you?”.

I paused.

At this point I knew that I was in for the customer service from hell and that any sudden smart remarks could cause a little funny business with my food (remember the Domino’s Pizza scandal on YouTube?). I spoke through the vent, paid my money, and began to wait like the other patrons.

I was now on a serious binge for this BBQ. It had to now be worth the drive and worth the bad attitude of the meanie behind the screenie. I started to look around the establishment and was very impressed with how clean it was, and how they had obviously taken the time to make sure their storefront was spotless and presentable.

It was just really too bad that too often some of us give off that bad attitude that is so commonly found in black businesses. Should I have just walked away and said never mind? Maybe. Do you think she actually would have changed her tone with the next person? Maybe not. We often times will left stuff slide for the sake of the situation. In my case, I wanted those rib tips. But I’m not so sure I’ll be returning to get yelled at again. Especially when I’m spending my hard-earned dollars supporting another black business and making a 30 minute drive to do so.

My friend and I decided the BBQ was definitely worth the drive, but never worth the attitude. But at least I didn’t slap my momma…..

I was working on a filming project last week, and had forgotten a few accessories from my truck. So I run outside to grab them, and start to head back into the buildling. I was about to cut across the yard when I froze in like mid step. Although I was outside by myself, I just had a feeling I was being watched. Something as simple as walking across the grass could have left a bad taste in someone’s mouth, not to mention footprints in the grass.

Now besides the fact that I wouldn’t want anyone walking across my grass either, I took the time at that moment of non-grass walking to really evaluate just knowing and not knowing when someone is watching you. Someone thinking of hiring you. Someone thinking of firing you. In our case of being black professionals in business, you best believe we’re being watched all the time. Whatever the case is, just always be on your best behavior because you never know where the sign is posted telling you not to walk across the grass. Sometimes saying you didn’t the sign doesn’t let you off the hook.

We video taped our first wake service and funeral the other day. The request came in from a referral by a photographer colleague of ours. He gave the church a glowing recommendation and they called us up and asked were we available. No asking how much it costs, not trying to haggle the price, just an “are you available” and a “we’ll have the check ready”. You’ve gotta love those kind of clients.

I asked what the attire was, and if there were any special needs. And my contact was like “shirt and tie will be fine, arrive 20 minutes before, and record the entire service”. I obliged with the rules, arrived on time (early actually) and although I was surprised to be taping a wake and funeral service, I enjoyed hearing all the wonderful things everyone had to say about Father Nick. By the time I was through taping the funeral the second night, I felt like I knew him personally.

So being the only chip in the cookie at both ceremonies, I made sure to behave appropriately. No talking or playing with my cell phone, no slouching, no ebonic behavior, etc. But we already know that this should be the norm when being a professional. After the taping, I was asked to have 10 copies ready before one of the church staff members leaves for Honduras so she could take them with her. I said “no problem” and proceeded to pack up and receive my check for the evening.

When the ladies from the church came to the studio to pick up their copies, we popped one in to show it worked and how to skip through the program selections. Both ladies were amazed with the quality and asked for a few of my business cards. I felt proud at once again doing a good job and concentrating on the work and not bringing color to the work.

I called my photographer friend and thanked them for the referral. He said “anytime” and then exclaimed to me that he had yet another referral for me that he had just gotten off of the phone with and wanted me to have a heads up. It seems that the funeral director from the service I had just shot was in the market desperately for a wedding videographer for her daughter, and my photographer friend gave us a glowing recommendation again. Had even told them that “remember the guy who was recording the service? That’s who we recommend!”. At first I didn’t see anything wrong with the situation at all. I told my colleague thanks for the referral and said I would be sure to take care of the funeral director when she called.

She never called.

I thought back to the desperation that my colleague had mentioned, and thought that maybe that much urgency would have led to a phone call. But it wasn’t until I remembered that the funeral director got a chance to see I was the only chip in the cookie before even getting a chance to see my work that I began to think that her not calling wasn’t an overlook on the part of finding a wedding videographer. Too bad she didn’t come to the studio with the church ladies, she could have gotten a chance to see the work and not the color of the work. Even with a glowing recommendation I didn’t even get a chance to get hired before I was already fired. I just hope the daughter of the funeral director finds a wedding videographer in time. But I digress.

Rest in peace, Father Nick Amico

My cousin and I were sitting here watching an NBA playoff game the other day and he was telling me how his favorite team was the LA Lakers with his favorite player being Kobe Bryant.

We laughed about the Forum fans screaming “we want tacos!” as an indication that the LA Lakers are going to score more than 100 points and keep their opponents under 100 (look it up), and then marveled at his prediction the Lakers would go all the way, which would mark Kobe’s first ring without the shadow of Shaquille O’Neal.

In that moment, as my cousin focused his attention on happy thoughts of Kobe Bryant taking the Lakers all the way, I couldn’t help but focus my attention on the scandal Kobe was caught up in several years ago.

Yeah yeah I know, he apologized, the girl was found as a non-credible person, and the wife received a 14 million dollar ring. But I wonder just how much more different life would have been for Kobe had that incident never happened.

Or at least how different my impression of him would be.

We all know money talks, and my cousin said something very interesting as we chatted about the scandal. He said that he could care less about what Kobe does OFF the court, as long as he gets the ball in the hoop. And I thought to myself, if only the rest of us black professionals could get that type of pass.

I’m sure the owner of the LA Lakers was disappointed in Kobe, but probably wanted him back on the court as soon as possible, filling his pockets, making the rich richer. Kobe may have made a folly, but the worth of his talent and ability seemed to overshadow the fact that he betrayed the vows he made to his wife and to God, and dodged a serious rape case that could’ve snatched his cushy life right out from under him.

Unfortunately for me I don’t have that kind of juice. If I end up on the news in some scandal, you better believe some of my clients may re-direct their projects elsewhere. I won’t get a second chance. My pockets aren’t that deep. So I guess staying out of trouble can be directly related to the continued success of being in business.

I guess.

Now if only he could of jumped his ass out of that hotel room…..

I was talking with a very dear friend of mine today about what it’s like for me to compete in a field where most of my competition are white. We talked of strategies to break past the color barriers and ideas on how to be sure that I could stand out without the obvious thing that makes me “stand out”. Because it’s been my experience that doing good work alone hasn’t been enough to stay ahead or even stand by the competition.

He said something that was kind of interesting to me. He said that as black professional business owners, we generally tend to bring “color” to the work. It’s how we see the world and because of our history, it’s embedded in us. He made the point by asking me if when potential clients see my work, do they automatically know if it was done by someone black? I told him no. He shifted my focus on the concentration of doing good work versus the thought of making the work look good because it was done by someone black. When is the last time you’ve brought your color to your work?

A good friend of mine just called me and told me about a new company she was thinking of giving business to and how the company was a no-call, no-show at the scheduled meeting.

She went on to say that she was appalled that the other company didn’t show because they would have been the one receiving business from her. Now I don’t know about you guys, but when I plan to meet with a potential new client, who has already expressed interest in conducting business with me, that meeting is of the utmost importance. It is meetings like these that businesses need to grow. It’s new business.

My friend continued to tell me after not receiving a courtesy call for about 20 minutes after the meeting was scheduled, she politely packed up her materials, and sought out to do business elsewhere.

I believe a day or so after the planned meeting, the person she was supposed to meet with sent her an email explaining that they had gotten ill, and their whole family did as well and that’s why she didn’t show. However, there was no apology anywhere in the explanation. Almost as if the company didn’t value my friend’s time. I told my friend that this type of behavior is unacceptable, and if she chose to do business with them, she’d more than likely encounter another situation where her time and business was not appreciated.

Now let me get to the myth that I mentioned in the title. Both parties in this situation are black. The unfortunate thing that I’ve encountered before is that just because we are of the same race, that you get a “pass”. You don’t have to call if you’re running late, you assume you can get a “hook-up”, or you don’t have to be professional because we are somehow “brothas” or “sistas”.

And therein lies the myth. You can show up to my door 15 minutes late for a meeting without calling if you want to. You’ll be disappointed as it will probably be canceled. You can show up late for a video shoot if you want to, you’ll be charged for that extra time. And no I don’t know “how it is” (enter in your BEST excuse here), and don’t want to know.

Some of us make the mistake of thinking that it’s cool for us to slack off on each other. This is bad practice. Be on your “A” game all the time. I remember charging my mother for some video work. Take value in your time and your product, and others will too. And just because we both share the same color skin doesn’t give you a pass to devalue my worth.

Here’s a clip from the movie “Higher Learning” where Laurence Fishburne really hits it on the head for us to get over the fact that somebody owes us something. Enjoy.