- Aug 4, 2023
- 831
- 272
- Occupation
- Web Developer
there are tons of problems with buying black. I'm not here to be negative but we need to discuss the problems in an effort to find solutions.
For example... A cut of pretty much every product sold is going to whites. It's just a question of how big that cut is going to be. So what are the different aspects?
production/manufacturing
transport/distribution
sales/marketing
Even the blackest product (black soap?) is going to hand money to whites in the process. This could be the same percentage of a black person selling a white or "white label" product but taking over a different part of the equation. However, because many of the people who understand the need for black-owned business might be a little "too" afro-centric for their own good (yes that's possible) we make mistakes like not making a lot of "universal" products. Instead, we target products that may only appeal or be usable to the black community and the only ones looking for them are consumers who also understand the need for black-owned businesses and might be a little "too" afrocentric for their own good.
This results in a bunch of niche products that not enough people know about that often compete with each other (ie. black soap). And if you polled black households, even though black soap as been a thing for decades, how many families will say they have black soap right now? We'll support products like this but as far as longevity, the more universal products tend to win. The same reasons white people buy those products is the same reasons black people buy those products.
solution #1:
Black people need to work on getting a cut of every product being sold in black communities. With services, we can do this buy having jobs at those companies. But for products, we need to sell the same products that are selling... that are universal... and control sales in the black community by only buying those products from black salespeople and black-owned online stores that provide those products.
solution #1B: (building on 1)
We need to use the same strategy used in the drug game. Drugs are not grown here which means someone else is always going to get a cut. But distribution and sales are up for grabs. Corner boys protect their corners which also means, in a wider view, protecting distribution against other competitors. If we can adopt a more military strategy to consumer goods like some of us have done with drugs, we can get a cut of every product sold in our community. It doesn't need to be 100% in order to be valuable. The black church makes over $40B annually because they're taking 10% of church people's income. So imagine if we took the average markup percentage on every product. 50%. We don't buy different products that no one else wants. We simply buy those products from each other.
solution #1C:
We can do these things as individuals but it would be more effective if done as a corporation. So I propose we create an umbrella corporation that works with individual-owned businesses similar to how Amazon works. This way individuals get to claim tax benefits while making money and the resources of the corporation are there to help. The corporation helps with marketing and branding (white label products) while every individual becomes part of a point-of-sale network. If you can convince your friends and family to buy the same products they normally buy, but from you, why wouldn't they?
solution #1D:
As the network grows so does the resources of the corporation from charging membership fees. At some point the corporation can create its own options for transportation and distribution and increase the cut which means decreasing the amount of money leaving our community.
Please feel free to discuss these ideas or add your own.
For example... A cut of pretty much every product sold is going to whites. It's just a question of how big that cut is going to be. So what are the different aspects?
production/manufacturing
transport/distribution
sales/marketing
Even the blackest product (black soap?) is going to hand money to whites in the process. This could be the same percentage of a black person selling a white or "white label" product but taking over a different part of the equation. However, because many of the people who understand the need for black-owned business might be a little "too" afro-centric for their own good (yes that's possible) we make mistakes like not making a lot of "universal" products. Instead, we target products that may only appeal or be usable to the black community and the only ones looking for them are consumers who also understand the need for black-owned businesses and might be a little "too" afrocentric for their own good.
This results in a bunch of niche products that not enough people know about that often compete with each other (ie. black soap). And if you polled black households, even though black soap as been a thing for decades, how many families will say they have black soap right now? We'll support products like this but as far as longevity, the more universal products tend to win. The same reasons white people buy those products is the same reasons black people buy those products.
solution #1:
Black people need to work on getting a cut of every product being sold in black communities. With services, we can do this buy having jobs at those companies. But for products, we need to sell the same products that are selling... that are universal... and control sales in the black community by only buying those products from black salespeople and black-owned online stores that provide those products.
solution #1B: (building on 1)
We need to use the same strategy used in the drug game. Drugs are not grown here which means someone else is always going to get a cut. But distribution and sales are up for grabs. Corner boys protect their corners which also means, in a wider view, protecting distribution against other competitors. If we can adopt a more military strategy to consumer goods like some of us have done with drugs, we can get a cut of every product sold in our community. It doesn't need to be 100% in order to be valuable. The black church makes over $40B annually because they're taking 10% of church people's income. So imagine if we took the average markup percentage on every product. 50%. We don't buy different products that no one else wants. We simply buy those products from each other.
solution #1C:
We can do these things as individuals but it would be more effective if done as a corporation. So I propose we create an umbrella corporation that works with individual-owned businesses similar to how Amazon works. This way individuals get to claim tax benefits while making money and the resources of the corporation are there to help. The corporation helps with marketing and branding (white label products) while every individual becomes part of a point-of-sale network. If you can convince your friends and family to buy the same products they normally buy, but from you, why wouldn't they?
solution #1D:
As the network grows so does the resources of the corporation from charging membership fees. At some point the corporation can create its own options for transportation and distribution and increase the cut which means decreasing the amount of money leaving our community.
Please feel free to discuss these ideas or add your own.