It’s been said that you can’t be what you can’t see, and that’s the very reason that we want to show aspiring black entrepreneurs examples of successful business people who look like themselves.
In keeping with Black Web Success’s ongoing theme of focusing business efforts on underserved and ignored black customers, we have compiled another list of entrepreneurs who recognized and filled a void in the black marketplace and found great success. Just in case you missed our first list, you can check it out here.
#1 Tyler Perry
Founder of Tyler Perry Studios
Tyler Perry needs no introduction to most, since he seems to be everywhere with his hit movies and TV shows. Many are familiar with his portrayal of his larger than life character Madea which made him a star, but many have yet to learn about his strong business acumen that made him rich. Perry made his come up producing plays on the so-called Chitlin Circuit or its more politically correct name the Urban Theater Circuit.
While many critics regard the Chitlin Circuit as the lower echelon of theater where black performers hone their crafts for meager pay until they are “accepted and legitimized” into mainstream, i.e. non-black theaters, Perry saw beyond this narrow view and recognized that there were many black patrons who enjoyed urban shows, and were willing to pay good money to see them, but were being ignored due to most performers trying to “escape” the Chitlin Circuit.
To counteract the traditional low wages that the average performer receives from shrewd and greedy promoters, Perry took a position of control by putting on his own shows which allowed him to collect the lion’s share of the revenue that his plays and associated merchandise generated. Millions of dollars later, Hollywood came knocking to get a piece of Perry’s empire by offering him a movie deal where he subsequently scored multiple box office hits due to his loyal Chitlin Circuit fanbase following him to Hollywood.
Unlike most Chitlin Circuit performers, Perry let mainstream come to him instead of the reverse, and because he wasn’t hurting for any money due to being the owner of his product, he was able to maintain full copyright ownership of his films which allows him to earn an even greater piece of the financial pie, so much so that he became the first black man to own a film studio, which is aptly named Tyler Perry Studios.
#2 John H. Johnson
Founder of Ebony magazine
At the tender age of 24 in 1942, John H. Johnson founded his first magazine Negro Digest which made him a millionaire. Negro Digest was a pocket-sized publication that summarized newspaper and magazine articles about the lives of black people. He wrote in his autobiography Succeeding Against the Odds that there was no consistent coverage of the human dimensions of Black Americans in northern newspapers and magazines. He further states that there was an unwritten rule in the South at that time that a Black’s picture could not appear in the press unless it was in connection with a crime.
Negro Digest was a bonafide success and at its peak had a circulation of over 100,000, which was minuscule compared to the numbers that his next million dollar magazine Ebony would do. Ebony filled a void for ignored Blacks that other magazines, including Johnson’s own Negro Digest, overlooked. Blacks wanted to read about more than their day to day combats with the racism that they faced during those times. They also wanted to see the positive aspects of black life. Johnson delivered big time by printing glamorous photos of Black people which white and black publications of the time failed to do, and by presenting the multiple facets of black life that the world was never shown such as our weddings, graduations, funerals, families, celebrities, and so much more.
The success of Ebony gave Johnson the platform to launch many other successful magazines, including Jet. He also founded the Ebony Fashion Show, Fashion Fair Cosmetics and sat on the boards of Fortune 500 companies like Twentieth Century Fox and Chrysler.
#3 A.G. Gaston
Founder of the Booker T. Washington Burial Society
Because very few white insurance companies in the Jim Crow days of Alabama would sell black people burial policies due to overt racism, plus they felt that blacks were too risky to cover due to their high death rates, Arthur Gaston saw a need that was sorely being unfulfilled. Gaston was tired of seeing black people having to beg their church members for donations to pay for funeral expenses of deceased relatives. He also resented the scammers who preyed on kind-hearted black workers for donations on payday to bury people who may not have even been dead or ever existed. He felt that if people were so willing to contribute to burials of persons they didn’t know, then they should be willing to pay a small regular sum to prepare for their own inevitable demise.
Gaston formed the Booker T. Washington Burial Society which became so successful that he was able to expand his business with the purchase of a funeral home. Because there were not enough blacks who had the proper training in the insurance and funeral industries, Gaston established the Booker T. Washington Business College which trained blacks and whites with proper business skills and served yet another need for the black community.
Find a need and fill it was Gaston’s motto for business. He established the Citizens Federal Savings and Loan Association as a result of seeing how difficult it was for blacks to get loans from white banks to buy houses and expand their businesses. For those lucky enough to get a loan, they were given much higher interest rates than whites. Another need that Gaston filled for ignored blacks was by establishing the A.G. Gaston Motel because blacks didn’t have a decent place to rest when traveling because white hotels in Birmingham refused them service due to the segregation of the time.
A.G. Gaston amassed a fortune of over $130 million by serving ignored blacks. How he built his empire is chronicled in the book Black Titan, A.G. Gaston and the Making of a Black American Millionaire.
#4 Earl Graves
Founder of Black Enterprise
Back in the day and sadly today, many people erroneously believed that all black people lived in extreme poverty before integration occurred in the 1960’s. While that was true for many of our race, there were many blacks who lived prosperous middle class lives and many were even outright rich. These successful black professionals remained largely unknown to the general public due to being shunned by mainstream, i.e. white media. Earl Graves changed that in 1970 by launching Black Enterprise as a magazine devoted to economic development in the African American community. The pages of his magazine showed the achievements of affluent black persons who had created wealth for themselves through their own endeavors. Up until that time many were still under the illusion that a black person could only be rich if they were a celebrity.
Black Enterprise displayed the major moves that black business professionals were making as a way of not only celebrating their success, but also to inspire blacks with some real live positive role models. Graves wrote in his book How to Succeed in Business Without Being White, that his goal was to educate, inspire, and uplift his readers and show them how to thrive professionally, economically and as proactive empowered citizens. He further wrote that the real mission of Black Enterprise is to encourage as many African Americans as possible to one day control their own fates by owning their own successful businesses.
Black Enterprise was and is a financial triumph that made Graves very wealthy. He was able to expand his wealth with other ventures such as a Pepsi Cola franchise and by sitting on the boards of major corporations like Aetna, AMR Corporation, Federated Department Stores and more.
#5 Russell Simmons
Founder of Def Comedy Jam
Russell Simmons got rich through his record label Def Jam Recordings, and with that platform he used his clout to get even richer by producing the groundbreaking hit TV show Def Comedy Jam which introduced the world to multiple black comedians who became superstars.
In the late 80’s and early 90’s black comedy was very popular in clubs across the country, but most of the talented comedians remained underground sensations and never got a chance to appear on late night talk shows which could bring them huge exposure and help them land more and better paying gigs and acting roles.
Simmons provided these talented, but underexposed comics a platform on his weekly series which aired on HBO. When black comics normally appeared on traditional late night talk shows, they had to water their material down to be accepted by mainstream, i.e. white audiences. Simmons allowed the comics to be as raw as they were in the clubs, and fans loved them, especially mainstream fans. The show was so popular that Simmons was able to further capitalize by producing a Def Comedy Jam comedy tour.
By paying attention to the ignored black comedy market, Simmons not only laughed all the way to the bank but many of the comedians, thanks to their appearances on the show, were able to gain huge fame and financial success as movie and TV stars. Some of the more notable comics were Martin Lawrence, Bernie Mac, Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Chris Tucker, and many more. He wrote about his rise to success in his autobiography Life and Def: Sex, Drugs, Money, + God.
There are many other black entrepreneurs who also got rich from serving the black marketplace and their stories need to be told and we need to hear them. If you know of other great black entrepreneurial examples that we can learn from, then please share their names in the comments section.
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