Economic Freedom- I Mean Business

     It is now Black Business Month. All businesses, especially small businesses, are needed for the local and federal economy. But this month honors Black businesses because there is still underfunding and less support for them. In the last few years, businesses classified as Black-owned have increased, but most are considered small businesses and not large corporations. For 2024, this is disappointing, but as in all things where race still plays a role, we must continue to work towards moving in the right direction.

     In the U.S., our society is ruled by consumerism. Many large corporations compete against each other to create and promote the best product for business growth. Some of the wealthiest people in our country are the founders or leaders of large corporations. Although, the day-to-day operations are executed by the average person who works and sometimes struggle financially with lower wages. The secret to economic freedom in our country is business. But most of us are not taught this and/or don’t have access to creating a legitimate business.

      For the last few years, I have been doing some research on forming an home-based business. A year ago, I officially created an LLC business after a few years selling my products without it. It has been a learning experience that I obtain more information about each day. Some of these things I learned include

• The art of making a sale when doing in person events is interesting. When people come to pop up markets, they may look at your items, but are unsure about the purchase. It can be for a number of reasons, but allowing them to touch/feel or sample your items is a great way to close the deal. Show them the different options you have as well.
• Promotion of your business is a big deal. I’ve always been more passive when it comes to my own interest compared to how I promote others. The problem with this, is if you don’t promote yourself, no one else will. Having this mentality can help open up more opportunities for people to know your business. As someone who never really enjoyed social media, it is the most important part of business growth today.
• Taxes and the write-offs that can happen. By no means am I rolling in the dough with my business. But the way you can write things off during tax season is a bonus. There was a time I worked three W-2 jobs and owed the government money. Now, I work less and have this business, and for the first time I owed no one.
• The price of your items to sell is important, but you must make sure not to sell yourself short. Too high can lead to less sales, and too low can cause your business to fail early when you don’t have enough funds to continue running it.

        There is still so much for me to learn. A business can take many years to fully develop and have a moderate level of success, but persistence always pays off. A business is not for everyone, but if you have a talent to create something, you should try to pursue it as a small business. If you have kids, teach them about their economic choices. Maybe they can create their own business for their future freedoms. So, what you’re waiting for! To help start below you will find some resources.