At Friday's Black Men's Xchange-New York dialogue, Brothers endeavored envisioning themselves entrepreneurs.  They reflected on the following issues:

What is entrepreneurship?

"Owning a business...[It's] different from being an employee, or worker bee..."

"Self-sufficiency..."  

"The heart of Capitalism...Business is the mechanism by which the society runs..."  

"Autonomy..."  

"Tapping into the passion within...What makes a person tick...Everybody has some special talent [entrepreneurship is the means to capitalize on that talent]..."

{Facilitator 2 reads dictionary definition: "'One who undertakes to start and conduct an enterprise or business, assuming full control and risk...' So, the idea  of control [cited in this definition] has been broached in constructs like, 'ownership,' 'self-sufficiency,' and 'autonomy,' but, this definition adds another idea to the mix...That of 'risk'..."}

Is it important to own our own businesses?

"When we, as a community, show the other community [whites]...When we can use the services of our own people and support our own people, the other community will treat us more respectfully..."

"There's an argument to be made that owning your own business is not important...Most people are risk averse...[and it requires a lot of hard work and determination]..."

"I find entrepreneurship orgasmic...It's my personal pornography...I pay zero percent taxes [on a] for-profit business [I own and operate]...A corporation creates another entity [which protects the individual from some risk]...95% of everything I purchase is tax-deductable...[It is] the untapped step to freedom [for most of us]..."

"Everyone's talent is something that takes time and introspection to discover..."

"We are raised to go to school [so that we can] get a job..."

{Facilitator 1 asks, "What would you do if money was not a concern?"}

{Facilitator 2 says, "That's a key question when considering the possibility of flexing entrepreneurial muscles...But the fact of the matter is, many of us are shut down and don't even realize it...When working with young people, I have often asked, 'If you could do or be anything you wanted to do or be - no holds barred - sky's the limit - what would it be?...Do you know what most people answer?...Including people older than anyone here?...'I don't know'..."}

"It could start with a hobby...You work harder than you do for others but, my joy is, I don't have to share the money...The secret is to have a good accountant and a good lawyer who you dance with regularly..."

Have you ever dreamed of starting a business? What was it?  What happened?

"I own a publishing company and a TV show...With the publishing stuff, I partnered with a California company [for distribution]...The TV show is on Manhattan Neighborhood Network Thursday nights at midnight..."

"I do interior renovation and design...To be in business you have to have balls..."

"I do IT [Internet Technology]...Developing websites and [doing computer] programming..."

"I am a corporation...[And] whenever I work for someone else, I consider myself a business doing business with other businesses...[I have] three types of businesses; Sole proprietorship - where I'm working as a consultant; Corporation - where I own the products I produce; and an LLC [Limited Liability Company]..."

{Facilitator 1 says "I'm a licensed real estate broker...For me [being an entrepreneur represents] a way of preserving the [Harlem] community for the folks that are there and building the community...Owning puts you in a completely different [and] preferred status in terms of taxes...If you walk around Harlem, you'll notice a lot of new businesses, especially restaurants..."}

"I'm a masseur...I'm working on getting my certification...I've a dream of [opening a business] doing holistic health..."

Are there barriers to Black entrepreneurship?

"If I have been taught to think with a cap, I will only think so far...The challenge of entrepreneurship is learning to think beyond [the cap]...To think I am worthy of more...[I have to train myself to think] What do I have in this room that I can sell to somebody?..."

"[There are] a lot of stories about Black businesses within families that are not uncovered...Businesses that were destroyed by white supremacists who got tired of Blacks being successful..."

"We don't have an internal locus of control [belief that we create our destiny]...We're shy about having dreams [and the nerve to attempt to realize them]..."

How might we overcome those barriers on the way to building our own businesses?

"WEBO (Workshops in Business Opportunities)  [is a technical assistance provider for people interested in becoming entrepreneurs where] each person [is shown how to] develop his own business plan [to seek out financing to start his own business]...The reason we're here tonight is to interconnect with each other..."

"Free Enterprise Training is a twelve-week course...Operation Hope...Project Enterprise [all] give micro loans...I have a street vending business...I started off with one table...Now I have more [and am about to start hiring other workers with my partner]...My intention is to start selling African art...Harlem Business Alliance gives a lot of assistance, including help getting a business loan, even if you have bad credit...There are challenges...days when I feel like giving up...But, the reason I mention these resources is because they give you so much assistance...There is a sister there who says, 'We are entitled to have our own businesses'...That was so powerful to me..."  

"There are different levels of ambition...There are some people who want to be supportive, and that's okay...It's okay to come down on the side of wanting to be supportive...[As in] I am entrepreneurial in that I want to expand my skills, but I will use those in service of some else's vision [that I believe in]..."

"Regarding non-profit as opposed to for-profit [enterprises]...A lot of people think social enterprises can't serve [peoples' needs] and be for-profit...Black people are taught to be sacrificial... We don't have to be..."

"That's another part of the program...In addition to being taught to go to school and get a job...we're taught to go to church...and tithe...and Jesus will take care of us..."

"If you're going to have a business, you need a business plan...There is a way you can learn to do this by gaming [playing a game]...I'll send it to you [the game]...I have only had jobs given to me, and crated my own jobs...I was recently offered a promotion and a raise on my current job...I had to embody a whole new person...I didn't know how to gauge the worth of what they were asking me to do [or what I bring to the table]...I want to start an environmental sustainability magazine for people of color..."

"BMX-NY should get involved in workforce development...A lot of us are traumatized into disorientation...because we're taught we're not in control...I came from a classically poor, dysfunctional Black home... The reason I am a millionaire is because I developed a sense of self...I unlearned the myth of my own worthlessness...Self-knowing and self-love [are the keys to success]...Your body is your antennae to your possibilities...If your body is traumatized, your antennae is blocked...Self-knowing as a Black human being [is freeing]...right now, I have four businesses...and I deserve [them]...Not because I'm better than y'all...[But] because I am y'all..."