FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 12, 2007
It's High Time
Black Firms Pounced on Trade
"The
good news is that Black owned businesses in America are thriving and
growing," says Roosevelt Roby, Founder and CEO of The World Business
Exchange. "The better news is, we can easily crank it
up even more!"
The
fast-track to speeding the growth of African-American companies, Roby asserts,
is to adopt the three E's: Export,
Export, Export. "Let's start with
the facts...which are great. There are
one million Black businesses in America, and they're growing at four times the national rate,"
notes the WBE chief. "But just a
small percentage of these Black entrepreneurs are selling their goods and
services overseas. That's a shame,
because if more of us started exporting, we could dramatically hike sales and
make a lot more money."
Roby,
whose firm partners with the US Commerce Department, specializes in teaching
African-Americans how to do international trade. Since 1987, his Los Angeles-based WBE Network has trained
thousands.
"The
sheer numbers make my point," he says.
"If you follow the money, you see that 70 percent of the world's
buying power - and 95 percent of its population - lie beyond America's borders. So a Black business - any business - that's
only selling here at home, is missing out -reaching only a tiny share of their
potential customers."
The
Mississippi-born entrepreneur further points out that among Black manufacturing businesses, most are
making and selling high-value goods like transportation products, metals,
chemicals and textiles.
"These," declares Roby, "are the very items the world wants most
from the United States. And
American exports are booming - over a trillion dollars a year. So there's never been a better time to get
into exporting. Especially, since the
weak dollar makes US goods cheaper overseas."
Roby,
whose trade course pioneered Internet-based schooling since its launch 20 years
ago, has a solution for the Black business owner: "Have yourself or one of your employees take the WBE course. We'll hook you into our Internet database,
provide personal counseling, and show you how to sell US-made products to the
world. Go to my website at wbe.net and
you'll quickly see that we understand the needs of the African-American
entrepreneur. And don't think you're
too small to get into this. This course
is designed to equip individuals to
begin exporting."
Roby
explains why he believes the Black business is the perfect fit for the export
industry. "Nearly all Black
businesses are small," he says.
"Small-to-medium businesses make up 96 percent of all US
exporters. Companies run by people of
color are already doing $100 billion
in business every year. Imagine what
they could do, if they took advantage of the powerful opportunities that open
up to us once we open our eyes to exporting."
