When you look around at who owns and profits from selling popular consumer items like phone chargers, phone cases, hair products, mobile phone and computer accessories and suchlike, it’s often not young Black entrepreneurs and businesses.
It’s unfortunate that too many Black youth are shut out from these economic opportunities, even when they exist within their own communities. It’s a puzzling situation when your community buys lots of certain things but they don’t earn anything or benefit from that trade.
This is a problem that needs to be corrected, and below are a few of my suggestions.
The rise of e-commerce and social media provides a powerful avenue for Black Empowerment through entrepreneurship. Young Black people can easily start businesses selling in-demand items without the overhead of a traditional storefront nor warehouse. A simple online store, a TikTok page and an Instagram page is all you need to get started. That and a list of 15 – 20 or so popular items, which you know people will like, or which you know they buy often.
So, how do you choose the products?
Well, you need to research your industry. I’ll give you a simple example: in our household, there are probably 4 or 5 categories of things that we buy most often, besides food and things like toilet tissue. These things are phone charging cables, hair extensions and hair products including, hair oils, gels, shampoos and other hair products; Soap and Toothpaste. Maybe you can add laundry powder to that list. But my point is, more often than not, these purchases are made either online (Amazon, eBay or some other online shop). Or they are bought from an Asian or Arab-owned shop. And it’s such a huge wasted opportunity because these are areas where our bredren can establish successful side hustles.
Why E-Commerce is part of the fabric of Black Economic Empowerment
Black people increasingly buy things from other black people. We order birthday cakes and decoration services from our sisters. We use tutoring services of our brothers, we’re increasingly linking up with Lawyers, Architects or Accountants who come from our communities. We patronise photography and graphic design services of our brothers and sisters. We are listening to Podcasts made and owned by people who look like us, or who live in our communities. And of course we buy some of our food from Afro-Caribbean outlets and takeaways, among a long list of examples of supporting black enterprise. That’s all great and commendable (and you may already know how far we’ve come…to get here). More of it please!
But, there’s a but. It looks like we’re missing the trick when it comes to E-commerce, and other lucrative industries. And yet e-commerce has been hailed as being one of those sectors which reduces the barrier to entry for starting a business. You don’t need to rent an expensive retail space or have a huge inventory investment upfront. You can start listing popular products for sale on a website or Instagram page from your bedroom. If basketball is your thing, sell basketballs. If football is your thing, start selling football boots for children. If you’re into gaming, well, take a look at that market, and what your peeps are into.
Furthermore, 3 or 4 people can pool get together and form a collective where you start importing popular goods within your niche, and harness your networks to build and manage the sales and marketing pipelines. Having more people means jobs can be shared, reduces risk of burnout and if someone has a shift from their main job, needs to attend to a personal matter, or has a college/ university class, etc…your partners are available to hold things together. It also means more marketing channels which can mean the same post is being pushed to 4 audiences, and can be amplified 4X to the social channels (Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok etc) of the group.
So, as the online business grows, you can then scale by adding more product lines or suppliers without massively increasing overhead costs. Plus, your customer base is no longer limited to your local geographic area thanks to established postal services & shipping.
What about Startup Capital?
An online model potentially creates an attractive economic opportunity for young Black entrepreneurs with very little startup capital. And who don’t have wealthy parents. Or moneyed uncles & Aunties to raise capital from. And while there are some grants you can apply for, you can also pool together money from family and friends, some of whom will be your first customers. It can allow you to build a small business and grind from the bottom up.
Where to Start
The goal is to sell products that are in constant demand with affordable overhead costs, that are relatively cheap to ship and that you can buy in bulk also relatively cheaply. Phone cases, chargers, screen protectors and accessories fit this perfectly – every mobile consumer needs these items replaced regularly. Hair products like extensions, wigs, and styling tools are also a large market that’s currently dominated by non-Black sellers. T-shirts with branded art by local artists (some of whom may be people you know) can also be valuable. And can create important synergies.
Other hot sellers for e-commerce include, Trendy apparel/jewelry, makeup/cosmetics, Exercise/fitness gear, Pet products and Gaming accessories.
If we are truly serious about Black Empowerment, we have to move beyond just keeping down a job – which although very good and important, doesn’t always create wealth within our communities. Every one of us should have a black friend whose side job is selling these kinds of products, and from whom our whole families buy.
So, show me the black owned company that’s selling pet products? Show me the black owned side hustle that’s selling Gaming Accessories, show me the black owned side hustle that’s selling hand made soaps, I want to see the black owned side hustle that’s selling sandals and beachwear. I mean, guys we need to get a lot more organised and conscious. Each city should have someone doing these things. And we should celebrate them and buy from them.
It shouldn’t stop at Afro-Caribbean food or cleaning services, house-moving, gardening and landscaping. It shouldn’t stop at hair platting or children’s entertainment. Your Jamaican mechanic is talented, and appreciated. But guys, we’ve got a lot more talent in our communities that’s undiscovered. And so, although all these are important services, there are a lot more opportunities and areas we can venture into.
During the current uncertain economic conditions, when every penny truly counts, we have to make inroads into all these relatively low-skill industries, and encourage our people to patronise side hustles that belong to our brothers and sisters, beyond what has so far been the norm.
You don’t need a university degree to sell hair extensions or phone chargers.
If we are truly serious about Black Empowerment, we shouldn’t be selective but should start covering the whole board.
The possibilities are endless, especially taking advantage of our abilities to quickly adapt to the newest trends and viral product sensations on sites like Instagram and TikTok.
Of course, getting started is just the first step. Successful Black entrepreneurs will need to develop practical e-commerce skills around: building an appealing, user-friendly online store (we have web designers who can help); sourcing and negotiating with affordable suppliers/manufacturers (we have people who specialise in these things); mastering online marketing via social media, your SEO & online ads plug, Influencers. We have readily available talent.
And then you have things like providing excellent customer service and shipping, which are equally important. I’ve not yet heard of a Virtual Receptionist company run by a black brother or sister – but if there isn’t one in our cities, we need one!
In ending, please allow me to emphasize a few points. Online side hustles need not be in the sectors we as black people have traditionally made inroads in. Given the vision, funding and commitment, it can be anything from a community gym, or a collaborative space where three or four micro enterprises come together and share the space to help keep costs low, or two or three people who decide to order dried fruits from Ghana, and sell directly to people in their communities. It can be anything valuable you can procure.
In today’s world, the dream of thriving Black-owned businesses is very much attainable. And e-commerce can help make that economic opportunity a reality. It’s another route for pursuing true equality and achieving economic empowerment. With just smartphones, collective action and drive, we can stake our claim in industries and markets that have long shut us out. I mean, what benefit do our communities receive when we buy stuff from Amazon for example? We can buy the very same items from a friend of our brother or sister(who needs that financial support a lot more than Jeff Bezos and his multi-millionaire executives), and who would one day reciprocate the love?
Think about it. Act on it.
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