The Next Big Thing

With all of this year’s Sturm und Drang (storm and stress), now is the time to figure out your next big move for your business, career, and life. Shifts in public opinion and practices have changed how we view the world. In less than a month, for example, the economic crisis and its subsequent financial bailout have transformed Wall Street. With such rapid change, the prevailing wisdom is to rethink everything. Look to the unconventional to avoid landmines and seize opportunities.

Rather than identify prospective trends, BLACK ENTERPRISE highlights what we see as the next big ideas shaping some of our core coverage areas. On the following pages, and at BlackEnterprise.com, we’ve selected concepts influencing business, money management, health, technology, careers, and lifestyle. We share examples of how some people profit from global markets or transform themselves personally and professionally, and how others embrace risk or apply technology to bolster their lives.

Our goal is simple: to keep you ahead of the curve. By presenting a snapshot of how individuals and enterprises are changing lives and redefining business, we are positioning you to take advantage of the next big thing before it becomes the next big thing.

Volunteerism

Bet you’ve heard the proverb “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Here’s a new one: If you train a Sierra Leonean woman how to relax, roller set, and style a head of hair, you may just save her life. For hair stylist Diane Cole Stevens, the Cinderella Foundation, her nonprofit organization designed to empower African American girls throughout the Washington metropolitan region, was the vehicle to do just that. She’d already helped plenty of local teenagers inviting them for a day of beauty intertwined with life-skill training, tutoring, motivational talks, and etiquette tips. Then she got the calling to do more.

“I never had the desire to go to Africa,” says Stevens, who owns the Cole Stevens Salon and Day Spa in Greenbelt, Maryland, which grossed $933,000 last year. However, she was convinced to go to Africa by the woman in charge of missions at her church. In October, Stevens took a team of eight volunteers on a mission to war-torn Sierra Leone to train 100 women in various beauty services so they could use those skills to start businesses. “When I realized that I could help these women realize their dreams, I knew we could change the world.”

More and more people are trekking abroad to lend a helping hand. Says Troy Peden, founder of VolunteerAbroad.com: “While there has been a growth in green-eco volunteer work, social welfare and community development type projects are still the most popular.”

To make the Sierra Leone mission a success, the Cinderella Foundation partners with 500 local salons, which donate everything from eyebrow tweezers to textbooks, and throws fundraising events to help pay for the three-day trip “They can’t wait for us to get back,” Stevens says. “They are so hopeful that there’s someone who wants to pour knowledge in them.”

Small Business

Entrepreneur, your business is killer. Revenues are steady and your client base is loyal. Have you ever thought about expanding your enterprise to, say, Gambia? If not, Eric Sheppard says you might be missing out.
“The bad news is, there aren’t a lot of African American businesses that are successful [in Africa],” says Sheppard, president of Diversity Restoration Solutions Inc., an international trade development firm that specializes in bridging U.S. businesses and organizations with their African counterparts. “But the good news is we should be able to take advantage of that potential because it’s not saturated.”

Opportunities are bountiful around the world and if black entrepreneurs are smart, insiders say, they’ll look beyond their backyards to develop winning relationships, tap expertise, create jobs, and grow their businesses. The trend of doing business globally is growing as developing countries become more industrialized. According to a recent ChinaDaily.com report, in just the first six months of 2008, Chinese companies invested a whopping $305 million in Africa.

Going international is where the growth appears to be and you should always go toward the growth,” says Lorron James, marketing sales manager of James Group International (No. 78 on the be industrial/service 100 list with $54.5 million in sales), a Detroit-based provider of global supply chain management services

with client relationships in 16 countries, including South Africa, China, and Venezuela. Entrepreneurs are finding opportunities in manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, technology, and infrastructure. The question to ask is what need does a country have that your business can fulfill? Do extensive research. Then, take a chance.

Investing

The way Wall Street has been performing lately you might be hesitant to even look at your investment portfolio let alone consider dipping more of your hard-earned dollars into the international market. But experts say global is the way to go.

“Healthcare companies often have strong cash flow and strong balance sheets, and healthcare tends to grow through thick and thin,” says F. Barry Nelson, senior vice president of New York-based Advent Capital Management L.L.C. (No. 5 on the be asset managers list in $4.3 billion assets under management), which opened a location in London two years ago and launched the Advent/Claymore Global Convertible Securities and Income Fund (AGC). “A big area is the growing use of generic drugs, which are manufactured around the world.” In particular, Nelson highlights Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA), the world’s largest generic drug company, based in Israel. “It’s essentially a global investment, of course. But it’s not like buying a restaurant chain in a foreign country. It’s big, its shares are liquid, and it’s traded actively on NASDAQ.”

Keep your eye on the following hotspots in 2009: Japan, Switzerland, Norway, China, and Brazil. Real estate may be a good investment in emerging markets. Look at serial entrepreneur Robert L. Johnson, chairman and CEO of RLJ Development L.L.C. (No. 5 on the be industrial/service 100 list with $704.3 million in sales), who’s building a four-star hotel resort in Liberia in 2009. Other industries to consider for your global investment portfolio include telecommunications in the Middle East and North Africa, manufacturing in China and India, IT services in India, and energy-related services in places such as Norway and the Middle East, all high-growth sectors. A cautionary note before you make your move: Read and understand what and where you’re investing your money.

Small Business

After 20 years as a health educator, Terri Holley discovered life coaching, loving it so much she earned her certification and launched a full-time business. Her new venture was limping along, but surprisingly, the blog on her Website was a huge hit. “People started asking me how to do a blog like mine for their business,” says Holley, 43, of Spencerville, Maryland. “Then it just clicked.”

And it kept clicking. In April she launched Creative Blog Solutions (www.creative blogsolutions.com), where media strategists help entrepreneurs leverage social technology to market and promote their businesses. A self-professed geek, Holley became proficient in blog platforms. Now she builds blogs, consults, and holds teleclasses, furnishing clients with tips on how to gain the best search engine results, handle feedback, and integrate their blogs with other Websites. Holley reinvented her business, a strategic decision many entrepreneurs are making to stay relevant.

“Reinvention is looking at the world around you with new eyes. It means taking note of what’s happening in the general marketplace, considering your target clientele, and making a decision to refocus the strategy,” asserts Pamela Mitchell, founder and CEO of the Miami-based firm The Reinvention Institute.
Change can be dramatic or subtle. It should be done, however, with thought and vision, Mitchell says. Begin by browsing the Internet and reading industry publications to learn about new trends. Then figure out how these new areas apply to your business.

Holley may have put life coaching on the back burner but those skills still come in handy. After all, she’s still helping people move to the next level. “I’m most excited about taking people in the bricks-and-mortar world and introducing them to a world they never knew before.”

Lifestyle

Dorothy L. Myers found herself in a tough situation this year. She’d left a stressful but lucrative job at a design company for another opportunity that didn’t pan out. Unemployed since July, the 43-year-old Washington, D.C., resident has chosen to go the entrepreneurial route and expand her part-time business, Haven Interior Concepts L.L.C., into a full-time online interior design venture.

“Going through this difficult situation has made me sit back and think about doing my own thing,” Myers says. “But the field is changing, so I’ve definitely got some training ahead of me.” Career coaches would say her head’s in the right place.

In this shaky economy, when businesses are scrambling for consumer dollars, Myers and others need to have something extra special for tomorrow’s market. That could mean a makeover–such as hiring an image consultant, signing up for specialty classes, nabbing a new degree, improving your networking skills, or making a personal transformation, as Myers has done.

She’s looking into buying a design-friendly computer to get up-to-date on the high-tech advances enjoyed by her competitors. She’s also invested in classes to learn how to use accounting, management, and drawing software tailor-made for the interior design industry. But it’s her changed outlook that she believes will really help her soar.

After a “horrendous management experience” with her last employer, Myers spent the last five months on a spiritual journey, learning what mistakes she won’t make again and focusing on what will bring her success as well as inner peace as she overcomes financial hurdles and works to expand her business. Every day, she makes sure she’s in balance, mentally, physically, and spiritually, by working out, meditating, and leaning on her positive friends for strength and encouragement.

“I started writing a gratitude journal,” she says. “The second I did that I got out of my downward spiral and started being thankful for everything that I do  have–my friends, my good reputation with clients–it changed the trajectory of my life.”

Health

Word on the street is that diet fads are a thing of the past, healthy foods are becoming even healthier, and your typical spa and spa treatments can no longer be categorized in the same way.

Health experts say you should look for an increase in genetically engineered foods such as fruits and vegetables that contain phytochemicals and antioxidants–supernutrients that fight disease. The next time you go to buy broccoli, you may see a stalk with added cancer-fighting antioxidants. “These foods will improve on what they already do to your body,” says Rovenia Brock, renowned nutritionist and author of Dr. Ro’s 10 Secrets to Livin’ Healthy (Bantam; $14). “They’re already peaking their way in health-food stores.”

The health industry is so hyped about antioxidants that even cosmetic companies are catching the fever. “Cosmetic manufacturers have begun to recognize that what they create works so much better if you have the right nutrients in the body,” says Brock, who’s considering a phytochemical and antioxidant pill to sell along with a phytochemical moisturizer for the skin.

This new development certainly works in tandem with another fast-growing phenomenon: the medical spa, which is a clinic that also offers day spa services and is supervised by licensed medical professionals. Since 2000, individuals have been looking for such full-service facilities for facelifts, acupuncture, Botox injections, and massage and body treatments. Now, these institutions are no longer exotic. Before you make an appointment, make sure there is a licensed medical director on the premises. Also, contact the American Medical Association (www.ama-assn.org) and research the credentials of the director and any specialists who will be performing your service.

Technology

Today, few individuals have not been touched by social networking sites. Whether it’s alumni looking to reconnect with classmates or professionals seeking employment opportunities, social networking is a viable  and growing tool. And  Desirée Rogers, president of Social Networking for Allstate Financial, is trying to capitalize on it. Rogers was charged with building and launching a social network to connect middle-market clients. “Social networking gives us an opportunity to develop a different relationship with our customers,” Rogers says.

Quicken has long led the way in developing technology that helps consumers get into a financial comfort zone. And Wesabe reinvented networking for the financial space (see Techwatch, January 2008). But social networking, the Web 2.0 phenomenon that hit its stride last year when Microsoft staked a $240 million claim in Facebook, is finally making its way to the business side. LinkedIn has pretty much cornered the market, boasting more than 25 million professionals as users.

Where does social networking go from here? The latest buzz is about Twitter, a social hotspot with a wide range of users looking for quick connections, industry news, and chatter. The Obama campaign, which virtually redefined politics through the use of social media, followed more than 90,000 “tweeters,” sending them daily campaign announcements and news. Adobe has even developed TweetDeck, a beta application which lets users organize and manage their Twitter feeds. You can also opt to receive mobile tweets from Twitter.com. But for those who consider themselves creators, Ning and KickApps let users develop their own networking sites.

What does the future hold for social networking? BluePulse.com pointed the way when it took social networking mobile. Facebook also went mobile. Now, think geo-social networking such as The Carbon Project, which combines mobile social networking with location-based services geared at businesses and social spaces.

Careers

When Sydni Craig-Hart decided to leave her “perfect job” three years ago, she had no idea what was in store. As an executive assistant at the Washington, D.C-based private equity firm Carlyle Group, she had worked for a boss who traveled constantly, which meant she had to be available whenever he needed her. And while she loved her job, she didn’t like her schedule or the commute to D.C. from Arlington, Virginia.

“One day, I just asked myself, ‘Why am I dragging into the office at these ungodly hours to work?’” says Craig-Hart, 31. She asked her boss if she could work from home, and surprisingly, he said yes. So, outfitted with a BlackBerry and a laptop, she went virtual.

After two years, she decided to launch Craig-Hart Consulting L.L.C., a small-business consultancy and Internet marketing strategy firm based in Emeryville, California. She has seven retainer clients in addition to project work. And now Craig-Hart has her own virtual assistant.

In 2001, when be first reported on an emerging work phenomenon known as virtual assistance, there were questions–in addition to the requisite jokes about pajamas and bunny slippers. What, after all, was a virtual assistant? And those looking for an alternative to the 9-to-5-plus grind of administrative work found the prospect shaky, at best. Flash forward another four years, when be revisited a more mature industry and outlined the necessary steps needed to enter the exploding field (“Small Office/Home Office,” November 2005).

So what’s changed since then? Lots, says Craig-Hart. The industry has grown tremendously in the last three years because of high-speed connections, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, mobile technology, Web-based applications, and handheld devices. But more important, admins now have solid resources that can provide training and advice as they head out on their own.

Since leaving the corporate world, Craig-Hart’s income has outpaced her corporate salary: “In my first year, I hit $75,000 gross,” she says. “Second year, $155,000, and this year will be close to $200,000.”

Shopping

By now, most of us would probably admit to being pretty experienced, if not experts, when it comes to grabbing great deals online. We know the usual hotspots for comparison shopping, clipping coupons, and getting discounts on hard-to-find products. But do we really know how to ferret out the best bargains?

Vickie Perry Barker, 31, knows the art of finding a deal. As a virtual paralegal and marketing assistant, and mother of two, the busy entrepreneur says whether it’s for her business or family, every online shopping trip starts with the “big G”–Google. She uses the company’s services not just to check e-mail but also to coordinate payments with clients and services through Google Checkout. “Before I start any research, I go to Google. I also use more popular sites like eBay and Overstock.com,” she adds.

The latest in online shopping are personalization and social networking sites. Consumers are talking to each other and demanding a more tailored shopping experience. EyeBuyDirect.com, an online eyeglasses shop, lets customers upload photos of themselves to do a virtual try on, then share the images with friends via the site’s social network, the Wall of Frame, or via Facebook. And Leverage Inc. lets users buy, register, manage, and swap gift cards online. Gift cards registered from participating retailers on LeverageCard.com never expire, offer insurance in case the retailer goes bankrupt, and earn interest over time. In Beta testing at press time, iStorez provides up-to-the-minute details on store specials. Shoppers can search by item type, retailer, occasion, theme, and even personality.

Small Business

It seems that these days, businesses can choose to keep doing what they’ve always done and face the battered economy by protecting what they have or be bold enough to shred the box. That’s what Mike Johns, CEO of California-based UrbanWorld Wireless, did. The distributor of mobile content, ranging from hip-hop news to ring tones, could have stayed in his comfort zone, but instead he expanded his firm’s reach by recently inking a deal with Urban World Ltd.–a similarly named but unrelated British company–to extend distribution into the United Kingdom.

Johns says the opportunity to grow his business comes with risk because better or worse, his company’s overseas reputation is now linked to the UK firm.

But then there’s the upside–by breaking out of the U.S. market, Johns expects to boost UrbanWorld’s revenues from $1 million in 2007 to $1.7 million in 2008. He plans to keep capitalizing on the world’s fascination with hip-hop by expanding into continental Europe, Asia, and Africa. “You have to take calculated risks, and I think that is applicable to all businesses,” says Johns, whose 7-year-old company employs nine people.

Now is a good time for entrepreneurs to take such risks, including wooing employees of weakened rivals or acquiring the firms outright, says Edward Rogoff, director of Baruch College’s Field Center for Entrepreneurship. The key, of course, is to have a strong enough balance sheet to absorb the cost of such moves. “This is one of these cash is king periods,” asserts Rogoff. “If you have money or borrowing capacity, you’ve got tremendous opportunities to make acquisitions, to purchase assets, and to expand.”

Investing

Due to Congress’ wrangling, the eventual passage of the $700 billion financial bailout package, and investors’ lack of confidence in the global financial system, the Dow Jones industrial average has been on a roller coaster ride. Economic uncertainty has driven investors to sell their holdings, leaving once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for those who are not faint of heart.

Bold investors with some cash set aside for investment opportunities should be following media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and, of course, be to learn which domestic and global companies and industries have been beaten down below their true value, says J. Michael Salley, an investment adviser in Summerville, South Carolina.

Real estate is a maligned asset class where fantastic bargains can be found, Salley says. He recommends investment-grade real estate investment trusts, or REITs, that take positions in solid commercial properties.

For those with plenty of intestinal fortitude, Bank of America Corp. (BAC) is worth a look, he adds. Since the beginning of the year, it has bought two distressed financial powerhouses: Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch. Once the market panic subsides, Bank of America could emerge as one of the world’s dominant banks. The stock has lost half its value this year, dipping below $20 on Oct. 9, but analysts predict the stock could reach $30 within 12 months.

Salley also expects the Chinese market’s recovery to be followed by above-average returns in years to come. He recommends diversification and stresses that in China, real estate and financial companies are on the risky end of the spectrum.

Careers

Regardless of the business climate, corporate professionals must manage risk in order to advance. In his book, Good Is Not Enough (Portfolio Hardcover; $24.95), Keith R. Wyche, president of U.S. operations for Pitney Bowes Management Services, identifies this element as a key component in creating a blueprint for one’s career. For example, he asserts that executives who are unwilling to relocate may limit their careers. “You need to consider what the best move is for you, what changes should you be making in your career to achieve your ultimate goals? In other words, do not let your current success limit you,” he writes.

Even in this turbulent environment, there’s still plenty of opportunity for career advancement. Talented workers will continue to shine, maintains Stefanie Smith, who heads Stratex, an executive consulting and coaching firm based in New York. “This is not the time to sit at your desk and lay low,” she says. “Make an appointment with your boss and ask, ‘What can I do in this quarter to deliver the results you need to achieve?’ ”

However, don’t ask for a promotion. Instead, Smith says you should find out what roles you can play to make a greater contribution to the company’s objectives. Always present yourself to managers and senior executives as an ally, not a competitor. And by all means, follow through. At the same time, you should set quarterly performance goals for yourself. “When times are tough,” Smith says, “senior executives value those professionals who can deliver the most value in the shortest time frame.”

–Additional reporting by Stacy Gilliam, Sonya Donaldson & Steve Garmhausen