Black Genius Network - Dedicated to Celebrating African American Success

Our subscribers have many questions about starting businesses and today we will answer some of them, so here goes

B.H from Memphis TN asks:

“Will you please tell me how to get started as far as minority loans, where to apply or what I should do?”

When I got my loan to start my franchise I did not get a “minority loan”, B, I got a loan from the SBA nd they based the decision on my business experience and knowledge of the industry. The question you have to ask B is, can I find my customers before I get a loan and can I get them to pay for my product or service in advance. If you can pre-sell your customers on your product or service when you go to the bank with customers they are more likely to lend. Hope this helps.

D.H from Bowie MD asks:

“Where do you search for getting business in the international sector? Africa and the Caribbean? How many certificates do you need to start your business and how many classes should one be attending? And do you really need a lawyer?”

I worked for many years in the Caribbean and in visited and worked in Africa and finding business in that part of the world requires identifing your product or service and more often than not each country as a economic development department or board. You can find many on the web. As far as starting a business, there are no certificates needed, you can decide to start at any time. As far as classes are cncerned I would recommend the classes given by a local SBDC. You can find them at many colleges in the area in Philly there is one at Temple and Rutgers and in Maryland checkout this website http://www.capitalsbdc.umd.edu/index.html

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