Thursday, June 05, 2008

Black Enterprise 2008 Annual Report on Black Business

Black Enterprise (BE) magazine has issued its 36th Annual Report on Black Business, which features the 2008 listing of the BE 100s (formerly BE 100), the nation's largest black-owned businesses. Black Enterprise founder Earl Graves, left, says on his Publisher's Page:

"In the area of commerce , in particular, there is nothing like the threat of recession, economic turmoil, and market uncertainty when it comes to separating the real leaders from the pretenders. In the midst of a rapidly shifting global economy, seemingly filled with limitless amounts of both
adversity and opportunity, true leaders stand out from the rest. Leaders don't chase fortune and fame; they serve missions and are able to articulate a future for that mission in clear, simple language. They understand that wealth and power are not primary objectives, but inevitable byproducts of fulfilling a need and making a consistent, positive investment in achieving a larger goal. Leaders have vision."
Mr. Earl Graves continues:

"Few people in the world enjoy a greater combination of fame, fortune, social status, and wealth than the inimitable Oprah Winfrey, CEO of Chicago-based Harpo Inc, our 2008 Company of the Year, for all the ways she is celebrated--as a dominant media force; an extraordinary producer for television, stage, and screen; a world class philanthropist--she is rarely celebrated as one of the most consistently excellent business leaders of our generation. In fact, Winfrey hardly sees herself that way. Yet the results speak for themselves, as Harpo continues to spin gold from nearly every media venture and partnership it undertakes, from O: The Oprah Magazine to the Oprah & Friends XM satellite radio channel to the television juggernaut that is The Oprah Winfrey Show."

"Yet, the $345 million in revenues generated by Harpo last year is almost beside the point. As counterintuitive as it may seem to commony held notions of leadership in business, Winfrey is far better known for enriching others--giving away automobiles to her studio audience, building schools for girls in South Africa--than she is for achieving wealth for herself."

We love Black Enterprise at AAEA and have enjoyed its information for decades. BE is second to none and provides a valuable service to the African American community and the general public. The 36th BE 100s covers four categories in listing the top black businesses: 1) Industrial, 2) Auto Dealerships, 3) Advertising and 4) Financial Services.

In 2007 the Industrial/Service sector had total sales of $29 billion. Of particular interest to us in this sector are: 1) CAMAC International Corp (Kase L. Lawal of Houston, Texas), which provides crude oil, gas exploration, productiona and trading. 2) NDR Energy Group LLC (Rickey Hart of Charlotte, NC), which provides sales and transportation of natural gas and energy consulting. 3) Hightowers Petroleum (Stephen L. Hightower of Franklin, OH), which is a supplier of fuel and petroleum products. 4) New Technology Steel LLC (Sarah J. Bates of Detroit, MI), which is a steel processor. 5) MPS Group Inc (Charlie Williams of Detroit, MI), which provides industrial and environmental services. 6) SoBran Inc (Amos L. Otis of Dayton, OH), which provides biomedical and environmental research, technical support.

In 2007 the Auto Dealer sector had total sales of $9 billion. We believe that these dealerships could lead the way in selling plug-in fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles to usher in cars that produce no smog forming or greenhouse forming gases and do not use petroleum (although we like petroleum).

In 2007 the Advertising Agency sector had total billiings of $2.1 billion.

In 2007 the Financial Services sector Banks had $6 billion in assets, $500 million in capital, $5 brillion, and loans of $4.1 brillion. Asset Managers had $84 billion. Investment Banks had Total Managed Issues of $821 billion. Private Equity Firms had Capital Under Management of $28 billion.

We are also delighted that BE is covering environmental issues and thanks for quoting us and listing our website on p. 189. (BEing Green)

[Special Thanks: Tamara E. Holmes--Writer/Editor]

No comments: