YoungBlackMoney.com

From Fenorris Pearson, CEO of Global Consumer Innovation

Your MBA is DOA

Once upon a time your MBA was the gold standard, a guarantee for eventual and all-but inevitable success in your chosen profession. Today the starting line has moved; an MBA is still crucial for the well-rounded, would-be consummate executive, but no longer the gold standard by which success is currently measured.

Even those reliable old yardsticks by which past business success was calculated – hard work, seniority and massive overtime – no longer ensure you the success you desire today. While all these are helpful, and many men and women have built their fortunes on these skills alone in the past, times are changing at such a critical pace that new opportunities are needed to bridge the gap between what used to work and what must work.

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  BV on Money: Is the Economy Really Recovering?

  The economic downturn has hurt us all. Black unemployment has been nearly 70% higher than that for …

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  Financial Lovemaking: 2 More Links Between Sex and Money

  As part of my series on comparisons between sex and money, we will continue with parts 3 and 4 …

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  Financial Lovemaking: What Sex and Money Have in Common

  Some people think that money and sex have nothing in common. Actually, they have everything in …

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  Michael Vick, Money and the NFL: The Business Side of The Situation

  Michael Vick is back on the field, (I wrote about this last week) but his problems are far from …

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  Black ‘Lil Monkey’ Dolls: A Very Bad Financial Move

  I received a call from CNN today about a major corporate mistake. We talk about such marketing …

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  Financial Lovemaking 101: How The Wrong Marriage Can Destroy You

  Many times, when I talk about portfolios, wealth and investing, I am talking about LOVE. Money is …

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  Dr Boyce Money: Wells Fargo’s Bad Relationship With the Black Community

  Wells Fargo was recently hit with another discrimination suit in the state of Illinois. This is …

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  Love Gone Bad: Scorned Women Krazy Glue Man’s Genitals

  OK, if you cheer when you read this story, then you need some serious help. If you squirm when you …

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  Dr. Boyce Money: Soulja Boy’s Bad Financial Advice

  In his video called ‘Rich N*gga Sh*t’ (I can’t even write the title, because I don’t want to …

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  Financial Lovemaking: Tiny, Toya, Weezy and TIP

  OK, was I confused when I found out that Tiny and Toya (TI’s "baby mama" and Lil Wayne’s ex-wife, …

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  Dr Boyce Money: Is the NCAA Racist or Just Getting Rich?

  In a letter written to NCAA president Myles Brand, Chairman Bill Thomas of the House Ways and Means …

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  Financial Lovemaking: Should You Marry a Professional Athlete?

  Many of us remember the nearly $822,500 gambling debt and subsequent arrest of former NBA star …

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  Dr Boyce Money: What Do Black Female Entrepreneurs Go Through?

  It’s not easy to be an entrepreneur, but the rewards are high. Owning your own business can be one …

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  Dr Boyce Money: Why Consumer Confidence Actually Matters

  Beyonce has a song about how she loves men with "big egos." This might imply that she likes men …

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  Dr Boyce: How Companies Make Money off Prisoners

  Dr. Byron Price is a black scholar with a mission. His book, ‘Merchandizing Prisoners’ opens the …

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  Dr. Boyce Money: NCAA Finally Gets Sued

  I’ve written extensively about the NCAA and what I perceive to be its consistent effort to exploit …

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  Dr Boyce and Free Talk Financial Advice on Power 105

  In this conversation, Free from Power 105.1 in New York speaks with me about African Americans, …

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  Dr. Boyce and Michel Martin on NPR Discuss the Minimum Wage

  In this interview, I speak with Michel Martin, host of "Tell Me More with Michel Martin," an NPR …

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  Dr Boyce Money: What Can Michael Vick Do Now?

  Previously, I did a piece on Michael Vick and discussed ways in which Michael can get his …

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  Dr Boyce Money: Steve McNair’s Missing Will

  My heart was broken when I read about the murder of NFL great, Steve McNair. My heart went out to …

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by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

The economic downturn has hurt us all. Black unemployment has been nearly 70% higher than that for white Americans, and the blow is even greater for people of color, since there is less black wealth to fall back on during tough financial times. We must remember, however, that the global recession has literally led to starvation around the world, as there were many citizens who could barely buy food even during the good times.

The IMF’s chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, says the global recession had "left deep scars, which will affect both supply and demand for many years to come." Blanchard also makes the additional point that economic models used to understand past recessions cannot be used to understand this one. When attempting to understand the cyclical nature of African American wealth, the models are even sketchier than they are for the rest of the world.

If you want to understand what happened to our economy, imagine you have a friend who appears to have the flu. The standard flu recovery time is going to be just a few days, so you expect to see them back at it within a week. They then go to the doctor, and it turns out that they have a sinus infection, extending the recovery period at least another week. But instead of coming back to work in 1 - 2 weeks, they are sick for an entire month. Well, this warrants another trip to the doctor, where you find out that the person actually has HIV. This changes the entire treatment strategy, since the short-term problems were nothing more than symptomatic triggers of serious long-term health issues. What’s worse is that with or without serious intervention, the patient may never be completely healthy again.

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Some people think that money and sex have nothing in common. Actually, they have everything in common. The act of merging your assets with another person’s can be an exhilirating process leading to the high of a lifetime, or it can be a devastating and emotionally crippling experience.

In a series of articles, I plan to lay out some examples that explain what sex and money have in common. Follow along, so that you can avoid the mistakes that are made by milions of people every single year.

Sex and Money Comparison Number 1: You could actually get the job done by yourself if you wanted to

No one says that you have to merge your money or your body with another person’s. There is a word we use to describe when someone takes care of his/her own physical needs, and I am not going to say it here. If you are not sure what the word is, then ask your mother, your boyfriend or your priest.

Just as you can take care of your physical needs yourself, the same is true of your financial needs. There’s an old saying "I can be broke all by myself." Thus, the choice to merge finances with another human being is not a choice we have to make. Merging assets with another person is also not a decision that should be taken lightly. It’s a decision you make only if you see potential benefits from the interaction.

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Beyonce has a song about how she loves men with "big egos." This might imply that she likes men with confidence. Confidence matters a great deal in terms of male/female attraction, but believe it or not, it actually impacts our economy. Every month, the University of Michigan measures consumer confidence, to determine if Americans are willing to spend money and how they feel about their current and future economic security.

But you might ask, "Why would I care about confidence, since it’s only psychological and imaginary?" Good question. Actually, confidence is a psychological phenomenon which leads to very real impacts on our choices and behavior. A confident man who asks out every girl he meets will probably have more mating opportunities than a good looking guy who doesn’t open his mouth. A confident consumer is someone who feels good about his/her economic situation and therefore decides to spend money, which is always good for the economy. Confident companies make investments and hire new employees, but insecure companies put projects on hold and don’t hire anyone. Confident banks make loans, but nervous banks hold onto their capital, thus slowing down economic growth for the nation.

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Dr. Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University speaks with Free on Power 105.1 about Financial Lovemaking.  Click here to listen to the interview!

Global Consumer Innovation, Inc sponsors workshops for young songwriters and singers at Alonzo Mourning and Dwayne Wade Summer Groove

Austin, TX – On Saturday July 11^th Global Consumer Innovation, INC is partnering with Lalah Hathaway, daughter of Donny Hathaway to put together a young songwriters and singers workshop as part of the Alonzo Mourning and Dwayne Wade Summer Groove.  The event will engage, motivate, and excite musically gifted youth by introducing, exposing, and involving them with successful recording artists while she rehearses for her main stage performance for the Summer Groove.  The youth will be able to engage Lalah Hathaway in conversation and better understand song writing, vocal training, and the preparation that goes into a performance.    

Global Consumer Innovation Creative Director Jonathan Clark says “The Summer Groove is an integral part of the Miami community and we are excited to sponsor this special event where youth will learn that the music industry is about more than fame and glamour, but preparation and integrity.”  Clark was the former Vice President of Marketing for Motown records before joining Global Consumer Innovation. 

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by Dr Boyce Watkins

"Stuntin like my daddy" was the first song on the album, "Like Father, Like Son," issued by Lil Wayne and Birdman in 2006. "Stuntin" is a hip hop term synonymous with "flossing," blinging," and "balling." It means that you’ve engaged in excessive spending to ensure that you have the finest of everything and are even willing to live at the edge of your means in order to present appropriate status symbols to the world. Anyone who follows hip hop knows that you should never take financial advice from a rapper. In light of the recent passing of their father, I sincerely hope that the children of Michael Jackson didn’t hear the Lil Wayne song, since their daddy’s financial "stuntin" before his death has left the children with a conflicted economic legacy.

On one hand, we shouldn’t feel sorry for Michael Jackson’s kids, at least not financially. Their father’s amazing talent gives them a brand that is literally worth well over a billion dollars in future royalties and licensing fees. Michael Jackson may have died physically. But financially, he is still a viable and overwhelmingly powerful corporate entity.

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by Dr. Boyce Watkins

• Janet Jackson honors Michael at BET Awards

Doctor talks to police about Jackson’s final moments

Let’s remember what Michael did for us

Michael Jackson is not dead. No, he’s not on a deserted island chilling with Tupac and Elvis (who some believe faked their deaths), but he is certainly alive in corporate and social spirit, impacting millions of people.

Michael will make 1000 times more money in death than most people make when they are alive. But similar to when he was alive, massive amounts of cash will have to be generated in order to counter the enormous debt that Michael created while he was doing his thing.

Reports have stated Michael Jackson’s debt to be as high as half a billion dollars, enough to make some major corporations blush. What’s worse is that this debt was not created via a series of sound financial investments: it was conceived by building personal amusement parks, buying rare monkey statues, and rocking his way from one expensive store to the other.

Michael’s spending became his addiction. Financial needs could have been what led to him agreeing to do 50 concerts in London this year (a tour he was preparing for just before his death), when he may have not been able to handle one. It was starting to get sad watching Michael perform, similar to watching Muhammad Ali after he’d spent 10 years dealing with Don King. While the 50-year old Michael Jackson may have given a great performance, it would probably be something less than what we’ve come to expect.

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by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Finance Professor at Syracuse University

www.TheGrio.com

I hate to be the bearer of bad news. But then again, it must not bother me very much, since I am going to give you a big pile of bad news right now. Given that I earned a Masters Degree in the "morbid science" of statistics, I figured I would start the day by fulfilling my occupational expectation.

The first piece of bad news is that you are going to die. One day, your heart will stop beating and the 2.5 billion breaths you’ll take during your lifetime will come to an end. Hopefully, it won’t be painful, but I can’t guarantee that. The truth is, however, that death might not be the worst part of it all.

The toughest news is that before you die, you are likely going to experience a long, slow period of physical and psychological decline called "old age". In conjunction with this decline, you are going to see your financial resources dwindle as quickly as the muscles in your body. Not only will the scale of your resources decline, but your expenses will likely mount as you go to one doctor’s visit after another, all with the hope of delaying the inevitable. That period of life is called "retirement", and most Americans are not financially prepared for it.

Now that you are sufficiently depressed (there’s no point in lying to you, I’m not very good at that), I will give you some facts to chew on. I also hope that in light of these realities, you will engage in something that the rest of America is not doing: preparing for retirement. While retirement planning has always been important in the past, it has never been more important than it is for you right now. The Perfect Economic Storm is coming, one in which all the scary clouds merge together into one big ball of fiscal devastation that can only be created by God himself. When your financial meteorologist (me) gives you that information, it’s your decision to get your family prepared. Let’s break down the components of the storm, shall we?

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