MBE Capital Call Conference Propels Minority Business Creation, Development, and Funding

On September 15-17, 2011, the Virginia Housing and Community Development Corporation (VHCDC) will host its annual 2011 MBE Capital Call Conference and Venture Forum in Hampton, Virginia at the Crowne Plaza Hotel - Hampton Marina.

Over 100 small, women, and minority business owners will convene to design, create, and launch several innovative, game-changing ventures - in slightly less than 3 days!

Reformatted from previous events, the 2011 MBE Capital Call is an intense, 53 hour long event designed to put entrepreneurs on the fast-track to developing their idea for a new product or service - which could form the basis of a credible business.

Comcast Launches Minority Entrepreneur Accelerator Program

Comcast Interactive Capital, the venture capital affiliate of Comcast Corporation, one of the world's leading media, entertainment and communications companies, announced that is has partnered with DreamIt Ventures, the technology accelerator for entrepreneurs, to provide seed funding, training, mentoring and other benefits to five minority-led startups through DreamIt's accelerator program.

The partnership with DreamIt, called the Minority Entrepreneur Accelerator Program (MEAP), is Comcast Interactive Capital's first investment initiative from the $20 million fund created by Comcast as part of the NBCUniversal transaction that is committed to expanding opportunities for minority entrepreneurs.

It's Official: I've Opened An Office in The Philippines

I'm proud to announce that I have officially gone global! I have opened an office in downtown Manila, Philippines - the country's capital - for my newly formed subsidiary, Dante Lee International (DLI), which will house my newly acquired web property - Tagalog.com. I'm planning to re-launch the site as an online dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, and resource guide.

There are many dialects in the Philippines, but Tagalog is the official language spoken by over 100 million Filipinos worldwide. My goal is for the site to be the ultimate resource for everything pertaining to the Philippines - how to speak the national language, how to travel there, what attractions to see, where to stay, where to shop, how to interact with the people, etc.

Black Enterprise Interviews Matthew Knowles

Black Enterprise Magazine recently did a great one-on-one interview with Matthew Knowles - the CEO and President of Music World Entertainment. Knowles is best known for spearheading the successful careers of Destiny's Child and Beyonce (his daughter) - the best selling R&B group of all time and the world's most recognized female pop superstar.

Although often exalted for his accomplishments with his daughter’s superstar career, Knowles has a proven track record of more than 200 million worldwide records sales.

Minority Business Development Agency Announces Grant Competition

If you ever wanted to open an entrepreneurship center for minority business owners, here's your chance. The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), a bureau at the U.S. Department of Commerce, has recently announced a major grant competition for candidates who want to open a business center in the Upper Midwest, Northeast, and West Coast (specifically Southern California) areas of the United States.

Awards range from $225,000 to $355,000 annually, and the primary objective of your center must be to provide strategic business consulting services to minority firms that will result in increased public and private sector contracting opportunities and capital investments, ultimately leading to the creation of new U.S. jobs.

Book Review: "Doing Business In China For Dummies"

If you're interested in an authoritative guide to understanding how to do business overseas, this book is a great start. Whether you plan to do business in China or another country, this guide offers a lot of valuable information.

Written by Robert Collins and Carson Block, it covers all the basics, from the nuts and bolts of Chinese business and bureaucracy to negotiating with your Chinese partners. It teaches how to understand Chinese markets, develop a strong business plan, find the right employees, work with currency controls and the Chinese banking system, and sell and source. It also provides the much-needed know-how on how to manage day to day, from travel tips and advice on converting money to getting past language barriers.

Business Owners: Pay Attention To President Obama's New Law

In September 2010, President Obama approved the Small Business Jobs Act - a new law that has become a very significant piece of small business legislation. The law extends the successful SBA enhanced loan provisions while offering billions more in lending support, tax cuts, and other opportunities for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Now in 2011, those provisions have become to manifest themselves. Just recently, the U.S. Treasury Department approved more than $50 million to support lending to small businesses in the states of Connecticut, Missouri and Vermont. This might sound small, but that translates into $534 million in loans.

2011 National Black Book Festival In Houston

Are you an existing or aspiring African American author? Do you want to learn how to sell more books, get a major book deal, and network with other authors and publishers? Then you may want to plan to attend the upcoming National Black Book Festival in Houston, Texas on June 10-12, 2011.

More than 100 African-American authors and thousands of book club members and readers will converge during the largest indoor gathering of African-American authors in the world. Participating authors from more than 30 states and the Caribbean will showcase, sign and sell their books during the weekend event.

The Worst Press Release Mistake Ever

There are many ways to make mistakes when writing or distributing a press release, but the worse mistake ever is to only send a press release out once a year - during Black History month.

This is a common mistake amongst many African American entrepreneurs, authors, speakers, and others who are looking to target Black consumers through the media.

Well, guess what? February is not the only month when Black people are relevant. As a consumer group that spends nearly $1 trillion a year, African Americans should be relevant to your business all year long.

Wal-Mart To Expand To South Africa

In a bold but smart move to stay ahead of competitors, Wal-Mart, the world's bigger department store chain, is seeking to buy Massmart - a major retailer with 263 stores in South Africa and 25 stores in other sub-Saharan African countries including Mozambique, Swaziland and Namibia. Massmart owns chain stores such as Game and Macro.

Seeking to capitalize on Africa's economic growth, Wal-Mart has reportedly made an offer of $4.1 billion to buy 51 percent of the company, which will remain listed on the country’s stock exchange. If successful, Wal-Mart would become the first major international retailer to enter the South Africa market.