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If it’s one thing that can quickly shut down entrepreneurial dreams, it’s lack of financial capital. But according to the Washington Informer, it’s not financing isn’t the biggest problem to small black business success. The reasons why they fail, an article asserts, is due to lack of planning and marketing and adequate research. African Americans aren’t using their resources to plan correctly or take the time to discover if a business will even succeed in their area of interest.

The road to success isn’t easy and only a few have made it to the top. The article reports that less than two percent of African Americans are entrepreneurs. 2007 economic census data observes that blacks own 1.9 million nonfarm businesses in the US; just 7.1 percent of all nonfarm businesses in the nation. They employ .8 percent of the employed and earn about $137.5 billion in receipts.

In order to bring more African Americans into the entrepreneurship realm, the first step is to get the proper assistance to realize your business plan. African Americans generally don’t hire other black professionals. If you’re planning a business venture, take this time to bring other African Americans into your plans.

Next, do the necessary research. Many times entrepreneurs believe they will succeed just because they have the skill-set to do the job. But in addition to believing in yourself, you’ve got to spend time and money on determining whether or not your product or service is necessary in your community and what the competition is doing.

Lastly, advertise your business and use black media avenues to do so. Use the black community to help get your business off the ground and in turn, do some good in the black community. Hire black employees and keep the money you make in the community.