Very often, I reminisce about the day I got my first job in New York City. At the age of 23, I wasn't at all overwhelmed by the world's greatest metropolis, but I was a little excited about the unknowns I was facing. I was a lone immigrant from Chicago, with just one second-party friend who attended school with my mom. She let me stay with her until I could find a job and a place of my own. (During that three-week period, my car was vandalized.)
My job turned out to be very exciting, indeed. It was with a major photo studio on Third Avenue in midtown. I was a lowly assistant to several of the hot photogs in the mail-order catalog industry. Come to think of it, I was somewhat overwhelmed at the sight of models strutting around in their negligee. I learned to "be cool" after noticing how the other workers were handling the landscape.
The most important part of this experience was the recognition I received for my hard work and willingness to learn new skills of the trade. As the sole African-American neophyte on the premises, I was never ever asked to perform any menial task not assigned to other workers.
I remember, distinctly, a seamstress who worked in the wardrobe department. She was from the Caribbean and seemed to resent me for being ambitious in my position. She would often remind me that she thought I had very little chance for advancement in the company. I wouldn't remember her name if you put a gun to my head.
After working at the studio for eight months, I was promoted to the creative department with an increase in salary. The new environment consisted of a more sophisticated population of artists and directors who probably thought of me as a novelty, as I look back in retrospect. I enjoyed the stimulating atmosphere where the language was more superficial than normal. I found myself 'going with the flow' at times, in quest of acceptance. I grew out of it, eventually.
My new status became a passport to new adventures, such as finer places to eat and exclusive haberdashers where I developed a taste for designer sports coats. One of my peers seemed to be entertained by escorting me to shops where he bought his clothes. He dressed impeccably (can't remember his name, either), but I soon discovered he was gay, and our relationship faded. Meanwhile, I was already able to find my way to key merchants around town.
I don't remember exactly how I met Bernie, a British extract who was an architect with a firm near where I worked. Don't forget, I am referring to the life and times in the late sixties in midtown New York. Bernie seemed to be intrigued by my appetite to learn and experience extraordinary venues in the City. He was ten years my senior and an inexhaustible resource of information about architects and their influence on the New York's imposing skyline. Bernie also was a jazz aficionado. I think we met at a tennis court which was also near where I worked. He dressed "cool". That meant instead of wearing designer labels, he wore plaids and chords. He introduced me to chukka boots. I knew immediately that I wanted his friendship.
We walked the city streets late evenings, observing the individual characteristics of buildings around town, including the Seagram's Building and St. Patrick's Cathedral; and we hit the hot jazz locales together. He is directly responsible for my meeting Gloria Lynn, Kenny Burrell and Bobby Short, a reflection of Bernie's extensive entertainment budget.
Suffice to say, my earliest experience in "The Apple" was enriched by a point of view that I was entitled to the rights of any human being, and I did not engage in any ostensible campaigns to pursue these liberties. Just a few years later, I started my own company in Manhattan, servicing some of the largest corporations in America. (For details, please see other blogs or read my novel, "Stock Power".)
For lack of a better way to describe my attitude toward society, I acquired the perspective of an ordinary citizen without adding the burdens of scepticism and self-imposed bias. In retrospect, I did what I believe any courageous, adventurous individual should do, which is to be one's own person - with total acknowledgment of heritage - and focus on an immediate goal or two.
Here I am, forty years later, enjoying a brand of clarity on what has happened in America during the past year. I can appreciate the advancement of a man who has a fabulous skill, who also happens to be an African American: Barack Obama. He has parlayed his education, political experience and belief in himself into a status that could not be achieved by members of another race. THAT'S HOT STUFF!
I salute Mr. Obama and his partner, Michelle. In my view they should be included in a select group of African Americans endowed with more vision than bias, more courage than doubt, more pride than insecurity and, certainly, more skills than the competition. I like placing the Obama's among the ranks of achievers such as, Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Arthur Ashe, Michael Jordon, Oprah Winfrey, Kenneth Chenault and Colin Powell. If you look really closely, none of these dignitaries needed a political platform or activist movement to support their missions. On the other hand, one common denominator was vision and determination.
My hope is that more individuals of all races can find reasons to abandon the pedestrian tendency to be envious and critical of our fellow man. If, indeed, you believe that all men (and women) are created equal, then go ahead and become the reflection of that tenet to the best of your ability.
Break a leg!
Hudster
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
President Barack Obama Inspires America
I am one of the luckiest people alive to have benefited from personal achievements over seven decades. In 1971, I stood on the rooftop of Tower One along with my assistant a few days before it was completed. I was accompanied by two engineers from the World Trade Center operations in order to take the first photographs of Manhattan from the city’s greatest vantage point.
The event I just described took place about a year after an associate and I started our own company on West 45th Street. In those days, I competed against the best photographers for assignments from the largest ad agencies and corporations in the world.
More than 38 years later I sit at my desk completely awe struck by the accomplishment of our new President, Barack Obama. While I can relate to his tenacity and confidence, there is no way that I can imagine how this new status in an American culture must feel to him.
In my view, Obama’s strongest asset is his poise, which emanates from a combination of sub-attributes. President Obama has more universality than most public figures ever acquire; and his vision of the future for this country is both admirable and phenomenal.
While listening to his inaugural speech today, I never questioned his audacity and confidence. I was rapt with the quiet self-assertion he exuded when he made key references to the fallacies of greed and short sightedness in our society. I took aim at those kinds of malignancies in my recently published novel, "Stock Power". There is no doubt in my mind that President Obama has the ability to lead. I simply hope he maintains his balance as he adjusts to his new mantle of power.
America has an obligation, in the meantime. The citizens of this great nation must realize how important it is to rally behind our new leadership. We cannot afford to sit back and wait for change to jump off our TV screens and wave its magic wand. My personal commitment is to editorialize on my ambitions for my community. For example, I plan to engage young people in the town where I live with the aid of my journalistic skills. I believe the cost of education can be reduced when we contribute our time and talents to the next generation.
Am I inspired? You had better believe I am! However, inspiration, alone, has a short shelf-life. Thanks to the media, we will be reminded of the stirring inaugural event that took place today. During the coming weeks, American citizens should find their respective work gloves and put them on.
There is enough construction work to go around. The moment of opportunity has come for all of us to help make it happen.
Hudster
The event I just described took place about a year after an associate and I started our own company on West 45th Street. In those days, I competed against the best photographers for assignments from the largest ad agencies and corporations in the world.
More than 38 years later I sit at my desk completely awe struck by the accomplishment of our new President, Barack Obama. While I can relate to his tenacity and confidence, there is no way that I can imagine how this new status in an American culture must feel to him.
In my view, Obama’s strongest asset is his poise, which emanates from a combination of sub-attributes. President Obama has more universality than most public figures ever acquire; and his vision of the future for this country is both admirable and phenomenal.
While listening to his inaugural speech today, I never questioned his audacity and confidence. I was rapt with the quiet self-assertion he exuded when he made key references to the fallacies of greed and short sightedness in our society. I took aim at those kinds of malignancies in my recently published novel, "Stock Power". There is no doubt in my mind that President Obama has the ability to lead. I simply hope he maintains his balance as he adjusts to his new mantle of power.
America has an obligation, in the meantime. The citizens of this great nation must realize how important it is to rally behind our new leadership. We cannot afford to sit back and wait for change to jump off our TV screens and wave its magic wand. My personal commitment is to editorialize on my ambitions for my community. For example, I plan to engage young people in the town where I live with the aid of my journalistic skills. I believe the cost of education can be reduced when we contribute our time and talents to the next generation.
Am I inspired? You had better believe I am! However, inspiration, alone, has a short shelf-life. Thanks to the media, we will be reminded of the stirring inaugural event that took place today. During the coming weeks, American citizens should find their respective work gloves and put them on.
There is enough construction work to go around. The moment of opportunity has come for all of us to help make it happen.
Hudster
Monday, October 13, 2008
Racism: Deprivation vs. Myopia
It's about time I jumped into the fray on ethnic moires in the presidential race. A lot of figures of speech used to degrade a person because of his or her skin color can be charged off as evidence, among blacks and whites, of a narrow experience in life. I'm an expert on the subject, and I know what I am talking about.
Both of my parents are of African descent. Yet, they instilled in me an attitude that transcended the bias that prevailed when I was a kid in the fifties on the Westside of Chicago. It was because of their encouragement and their unending efforts to take me around to most of the states in this country that I was able to excell in the "white man's world".
This simply means I know, first hand, what it is like to have a business appointment cancelled by an executive at the last minute when he or she discovered I was black. On occasion, my business partner and I had to agree that he should represent our company to new customers. As time passed, I achieved unparalleled advancements in business because I proved my worth to management at Fortune 500 companies. The list of corporations is stellar.
In my view, one has to be very ignorant of the real social progress in the United States, considering the influx of immigrants from hundreds of foreign countries. I think a lot of people would be amazed at the number of chief executives in the United States that are of the African-American heritage and foreign extracts.
Read my book, "Stock Power", to get a fact-based example of how racial bias in America can be, and should be, rejected as the basic reason to deny a qualified individual his or her right to a critical position in business or politics.
I am Equityhawk, and I approve of this message.
Both of my parents are of African descent. Yet, they instilled in me an attitude that transcended the bias that prevailed when I was a kid in the fifties on the Westside of Chicago. It was because of their encouragement and their unending efforts to take me around to most of the states in this country that I was able to excell in the "white man's world".
This simply means I know, first hand, what it is like to have a business appointment cancelled by an executive at the last minute when he or she discovered I was black. On occasion, my business partner and I had to agree that he should represent our company to new customers. As time passed, I achieved unparalleled advancements in business because I proved my worth to management at Fortune 500 companies. The list of corporations is stellar.
In my view, one has to be very ignorant of the real social progress in the United States, considering the influx of immigrants from hundreds of foreign countries. I think a lot of people would be amazed at the number of chief executives in the United States that are of the African-American heritage and foreign extracts.
Read my book, "Stock Power", to get a fact-based example of how racial bias in America can be, and should be, rejected as the basic reason to deny a qualified individual his or her right to a critical position in business or politics.
I am Equityhawk, and I approve of this message.
Friday, August 22, 2008
What Do We Do Now?
The United States is headed for one of the most dramatic changes it has seen in its 232 year history. We are already in an economic recession (no, Mabel, we are not going into one), and with cutbacks all around, from corporate to government levels, our nation will be burdened with economic inertia.
There is little that can be done about our financial condition, as a whole. The one solution that I see is for individual citizens of this country to get their act together and start to sacrifice some of the luxuries we have enjoyed for decades. There is no other way out.
Lease another new car? Forget it! In my view automobile leasing is one of the single most short-sighted schemes ever devised in this country. It is the same as giving a fat kid more candy when he gets hungry. Sales in the automotive industry increased by astronomical numbers when leasing became available to the average consumer. Dealerships were happy; the automakers were happy; consumers were happy, and most of them still are.
Automotive sales and jobs are vital to this economy. So are home sales. Yet, their numbers will continute to fall until they bottom out. That's basically because more workers will lose their jobs in every consumer industry due to lack of leadership. What's the connection to the solution for individual wage earners? We must put the brakes on, so to speak, where buying that next new car is concerned. We need to understand what it means to hold on to a commodity for a longer period of time...long enough to put some serious capital into the bank account.
You see, the average person turns on the news or picks up the Sunday paper to read about where the economy is going without ever realizing we all are part of it. Furthermore, few people have paused to consider what would happen if just 1 million households cut their spending (postponed that new Hi-Def Tv) and saved an additional $500 per month. Our national credit card bill is on a collision path with a flat-out crash, worse than any we have ever known, if consumers don't wake up and smell the gas fumes.
Here's the payoff: every dollar saved today in a modest investment account can be worth $10 in ten years if the savings program gets started right away. That's a much better outlook than the one we are facing. Wouldn't that be a much preferred scenario than the likely future of having the government continue to send a crumb to our mailboxes while reducing services every year?
Think about it over your next cup of coffee (it doesn't have to be a latte). You just might get paid for doing it.
Hudster
There is little that can be done about our financial condition, as a whole. The one solution that I see is for individual citizens of this country to get their act together and start to sacrifice some of the luxuries we have enjoyed for decades. There is no other way out.
Lease another new car? Forget it! In my view automobile leasing is one of the single most short-sighted schemes ever devised in this country. It is the same as giving a fat kid more candy when he gets hungry. Sales in the automotive industry increased by astronomical numbers when leasing became available to the average consumer. Dealerships were happy; the automakers were happy; consumers were happy, and most of them still are.
Automotive sales and jobs are vital to this economy. So are home sales. Yet, their numbers will continute to fall until they bottom out. That's basically because more workers will lose their jobs in every consumer industry due to lack of leadership. What's the connection to the solution for individual wage earners? We must put the brakes on, so to speak, where buying that next new car is concerned. We need to understand what it means to hold on to a commodity for a longer period of time...long enough to put some serious capital into the bank account.
You see, the average person turns on the news or picks up the Sunday paper to read about where the economy is going without ever realizing we all are part of it. Furthermore, few people have paused to consider what would happen if just 1 million households cut their spending (postponed that new Hi-Def Tv) and saved an additional $500 per month. Our national credit card bill is on a collision path with a flat-out crash, worse than any we have ever known, if consumers don't wake up and smell the gas fumes.
Here's the payoff: every dollar saved today in a modest investment account can be worth $10 in ten years if the savings program gets started right away. That's a much better outlook than the one we are facing. Wouldn't that be a much preferred scenario than the likely future of having the government continue to send a crumb to our mailboxes while reducing services every year?
Think about it over your next cup of coffee (it doesn't have to be a latte). You just might get paid for doing it.
Hudster
Thursday, February 8, 2007
What's Going On?
You name it. It's happening. One of the best business ideas that I have seen in weeks is the relatively new GDI campaign. Global Domains International has put domain name ownership squarely in the hands of its members, meaning...you can own a full-blown e-commerce ready website THAT'S GOT VALUE, and within minutes, start earning anywhere from $1 to $50. As you can clearly see, this is a hype-less statement. We resist falling into that common trap. Of course, there is every opportunity to earn thousands per week, but it requires working smart.
The GDI thing is so simple, everyone who knows how to say, "Here's your free DVD I promised you," can wind up beating Las Vegas casinos 365 days out of the year, while spending half the time on vacation! GDI asks you to sign up for a week FOR FREE to get a handle on how simple and attractive business plan is. Then, for just 10 bucks a month, you're a rep, working for a sexy (believe me) and exciting operation that lets you make as much money as you want. You can take that to the bank!
Well, enough about GDI. Let's talk about me. I am one savvy, good looking...oh, never mind. What I want you to do is check out Global Domains International. You can copy this post if you like and email it or paste in your own blog, for fun and profit. When you get your own site, you can just change the ID in the link. It's a sweet deal. Go get yours!
http://www.equityhawks.ws
Don't forget to write after you buy that new condo!
Hawk
The GDI thing is so simple, everyone who knows how to say, "Here's your free DVD I promised you," can wind up beating Las Vegas casinos 365 days out of the year, while spending half the time on vacation! GDI asks you to sign up for a week FOR FREE to get a handle on how simple and attractive business plan is. Then, for just 10 bucks a month, you're a rep, working for a sexy (believe me) and exciting operation that lets you make as much money as you want. You can take that to the bank!
Well, enough about GDI. Let's talk about me. I am one savvy, good looking...oh, never mind. What I want you to do is check out Global Domains International. You can copy this post if you like and email it or paste in your own blog, for fun and profit. When you get your own site, you can just change the ID in the link. It's a sweet deal. Go get yours!
http://www.equityhawks.ws
Don't forget to write after you buy that new condo!
Hawk
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Who Won the Super Bowl?
Don't tell me. I know it was the Indianapolis Colts. My friend, Danny who works at the corner deli, keeps me up to date on critical issues like this. Good ol' Danny. Plus, when I turned on my computer this morning, the first thing I saw on my browser's home page were headlines about the Colts' victory all across my screen.
But getting back to Danny, he actually won $260 on the game! Now, that makes him a winner---of sorts. He was pretty proud of himself, too. But, I remember him telling me about the party he and his girlfriend had planned for the game. When I asked Danny how the party went, he began to boast.
"Oh, we had a great time," he said. "We had about thirty people over, and we had a blast...drank beer until it was coming out of our ears."
"So, what did you eat?" I asked.
"Pizza, of course!" Danny said. "That's the only way to watch the Super Bowl. Drink beer and eat pizza."
We won't mention the name of the pizza provider at this time. They have already reaped enough profit from the largest commercialized spectacle of the year. My friend, Danny, admitted that the party cost him neary $400. It looks like the pizza maker and the beer company made out a little bit better than Danny did, especially when you multiply this case study by the millions of similar Super Bowl celebrations - some smaller and quite a few, much, much grander in size.
We're getting to the point here. Yes, the Colts won the contest between two football teams, but the largest winners are the affiliates (corporations) that knew how to promote their products and services, before, during and after the game. I have watched how companies, large and small, use an important medium to leverage their marketing strategies. The Super Bowl is a classic example.
In reality, the TV network that sold the air-time to the beer company (for $1.2 million per minute), and the beer company that turned around and merchandized millions of cases of beer in every city in the United States, and the stores that sold the beer to consumers are the big winners.
The mass marketing strategies of these mega-corporations and local merchants are great examples of how independent entrepreneurs can leverage their business plans. The financial scale is different. Nothing else. One affiliate marketing bonanza that I believe is poised to hit the screens is Search Big Daddy, a fresh, new Internet marketing enterprise that every serious business owner should pay attention to. One of its key features is based on the use of keywords as a commodity. This business opportunity just might be another tidal wave of the future.
To get a first hand glimpse of this clever online operation, please visit Search Bid Daddy via the following link:
http://www.bigdaddypays.com/equityhawks
Success to you!
But getting back to Danny, he actually won $260 on the game! Now, that makes him a winner---of sorts. He was pretty proud of himself, too. But, I remember him telling me about the party he and his girlfriend had planned for the game. When I asked Danny how the party went, he began to boast.
"Oh, we had a great time," he said. "We had about thirty people over, and we had a blast...drank beer until it was coming out of our ears."
"So, what did you eat?" I asked.
"Pizza, of course!" Danny said. "That's the only way to watch the Super Bowl. Drink beer and eat pizza."
We won't mention the name of the pizza provider at this time. They have already reaped enough profit from the largest commercialized spectacle of the year. My friend, Danny, admitted that the party cost him neary $400. It looks like the pizza maker and the beer company made out a little bit better than Danny did, especially when you multiply this case study by the millions of similar Super Bowl celebrations - some smaller and quite a few, much, much grander in size.
We're getting to the point here. Yes, the Colts won the contest between two football teams, but the largest winners are the affiliates (corporations) that knew how to promote their products and services, before, during and after the game. I have watched how companies, large and small, use an important medium to leverage their marketing strategies. The Super Bowl is a classic example.
In reality, the TV network that sold the air-time to the beer company (for $1.2 million per minute), and the beer company that turned around and merchandized millions of cases of beer in every city in the United States, and the stores that sold the beer to consumers are the big winners.
The mass marketing strategies of these mega-corporations and local merchants are great examples of how independent entrepreneurs can leverage their business plans. The financial scale is different. Nothing else. One affiliate marketing bonanza that I believe is poised to hit the screens is Search Big Daddy, a fresh, new Internet marketing enterprise that every serious business owner should pay attention to. One of its key features is based on the use of keywords as a commodity. This business opportunity just might be another tidal wave of the future.
To get a first hand glimpse of this clever online operation, please visit Search Bid Daddy via the following link:
http://www.bigdaddypays.com/equityhawks
Success to you!
Monday, February 5, 2007
My very first business...ever.
I was in my late twenties when I first went into business. I owned a graphic arts studio with a partner. Our company raked in its first $200 when I photographed a can of Rise Shaving Cream for a highly regarded ad agency. No, we didn't get ripped off. A round-trip airline ticket from New York to St. Louis cost $70 back then. Now, are you impressed?
Yeah, we were a couple of guys with a dream and no business plan. We were lucky. We had enough contacts to keep us so busy, almost a year went by before we sat down with a counselor and got our act together. We worked around the clock producing high quality sales literature and we got tons of cheers and kudos for our efforts. The problem was that we barely made a profit. Once we were shown how to manage our cash and where to spend it, we were like a totally new business inside of three months. It was magic.
Today, I eat and sleep daily, weekly and monthly planning ON TOP OF my long-range business plan. For example, I have a product in the works and it will be on the market in the next sixty days. My marketing plan is already in place and has been for the past six months, or longer. Since competition is heavy, I have a contingency plan. How do I know I need an alternate route for my business? By studying the competition and the market where I plan to promote my product.Compared to years gone by, there are a lot of so-called Internet marketers fighting for the same prize that you and I hope to claim.
The best way to get from here to the prize is by careful affiliations with top-notch marketing leaders. Right now, I believe Search Big Daddy is our next big winner. We recommend joing this organiztion to anyone seeking a business plan that works. We are new to the group; but I have no reason to be modest about our capabilities with this exciting new venture. Cheers to Stephen C. Rose!
Hudster
Yeah, we were a couple of guys with a dream and no business plan. We were lucky. We had enough contacts to keep us so busy, almost a year went by before we sat down with a counselor and got our act together. We worked around the clock producing high quality sales literature and we got tons of cheers and kudos for our efforts. The problem was that we barely made a profit. Once we were shown how to manage our cash and where to spend it, we were like a totally new business inside of three months. It was magic.
Today, I eat and sleep daily, weekly and monthly planning ON TOP OF my long-range business plan. For example, I have a product in the works and it will be on the market in the next sixty days. My marketing plan is already in place and has been for the past six months, or longer. Since competition is heavy, I have a contingency plan. How do I know I need an alternate route for my business? By studying the competition and the market where I plan to promote my product.Compared to years gone by, there are a lot of so-called Internet marketers fighting for the same prize that you and I hope to claim.
The best way to get from here to the prize is by careful affiliations with top-notch marketing leaders. Right now, I believe Search Big Daddy is our next big winner. We recommend joing this organiztion to anyone seeking a business plan that works. We are new to the group; but I have no reason to be modest about our capabilities with this exciting new venture. Cheers to Stephen C. Rose!
Hudster
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