Look beyond the bling

Like many young black men who have grown up in the hip hop era, I’ve been very impressed by the great fortunes that has been made by people like, Russell Simmons, Sean Combs, Jay Z, Damon Dash, the guys from FUBU and Dr. Dre to name a few. Their stories and accomplishments have impressed me and they have served as my role models like basketball players were to the generation before me.

These guys have shown what you can do when you have a bit of talent, some smarts and the will to succeed. Unfortunately we are not shown enough of the business side of these entrepreneurs. We see a lot of useless news in the press on a daily basis, about who they are dating, what cars they drive. The clothes and jewelry they wear, but very little about the businesses they run and their investments.

You hardly ever see stories about how they invest to maintain their wealth. If Jay Z only sold records and bought jewelry and cars he would still be on the corner hustling. Jay is worth $320 million today because he and his partners where smart enough to make a business around Jay’s talent. Money earned from one venture was invested into other ventures as well as secure long term investments.

Sean Combs has sold a lot of records but his wealth comes from investments he has made outside the music business. Combs in a sense uses the music game as a marketing tool to sell his clothing, rims and other merchandise.

All these guys have diversified from their main field into other areas. One thing that has been very good to a lot of these forks has been real estate. They have used their homes as investments trading up after a few years at handsome returns. This is something we can all do. I guess the point I’m trying to get across to you is that you should see these young black entrepreneurs not for the bling they display but for the smart investment moves they make. Don’t buy a fancy ride to impress the ladies, buy some stocks, bonds or a home so you can impress yourself with your wealth building skills.