Black Entrepreneurs need to continually diversify their money and not get caught into situations where if one thing stops selling, you’re stuck without any money. I had a very long conversation with my friend in Atlanta, a young black man, who along with his family, grew their government contracting agency Eagle Group International to over $50 Million annually in revenues and sold it recently to Lockheed Martin.
The one thing I learned from Mr. Walter Johnson, who started the firm and who is one of only a handful of African American men who are Brigadier Generals in the United States Army, is that you must diversify in order to grow and stay relevant.
There was a time when his firm almost didn’t make it and almost went bankrupt. But Mr. Johnson decided to not only focus on the Government market which appeared lucrative until he lost a major contract in the UAE and started building commercial buildings down near Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta. They then leased the buildings out to the Transportation Safety Administration for a lease term of 10 years and made money from that.
They then took that money and secured more contracts with the airport directly and provide all the customer service reps you talk to at the airport in Atlanta to Hartsfield Jackson. I learned to always diversify and never depend upon one industry.
