Sen. Lindsey Graham Outraised By Democratic Challenger Jaime Harrison
Sen. Lindsey Graham is in for a tougher fight than he expected in the race for his South Carolina Senate seat as Democratic challenger Jamie Harrison has outraised him.
According to CNN, Harrison’s campaign brought in a total of $7.2 million in the first three months of 2020, while Graham brought in nearly $5.6 million. Harrison’s fundraising shows the high-profile nature of the race. Harrison, the former chairman of the state’s Democratic Party has received early support from prominent party leaders, including presidential candidate Joe Biden.
“We’re so grateful for this outpouring of support from everyday people who are looking for leadership that puts them first,” Guy King, communications director for the Harrison campaign, told CNN.
Harrison still has a lot of work to do and the odds are still against him. Graham, a three-term senator, is close with President Donald Trump, and the Cook Political Report rates the race as “solid” Republican.
Additionally, although Harrison’s numbers for the first quarter outpace Graham’s, the senator has raised more since the beginning of the cycle, raising $6 million more than Harrison. Graham’s campaign also has more than $4.8 million more cash on hand than Harrison.
Graham’s campaign blamed the lower total on the senator being forced to cancel fundraising events do to the coronavirus.
“It’s truly humbling to see the tremendous support and momentum continue to grow for Senator Graham,” said campaign manager Scott Farmer in a press release. “Even after canceling numerous events and suspending our fundraising efforts for part of the quarter, Senator Graham still shattered personal and state fundraising records.”
Graham, a staunch champion of the right, ran for president in 2016 but dropped out in late 2015.
Harrison joins a growing list of Democratic challengers in U.S. Senate races who have outraised their Republican opponents. Democratic challengers have quickly adapted to using social media to their benefit in a time when most of the country is stuck at home.
Graham has recently been in the news for opposing the widespread student loan forgiveness Democrats have been pushing for during the coronavirus outbreak.
“Democrats are trying to reduce student loans by $10,000. What the hell has that got to do with the virus?” Graham (R-S.C.) told Fox News. “I’m sure everybody could use more money, but I don’t want to give money to people who have a paycheck. I want to give money to people who have lost their jobs.”
In light of the global COVID-19 pandemic, which is disproportionately affecting the African American community, Sean “Diddy” Combs announced that he is launching a new platform called “Black News” that promises to report news and issues impacting the black people. He added that the series will also focus on providing solutions.
“It’s time for us to be solution-based,” said the Revolt chairman in an Instagram post on Saturday. He also noted that he will “put together a collective of individuals that are experts in their field.”
Combs said he came up with the idea after he hosted “State of Emergency,” an online townhall about the coronavirus and state of black America.
“When I started @REVOLTTV I always wanted to develop a platform to report the news from our perspective, for our people, so I decided to launch #BLACKNEWS,” reads his caption. “This platform is for solutions. We’ve already heard about what we can’t do, but this is about what we CAN do. This is all happening in real time, it’s not perfect, but each week we will get better and better.”
The announcement comes almost a week after he hosted a celebrity dance-a-thon on Instagram live on April 12 to raise money for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was joined by Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriquez, Aubrey “Drake” Graham, Will Smith, Shaquille O’Neal, Snoop Dogg, and Jessica Alba. He reportedly raised $4 million for the non-profit Team Love and Direct Relief, dedicated to humanitarian aid in the coronavirus pandemic.
Only Two States Released Full Stats on Race-Based COVID-19 Data, Says Johns Hopkins University
While the U.S. economy and entire industries have been completely upended by the global coronavirus crisis, research shows that the pandemic is disproportionately affecting African American communities around the country. In places like Chicago and Louisiana, black people make up 70% of the cases and fatalities despite being the minority in both areas. Meanwhile, in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, blacks make up about 27% of the population but comprised almost half of all COVID-19 infections and 71% of all fatalities.
Despite the racial disparities, a new study from Johns Hopkins University revealed that just two states, Kansas and Illinois, have released a full report of racial demographic data related to COVID-19 cases. The report comes as experts are calling for racial data transparency related to COVID-19 infections in order to protect vulnerable communities.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is exposing deep structural disparities in the U.S. healthcare system and is hitting some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged populations the hardest. These tragic disparities are crying out for urgent attention from policymakers and the media,” reads a statement from Johns Hopkins University sent to BLACK ENTERPRISE. “Although racial and ethnic information is currently available for only about 35% of the COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., it is clear that Black Americans and racial minorities experience infection and death rates that are disproportionately high for their share of the total population.”
To pressure states to become more transparent, Johns Hopkins University launched a new tracking map on Friday highlighting which states are releasing critically important race-based COVID-19 data – and which are not. According to the map, only Kansas and Illinois have released racial breakdowns of their COVID-19 data pertaining to confirmed cases, deaths, and testing. Thirty-four states have released racial data about the number of confirmed cases and 26 have publicized the number of deaths broken down by race. A few states have not released any racial data at all.
Lisa A. Cooper, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity, says this information is critical for governments and public health departments as they distribute resources to combat the spread of the virus.
“Having the information can help our policymakers, our administrators and our employers determine how to best use the resources that we have in our country,” Cooper, a Distinguished Professor of Health, Behavior and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told The Hill.
She added that a number of environmental and social conditions place people of color at greater risk of exposure to the virus in addition to an increased risk of suffering from serious complications from COVID-19, which has led to higher death rates.
“These disparities in health are not new, they’ve existed for some time and they’re due to a variety of different factors ranging all the way from the social and environmental issues to health care access issues,” she said.
Such conditions include high rates of homelessness, housing insecurity, and food insecurity, which can prevent people from practicing social distancing. On top of that, black and Hispanic workers are more likely to commute to their jobs.
“You layer those other social barriers on top of health care, it really sets up folks to be at a disadvantage,” Cooper said. “A lot of people tend to think health as being primarily caused by individual behaviors. It’s also a result of environmental factors and the choices people have.”
Councilman Loren Taylor Wants More Support for Black Businesses in East Oakland
The city of Oakland, California, has a rich history. From the Black Panther Party to its vibrant arts community, Oakland has always been known for its bustling small black-owned business and for breeding leaders. One of them is District 6 Councilman Loren Taylor who represents Maxwell Park, Millsmont, Havenscourt, and Eastmont. Pre-gentrification, parts of Oakland built an off-putting reputation because of crime rates and community violence. Now, Taylor is diligently working to uplift and educate the community through entrepreneurship and ownership.
In a recent interview with Post News Group, Taylor discussed his work to get more black businesses established and operating in East Oakland and the impact that COVID-19 is having on small businesses in the community.
He told the Post, “Due to historical disinvestment and discrimination, black businesses will be particularly hard hit by the governor and the City of Oakland’s declaration of emergency.”
Before assuming the role as a Councilman, Taylor was a health innovation consultant and is a past board member of the West Oakland Health Center.
He is also currently partnering with students at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business to help local entrepreneurs gain more access to resources and information. As an alumnus of the program, Taylor says, “I am grateful that these MBA students are volunteering their skills and time to provide valuable support to our business owners.”
As business owners face financial challenges due to the health crisis, Taylor encourages people to visit the City of Oakland’s website to complete the COVID-19 Business Impact Survey. He is also working with other officials to submit legislation that would help him to provide support for small local businesses in Oakland. As a part of that effort, he is calling local business owners to participate in the District 6 East Oakland Business and Non-Profit Registry.
To learn more about Taylors efforts in East Oakland, click here.
To stay in the loop on the latest on how COVID-19 is impacting the community, click here.
How to Build Your Own Brand and Secure Your Bag During the Coronavirus Crisis
The global COVID-19 pandemic has abruptly upended the U.S. economy and disrupted the lives of millions of people around the world. Most states have issued mandatory stay-at-home orders, while non-essential businesses have been closed down by local governments and Americans are being urged to practice social distancing to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. For many, this is a moment of anxiety and uncertainty. For others, however, there’s a silver lining. Even in the wake of mass devastation and disruption, the unprecedented crisis, perhaps, is a moment to reset, recharge, and innovate.
PIVOTING IN TIMES OF CRISIS
According to the co-founders of the Build Your Own Brand (BYOB) Retreat, an annual conference that attracts thousands of millennial entrepreneurs and creatives of color during Memorial Day weekend, now is the time for brands to recalibrate and flex their creative muscles.
Rather than canceling the retreat, which was scheduled to take place in Miami next month, the BYOB Retreat has been rescheduled for August 15-16. However, the team is giving guests the option to transfer their tickets to 2021.
“The excitement is still very high,” said Redell Spinks, co-founder of BYOB Live. “With the pandemic going on, everyone is still looking for opportunities to travel and engage with others, but be cautious,” he added. “The virus, though it is spreading across the country, I think people are still excited about the opportunity to hopefully have this retreat take place.”
Kela Walker and Karen Civil at the 2019 BYOB Retreat
Although many businesses have been forced to pivot, new challenges will inevitably spark new solutions. As a result, the BYOB team says now is the time to create new ways to deliver your message, connect with your audience, and generate income.
Here are some other ways business owners, bloggers, and influencers can build their brand and navigate during this time of uncertainty.
Build Your Brand
Spinks advises people to use downtime to work on passion projects. “While we do have this idle time, I’ve been encouraging people to just work on your craft,” he said. “Everything from refining skillsets to saving money to pouring into other people.”
He also emphasized the importance of “keeping your lines of communication open” so that “when we do breakthrough this pandemic, your relationships are still there with potential opportunities.”
Meanwhile, Andrew Nguyen, the co-founder and face of BYOB Live, says the pandemic has emphasized the need to create forward-thinking businesses and brands.
“In the agency world, especially for web and developers, there’s a saying now “mobile-first” is how you build things. Of course, you still do it for desktop and such, but the idea is the future is mobile and you must create for mobile-first because the trend is obviously there.”
“The most important skillset at this point is your mindset, strategy, and creativity. When nothing else works, that’s your God-given talent.”
Stay Creative
Nguyen admits that building a brand in the midst of a pandemic is “tough because this situation is not normal and was not easily predictable.” However, on the other hand, “in every situation or problem there is an opportunity or solution,” says the Hampton University grad. “It will require much deeper thinking, deeper strategy, deeper understanding of new human behaviors and lifestyles.”
The former DJ-turned-marketing guru continued, saying the coronavirus is also a test of character. “This is where of lot of tried and true entrepreneurs are really going to be tested, but those tests reveal the power of your leadership,” he said. “The most important skillset at this point is your mindset, strategy, and creativity. When nothing else works, that’s your God-given talent.”
Get Your Business in Order
Nguyen suggests that entrepreneurs use this time to “take a step back to evaluate how your business is being affected by the situation [while] looking at what are possible ways [to] address some of the pain points that we’re incurring now,” he said. “There are a lot of different opportunities to reflect on your business process, your system as a whole end-to-end, and how you can mitigate certain pain points.”
He added, “Make sure that all of your things are in order first, whether it’s personal, whether it’s cash flow, whether it’s team, whether it’s cutting costs.”
2019 BYOB Retreat
Think Long Term
Rather than rushing to pump out content, Nguyen says now is the time to observe and assess the market and use that intel to plan and execute a long-term plan to stay in business.
“[It’s about] not always having to be the first to execute, but be the best,” he said. “That requires you to make sure all your ducks are in a row [and] make sure you know what the market is doing,” he continued. “Don’t rush, make a plan. Execute when you’re really, really ready to execute.”
Be Sensitive
There is no denying that COVID-19 is at the forefront of everyone’s mind as the virus continues to spread and fatality rates increase. Hence, he says, be mindful of creating content that is sensitive to the current climate. You can tell a story, “but create captions that are in tune with what people are feeling,” said Nguyen, a former customer management senior associate at Pepsi.
“It’s all in how you continue to produce and share,” he said. “Make sure that people are aware that you’re doing your job, but you know what’s going on in the world.”
2019 BYOB Retreat
Expect the Best, But Plan for the Worse
He went on to stress that preparation is key in good business execution.
“For me, I see Plan B, C, D all the way through Z,” he said. “I’ve never even come into any situation saying, ‘hey, look, plan A is the only option.’”
He continued, “Nobody wants to end up in a situation where…you canceled and you don’t even have a plan on how we’re going to refund people,” he said. “There needs to just be contingency plans for everything” or else you run the risk of jeopardizing “the brand trust that the business built over the past two, three, four years.”
He also advised that entrepreneurs include a clause in contracts that protects their assets and liabilities in the case of a crisis. For example, he pointed to the Wimbledon tennis championship, which will receive a $141 million pandemic insurance payout since they canceled their 2020 event. According to Yahoo, the organization purchased pandemic insurance following the 2002 SARS outbreak and has been paying a $2 million pandemic premium every year.
“We all have different types of insurances, some mandatory some not so much, but times like this definitely make you think deeper in terms of what may or may not happen in the future. It takes a lot of discernment and faith to know how to operate a business for the future.”
Diversify Your Revenue Streams
One of the biggest business lessons learned from the pandemic is the importance of diversifying your revenue streams by creating different arms in your company, says Nguyen. “This is truly a time when diversifying will help you stay afloat more, especially in several different streams because while one might take a hit, the others are still sustaining if done correctly.”
He continued, “I really think companies — especially those such as event companies — need linear business streams that coincide with their business model and expertise. It doesn’t require lots of extra work or resources to put together because the bulk of the IP is there, however it’s an obvious business stream that can help grow and diversify the bottom line. This could mean having an educational approach, digital component, various partnerships, and joint ventures.”
Bill Cosby’s Early Release Request Denied By Governor
Well, Tameka “Tiny” Harris‘s wish isn’t gonna happen despite her support! The push to try to get an early prison release for convicted entertainer Bill Cosby has ended after Pennsylvania’s governor denied the request according to Deadline.
As prisoners across the country are being released to slow down the spread of the coronavirus, the counsel for Cosby had put in a request to allow him to receive an early release and be placed on home arrest. That request was denied by Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf.
“Mr. Cosby is not eligible for release under Gov. Wolf’s order since he was convicted of a violent offense (aggravated indecent assault) and was deemed a Sexually Violent Predator,” Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Kate Delano said Thursday. “So for both of those reasons, he would not be eligible to be released.”
The Keystone State’s Department of Corrections also made a statement regarding Cosby’s request. “Based on the criteria exempting sex offenders and knowing his highly publicized case he would not qualify,” a DOC spokesperson told Deadline on Thursday.
In 2018, Cosby was sentenced to serve three to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in 2004. More than 60 women had accused the actor of sexual misconduct. The actor is currently serving his sentence at the SCI Phoenix facility outside Philadelphia and there already has been reportedly one coronavirus case at the facility, according to lehighvalleylive.com.
Last month, Cosby’s lawyers filed a motion requesting that he be released from prison. Cosby’s lawyer Andrew Wyatt said in a statement to Yahoo:
“The reason: Mr. Cosby is elderly and blind — and always needs to be escorted around the prison by support service inmates, known as Certified Peer Specialists (CPI),” Wyatt said at the time. “Those inmates could fall victim to the coronavirus and easily spread the disease to Mr. Cosby as they wheel him around in a wheelchair. Among their duties, the inmates bring Mr. Cosby to the infirmary for his doctor appointments and clean his cell.”
Wyatt continued, “In addition, Mr. Cosby is constantly in contact with the correction officers who could contract the disease on the outside and bring it inside the prison, potentially exposing Mr. Cosby to the virus.”
Unemployed by COVID-19: Key Strategies To Jump-Start Your Career
Unemployed by COVID-19. That is the consequence being faced today by more Americans than ever in the nation’s history, with unemployment claims filed to date reaching more than 22 million and counting. If you are in that number, you need to act now to jump-start your career and quickly gain reentry into a job market that will be markedly different than it was just a few months ago, before the coronavirus crisis. It is critical to proactively identify new employment opportunities and maximize your capacity to land a new job.
Confident Career Woman Founder Ericka Spradley is an experienced consultant, coach, former hiring manager and career readiness adjunct professor who specializes in helping her clients maximize their visibility, discover and leverage their competitive advantage, and identify transferable skills to create broader career options. Beginning April 19, 2020, Spradley is offering a free Career Catalyst Program to 1,000 people via open enrollment. The virtual program is designed to help those unemployed by COVID-19 to land their next position.
Confident Career Woman Founder Ericka Spradley
“I know individuals who have been furloughed, displaced, and who are in desperate need to land their next—even if it’s an interim position,” says Spradley, who stresses the importance of seeking opportunities that may lie beyond the beaten path of your chosen profession prior to COVID-19. “Consider ways in which you can expand your career options exponentially.”
Spradley makes the following recommendations for those who are currently unemployed:
DON’T PLACE LIMITS ON WHAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER THAT EMPLOYERS MAY VALUE
If you’ve been unemployed by COVID-19, it is a mistake to only view your skills, job experience, and professional value in the context of the job or career you had prior to the coronavirus crisis. Consider how these can be transferable to new career paths and industries. Skills, experience, and expertise you’ve acquired—whether acquired early in your career, via a personal hobby or past-time, a side hustle—that were not used or under-utilized in the job you had before you were unemployed by COVID-19, may also help you to position yourself for new opportunities.
“Understand that just because you haven’t held a particular title in certain industries doesn’t mean you’re unqualified to secure employment in those fields,” Spradley asserts. “For example, I was in retail for 18 years. I transitioned into banking as a branch manager having never worked in the industry. Several years later, I pivoted into academia as a college and career readiness adjunct professor, having never formally taught, and without an education degree. By identifying my transferrable skills, positioning them via my résumé and communicating with confidence and credibility during interviews, I removed the self-imposed limits associated with thinking I was only qualified to do a specific thing in one industry.”
“If you’re unsure of how to identify your transferrable skills or where to locate a listing, you can Google transferrable skills listings as well as career path options,” Spradley recommends. “Let’s say you’ve spent the last 15 years as a recruiter; a simple search for ‘What roles can recruiters transition into?’ or ‘What is a career path for a recruiter?’ can produce career options that perhaps you haven’t considered.”
STAYING AT HOME DOES NOT MEAN BE INVISIBLE
Sheltering in place is not a justification for those unemployed by COVID-19 to become invisible. This is not the time to passively wait to be discovered by potential employers. You need to go out of your way to find them while making it as easy as you can for them to notice and find you.
“If you’re unsure of who’s hiring,” says Spradley, “perform a Google search: ‘Employers hiring during COVID-19,’ ‘Companies hiring during the coronavirus’ or ‘Remote employment opportunities.'”
Also, make sure your LinkedIn profile will attract recruiters. “Visit www.Jobscan.com for your free LinkedIn Optimization Report,” Spradley advises. “Once your profile is scanned for keywords in your headline, summary and work experience, you’ll have an idea of what you’re doing well in conjunction with what may need to change.”
It is also important to maximize your visibility by using every virtual means at your disposal while traditional, face-to-face networking opportunities are eliminated by social distancing protocols. Being unemployed by COVID-19 leaves you with time and opportunity to attend virtual conferences, polish existing skills and add new ones in webinars, and showcase your expertise by sharing content on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and especially LinkedIn. All of these activities create additional opportunities to show potential employers what you have to offer, even without leaving your home.
ACTIVELY NURTURE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS
Many experts, from networking mavens and career strategists to business coaches and mental health professionals, prefer the term “physical distancing” over “social distancing,” because the latter term implies that social isolation is unavoidable during the coronavirus crisis. The fact is, surrendering to isolation not only negatively impacts your mental and emotional health, it also hinders your prospects for discovering new job opportunities, by allowing relationships with those who can help you with your job search to go dormant. It’s your job to see that it doesn’t.
“Consider your relationships, both personal and professional,” says Spradley. “You’ll need support, encouragement, accountability and advocacy from those who can open doors to employment that you can’t yet access.”
Just because you can’t come within six feet of mentors, sponsors, advocates, colleagues and others (who may also be unemployed by COVID-19), does not mean you can’t maintain and leverage those relationships virtually. Don’t wait for them to reach out to you; schedule time to regularly engage and share details of your job search with them via Skype, Zoom, traditional phone calls—any virtual means available to you. Also, don’t forget to be a resource to others in the same way.
Black Momma Vodka’s Vanessa Braxton Changes Focus from Vodka to Hand Sanitizer
The coronavirus has forced people to change the thoughts and daily routines of life. Due to the national shortage of hand sanitizers, Black Momma Vodka’s owner Vanessa Braxton has decided to actively produce thousands of bottles of sanitizers out of the alcohol she has on hand according to BlackNews.
“We are changing with the times and we have to be ready to shift how we are serving our community and consumers in the midst of this crisis,” said Braxton. “If I didn’t own a distillery and manufacturing facility I would not have been able to pivot so quickly from producing vodka to making hand sanitizer. We are ready to evolve and reinvent our business to work with government agencies and hospitals, to protect those on the frontlines of fighting this pandemic.”
Vanessa Braxton is putting her manufacturing and distilling expertise to better use in these trying times. She is producing urgently needed hand sanitizer for healthcare workers, first responders, patients, and community members who are out fighting the deadly coronavirus. Due to the COVID-19, hand sanitizers have been selling out nationwide and continues to be a much-needed item in the fight to flatten the curve.
“In challenging times like these it is important as a business owner who makes products to have control over your manufacturing and equipment,” said Braxton. “If I didn’t own and operate a distillery, I would not have been able to take the reins in this time of need so quickly.”
Braxton, 50, of Dix Hills, New York, began making her very own Black Momma vodkas in 2013, and in 2016 she opened a manufacturing facility in Wyandanch. She also began making teas, followed by flavored agaves, and now has 33,000 online and wholesale customers and has made $2.9 million in sales. She has plans to open distribution centers in several states, while the Wheatley Heights building will serve as the company’s headquarters and training facility for the nearly 300 franchisees interested in being in business with her.
She is also the first African American woman distiller, master blender, and operator of a nationally distributed vodka in the country, and the owner of the only black-owned tea and beverage manufacturing facility. She is expanding her burgeoning empire as she is planning to open a 4,600-square-foot cafe and bar in Wheatley Heights, New York, this year.
In her first book, negotiation guru Mori Taheripour offers readers more than a decade of expertise honed as both a faculty member at the Wharton School of Business and adviser to organizations such as the NFL and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. Even in the midst of economic crisis, she insists, it’s important to negotiate—and to get creative about how.
Negotiations become more, not less, critical at times like these, when the economy is struggling and unemployment is running high. Whether you’re setting a price for your side hustle, or bargaining with clients or an employer seeking to downsize your regular pay, while you may not have much leverage in the moment, setting the stage for the comeback is key.
“It’s important to make sure that your clients don’t expect deep discounts to continue,” she says.
Mori Taheripour
The following excerpt from Bring Yourself: How to Harness the Power of Connection to Negotiate Fearlessly takes a look at how negotiation is about more than establishing your value; it’s a tool for problem solving and finding your voice:
I typically hire my former students to work as teacher’s assistants for me. Almost without fail, when I ask them their rate they say, “Oh, I don’t need to get paid. It’s just a great opportunity to work with you.”
I always respond, “If you don’t want any money, then I’m not going to hire you, because you’re going to go through life thinking that people don’t value your time and your effort. And I want you to understand that I value your time and your effort, and my simply saying that isn’t enough.” I understand their inclination, though. If I were in my twenties again and my professor offered me a job, I wouldn’t immediately say, “How much are you paying me?” The psyche of saying, “I don’t need to get paid” makes perfect sense. But these proclamations become habit-forming, and when they become subconscious, they also become dangerous.
The process of undercutting your value is very subtle—it starts as a tiny snowball that then collects more and more momentum until it’s become a dangerous avalanche. Here’s how it might go: Perhaps you’re concerned about your ability to attract clients, so when you offer a proposal for your work, the proposal includes a lot of your valuable knowledge. You feel you need to overperform and blow their socks off—you don’t trust that you’re compelling enough for them to take a risk by hiring you. The problem is, you’re so concerned about proving yourself that you’ve just given all of your value away. Why would they pay you when you will offer so much for free?
When they won’t pay for your knowledge, it then undermines your value even more. Perhaps you drop your price down for the next potential client. Your course has been set, and it’s difficult to change. Others will see that you don’t think much of your value, and they’ll take advantage, because people will take what you give them.
My philosophy is, let there be some exchange of value, even if it’s not monetary. For instance, if I asked a former student to do a small job for me, I would hope that he would at least say, “I don’t want money, but will you write me a letter of recommendation for law school, which I know will take you time?” There has to be some level of back and forth, of give and take, so that you don’t subconsciously decrease what your worth actually is.
There are many smart reasons to work without compensation of a financial nature. You may want to make yourself relevant to an organization. You might be able to put the company’s name on your client list, which increases your brand’s legitimacy. The work itself might bring you fulfillment. And if you walk away without a paycheck, you’ve still come out ahead.
The bottom line is that you have to be very thoughtful in making decisions about what you’re giving up, the effort you’re putting in, and what you may be getting in return. It’s not opportunistic so much as it’s strategic. It’s also about honoring yourself and the value you’re expending. A transaction is never just about a financial gain, but rather about the reciprocity of respect for one another’s value. Checking in with yourself regularly to ensure that you’re finding fulfillment and that you’re valued—whether it’s in the form of compensation, relationship, or a learning opportunity—is critical. If you don’t feel valued, and yet you continue to give, you may begin to doubt your worth, leading to habits that further the negative cycle. Alternatively, you may become resentful, which is equally detrimental.
It’s particularly easy to fall into bad habits in a down economy, where you give one or two people a deal and then the new price becomes their expectation, or worse, yours. Don’t punish yourself if you’ve done this—a lot of entrepreneurs and small business owners are particularly vulnerable to this thinking as they struggle through rough financial patches or attempt to attract clients. It’s called survival!
NBA player Bismack Biyombo announced Thursday that he, too, is doing his part to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus by donating $1 million worth of personal protective equipment to his home country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“We have never experienced a crisis of this magnitude. Seeing my home country suffer in this capacity is devastating,” said the Charlotte Hornets forward in a press release sent to BLACK ENTERPRISE. “I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to figure out a way to help those suffering in the DRC. I am pleased to announce that The Bismack Biyombo Foundation delivered over 10,000 masks and 780 hazmat suits to the DRC this week. Thank you to all of those who are at the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Biyombo’s foundation points out that over the past few years, the Congo has been severely affected by several disease outbreaks, including measles, malaria, and Ebola. As a result, the country is more vulnerable to the fatal virus.
“The country’s efforts to combat these diseases have completely depleted the healthcare system’s resources—leaving children and families more vulnerable than ever,” reads the statement. “All of the diseases affecting the DRC are spread through human-to-human contact and are preventable with the proper resources.”
Woman unpacks Bismack Biyombo’s PPE package in the DR of the Congo (Photo courtesy of EAG Sports Management)
The foundation went on to acknowledge that although Bismack’s donation of much-needed supplies will help slow the spread of infection, it “will not resolve the country’s issue.”
The 27-year-old NBA player earned $17 million in the 2019-20 season. In 2016, he established the Bismack Biyombo Foundation, which aims to provide resources and opportunities for people in underresourced communities throughout the U.S. and Africa. The foundation has made a significant impact in Charlotte and Africa.
Bismack Biyombo (Photo credit: Kevin Couliau courtesy of EAG Sports Management)
