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In How to Succeed in Business Without Being White, his first book, Graves shows how he, the son of an immigrant garment district worker, worked to become a multi-millionaire entrepreneur, director of several of America''s Fortune 500 corporations, and a huge charitable donor on a local and national level. Making examples of himself and dozens of other black men and women who have achieved overwhelming success, Graves illustrates the roads readers can take to overcome adversity and succeed in a largely white business environment.aAfrican Americans are entering the business world in unprecedented numbers, with more than 200 minority-owned companies now with revenues between $10 million and $1.5 billion. From overcoming the challenges blacks face in getting financing for new ventures to identifying the best industries and jobs for black job-seekers, to cultivating the discipline you need to succeed in any business, Earl Graves shows not only how he did it, but how you can, too.aGraves offers a bold, provocative look at race in America today and the barriers of prejudice that every hopeful black businessperson must surmount. He includes his own account of the racism and misunderstandings he faced when starting Black Enterprise 26 years ago: The doors that were closed in his face, the extreme difficulty of raising money for a black magazine, and the unenlightened belief among white advertisers that a black consumer market did not exist for their products and services.aGraves asserts that in today''s conservative backlash, it is more difficult for a black person to thrive in the white-dominated business world than when he got his start. He shows what must be done to overcome racial barriers to economic freedom and also offers expert advice on the common problems and challenges that we all face-regardless of color-in our efforts to succeed in business.aThis book provides, as Black Enterprise has done for 25 years, inspirational and down-to-earth advice as to how the reader can take advantage of all their opportunities to make himself a personal and professional success. ...
About the author
EARL G. GRAVES is president and CEO of Earl G. Graves, Ltd., and publisher of Black Enterprise magazine, an award-winning monthly publication for African Americans in business. He is chairman and CEO of Pepsi-Cola of Washington, D.C., L.P., the largest minority-controlled Pepsi-Cola franchise in the United States. Graves is a nationally recognized authority on black business development and serves on the boards of the Black Business Council, Howard University, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Glass Ceiling Commission. He is a director of Aetna Inc.; AMR Corporation (American Airlines); Chrysler Corporation; Federated Department Stores, Inc.; and Rohm & Haas Corporation. Graves is the recipient of 37 honorary degrees.
Graves lives in Westchester County, New York, with his wife of 37 years, Barbara. They have three married sons and a growing brood of grandchildren.
