UBR Spotlight: Karyn White’s Not A Superwoman, But A Super Entrepreneur

This week on The Urban Business Roundtable, the focus is on inspiration and information from notable women entrepreneurs. First, UBR Contributor Renita D. Young speaks with Grammy Award nominated entertainer and entrepreneur Karyn White. A native of Los Angeles, White establish herself as an R&B music star in the late 1980s and early ’90s, with a string of hits including “Secret Rendezvous,” “The Way You Love Me,” and her unforgettable “Superwoman.” She later ventured into entrepreneurship, creating a real estate and interior design company, Karyn White Designs, in Sacramento, California. Today, White is also founder and CEO of Karyn White Enterprises, a multi-media lifestyle company focused on music, television, publishing and design.

Also, UBR Contributor Samantha Pass speaks with Sylvia Wynn, co-founder and president of market research consulting company SJW Enterprises, about the importance of choosing a name for your business that will last and embody the values and distinguishing characteristics of your brand. Prior to launching her own company, Wynn established herself as brand maven as vice president of marketing and sales for Johnson Products Co., in addition stints at Gillette, Lever Brothers and Avon. In addition, Wynn has served as an adviser to Chicago’s Women’s Business Development Center.

In addition, in my “Alfred’s Notepad” segment, I share some important tips for entrepreneurs who want to get a leg up on the competition when participating in elevator pitch contests, such as the Black Enterprise Elevator Pitch Competition, the finals of which will be held at the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference in Chicago this May. First, you need to be able to deliver your explain your business model in less than 60 seconds. That means clearly explaining what product or service you’re bringing to market, who you’re selling it to, at what price and profit margin. If you get that right, you’ll buy time to share more. If you don’t, you may not get a second chance. Second, practice your live pitch so that you can deliver it based on what you know, not what you can memorize. Get friends or colleagues to drill you about your business until you can answer their questions in a relaxed and confident fashion without getting flustered. When pitching your idea, stage fright is not an option.

And finally, every week on UBR, you’ll get motivation and inspiration from author and entrepreneurial icon Farrah Gray, a weekly wrap-up of business news from USA Today business correspondent Charisse Jones, our Patient Investor Report from Ariel Investments and key economic intelligence for small business owners from our UBR economists Derrick Collins and Rasheed Carter.

If you have a question you want answered or a topic you want addressed on The Urban Business Roundtable

, connect with me at BE Insider, the social media network for people who are serious about Black Enterprise. You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook.

Alfred Edmond Jr. is the senior VP/editor-at-large of Black Enterprise and the host of the Urban Business Roundtable, a weekly radio show, sponsored by Ariel Investments, airing CST Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. on WVON-AM 1690, the Talk of Chicago. You can also listen live online at WVON.com. Check back each week for UBR Spotlight, which features additional resources, advice and information from and about the topics, entrepreneurs and experts featured on the show.