Interview With The Black Shopping Networks.com Founder & Author Janice McLean DeLoatch! (PART 2)

Award-winning journalist, serial entrepreneur, author, and founder of The Black Shopping Networks Janice McLean DeLoatch has always been motivated to defy racial stereotypes, especially for the sake of her children. “I always wanted them to see that Black people do work hard,” she tells So Booking Cool. “And I know they’re not looking at it in terms of my color, but there’s always been in the back of some people’s minds this notion that Black people are lazy, and they don’t work hard, and they don’t want anything. That is not true. We work very hard. We want everything. We are just facing obstacles and walls that won’t allow us to be the great people, the great producers, that we can be. Some of us fight, and we get through it, and a lot more would if they had some help.”

The struggle for Black entrepreneurs and the Black community in general is why DeLoatch says she is motivated to help and show support. Earlier in our conversation, she acknowledges that support can be hard to come by for business owners, but she does want to dispel another notion, that Black people do not support each other. “We do,” she says, “we have to do more of it. And we have to support each other’s businesses. We have to support our community.”

“And let me just say,” the radio host continues, “When you shop on Black Shopping Networks, don’t ask for discounts. Don’t ask for half prices. Support people. Pay full price. Give them what they’re asking for. But they in turn have to make sure the products that they give and the service that they offer is excellent.”

Watch Part 2 of our interview (check out Part 1 here) to learn more about The Black Shopping Networks; DeLoatch’s thoughts on the Small Business Administration (SBA) and whether she thinks its effective; if she thinks anyone has the ability to become an entrepreneur; her stint on The Wire; where she sees herself in 10 years; her new business venture The Women’s Songwriter’s Hall of Fame; how she chooses her Book of the Month; her interesting take on utilizing social media as an entrepreneur, and more! For more information, visit The Black Shopping Networks’ official website.