Bringing out the best.

Entrepreneurship seemed so easy this time last year. Just take a decade or so of industry experience, a windfall from an early-retirement package, maybe a degree in business or law, partner up with a tech-head, find a can't-miss.com business idea, put together a polished business plan presentation (using the latest software, of course), work your network to generate some buzz and a contract or two, put up a Website, send out some press releases, throw in a healthy investment of entrepreneurial enthusiasm and--voila! You are the owner of a successful business, with venture capital flowing freely, an IPO just around the corner, and a nice spot already picked out on one of the BLACK ENTEPRISE lists of the nation's largest black-owned companies. Hey, this is easy! We don't even have to show a profit--not when our top-selling product is "earnings potential."

Then the economy slowed down. The word "recession" was whispered. Investors suddenly lost their appetite for "potential" And people started asking uncomfortable questions, like, "By the way, when will this company start to actually make money?" Will the real entrepreneurs please stand up? The rest of you can go back to your day jobs--if they are still hiring.

I've always believed that the test of a company is not how well it does during boom times, but what kind of moves its executives make when the economy is not growing at a 5% clip. How do you thrive when business is not falling into your lap? How do you expand market share when everybody is willing to fight tooth and nail--nothing personal, of course--to eat your lunch?

Welcome to the world of the black entrepreneur. For us, a recession is always just around the corner, and the success of our companies can never be taken for granted. That's why I believe the CEOs of the BE 100s represent the best and brightest of America's entrepreneurial ranks. In addition to being innovative, they have used hard work, persistence, discipline, and resourcefulness in the face of adversity to show that the true measure of entrepreneurial excellence is not overnight success but staying power. Amazingly, despite the economic slowdown, the combined revenues of the BE INDUSTRIAL/SERVICE 100 companies alone surpassed the $10 billion milestone for the first time ever. Total revenues for the BE 100s last year was more than $20 billion.

If you are among the more than 60,000 people who have signed on to the BE. Black Wealth Initiative during the past 18 months, then you know that Principle No. 8 of the Declaration of Financial Empowerment calls for us to support the creation and growth of profitable, competitive black-owned enterprises. For 29 years, our BE 100s lists have been the ultimate manifestation of our passionate belief in that principle.

And this year, as in past years, our BE 100s report spotlights not only the largest black-owned businesses--including lists of the top industrial/service companies, auto dealerships, advertising agencies, banks, asset managers, investment banks, and insurance firms--but some of the best examples of smart entrepreneurship America has to offer as well. In the best tradition of black entrepreneurship, many of these companies and the CEOs who run them shine brightest when the economic climate is toughest.

For example, in an environment where we've witnessed the implosion of so many technology ventures (see "Life After DotBomb" in this issue), World Wide Technology Inc. CEO David Stewart has proven that there is a right way to use and market e-commerce products and services. As a result, the 1999 BE Company of the Year claims the title of the nation's largest black-owned business, delivering 2000 sales of $802 million. Stewart's confidence in his company remains strong in the face of a slower economy--he believes that World Wide's 2001 sales will surpass the billion-dollar mark. If he's right, the St. Louis-based IT company would be only the second black-owned company to do so. The first? TLC Beatrice International Foods, the company acquired by legendary financier Reginald F. Lewis more than a decade ago.

Another company based in the Midwest, Indianapolis-based Mays Chemical Co. Inc., landed this year's BE Company of the Year honors by thriving even when other chemical companies faltered in the face of a slowing economy and energy costs driven by skyrocketing prices for gas and oil. The chemical distributor's CEO, William G. Mays, has established a healthy pace for his company's growth. It's risen by nearly 64% in the past five years alone.

When David Stephens, the 2001 BE Auto Dealer of the Year, became the first African American owner of a Jaguar dealership in 1999, he was able to leverage his experience as a proven owner of a domestic dealership into success as the owner of a premium import brand. Piano, Texas-based Millennium Motor Cars, the new crown jewel of Stephens Automotive Group, serves as a shining example of what African Americans can accomplish if given a fair shot at ownership of import dealerships.

In the rapidly consolidating advertising industry, which has seen the largest black firms selling significant minority stakes to majority firms, CEO Sam Chisholm has established New York's Chisholm-Mingo Group as the only major 100% black-owned agency left standing. ChisholmMingo earns this year's BE Advertising Agency of the Year honors by displaying the staying power that has been the hallmark of the toughest and most savvy black enterprises.

The same can be said of New York investment bank M.R. Beal, the 2001 BE Financial Company of the Year. Led by CEO Bernard B. Beal, the company has continually reinvented itself, enduring everything from the shrinking of the municipal bond market that had been its bread and butter to the regulatory heat of the SEC. M.R. Beal managed total issues of $46.5 billion in 2000--an impressive 158% increase for the year.

When you read these and other stories in our 29th Annual Report on Black Business, you'll understand why the best black-owned companies are "Built to Last." These companies, and the CEOs who run them, have proven track records. They make the bold businesses decisions--whether selling a stake in their companies, tapping into or creating new revenue streams, establishing strategic alliances, or diversifying their product offerings--necessary to thrive in a hostile economic environment.