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Tuesday, 29 August 2006 20:47 |
 | Roland Martin
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WASHINGTON ÇƒÓ As the only African American woman to head a publicly traded company, Cathy Hughes is used to being feted and receiving accolades because of her accomplishments.
As the founder and chairwoman of Radio One, she has done
an amazing job in building the nationës largest owner of black radio
stations, beginning with the tiny WOL-AM 25 years ago. Today, her
company ÇƒÓ run by her son, Alfred Liggins ÇƒÓ owns 71 radio stations, the
cable network TV One (which employs me as their news commentator), a
controlling interest in REACH Media, which owns BlackAmericaWeb.com,
and Syndication One, the nationës only black talk-show network.
Sheës got a ton of money, and doesnët have to worry about where her
next meal comes from. But itës important for everyone to recognize that
when we look at self-made millionaires like Hughes, we should not
forget the trials and tribulations they endured to get to the top.
In fact, when I think of Hughes, I donët talk about the more than $300
million in revenue the company did last year and the fact that its
valuation on Wall Street exceeds a billion dollars. What impresses me
the most is that when she had that one small station with a weak radio
signal, Hughes spent 18 months living in the station in order to keep
it on the air.
Her entire life was consumed in trying to keep the
station on the air and whatever needed to be done, she did it ÇƒÓ even
washing herself off in the bathroom.
Thatës right. Hughes would get up from her sleeping bag and rush to the
bathroom to wash herself off for another day, trying to finish before
her employees started their workday.
While they were often waiting for their paychecks, she would forego a
check just to make sure they could pay their rent and put food on the
table.
I donët look at guys like Donald Trump ÇƒÓ who flaunts being a
billionaire when he has said he isnët ÇƒÓ and see them as the epitome of
success. He had the opportunity to be left with a huge sum of money
from his father, and has built his company through mostly
self-promotion.
If folks want to buy into the hype, fine. But budding
entrepreneurs who want to learn what it takes to make it in this world
shouldnët want to be like "The Donald," they should aspire to be "Ms.
Hughes."
"Making it" in America isnët about having a TV show, riding in
limousines, sailing a big yacht and having your own helicopter. Itës
about doing the hard, dirty work necessary to build something and
making your dreams come to reality.
When I travel to high schools and college campuses and speak to young
people, I often hear folks talk about wanting to "get paid," without
even bothering to understand the pain and sacrifice that goes into
building something. Bishop T.D. Jakes is often saluted for building his
30,000-member Dallas-based church, The Potterës House, which reaches
millions more through television, books and the Internet. Yet we canët
forget the reality of him and his wife being on welfare while trying to
keep his small church afloat in West Virginia.
John H. Johnson, the late, great entrepreneur who built Ebony and Jet
magazines into two of the most outstanding and successful magazines in
history, sent one of his sales executives to Detroit every week for 10
straight years before an auto company would take out an ad in his
magazine.
An overweight woman with big hair from the South took Chicago by storm,
striking a nerve among women and becoming a billionaire. Her name?
Oprah Winfrey.
My point? The success of an entrepreneur doesnët come overnight. It
takes building that company, employee by employee, brick by brick and
prayer by prayer.
As Radio One embarks on a yearlong celebration of its 25th anniversary,
letës not get ourselves caught up in how great the company is today and
the millions of people it reaches each week. What is most important is
that when the reality of business almost forced her to close her doors,
this strong woman, Cathy Hughes, relied on her faith and her fierce
discipline to get her through the tough times and eventually become one
of Americaës great success stories.
ï Roland S. Martin, editor of The Chicago Defender newspaper, is author
of "Speak, Brother! A Black Manës View of America."
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