MBE magazine's First Publisher's Page - October 1984

In October 1984, The Cosby Show was number 3 in the ratings and in its first season on broadcast television.

In October 1984, MBE magazine issued its first publication, and below is the article on the first MBE Publisher's Page, written by Ginger Conrad.

The opportunity to start a new magazine comes perhaps only once in a lifetime -to a very few people. I am one of those fortunate individuals. With this first issue of Minority Business Entrepreneur (MBE), we are embarking on a journey, which will take us along a new pathway, a pathway that has no guidelines or road markers. We have no illusions that the road will be smooth, and we begin our journey expecting that it will be full of potholes and detours. Certainly it will be a journey full of controversy. In fact, the controversy started the day we announced the magazine and we ex¬pect it to continue. We have assembled a group of editors with in-depth backgrounds in the public arena, reporting on federal and state regulations. Some of the federal regulations on the books today were facilitated by the work of our editorial staff. These staffers have been instructed to produce a hard-hitting, business to· business magazine covering both sides of every issue with no sugarcoating. We will be the forum for discussion, opinion and undoubtedly criticism. You will see articles outlining the steps to success some of our readers have taken. You will also see articles about why some of our readers have failed ...how to get a contract and...how to lose a contract.

However, we cannot accomplish these goals without your help. We urge you to fill out the subscription card and the reader comment card. We need to know more about you, who you are, what you would like to see in the coming issues. We will welcome your suggestions for articles and interviews. We solicit material about your companies, your successes and failures, and most importantly your dreams.

Just as Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream, it seems that almost every entrepreneur also has a dream. In this first issue you will share the dreams of some of those people. Hopefully you will also share our dream, which is that within the next five years, with the help of God and an enlightened majority community, the social and economic climate in America will change to such a great degree that there will be no reason to continue to publish Minority Business Entrepreneur. To that end, we dedicate this publication.

Ginger Conrad
Publisher

October 1984 MBE magazine.

Publisher's Page: September/October 2009

I can't believe it! 25 years and still standing! No, we're not talking about me. I am long past age 25. Everybody knows that. So, what do I want to tell our readers about the 25-year history of MBE magazine? Everything we've written, all over again. Obviously that's not possible. So let's begin at the beginning, in 1984. Some of this you may have heard before...but then, maybe not.

After losing a job in November, 1983, I considered going back to college to get a master's degree. But with a bachelor's in theatre and English, I wasn't qualified to get into business school. Next step. What did I know how to do? My experience was limited to the stage and to publishing. And I knew how to do research. There were no other magazines about supplier diversity (then primarily compliance-driven contracts which had government mandates or goals) at that time. After establishing myself as a sole-proprietor in May, 1984, we put out the first issue - September/October 1984.


Then began a series of events that those of you who are entrepreneurs will understand. It takes money (sales) to keep the business going. But I want to talk about the things that keep us going.

Our first cover story was about Comer Cottrell, president of Pro-Line Corporation. Upon receiving a copy of the magazine, he wrote a personal note about how difficult it is to start a business and said he knew I could probably use some help. He enclosed a check for $500.00. I had never met the man.

There was the time I attended a trade fair in Washington, D.C., during the Congressional Black Caucus. As I approached a corporate "suit" behind the table in an exhibit booth, he looked at me and said, "Why are you, a white woman...hmm...what color are you?" Did he think that white people didn't really care? Many didn't, but I did. (Click here to read the complete article.)