Black entrepreneur honors King

As a part of Penn's Martin Luther King, Jr. commemorative celebration seminar series, Robert Wallace, a business consultant and entrepreneur visited his alma mater Thursday afternoon to promote black entrepreneurship. President and founder of the BITH Group, a Columbia, Md.-based holding company, Wallace earned his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics from the School of Engineering and Applied Science in 1978. An expert on minority entrepreneurship, Wallace recently published a book entitled Black Wealth through Black Entrepreneurship. Wallace began his speech by explaining how black people have faced persecution and prejudice which kept them from attaining any position of influence. "It is amazing to know what black people had gone through throughout American history," Wallace said, citing his grandfather --Ewho served in the army in World War One and couldn't benefit from government support after the war simply because he was black -- as an example. In order to overcome their disadvantaged position in society, blacks can use business creativity to gain economic influence and build their community, he said. Wallace pointed out that while it is important to accumulate wealth, minorities need a structure in which to effectively use money, as well as a way to sustain the wealth for future generations. "It is not a tea party. It's the matter of survival. To survive in our society, we need to have power; most importantly, economic power," Wallace said as he addressed about 30 students in Alumni Hall. Offering Hannibal -- who conquered Rome and successfully overcame a multitude of hardships along the way -- as an example, Wallace proposed three things that an entrepreneur should do in order to be successful. First, he explained, entrepreneurs should be clear on their vision, know their goal and be clear about what must be done in order to achieve it. Second, a successful entrepreneur should be able to articulate his goal. Third, Wallace said, they should be able to share their wealth. An entrepreneur must not be too greedy, but must learn efficient negotiation skills in order to survive. Wallace concluded by emphasizing the importance of a successful entrepreneur's commitment. "Once you set your goal, commit yourself. Committing renders new opportunities whose existence you wouldn't even know without commitment," he said.