A psycho-cultural perspective by Footsteps about the true economic story of African Americans

1. The Hustle Economy
The real worth and value of African Americans

2. 2010 Census…
Reports that the current US black population is at…
42 Million
From 12.3 % of U.S. in 2000
To 13.6% of U.S. in 2010

3. Total $1 Trillion AA buying power
* African American Market in the U.S., Package Facts, 2008

4. “Many (African Americans) seem to continue
to be lost in the illusion of being rich…
“According to the Census data…we can’t
afford it…
“…based on these data…the average African
(American) can not truly afford the lifestyles
that we lead…”
The Income Disparity Among African Americans: We Ain’tBallin’” Brandale Randolph, 3/4/11,
http://www.sicklycat.com/2011/03/04/the-income-disparity-among-african-americans-we-
ain%E2%80%99t-ballin%E2%80%99/
CONVENTIONAL WISDOM

5. The Census reports the official taxable income data
(which fuel the conventional wisdom regarding the
economics of the black community) comparing:
THE EMPLOYED THE UNEMPLOYED
However, this view ofour community is one from the outside-looking-in…

6. A more accurate view of the community (from
the inside) would capture all the ways income is
generated and then provide a better descriptor:
EAP: ECONOMICALLY ACTIVE PEOPLE
Informal Economy Literature Review, Jan L. Losby, John F.Else, Marcia E. Kingslow, Elaine L.
Edgcomb, Erika T. Malm, and Vivian Kao, December, 2002, www.kingslow-
assoc.com/images/Informal_Economy_Lit_Review.pdf

7. An economic state of making money, no
matter whether or not taxes are paid, has
spawned lots of academic phrases :
Informal Economy
Shadow Economy
Underground Economy
Subterranean Economy
Irregular Economy
Hidden Economy
Submerged Economy
Unrecorded Economy
Clandestine Economy
Non-Official Economy
Informal Economy Literature Review, Jan L. Losby, John F. Else, Marcia
E. Kingslow, Elaine L. Edgcomb, Erika T. Malm, and Vivian Kao,
December, 2002, www.kingslow-
assoc.com/images/Informal_Economy_Lit_Review.pdf

8. The Hustle Economy
Urban Dictionary Definition of Hustling:
Hustling in making money out of everything, no matter what it is
At Footsteps, we take the POV of our consumers as
are our guide and we call it what they would call it:

9. $0-$7,500 $7,501-
$15,000
$15,001-
$20,000
$20,001-
$40,000
$40,000 +
ANY
INFORMAL
ACTIVITY
58% 61% 59% 54% 49%
Between 50% to 60% of our consumers, at a variety of
“official” income levels, are engaging in informal work
Informal Economy Literature Review, Jan L. Losby, John F. Else, Marcia E. Kingslow, Elaine L. Edgcomb,
Erika T. Malm, and Vivian Kao, December, 2002, www.kingslow-
assoc.com/images/Informal_Economy_Lit_Review.pdf
Informal Work Engagement at Various Income Levels

10. PRIMARY WORKS FOR
COMPANY
EXTRA WORK FOR
CURRENT EMPLOYER
Person works for
someone else (AA: 29%)
• Works off-the-books
• Works under-the-table
• Paid in cash and not
taxed
• Works extra hours on
weekends (paid in cash
not taxed)
PERSON OPERATES
OWN SMALL BUSINESS
DOES SPORADIC ODD
JOBS, SERVICES, OR
PRODUCTS
Person self-employed
(AA: 71%)
•Cash-only exchanges
• On-going, regular
• Business seems as
primary income
•May invest income into
business
• Seasonal work
• Helps keep household
expenses down by
bartering for services or
low-cost products
•Not as formalized as a
“small business
Informal Work Typologies
Informal Economy Literature Review, Jan L. Losby, John F.Else, Marcia E. Kingslow, Elaine L. Edgecomb, Erika T. Malm, and Vivian Kao,
December, 2002, www.kingslow-assoc.com/images/Informal_Economy_Lit_Review.pdf The Informal Economy: African Americans, Jan L.
Losby, Marcia E. Kingslow, and John F. Else, 2003, ISED Solutions

11. “when applied by
researchers in Los
Angeles County, between
9 and 29 percent of
county employment may
be informal…based on an
estimated 811,000
informal workers…a
conservative estimate of
$7,200 a year in average
earnings…
Informal Economy Literature Review, Jan L. Losby, John F.Else,
Marcia E. Kingslow, Elaine L. Edgcomb, Erika T. Malm, and Vivian
Kao, December, 2002, www.kingslow-
assoc.com/images/Informal_Economy_Lit_Review.pdf
“On average, people
who are informally
operating businesses
earn more per month
($1,013) than do
people who are
employed informally
($702)…”(the average
yearly income for all
is $10,920)
The Informal Economy: African
Americans, Jan L. Losby, Marcia E.
Kingslow, and John F. Else, 2003, ISED
Solutions
A Tax-free Supplemental Income Between $7K -$11K

12. Why Hustle?
First and foremost, it is
about
$’s
But it is also about:
Wanting to be in control
Wanting independence
Wanting a creative outlet
Wanting a flexible schedule
Wanting a sense of
security
The Informal Economy: African Americans, Jan L. Losby, Marcia E. Kingslow, and John F. Else, 2003, ISED Solutions

13. A Tale of Two Hustles
Some have skills that
they want to maximize;
some of which they may
not be using in their
formal job engaged
Some have few formal job
options open to them either
because they have little
education and/or menial
skills

14. But for many, because it just what we do…
In their research, Jan Losby and colleagues found that many African American
respondents who were engaged in the Hustling Economy had grown up watching
their elders doing the exact same thing
“When I was 10 or 11 years old, my dad used to take me around to
relatives housed and different family members that needed work done.
I just got really interested…”
“I’m used to seeing people with extra jobs or working on the side….”
“The majority of people …probably work informally…I don’t think that’s
really unusual…at least not for the people in my neighborhood…”
The Informal Economy: African Americans, Jan L. Losby, Marcia E. Kingslow, and John F. Else, 2003, ISED Solutions

15. This is a part of the AA Community’s DNA
Since African Americans have
been in this country we have had
an informal economy that has
supplemented and sustained us…
Throughout formal segregation it
was a community-wide survival
mechanism
Despite the advent of the Civil
Rights Act, the spirit of
entrepreneurialism is still alive in
our communities no matter our
income brackets
Stylin’, African American Expressive Culture, Shane White and Graham White, 1998 Cornell University

16. “There are two informal economies, says
SaskiaSassen, a sociology professor at Columbia
University in New York...
“You have a poverty kind of informal economy, and
you have an informal economy that feeds into the
high end,” she says. These are creative professionals
such as freelance designers and performers...”
“America’s ‘shadow economy’ is bigger than you think – and growing,” Taylor Barnes, The Christian Science
Monitor, 9/12/09, http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2009/1112/americas-shadow-economy-is-bigger-
than-you-think-and-growing

17. Formalizing the Informal
When the Kaufman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity: 1996-2009 reports that the
entrepreneurial activity rate for African Americans has increased to highest rate over
the past decade and a half and an Uptown Magazines study suggests that mass
affluents are leading the charge as 53% of them are engaged in full time or part time
entrepreneurial ventures for the most part it is just a formalizing of what has been
going on in our community on an informal basis because for many they want to be in
compliance…

18. Hustlin’ Raison d’etre
Whether the hustlin’ is informal or as it is now considered to be -- “entrepreneurial” --
African American culture has historically emphasized and reinforced independence
survival mechanisms that have continued to pay dividends for black folks…
They call me the Boss,
I be callin’ the shots,
It’s Rick Ross, that boy
be ballin’ a lot
Everyday I’m,
everyday I’m,
everyday I’m hustlin’

19. Real African American Worth
Official Economy The Hustle Economy