Business Leadership column on John H. Johnson: Believe in Yourself!

Words of Wisdom

 

On Selling

"I love to sell. I sell even when there is no monetary advantage in selling. I sell for the sheer joy of selling, of changing minds and communicating."

On Communications

"Communication is an art, not a science. It is an emotion, not a statistic."

On Goals

"Men and women are limited not by the place of their birth, not by the color of their skin, but by the size of their hope."

 

Born in a tin-roof shack in Arkansas in 1918, John H. Johnson credited his success in publishing in part to his mother, who moved to Chicago to take advantage of better schools.

 

"She taught me to believe in myself," Johnson said in a 2004 interview in Ebony Magazine, the flagship publication of his own Johnson Publishing Company. The $500 million empire also includes a book division, Jet Magazine and a line of beauty products for African-American women. "She taught me to dream, to dare and to never give up."

 

When his new classmates made fun of his southern drawl, Johnson spent hours in the library, where he discovered Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People (Dale Carnegie, 1936). He read the book 50 times. "I sharpened my communication skills by practicing conversations and selling approaches before a mirror in my room," Johnson told Communication World in 1989. He ended up being elected class president.

 

In 1942, Johnson got an idea for a magazine that would be like Reader’s Digest but geared toward African-American consumers. At that time, however, no one was selling to the African-American market. In fact, no major corporations advertised in black media.

 

"There wasn’t a single black – not even a secretary – working for white advertising agencies," Johnson recalled.

 

Johnson needed $500 to get his venture started, but the response from one Chicago bank was typical: "Boy, we don’t make any loans to colored people." After many tries, Johnson asked, "Well, who will give me a loan?" Johnson left the bank with the name of a finance company, a contact and a reference from the loan officer who had turned him down.

 

Using his mother’s furniture as collateral, he secured the loan and launched Negro Digest. The first issue sold 3,000 copies. Johnson, who routinely told young audiences that the secret of big success is to build on small successes, approached First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt about writing an article for the column, "If I Were a Negro." Roosevelt said she would have both "great bitterness and great patience," and her article drew national attention – circulation skyrocketed, reaching near 100,000.

 

In 1945, Johnson created Ebony Magazine, which proved so popular the first press run of 25,000 copies sold out within hours.

 

Ebony boasts a current circulation of 1.6 million and has occupied the number-one spot in its market for 60 years. John H. Johnson passed away on August 8, 2005.