Radio personality,?best-selling author, filmmaker?Michael Baisden, host of the nationally syndicated “The Michael Baisden Show”?radio show, thinks budding entrepreneurs need a boost to get off the launching pad. So much so he just announced?his plans to give away a half-million dollars to small businesses and non-profits via a “Million Dollar Business Pitch” campaign.
“I am a businessman first and foremost,” explains Baisden. “Radio is an instrument I use to inform, educate, and entertain my audience, or my family (as I refer to them). But behind the scenes, I run every aspect of my business. I make the final decisions on what songs are played, what advertisers will have ads running within my program. I am consulted on every aspect of affiliate relations. I’m responsible for meeting the payroll for my staff and contractors. And most importantly, I am responsible for every post on my Facebook and Twitter page… I insist on having direct contact with my listeners. I’m saying all that to say, you’ll never be happy if you can’t control your time, your brand, and your vision. I want people to experience that feeling of being in control of their lives and their destiny.”
In order to participate, listeners must tune into the radio show, Twitter (@BaisdenLive), or Facebook (Baisdenlive) on November 28th for submission details. Fans can also log on to his website at www.Baisdenlive.com to listen to the show?s live stream or download the TuneIn radio app and search Michael Baisden show.
The campaign is being financed not only through corporate sponsors, but by Baisden, as well. So far, the response has been overwhelming, says Baisden.
“People are excited. Not only because of the amount of money that is being invested but because many of them genuinely feel that this is the opportunity they have been waiting for, and that makes me excited,” he says. “The belief that some of my listeners have what they need to stand out is inspiring. It lets me know that no matter how bad things are, there are people who are still holding on to their dreams.”
Baisden says he is taking this action because he understands how important small businesses are to the U.S. economy. In fact, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses (companies with fewer than 500 employees) actually represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms. And they employ half of all private sector employees.
“There is no greater power than to own your own company and thereby control your financial future. Minorities have always been the first fired and the last hired. Entrepreneurship is not only a means to realize a vision but to provide jobs in your community which pays it forward for the next generation,” explains Baisden. “Small businesses provide training, broaden your professional network, and give employees experience in the day-to-day working of a company unlike large corporations that keep you isolated in one department. Every large company began as a small business. Sometimes you have to learn to walk before you can fly.”
In addition to his Million Dollar Business Pitch campaign, Baisden recently released his new?e-novel, “Never Satisfied: Do Men Know What They Want?” on Baisden Publishing and?his new film?”Do Women Know What They Want?” on TimeLife, slated for release later this year.?The Michael?Baisden?Show?reaches more than seven million listeners each week and is syndicated by Cumulus Media Networks.
