Omar Tyree's Blog (11)

This week’s Business Question of the Week was sent in by Mike who hails from my hometown of Philadelphia, PA:



I'm nearly finished writing my first novel, First Floor on Fire, which is fiction but strongly inspired by my experience teaching in a tough public high school in Philadelphia. My book is an attempt at being both strongly intellectual, viscerally emotional and thematically complex. Most books make readers choose between cotton candy or spinach, and here's hoping I can avoid… Continue

This week we continue with Rochelle Frazier’s question regarding the Urban Literacy Project. Rochelle asked:

Recently you began the Urban Literacy Project. What is the purpose of this project and how will it uplift youth?



Omar Tyree Responds:



Continuing with the business question of last week, I pick back up with the 5 Key Components of Literacy by discussing the 3rd Component of Thinking. The human ability to Think becomes the engine of everything we Read, Write,… Continue

This week’s “Business Question of the Week” focuses on our next generation. Rochelle Frazier from Memphis, TN asks:

Recently you began the Urban Literacy Project. What is the purpose of this project and how will it uplift youth?



Omar Tyree Responds:



A decade ago, in the limelight of my writing and publishing career, I was so bothered by a refusal of African-American males to read books of fiction, that my then agent barked at me, “Omar, look, men don’t read fiction!… Continue

This week’s Business Question of The Week was sent in from the boot. Jacqueline Turner from Louisiana asks:



What is a realistic goal for me in trying to get media exposure? Is it likely that I could ever get my book on Oprah’s list? What could I do to get there?



Omar Tyree Answers:



Jacqueline, you have just jumped out of my range with the Oprah question. I hear people actually e-mail her repetitively to attempt to get their books considered for her club, but… Continue

According to the media it’s a great time to start a business. Although this may be true, it is imperative that up and coming entrepreneurs research business opportunities before jumping in head first. This week’s business question is a reality in many households that are being affected by our present economy. Christy from Boston asks:



I have a good friend who is willing to build a website for me. What advice do you have on what should be included on the website? I really do have… Continue

This week’s Business Question was sent in by Amy Jackson who resides in Oklahoma City:



How do I find my Purpose /Passion? Is it a feeling? Are there questions that I can ask myself to arrive at this conclusion?

Omar Tyree Answers:



That’s a very timely question, and I was asked one very similar to it this past weekend at a Hip Hop Conference at Hood University in Fredericks, Maryland. A young lady asked me, “How do I motivate the young kids who I work with at… Continue

This week’s “Business Question of The Week” comes from S.R. from Virginia:



I know you travel a lot promoting your books and I’m sure you meet a lot of great people wherever you go. How do you keep in touch with the people you have worked with and what is the best way to follow up opportunities with them? It can all seem so overwhelming?



Omar Tyree Answers:



You know what, I’ve had that same issue for years. I literally have stacks and stacks of business… Continue

This week’s “Business Question of The Week” comes from Naila Smith, Columbus, OH:



Question - Why do you think that those with careers in the arts are not given credibility as business people?



Omar Tyree Answers:



To make a long story short here, people who have careers in the arts have a blessing and a curse dilemma. Even though the business salesman, marketers, company men, and investment people can’t sell anything without creative products to sell, they typically… Continue

This week’s “Business Question Of The Week” comes from Jasmine Johnson, Los Angeles, CA.



Question - Many times people have to take a job because they have families to support or bills to pay. When they finally make the decision to follow their passion, but still have to keep their job to pay the bills, how should they go about this process?



Omar Tyree Answers:



That is an excellent question and indeed a tough situation to be in. Let me begin to answer the… Continue

Once we firmly understand The Equation as Love / Art * Support = Business, then we can also understand that Barack Obama had to Love several things in order to become President. People who aspire to positions of office and leadership, love either power, public service, the people they represent, the company they represent, massive attention, or all five.



And in watching Barack Obama over the past eighteen months or more, we now know that the man indeed loves the people… Continue

After publishing two consecutive books in the past four months that deal with the subject of business and people who are successful at making money (Pecking Order - September 2008 and The Equation - January 2009) and with the state of the world economy being what it is, I was asked the following question in a recent interview with the METRO newspaper staff to be published and distributed around the city streets of New York, Philly and Boston:



METRO - The world is mired in a nearly… Continue