In 1881 John T. Ward founded the first Black owned Business called E.E. Ward Moving and Storage; it was originally a stop on the Underground Railroad. The company was formed in Ohio and is still in operation today!
Until 2001, the company was run by the grandson of John T. Ward, then in 2001 the company was sold to a very close friend of the family. Some of the company’s history can be found on their website: https://eeward.com/blog/a-tribute-to/
I learned about several of their accomplishments that I could write about, but I’ll finish with what I believe is their biggest accomplishment: Maintaining a family business for over 100 years. This is a remarkable feat.
I wonder what they owe their longevity to. Whatever the secret, it needs to be shared with all business owners because winning with family is more rewarding than winning with strangers.
They say that families are the hardest people to work with, I don’t think that’s 100% accurate. I think it’s more accurate to say that everyone can be hard to work with because everyone is imperfect and are fully capable of doing some dumb stuff, but when family does dumb stuff, we tend to take it more personal which leaves us feeling more hurt by their actions than we would a stranger’s….especially when money is involved. It’s a mindset thing.
Nevertheless, shout out to John T. Ward for proving to the world that a Black owned family business can stand the tests of time.
The End.
This has been a #TeamWoods moment in Black History
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