Jay Holloway:
Coming up we'll talk to an entrepreneur and humanitarian who says "in our space and in our time with the grace of God, you and I can and will make a difference." I'm Jay Holloway, join us next with Joe Dudley on Black Issues Forum. [MUSIC]

Jay Holloway:
Good evening and welcome to Black Issues Forum. Tonight our guest is Mr. Joe Dudley, Sr., President and CEO of Dudley Products, Inc. They are one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of ethnic hair care products in the world. He is more than just a successful entrepreneur, though, from North Carolina. He is known nationally as a motivational lecturer and humanitarian, spending much of his time giving back to the community. He serves on many boards and commissions t o help improve our community, state, country and world and he is a recipient of many state and national awards. Tonight we welcome Mr. Joe Dudley to talk about business, entrepreneurship, economic conditions and education in North Carolina. But, first, let's meet Mr. Dudley and find out more about his success. Welcome to Black Issues Forum, Mr. Dudley.

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Thank you, I'm happy to be here Jake.

Jay Holloway:
Oh, we're happy to have you. You became a millionaire by the age of 40, which a lot of us, probably, would love to do. How did you do it?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Well, a lot of hard work and with the help of the good Lord. Sometimes I just wonder how I did it. But hard work and believing, I think you can do what you want to do, especially in this great country, in America, you really have opportunity to do things you want to do, if you work hard.

Jay Holloway:
So, you believe as Don King, only in America?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Yes, yes, yes. It is special. Really special.

Jay Holloway:
You are in the health care, I mean hair care, ethnic hair care products. Tell us about Dudley products now. Where is it today and how did you really get your start in this business.

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Well, I started, really, selling Fuller products many years ago. Then I decided, as I started Dudley Products, I started making products on the kitchen stove. I didn't have money so I used to go out and get old containers and the hairdressers would give me the containers and I would wash them out, my wife would type the labels and put on the containers. And my two kids, at that time it was two, I've got three now. They would put the tops on it. Then I made it by night an d I sold it by day.

Jay Holloway:
Oh, boy. That is great. Now, today, where is that business.

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Well, we've been very fortunate with the help of the good Lord. We are international, in Africa and Brazil, most of the islands. We are doing real good. Especially with the educational, with our schools, we're teaching people how to be entrepreneurs. And many of those students they come to our school, we have a cosmetology school, they learn how to be cosmetologists and business people too.

Jay Holloway:
So, you have a Dudley University in Kernersville, North Carolina.

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Yes, yes.

Jay Holloway:
And so students can come there and learn the business of hair care products and how to manage and how to become hair dressers, is that the case?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Yes, and then the business of life, we love to teach them. We talk to them about saving money and how to get along with their fellow man and those kinds of things. So that is important to us. We believe to be a true entrepreneur you really just got to get involved in all the principles of living. And that is what it is all about, living and doing things that can make the difference in their own life and different in the community.

Jay Holloway:
So, you go around, in addition to your school, but you also are a motivational speaker and you inspire others to get into entrepreneurship and so you extend that beyond your school?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Oh, yes. Oh, yes. We are constantly traveling and sharing with people and we have had 10,000 people come from all over the world to our education. We have education for the cosmetologists and teaching them how to improve their skills. Because we want to make the world look better anyhow. And we want to do those things so we teach them all the things about business and about healthy living and about life and about the principles. You know I say, in our time and in our sp ace and with the grace of God, you and I can make a difference. And I believe that.

Jay Holloway:
So, you said you have facilities in Africa and all around the country. What are some of your success stories in terms of others going to these schools, they become successful entrepreneurs themselves?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Yes, yes. As a matter of fact today I had a gentleman drive all the way from Atlanta, Georgia, a fellow that was from Africa and just talked about his business. He told me how we showed him how to build his business and that was quite exciting. So we are continuing to work with people from all over.

Jay Holloway:
Well, let's talk now just about business and economics in North Carolina. When you travel around we have heard generally how you've done that. But how easy is it for someone else out there watching this program to have the similar kind of success that you have had?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Well, first I think you need to be around people and read a lot and do things that people that are successful and work with them. I think it is very easy. I think there must be some books you read in. I think books like Think and Grow Rich and motivating books. There's a lot of books out talking about helping yourself. I have a book out coming in the next couple of months talking about helping you to become successful. I think that is important. You can study this, the re is so much stuff available today for you to learn how to help yourself.

Jay Holloway:
Where does technology come into the aspect. Now, I don't know how involved you are with technology now, but you know we are in this information age now and supposedly information is just available for everyone. Do you have any comments on information technology available now?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Oh, yes. You'd better be in it or you are going to be out of it. Yes, we are constantly...I know where my salesmen, I know everything about my salesmen, what time they got started, whether they are in California, whether they are in Miami, Florida, wherever. Yes, because of the latest technology, we know, and you have to know, you've got to keep looking and searching and seeking for ways to communicate.

Jay Holloway:
There are a lot of home-based businesses now that many entrepreneurs and magazines and infomercials are encouraging. What are your comments on home-based business?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
I think they are wonderful. A way to get started and do things that you can start with a little. I started with $10 and a lot of determination. You can start today, in this great country. You can do things, you can start, you can be what you want to be. And nothing can stop you but you.

Jay Holloway:
Now, a lot of people, especially in the African-American community want to talk about the disparity between blacks and whites on income and wealth. But perhaps you might say that perhaps that might be true but it doesn't have to be that way? What are your comments on this disparity.

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Well, Jay, I don't think it has to be that way. I believe very strongly that every disadvantage there is a seed equivalent advantage. You see, I was labeled mentally retarded. And everybody told my mother, Cloud, this boy Joe you got won't be anybody. And Mama said to me, son, I know you are retarded, the teacher knows your retarded, friends know you are retarded, but that is all right. I believe slow people could rule the world if they only have patience. Because when slow one gets it, they got it. So I think every disadvantage, there is a seed equivalent advantage, so you've got to believe in yourself. Because I teach the people, I have confidence in myself, not in my money. Because if I lose my money, I know there is plenty more money, I can get it. And you got to have confidence in yourself, not in your money, but in yourself. And when you've got confidence in yourself and when you believe that if God be for you, who can be against you. So you are going to hav e to have some solid principles and if you believe firmly on these principles, you will come through. Every disadvantage, there is a seed of an equivalent advantage. And you must look for it in order to get them.

Jay Holloway:
Well, you obviously seem very convicted about that. Was it your mother, though, that helped you with that confidence?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
My mother and I am very fortunate with sisters and brothers and my Dad. They are positive, positive people and they believe that their God was a just God. And that helped me a lot. That helped me tremendous.

Jay Holloway:
Well, this certainly is tremendous. What else would you say to encourage folks that may not have a parent that is that encouraging, to motivate someone to believe in themselves, that may have some of these same things going against them.

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
I think they should read about people. You know, I think about Dave Thomas. When we spent some time together, Dave did not know what Dave's about. Never had seen his mother, not his father. But everywhere you look, there is Wendy's. So, you think about that. There's a lot of role models out there. They don't have to be one that you can talk to, but you read about them. And that is what I encourage people to do. To find role models. Every disadvantage that you have h ad, there is an equivalent advantage. So, you've got to look for it. And if you look for it, you find it.

Jay Holloway:
You know here in North Carolina, there are K through 12 public schools, there's been a lot of research showing that minority and at-risk students are underperforming and so there is a disadvantage there, clearly. But a lot of them, I guess if we are looking for that equivalent advantage you are talking about, are going to have to be...you would say to them, read, still?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Yes. I would say to them, read. Learn to be nice. And study. Learn how to count. Learn all the things as opportunities. Just learn. And you can turn that disadvantage into an advantage. I think about people like Helen Keller. Couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't talk. But she read Braille until her hand bled. There is always a way. Yes it is tough. I am not going to say it is not tough. You know, but there is a way. I didn't have any new clothes until I was 12 years old. We drank water out of little hole that was dug in the ground. Okay, so, we made it. But we did have some people to help us, like my mother and all those. But there is always a way. And I think we need to focus on that and if we do that I think we can help people get over it.

Jay Holloway:
I read in your bio that you are from Aurora?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Yes.

Jay Holloway:
Where is that?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
That is east of here, probably about 140 miles from here. Down on the east coast.

Jay Holloway:
All right. So, this state is largely rural and we have some of the urban areas. So, folks that are in rural areas, where the school systems may not be as wealthy, can still have access to books, can still read, can still learn how to be nice, can still learn how to count. So you would say the same thing to them. Your location doesn't matter.

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
No, it doesn't matter. You just have to believe. If you seek for it, what you are looking for will find you. Like I tell them, a little watermelon seed, you put it in the ground, it draws to it everything it needs to be a watermelon. And you want to be successful, it will draw to you everything that you need and the people that you need. And I think we must encourage the people. I don't want to see these young people saying, "well, I'm at a disadvantage." No, you got t o say, that is a disadvantage, but I'm going to find the advantage in that disadvantage. And you cannot have it by having a pity party. You cannot change what is already done to you. There's nothing you can do about it. You got to take what you have and make what you want out of it.

Jay Holloway:
Well, you made, you turned around being labeled mentally retarded to go on and go to college and you are now on the board of trustees at the college you attended. Will you tell us about that?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Yes, I'm excited. A&T University has changed my life. It has been great because the fact that I had a chance to see people and listen to teachers and just a different exposure. Because before I went to A&T I had only gone 50 miles from where I was born and I was about 18, I went up there for a program. I had never been anywhere. So, to get a chance to see great Greensboro, North Carolina, Jay, that was exciting, I tell you.

Jay Holloway:
You moved to the city.

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Yes, I moved to the great big city.

Jay Holloway:
You know, I heard some research that many students today in projects, when they are asked are they considering going to college, many will look and say, "college, never thought about it, do you know anyone who goes to college." They may not know anyone. So, sometimes college is foreign to some folks that may not have had anyone in their family or even know anyone that is in college.

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
It is. But I think we must continue to encourage these young people to go to college, to get the exposure. We have 37 kids that we pay full tuition at A&T. And to see those kids, and many of them couldn't have made it, and it is just exciting to see what they learn. I got one guy we work with, he's written two books. Just doing things, we encouraged him with our staff and, I think you should go to college. I really do. I mean not only that. Go to a two year college, b t go to a college and do something of those things that will help them. Trade school, or go to Dudley Cosmetology University, we'll come, we'll work with them, we will help them. We help a lot of the cosmetology people that come to our school first to get a way where they can make some money, then they go to a four year college, those that want to. They learn how to make it, so they don't have to ask their parents for any money. They learn how to make their money. And that's what we do. We even do it for kids, people's parents that work in our company, I'll put them in business, give them some money to get them started, and we do things like that. Those are for the employee's kids.

Jay Holloway:
What do you have to say about the historical black college and universities in the nineties now, well, we are going into the year 2000. Is there still a place for these HBCU's, historical black colleges?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
For all things there is a place. I think one thing must happen. The alumni must support the schools. I don't think the alumnus are doing the right thing for not supporting their schools. They got their start, we have to reach out and help other people to get their start. And if I would appeal to anybody, if they only went for one year, make a contribution to the school. It will open up doors for all of us. That is why I am on this board, that is why I am doing the thin gs I am doing. Because if it wasn't for my school, I don't know where I would be. It was a tremendous help to me.

Jay Holloway:
Some of the critics of these historical black colleges say that they are a form of segregation and that there may not be a need for them, especially with state dollars. What do you say to that?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
It is a need. I mean, everybody is going to try to talk about things they don't know a lot about. There is a need for everything. It is just like the Lord, everything he made is good. There is a need for it. We must keep supporting those schools and keep working with them and help make a difference.

Jay Holloway:
Well, let's go back now to the motivation. You seem to continue to have a lot of conviction about what you believe in. And we've seen how you've gone from being labeled mentally retarded to going on to college to being on that board and a successful entrepreneur and business person. We've talked also about how many persons can learn from your example and, as you said, to read, to be nice and to count. What else do you have to say to the parents out there that are having trou ble motivating this Generation X or Generation Next.

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Well, I think one of the things they should do is encourage their kids by giving them money for good grades. Doing things like that make a tremendous difference. Giving them, pushing them, letting them know what they can be and what they can do. They need to encourage their kids. That is what I did. I am constantly, I meet kids and I say, look, you can do this. Get them to wash your car, do things. Encourage them to work. And if they do that I don't there would be a lot or problems with young people. These young people need hope, they need somebody to let them know that you can do it. And I'm just excited. Before I came over there were two busloads of people that came onto the campus, my campus. I showed them how we manufacture product. One young fellow wanted to be a chemist. I put him in my lab and let him see. They need to see those things. They need to have hope. They don't need dope if they got hope and that is the kind of stuff we need to work on to help them with.

Jay Holloway:
So, you are talking about taking a business approach to motivating your child to education. So, they are learning business there and they can associate a reward from doing well in school. And it is a basic business principle view, you do well, you sell a product, someone will buy it, and in this case, the sooner does good. Everybody won't have the kind of money that you may have to motivate their child, but anything is better than nothing?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Yeah, I mean, it is not money that really makes the big difference. Love. Doing little things for them. They don't just have to give people money. I think that is the big mistake. What we have done with our Dudley fellows and ladies, we have exposed them, we talk to them, we help them. I talk to the young people. Look, everybody has got something to give. Give a good smile and say it is okay. That is important. I think we get too hung up on the dollars, I think we n eed to talk about how can we help with a smile. By just being real nice. That is the kind of thing makes a difference, Jay.

Jay Holloway:
This program is Black Issues Forum and one of the issues that continues to come up, and the President of the United States talked about it in his inauguration, is the problem of race relations in America. And many say there still is a problem here in North Carolina. The issue of race relations. Someone may say that, yes, Mr. Dudley, you can be nice, you can learn how to read, you can learn how to write, but you still may face discrimination and you will face it here in North Carolina too. What do you say that person?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
I think you are going to have it. I think it is going to be there. I was in Chicago, three white guys say, "hey, nigger." I said, "hey." It didn't bother me, because I don't get mad that a dog bark. A dog is supposed to bark and a fool is supposed to act like a fool. That is why you call him a fool. You don't let a fool make you a fool. You decide that when you are free, it doesn't bother me, because I am free. I know he is a fool. So, you don't go around trying to hurt the fools. Just smile and keep on going. That is how you are going to make it. But if you try to put out every fool that you see because he is a fool, you got to keep on going. You've got to live and let live. It ain't gonna hurt you because he said it, that is his own craziness.

Jay Holloway:
Well, a real lesson to be learned in that. So, you are saying, many people that let that kind of thing bother them, they really are hurting themselves?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Yes. And my philosophy is that there should not be anything outside of you stronger than on the inside of you. That fool, don't let him bring your foolishness out. If you want to be a fool, you decide when you want to be a fool, and you don't be a fool when somebody else decides for you to be a fool.

Jay Holloway:
Your strongest motivation is what?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
I think my belief in the almighty God, I believe that if you do the right thing he will protect you. I just believe that. I just believe that. You've just got to believe.

Jay Holloway:
We have just a few minutes left here. Is there something that you would like to bring up that we haven't talked about, that we could spend the last few minutes sharing with the audience, that is really close to your heart, that we haven't talked about?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
You know, my big concern is these young black boys, we've got to give them hope. I don't think money can do it alone, but I think there must be encouragement. I think there must be ways to show the good boys and the good girls and not just showcase all the time the bad boys and the bad girls. I think we've got to give these young people hope and my mission is to see if we can help some people so they can be different. Give them hope. Let them know who they are. Let them know there is some God in every one of us, that we are made like God and he has given us dominion over the earth and everything in it. It is up to us.

Jay Holloway:
We talked with Harvey Gantt a few weeks ago and he said some of the same things, that the movement today is not on civil rights like it was, but that a lot of youth are losing hope. And so we hear this again with you. And the hope you are talking about is having the parents encourage their kids, not just with money, but with love. Have a strong belief in God. What else do you think can give these kids hope in the midst of so much negativity.

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
I think we need to talk to them about life. Be honest with them. Find ways to expose them, show them. Take them Washington, D.C. Take them to different places as much as we possibly can. They need to become involved. I brought 23 students from Africa and I want to tell you something, those kid's lives have changed. Those kinds of things. They need to see their brothers and sisters in different people in the world and expose. Get them to read. It is important. I joi ned the 4:00 club. That means I get up at 4:00 in the morning and I study. And I am studying because I want to know what makes the world tick. I want to know different things. We must get the young people to have enough curiosity so that if curiosity wants to know, how can I do this? How does so and so do this and those kinds of things.

Jay Holloway:
When you get up at 4:00 what are you studying, I mean what do you read?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Oh, I read a book. I got a special book I like to read, Think and Grow Rich, Riches Within Your Reach. I love to read Proverbs. Right now in our class we are studying Paul and Peter on tape and we listen to things like that. And constant encouragement, things that like, that is really exciting. Really exciting.

Jay Holloway:
Well, I tell you, it has been a real pleasure talking to you and you seem to be doing a lot of wonderful things there in Kernersville. I know that the people in Kernersville are really excited. I saw where you and your wife were the First Citizens, given a First Citizens award, and that certainly is tremendous. Any last comments you'd like to say to the people of North Carolina for encouragement and hope?

Joe Dudley, Sr.:
Just keep your head high. There is always a way. If you can't find it, you'll make it. Just stay positive, believe it can happen and all the good things. If a person labeled mentally retarded like myself was able to make it, I think anybody can make it. And don't worry about what other people think about you. What other people think about you ain't none of your business. It is what you think about you. They can't help you. Can't nobody help you but you. You can help you, your own self, you've got to keep working and keep believing.

Jay Holloway:
Mr. Dudley, thank you so much for coming here to Black Issues Forum, we really appreciate that. And thank you for watching tonight and we invite you to watch this series each Friday night at 11:00 on UNC-TV. We hope that you've been motivated by Mr. Joe Dudley and his philosophy that "in your space and in your time and with the grace of God, you and I can and will make a difference." The resources are available for each of us improve our community and to improve ourselves financially and personally as Mr. Dudley has stated. If we only apply ourselves and take full advantage of the many opportunities. Please contact us with your comments and if you would like to use this program or discuss this series in y our community, civic groups, classroom or church, please call us at (919) 549 7167 or you may e-mail us at bif@unctv.org or visit us on the World Wide Web at wwwunctv.org/bif. You'll find information on past episodes and additional information and discussions on issues of concern to African-Americans. Thank you again for watching Black Issues Forum. I'm Jay Holloway and have a blessed evening and a good night.