Roosevelt Roby Freedom is ownership. Company: The World Business Exchange Network Location: Los Angeles, California Website: www.wbe.net

Biography:
Mr. Roosevelt Roby was born a sharecroppers son in the rural backwoods of Mississippi prior to the civil rights movement. The child of parents who worked for a meager $10-20 a year on a plantation he was unable to read or write.

By the 6th grade, the plantation owner pulled Roby out of the schoolhouse and declared, “You don’t need an education to pick cotton.” It was a time in American history – and particular in the South when a poor black youth should have accepted that his life would be one of manual labor and little opportunity.

But a spark of a dream ignited when Roby caught a glimpse of television for the first time in his life. Pressed up against the general store window, Roby was mesmerized by what he saw; moving images of big cities like New York, Chicago, a mix of people, activity and shiny automobiles. He saw a new world he never imagined. It was the first time in his life he understood there was a possibility of life beyond just cultivating the land or fixing farm equipment.

He moved to Chicago at age 15 and worked a variety of jobs until he eventually learned how to be a skilled heavy equipment diesel mechanic. But he was denied membership to the engineers union because of his race. That denial prevented him from pursuing many working opportunities, and began to break his spirit.

Frustrated by working for others, of few opportunities, low pay and receiving little respect, Roby’s wife Cathy urged him to start his own business. She believed in him, even at a time when he didn’t believe in himself. To Roby, his wife’s suggestion of owning his own business seemed like a far-fetched dream. At 27, he was still unable to read or write, but Cathy wrote out the business plan for him as he dictated his ideas. Within 6 months, he became the Founder of Contractor’s Equipment Service Co., the first black-owned diesel repair shop in Chicago, and opened his doors for business in 1970.

The company made a staggering $108,000 its very first year. By year three, the business was generating over one million dollars a year. The American dreamer was now living the American dream.

Roby discovered a renewed sense of pride and freedom in owning his own business. His perseverance, creativity and positive attitude enabled him to go on to create other successful money making businesses for himself in real estate, retail and the automotive industry.

After enjoying over 30 years of entrepreneurial success, he became motivated to help create business opportunities for others. Along with the proliferation of home computers, Roby saw a new way for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs to jump-start their own home-based business and communicate with others-buying, selling and trading products and services worldwide. With the advent of the Internet, technology took Roby’s vision global. In 1987, he founded the World Business Exchange Network (wbe.net) the first on-line trade association designed to revolutionize the import/export industry. His company was awarded the Export Trade Certificate of Review from the Secretary of Commerce, and the U.S. Attorney General’s Office. Additionally, he serves as President of the WBE.NET Global Internet Trade Course for Students, an approved course curriculum that expands technology and training to high school students and underprivileged youth.

Today, with the overwhelming success of the World Business Exchange Network and the WBE.NET Global Internet Trade Course for Students in high schools, Mr. Roby has never forgotten the struggles and sacrifices he had to overcome to become a positive influence and respected business leader in the community.

Above all his remarkable professional achievements and with God’s help, Mr. Roby believes the enduring love of his wife, the knowledge of self-respect and strong business ethics he instills in his children and grandchildren, are among his greatest successes of all.

Availability:
Available as a speaker.