John Johnson Articles

Building a Voice: John Johnson Gets His Start - Click To Read Article
John H. Johnson went from living on welfare to living in extreme wealth, becoming the first African American to make it onto the Forbes 400 list of the nation’s richest individuals. By the time he died in 2005, his empire was worth an estimated $600 million. Not only did he amass great wealth, but he also gave African Americans a voice at a time when they were both relatively invisible and discriminated against in the mainstream culture.

Pioneering Efforts: Johnson Fulfills his Vision - Click To Read Article
Johnson’s stint at Supreme Liberty Life Insurance had inspired him to go off on his own. He had the desire, he had the energy, but what he was sorely lacking was capital to start his company. Few were eager to give their money to an unknown African American entrepreneur with little previous experience in the business world. He even tried his luck with the First National Bank of Chicago, which he had approached for a $500 loan. “I’m one of First National’s premium customers today,” Johnson later recalled. “But the assistant to the assistant that I managed to see in 1942 laughed in my face. ‘Boy,’ he said, ‘we don’t make any loans to colored people.’”

Lesson #1: Don’t Get Mad, Get Even - Click To Read Article
“When I see a barrier, I cry and I curse, and then I get a ladder and climb over it,” said Johnson.

Lesson #2: Reflect Your Market - Click To Read Article
Before Johnson came up with the ideas for Ebony and Jet, America had already seen the likes of other black-oriented magazines, but all of them had gone out of business almost as quickly as they had got into it. None had been able to generate enough advertising to make them profitable ventures. Johnson’s ability to spot the demand in the market and accurately meet it was one of his most lucrative characteristics.

Lesson #3: Go Against the Grain - Click To Read Article
In the late 1950s, when Johnson was beginning to increasingly use black models for his magazines as well as the Ebony Fashion Fair Show that he sponsored, he began to notice how difficult it was for these women to find cosmetics shades that were dark enough for their skin. As of yet, there were no cosmetics lines produced specifically for dark-skinned women and they were forced to try to blend together various lighter shades in order to approximate their skin tones.

Lesson #4: Master the Art of the Sale - Click To Read Article
Johnson became a self-made media mogul, publisher, and entrepreneur, but the title he identified most with was that of salesman. In his best-selling autobiography, Succeeding Against the Odds, Johnson wrote a chapter entitled, “How to Sell Anybody Anything in Five Minutes or Less.” Here, he outlined his craft of salesmanship, which proved to be one of the key factors the propelled him to such great success.

Lesson #5: Communicate Success - Click To Read Article
“My management style is based on the art of communication,” said Johnson. “For communication is an art, not a science. It is an emotion, not a statistic.”

A Man of Firsts: How Johnson Achieved Success - Click To Read Article
“Retirement is not in this company’s vocabulary,” Johnson once said. “If you are well and able to work, you can stay at the company and that’s what I plan to do.” And, that is exactly what he did. Right up until the time of his death, Johnson continued to play an active role in the company. Although he named his daughter, Linda Johnson Rice, CEO of the company, he remained the inspiration behind its every move. He rose from the despair of welfare to become named the Greatest Minority Entrepreneur in U.S. History by Baylor University in 2003. A true rags to riches story, how did Johnson achieve the American Dream?

John Johnson Quotes - Click To Read Article
John Johnson Quotes


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