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Beware the Relentless Middlemen: How to Avoid Being Held Hostage in Your Own Business

In 2025, the entrepreneurial landscape is more connected yet more complex than ever—and the old problem of middlemen holding your business hostage remains stubbornly relevant. These middlemen aren’t just the traditional brokers or agents anymore; they’ve evolved into AI-powered platforms, automated agencies, and creator economy gatekeepers who expect a lifetime cut or perpetual favors in exchange for introductions or services.

The worst kind of middlemen are those who constantly remind you of past favors or “help” they provided, expecting you to pay them back forever—often at steep discounts or with free work. This is the business equivalent of a loan shark: you end up paying back 20 times over, long after the original favor. In today’s world, that might look like a platform taking a huge cut of your creator revenue indefinitely or an AI service that locks you into expensive subscription tiers under the guise of “exclusive access.”

When someone helps your business, send a genuine thank-you—whether that’s a lunch, a thoughtful note, or a small gift—to close the loop and signal that the favor is settled. This is crucial because if you leave the debt open-ended, you’ll never stop paying it back. In 2025, with AI and automation making business introductions and services more scalable, it’s easier than ever to fall into this trap if you don’t set clear boundaries.

Another modern twist is how some middlemen block you from direct access to your customers or clients—the “purse strings.” Whether it’s a platform algorithm controlling who sees your content or an agency that insists on being the sole contact point, don’t let anyone keep you from building a direct relationship with your audience or buyers. Your business thrives on direct connections; middlemen should facilitate, not gatekeep.

Remember, middlemen exist for a reason—they often provide expertise or access you don’t have. But the key mistake entrepreneurs make is ceding too much control to them. You need to lead these relationships, not be led. In negotiations, dial up your own involvement and dial down reliance on intermediaries. This is especially true when AI tools and automation can sometimes obscure who’s really in control of your business outcomes.

In short, don’t be a victim to relentless middlemen in 2025. Use technology and human connections wisely, set clear boundaries, and always keep your direct relationships front and center. Your business—and your sanity—depend on it.

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I wouldn’t say that being a business owner is hard work as much as I would say it can be challenging. As we all know, if you love what you do and you do what you love it’s never work. Nevertheless, there are certain things that can get in the way of your daily progress. Some of which can literally make you not want to work for the rest of the day. There are things that you should avoid when it affects your business. Here are some tips that I’ve learned over the years that can make your business run a lot smoother. 

DON’T: Bring an assistant to a business meeting without telling the other party

I’ve had this happen on a couple of occasions and while others may not mind, I find it to be very rude and inconsiderate. It pisses me off. If you’re going to bring someone else to a lunch meeting or dinner meeting let the other business person now. They may want to discuss something with you that is private or personal.

In addition, it is disrespectful because the assistant is being treated as an equal party.  Information can later be used against you or the other person at the table. I did not request a meeting with your assistant, I requested a meeting with YOU. At LEAST give me the option to say no. It comes off as grandstanding and very diva-like to bring other people into a meeting unannounced. The next time that happens I’m walking out of the meeting. More tips coming this week.

CLICK TO SEE MORE MISTAKES ENTREPRENEURS CONSTANTLY MAKE … YOU TOO?.

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Minding Your Own Damn Business – By Kevin Ross

Any successful black entrepreneur will tell you that running a SUCCESSFUL business can be both rewarding and very challenging; you are literally married to your business. You may not have much of a personal life or balance because running a successful business can become an addiction but as time goes on, you will become more accustomed to what it takes to have a smooth operation, which includes being able to delegate and hire the right people, keep your sales intact and continuing to educate yourself in your industry so that you can grow. It’s a herculean task and not everyone can do it but I have noticed that those who are not fully committed don’t reap the rewards and they continue to struggle. Whom will you be? The one that struggles or the one that succeeds? It’s up to you. Your business can make, break, build you or even KILL if you if you are not careful. Buy now at Amazon 

Are you a Frustrated Business Owner? You Can’t grow a business you don’t still LOVE doing.

As an Entrepreneur, the way you plan for your business is paramount especially the future of your business. As I’m sure you know, many unpredictable things can happen. Your industry may change, you make age out, or you will be tired of doing what you do. Sometimes everything can happen at the same time. And this is incredibly unfortunate especially when you could’ve moved on to do something else.

We all know that it takes quite some time to establish a business and a brand. But the benefit that we have leverage now. That means we can do what we did before … again. The trick is to tap into it. If you ask yourself ‘am I happy’ and the answer is no, it’s time to explore what you want to do, before it is determined for you. As we all know, if we want to be unhappy, we may as well get a job.

Waking up with Joy or Frustration?

Are you getting out of bed each day with anticipation looking forward to the new day? Or are you frustrated trying to ‘fake it’ another day? If you are faking it, it’s time to look at changing gears.

Being stuck is no fun. What do I mean by stuck? When you’re making a majority of your money from the business you no longer love is what I mean. A majority of your time is spent doing it and it’s difficult to find the energy to go after a new venture. Doing what you no longer love is zapping your energy to do so.

Frustrated Business Owner: Using Your Leverage

Now the question becomes how can you leverage what you were doing and turn it into something else? This may mean that you have to pull out completely for a few days and look at everything from a distance. Another way is you may have to ask yourself questions and perhaps create a spreadsheet of what you can do with the skills you’ve acquired.

I heard a quote recently a TV show one day and a woman said: “it’s better to be done with your industry before the industry is done with you. I have seen people destroyed when the unexpected happens!” She makes a very good point. If you hate what you’re doing right now it’s going to get worse. Eventually, your audience or whoever you’re targeting will see it as well as your clients and the whole ship will eventually capsize either slowly or all at once but neither way is good ESPECIALLY when something can be done about it in advance.

What are some of the way that you can handle the situation so that you can move on?

I know it’s EXTREMELY hard to find good workers but its’ not impossible. You may want to bring in a manager, somebody who thinks exactly like you and can do what you do. Another suggestion, Would be to work on your business for a few days each week and mark off a couple calendar days of the month or week to work on your new projects in other words having someone to fill in for you for couple days during the week so that you can totally dedicate yourself to working on your new place or projects. I find this works best while you migrate from one business to another.

The benefit of this if a client or the target can survive a couple of days without you. They are not going to miss you if you just took a couple days off. Another option is to take more vacations perhaps twice a month getting away and establishing a greater perspective about your company. I always wondered what that adage meant “you can’t see the forest for the trees” and now I know. When you’re in the midst of something, you can’t see all that going on. You have to step out to get a better view.

When All Else Fails

Finally, you could try to sell. There’s no guarantee that this will work either but at least you can walk away (provided you are making a profit) with a successful venture and sale.

At the end of the day being an black entrepreneur means you should love what you do. That’s why you work for yourself! If you don’t like what you do or it has just become boring or not fun anymore then you might as well just go get a job. Do some SOMETHING now or eventually, you’ll sit back and watch the weeks, months and eventually years go by where you could’ve invested in something else. You can get everything you once had back except wasted time. You have to do some serious soul-searching and ask yourself is it really worth it at the end of the day if it’s all taken away and you spent years doing what you didn’t want to do?

My best in the business Kevin Ross.

It was 1997 when Murder Inc., first burst onto the music scene and 20 years later they are still making headlines.  Murder Inc. founder and CEO Irv Gotti announced earlier this year via Instagram that he was reviving his label that was bogged down by legal woes during the height of its success in the early 2000s which ultimately led to its demise.  

This weekend he made another announcement that he and 300 Entertainment are now in business together “Me. Lyor Cohen and Kevin Liles. Back at it again.  Everyone get ready for some dope music.” he posted on his Instagram.  

It is still unclear as to what the actual deal is but it most likely a distribution deal through 300 Entertainment.  The partnership has already signed two acts Boogiie Byrd and duo Fitted Circle. Gotti also has created and was Executive Producer of  ‘Tales: A New Hip Hop Anthology” series which will merge new and old school Hip Hop into visually stunning narratives premiering on June 27 at 10/9 on BET.  Boogiie Byrd and Fitted Circle will both provide original music for the series.  

 

Me. Lyor Cohen and Kevin Liles. Back at it again. Everyone get ready for some dope music. And everyone get ready for TALES. June 27th. On BET. Everything I am about to give to the world is dope. Believe In It!! #murderinc #visionaryideas #tales #comingjune27th #boogiiebyrd #fittedcircle

A post shared by Irv “Gotti” Lorenzo (@irvgotti187) on May 27, 2017 at 12:54pm PDT

Some people believe in hoarding information and keeping it to themselves. I don’t believe in that. If I find something great I want to share it with others. To a fault at times but who cares. Here are 10 things that make my life SO much easier that can probably help you too. Click “NEXT” for Next Item Below the Post. Enjoy…

NeatConnect – WiFi Scanner for Receipts and Documents – $299 Retail

Save a Blade

Razors are a nuisance and have become incredibly expensive. You use it once then throw it away then you need more. I found this incredible device and took a chance to order from Amazon. You can literally use the same blade 10 or more times. Works with single, double or triple heads. You put the razor in the guide and this gadget sharpens them like new. I swear by it. I’m on my second one in 5 years.  More info here

George Forman Grill w/Time and Temp – $70.00

Most people are already hip to the George Foreman grill. Most people don’t know he doesn’t actually own the company but lent his name to the product and the rest is super wealth history.  This grill cooks Salmon better than the oven or any other device hands down but here’s the key, get the one with the temp control. It will last you twice as long.

Nutri Bullet – $90.00

Here’s another device I swear by. I have never seen the kind of power in a blender that I see here. This thing can turn raw carrots into a smoothie. Also great for grinding whole bean coffee (which I do) and anything else when you need a complete blending.

Fitbit Blaze – $198.00

I am burnt out on buying Apple products every 2 years. No thanks. I was at lunch recently and a guy next to me had on an Apple watch and when we compared what each one does the Blaze did MORE. This device gets your text messages, vibrates when you get calls or texts. Measures your heart rate all day and when working out. This device and others like it can literally save your life and it has saved lives when people noticed their heart rates spiked above normal and made it to the hospital in time before a heart attack. It can also play, rewind and skip your music through your iPhone, has alarms, measures steps and much more for less than the price of the Apple watch. link

Google Flights –  PRICELESS

Link

You can save a TON of money if you put the info in for you flight 2 weeks to a month in advance. It will email you alerts of price changes which literally happen every day and several times a day with various airlines.

Kayak

Another must-have, it compares the prices of ALL the online companies like Expedia, Hotels.com, Priceline etc. I will give you a HUGE tip. If you are a points collector, you may be aware that hotels, for example, will not honor points if you don’t book directly with them. However, when you see a discount price on one of the outside services, always check the hotel’s website or call and you will see that the prices are often the same or a little more but you get the points. Kayak also can be programmed to send alerts to you about price changes.

Amazon Firestick –  $40.00

I was pissed that I got all my TVs with the Roku stick. Roku pales in comparison to the Firestick. I got rid of cable over a year ago and got Sling instead and love it. The amazon firestick has MANY more channels than Roku and if you subscribe to Amazon prime you get the movies and original programming. Amazon has some great original programming. You cannot buy this device in any store. Amazon only. More info here

Etrade

Mutual funds are OK but for the novice trader who likes to keep an eye on his investments, this is a great platform to learn how to trade at approximately 10.00 each. Great customer service to answer all of your questions. You can open an account online with a minimum deposit.

Amazon

I LOVE Amazon, even Amazon Prime which I have figured out. They charge a bit more for merchandise and get the mailing fee that way. Once you include your membership fee (about $100 a year) they get all the postage back but it works to your advantage if you buy more expensive items. Plus you get thousands of movies and original programming. That’s it. Hope this helps.

We’d like to wish industry icon, Cathy Hughes, a belated happy birthday. Her party was in Vegas last month and we were just sent the video link by Al B Sure. (thanks, Al). Many happy returns… (video credit: Jodi Williams Blitz Media Productions)

People may have a problem with the WAY Dame Dash delivers his message but he is incredibly on point here.

Russell Simmons’ All Def Digital, the fastest growing platform in hip hop and urban youth culture

… and Emmy award-winning producers Stephen David Entertainment announced today a partnership with GroupM Entertainment, a global content investment and rights management company, to develop and produce THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF HIP HOP, a sweeping documentary series that tells the exhaustive story of hip hop, from its seminal, underground roots to its now most iconic, global artists. Stephen David will Executive Produce the series, along with GME’s Richard Foster and Simmons himself. The project is in development and slated to begin production this year.

THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF HIP HOP begins in the early 1970s, chronicling the rise of the first DJs and emcees in New York City. But what started as a way for marginalized youth in New York City to escape or explain the stark realities of the inner city, rapidly spread from the East to West Coast as it evolved into a global phenomenon.

Today, it is a multi-billion dollar industry and cultural force that shapes music, art, fashion, language, and all forms of entertainment from films to television and digital programming to social media.

“Hip hop began in the Bronx and Queens, and was fueled by pioneering new artists with an incredible hunger to express themselves in unimaginably bold new ways,” said Simmons. “The Definitive History of Hip Hop is the untold story of the birth of this art form – the series gets behind the scenes of what drove the beats, the rhymes, the ideas — and the people — that so powerfully hit a chord with all of youth culture in America and around the world. It starts with the OGs of this disruptive force in entertainment, spotlights some of the lesser known artists who’ve fallen out of history or favor, and of course looks at the icons who are now household names whether you’re in LA or London, Toledo or Tokyo.

The music is just as important, classic and timeless today as it was 40 years ago. We’ve partnered with amazing filmmakers in Stephen David Entertainment and with GroupM, the largest media investment firm in the world, because we believe this will be a long-running, global franchise,” Simmons said.

“We are going long, and deep, and plan to follow the characters and storylines, the drama, the dreams, the deaths, the disruptions, that have made our narrative one of the most compelling American stories of the last three decades. And its future is still being written today, so the story is both timeless and endless.”

Using SDE’s award-winning cinematic and storytelling style of weaving filmed scenes and classic documentary treatments, together with groundbreaking visual effects, archival footage and celebrity interviews, THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF HIP HOP tells the incredible personal stories of the pioneers of hip hop and rap, set against the larger historical context of a country in turmoil. From DJ Hollywood and Run DMC, to Dr. Dre and Jay Z, this authoritative and expansive series captures the mystique and magnetism of the personalities and music that helped transform the American mindset and, in the process, set off a global movement premised on speaking truth to power.

“The birth of hip-hop and its ascent into the American mainstream is a fascinating story, one that has tremendous historical and social importance and relevance in our society,” said Stephen David. “We really could not imagine a greater partner for this project than the founder of the movement, Russell Simmons, and the team at All Def Digital. We are privileged to be working with the man who took a musical art form and created multiple industries and a global movement in youth culture.

As the company behind the EMMY award-winning series, THE MEN WHO BUILT AMERICA, the EMMY-nominated THE WORLD WARS and THE MAKING OF THE MOB: NEW YORK, SDE has established itself as the leading producer of hybrid-genre programs that combine traditional documentary techniques with scripted storytelling elements. “We create documentaries as if they were scripted series – we thrive on characters and story arcs.” SDE has projects at Netflix, Amazon, History Channel, and NatGeo among others.

“We at GroupM Entertainment have a track record of partnering with creative voices and producers around the world to deliver premium content to the world’s biggest networks and platforms,” said Richard Foster, CEO of GroupM Entertainment.

“The dominance of hip hop in global culture is clear in so many international markets. Investing into the project and partnering with All Def and SDE is a fantastic opportunity to bring this story to a global audience. GroupM Entertainment is one of the largest financiers and co-producers of original programming in the UK and is active in over 20 global markets including the US. The company is part of WPP, the world’s largest advertising and marketing services group.

“With the break-out success of entertainment properties like Straight Outta Compton and Moonlight in film, Empire and Atlanta in television, even Hamilton on Broadway, there could not be a better time to tell this story about the embryonic days of hip hop,” said Sanjay Sharma, All Def’s Chief Executive Officer. “Hip Hop is the most listened to category of music in the US and its universal appeal is, in part, due to the fact that it has always been about speaking truth to power – nothing could be more timely than this.

Aside from dominating pop culture, this thread dominates the global social and political climate as well. We want to create an immersive experience that will engage today’s youth, as well as old-school fans, with the origins of the movement through premium content, live, social and interactive, experiences, and more.”

In addition to DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF HIP HOP, All Def recently released a stand-up comedy special on HBO, a sketch comedy series on MTV2, the All Def Roast of Snoop Dogg and the All Def Movie Awards on Fusion, and soon will release global, premium digital series with YouTube Red and Spotify.