Lee Hyder, Akron, Ohio-based financial advisor and founder of Lee Hyder & Associates, is the first to agree that most financial advisors have not made as much of an effort with the African-American community as they should have. That's partly because of perception ("the average advisor feels that there is not enough money per household in the Black community, and that there isn't enough motivation or desire on the part of individuals to pursue things with them," he says), but it's also due to the difficulty in making a connection with the community. And connections are what it's all about when approaching the African-American community.
Hyder himself only got connected incidentally, he says, through a retired pastor who attended one of his seminars. That encounter connected Hyder to what he believes is the epicenter of the Black community: The Church.
"It's a theme through the whole community," Hyder says. "The Church is their Wednesday night activity, it's their Saturday night activity, it's where they have Bingo Night – it's where everything happens."
Since that meeting with the one pastor, Hyder has made an effort to meet other African-American pastors and through these connections, he has presented the case for proper financial planning to congregations at 20 African-American churches.
