Alfred Liggins, CEO of Urban One, joined GHOGH host Jamarlin Martin to discuss his insights on building one of the most important media companies in the U.S.
Liggins has been working for UrbanOne since early in his life. He attended the Wharton School of Business before returning to run the company with his mother, Cathy Hughes.
He learned a number of lessons from running a business in the competitive space of radio and TV and shares two keys for navigating your way through building a career and building a business.
Liggins said he didn’t initially intend to work for his mother’s radio station. He wanted to work in the music business. After a series of unfortunate events, his mother suggested that he come home. Once he got started working with his mom, he discovered that he had a gift for selling and never looked back.
Are you trying to figure out what your gift is? Here are some resources to get you started:
How to Discover Your Natural Strengths and Talents – Matt Valentine
4 Ways to find out what your strengths are – Gary Vaynerchuk
Liggins advises young executives to not blur the lines between the friendships you’ve developed with the people you work with and the hard business decisions you have to make.
“This is not a family household…It’s a business here that is built to serve a community, and to serve it well with integrity and profitably,” Liggins said.
Are you trying to figure out how to make difficult decisions that may impact people in your business with whom you’ve developed friendships? Here are some resources:
The Woman Behind the Netflix Culture Doc – FirstRound
Culture Shock – Masters of Scale
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 29: Alfred Liggins
Jamarlin talks to Alfred Liggins, CEO of Urban One (NASDAQ: UONEK) about why he never merged with BET and whether going public inspired the Fox series “Empire”.
Figuring out your talent and maintaining the integrity of your business are two keys that are sure to help you thrive in a dynamic economy. Check out the resources for how you can level up in both areas. Let’s GHOGH!
Kwame Som-Pimpong writes on business, technology, policy, and their intersections with black people. He earned a BA in Political Science from Davidson College and Master of Public Administration from the University of Georgia. He can be reached at kwame.som.pimpong@gmail.com.
