Company Genesis - SoulOfAmerica

    SoulOfAmerica.com, a bootstrapped company without a journalism or map-making foundation, published its first map on October 31, 1994. If God had not given me equal doses of vision and stubbornness, it never would have happened. I thank Him for that. Before I comment on our online genesis, I tip my hat to Solomon and Gloria Herbert who have been publishing Black Meetings and Convention information in print longer than anyone.

    Four years of market research (some with Tracy Ellis) prior to publishing the first guide map informed me of a large under-served Black Travel market in big cities. By making custom maps of Black neighborhoods, people would not have to look for Black culture the hard way anymore. Little did I know how much research, planning, computer-based cartography, photography and page layout work was required to make them conveniently sized, well designed for repeated use, and driver-friendly.

    I didn't know the first thing about publishing, photography and cartography. Since I lacked the capital to hire a cartographer or photographer, I taught myself. Perhaps astonished by my blind stubbornness, my wife Angela didn't let me stumble down blind alleys alone. She spent lots of time reviewing plans and asking the tough business questions. Shortly afterwards my brothers, Lenny Dorsey and Ronald Dorsey invested in my dream helped me at trade shows (Ron transitioned in 2005). Ken Williams (artistic consultant) and Vickie Robins (page layout) helped launch the GOWARE TRAVEL Soul Of Los Angeles map in 1994. They taught me so much and bought into the dream of doing something great for our culture.

    Many purchasers of our first map remember its breakthrough combination of color graphics, cultural photos, Black neighborhood maps and nice organization. I also remember the shortcomings of the first souvenir map. The paper stock should have been heavier. Some customers thought it was free, even though it did not have ads. Others mistakenly called it a brochure.

    For some context about this important milestone, consider the environment during the mid 1990s. Excluding token references to Harlem, DC and Atlanta, mainstream travel guidebooks ignored Black Cultural sites. The travel industry association had not measured the size of the Black Travel market, let alone its unique interests. You could hear blank stares at the other end of the phone when I called bookstores to retail my map. Without a track record or 3rd party references that Black travelers represent a viable market, who could blame them?

    I thank Black Expo and Gallery Plus in Los Angles, Samuel's Art Gallery and Marcus Books in Oakland for connecting us with our first customers. When our GOWARE TRAVEL Soul Of Oakland/San Francisco map arrived six months later, First Fridays in San Francisco and Oakland Black Expo expanded our customer base. To my grateful surprise, Rev. J. Alfred Smith, Sr. invited me to introduce the map to his wonderful congregation, Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland.

   Over the next 15 months we published GOWARE TRAVEL Soul Of Atlanta and attended Black tradeshows in Atlanta and Chicago. With each new map in the series, we improved our craft to the point where a wholesaler to half the maps in the country called them, "The best designed souvenir guidemaps he had ever seen!" Fan mail and tradeshow feedback confirmed that we published a wonderful product. Then fortune smiled again.

    In 1996, we received feature articles in Emerge magazine and numerous Black newspapers nationwide. Exposure helped open doors. We became the first publisher to place Black souvenir maps in Borders and Barnes & Noble nationwide. We marketed our maps at a number of tradeshows and Black professional events. Shortly afterwards we published GOWARE TRAVEL Soul Of Washington, DC, which we introduced at the IBBMEC tradeshow in Washington.

    We soon learned that a national buy from major bookstore chains does not translate into sales success. You can have the best product and headquarters buying for stores in the top 20 markets, but if each store does not merchandise properly, you're in for a rough ride. Most stores either let our maps sit in storage or buried behind other maps on the shelves. After visiting or calling over 30 stores, my wife and I confirmed that only two placed our maps on the counter during January and Black History Month. Our maps always sold out there and those two stores always wanted more maps.

OUR FIRST WEBSITE BORN - 1997

Our original website logo

Frustrated with how our maps were merchandised in bookstores and some bookstores who refused to pay, I launched our first website, GOWARE-TRAVEL.com in March 1997 to reach consumers directly. We can't locate our first Home Page screen shot, but it had the logo above and looked similar to the rest of the Home Page screen shot below.

1998 SoulOfAmerica.com Home Page

   The website gave visitors a sampling of our maps, asked them to purchase, and asked for their feedback. Visitors overwhelmingly responded, but in a surprising way. They wanted ALL the content listed on our maps at no-charge and asked me to find advertisers. I had a tough choice to make. Continue selling collectible guidemaps or change my business model to the Web. How long would it be before someone advertised on my website?

    That was a difficult decision in 1997. I loved creating the maps, since they are works of art and collectible historical records of our culture. Our 2nd edition Los Angeles map was ready. Content for a 1st edition Chicago map was ready and slated to included photos of Chicago Defender Newspaper HQ, Michael Jordan Monument, Traveling Man statue on MLK Drive, 8th Regiment Army statue, The Cotton Club, Afrocentric bookstore, Rev. Clay of Progressive Baptist Church, Salaam Restaurant, PUSH headquarters, Afrocentric bookstore. Many elements of New Orleans, New York City, Baltimore, and Dallas guide maps were ready as well. But instead of publishing more maps, I listened to my customers.

    Buying time for my decision, I published a GOWARE Travel Soul Of Dallas mini-map for the 1997 National Black MBA conference that was sponsored by Hitachi Computers.

    My computer marketing background placed me in contact with lots of techies and led me to envision an unlimited market on the Web. My entrepreneurial streak led me to take risks. So in April 1998, I adapted all our map content to the website, name changed and began doing business as SoulOfAmerica.com. More than name changes, I had to cannibalize the map business to make the website succeed. I was smart enough to keep my day job!

    Los Angeles, Oakland/San Francisco, Atlanta, Washington, Dallas, Chicago, New York City and Baltimore were the first city guides to appear on our website. As fast as I could visit Houston, Philadelphia, Detroit, Boston and St. Louis, they were added. Requests for more city guides and other content poured in. My supportive wife sacrificed many a fun weekend together, as I traveled to 20 more cities to create more city guides. Trips were always better though, when she traveled with me.

    I needed help to expand. My brother Lenny Dorsey took on more research assignments. I rehired Vickie Robins to be my new Webmaster. Our map artist, Ken Williams designed the initial graphic elements. We set many of the design system concepts that remain on SoulOfAmerica.com to this day. Unfortunately Emerge magazine ended, so we ran this ad in Black Enterprise magazine.

To our mutual fortune, a travel writer, Lysa Allman-Baldwin, found us in late 1998. Then in 1999, my wife introduced me to Sheila Umolu, my "Right-hand Woman.” More recently, we were fortunate to have Kalin Thomas, Jeanette Valentine, Calvin Young, Ingrid Sturgis, Melanie Lacy, Tracy Gross, Kara Alford and sometimes their spouses contribute to SoulOfAmerica.com. Dan Fitch, Joy Coleman and Michelle Waters became important contributors to our expanded website operation and design. With a broader range of skills, perspectives and researchers in our team, content grew an order of magnitude.

One milestone I've cherished is winning the annual Black Web Awards for best Black Travel Website since 2007, 2008 and 2009. To me it means the Black community has embraced our work. Past wins are no guarantee of the future however, so that keeps us hungrier than copycats.

Thomas Dorsey, Founder of SoulOfAmerica.com
With the first 3 GOWARE Travel Soul Of City maps in 1996

At the end of the day, SoulOfAmerica in all its past, present and foreseeable future forms is about loving and uplifting Black Culture through travel without putting anyone else down.

Sincerely,

Thomas Dorsey

BLACK CULTURAL TRAVEL MADE EASY