We were driving down main street in East Point largely due to a detour my husband took to return home that day. I noticed how eerily quiet the street was this Sunday evening. More than just quiet it seemed like a place that called out to me. Out of my peripheral vision I noticed the words "CUPCAKES MAKE YOU HAPPY". I filed the thought away.
I spend a lot of time using social media, mostly Facebook. There, I read a lot about the problems in the world and who is to blame for this or for that. Sometimes it becomes too much. Too much negative finger pointing for my consumption. Everything wrong is someone else's fault. Far on blame short on solutions I tell myself. Why is the solution side of the fence always the least inhabited?
On Monday, one day after the cupcake sighting, I opened a new bank account at a Black Owned Bank, Citizen's Trust. It was my first time. That night I decided to throw both feet into the solution side of the fence and I developed a plan. My plan? I would use my skills to help others who look like me succeed in their small business. I called it, "Putting my money where my heart is." I am funding this by giving away all the profits from a book I wrote along with a group of my friends. I seed my profit to other small black businesses in my community.
I graduated from Howard University majoring in business and Harvard Business School majoring in marketing. I have owned several small businesses over time, most owned successfully. It is my intention to help others succeed not by reminding them of their failures but by offering them a real opportunity at success. These owners can Google the perils of failure on their own. What I aim to give them is a tangible chance at success. I am doing this by introducing them to their target market, by giving them a platform to be seen and heard. By bringing the marketplace to their doorstep. It is called exposure and a fair game at winning and building a legacy for generations to follow! Simple as that. Working together we will succeed on a level playing field.
So in under five minutes businesses share their story with others. We then come out in support of them because that is how it should be in our community. We buy from one another, support one another, root for one another, and celebrate one another. Just as it should be.
I am encouraged! And this new side of the fence is getting some real attention. Just as it should be.
I spend a lot of time using social media, mostly Facebook. There, I read a lot about the problems in the world and who is to blame for this or for that. Sometimes it becomes too much. Too much negative finger pointing for my consumption. Everything wrong is someone else's fault. Far on blame short on solutions I tell myself. Why is the solution side of the fence always the least inhabited?
On Monday, one day after the cupcake sighting, I opened a new bank account at a Black Owned Bank, Citizen's Trust. It was my first time. That night I decided to throw both feet into the solution side of the fence and I developed a plan. My plan? I would use my skills to help others who look like me succeed in their small business. I called it, "Putting my money where my heart is." I am funding this by giving away all the profits from a book I wrote along with a group of my friends. I seed my profit to other small black businesses in my community.
I graduated from Howard University majoring in business and Harvard Business School majoring in marketing. I have owned several small businesses over time, most owned successfully. It is my intention to help others succeed not by reminding them of their failures but by offering them a real opportunity at success. These owners can Google the perils of failure on their own. What I aim to give them is a tangible chance at success. I am doing this by introducing them to their target market, by giving them a platform to be seen and heard. By bringing the marketplace to their doorstep. It is called exposure and a fair game at winning and building a legacy for generations to follow! Simple as that. Working together we will succeed on a level playing field.
So in under five minutes businesses share their story with others. We then come out in support of them because that is how it should be in our community. We buy from one another, support one another, root for one another, and celebrate one another. Just as it should be.
I am encouraged! And this new side of the fence is getting some real attention. Just as it should be.
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