Issue 1 Jan. 2022
Certify CNY Magazine Watch the Throne
The Way The Cookie Crumbles Award winning baker, Tykemia Carmen built her skills from scratch. Find out how a brush with tragedy gave birth to her baked goods business.
Last Night A DJ Saved My Life Jasmine Coan is affectionately known as DJ BELLA J and she continues to trailblaze opening the region’s first and only DJ Training Facility. Whether spinning records, or simply setting them, she’s a FORCE to be reckoned with.
Fearless Queens Women’s Empowerment Leader, Tommi Billingsley breaks down her motivation behind her movement to empower women of color and setting an example for the next generation of women leaders. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.
New NYS MWBE Guidelines
S'Marie Photography
NEW YEAR, NEW GOALS? BY DIANA CLARK WITH AMANDA PASCALE
As 2021 came to a close, you might have thought about your accomplishments and the ongoing work to tackle. But, have you thought about what brought you joy? Pause for a minute to think. If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, perhaps what brought you joy was being your own boss or making moves to do so someday soon. Perhaps living through this pandemic has taught you to rely more on yourself and your intuition. Or maybe it has given you space to think about what YOU really want to be doing. And chances are that that entrepreneurial spirit has got you thinking BIG goals. If you already own a business, maybe you know that there are currently millions of dollars available for MWBEs and you’ve decided THIS is the year you’ll get certified. If you haven’t started your own business, maybe you’ve decided 2022 is when you make it official. Whatever the case may be, check out these tips for business success, and come on ya’ll, let’s do big things together! 1. Go Digital. As much as possible, have the information about your business in digital form or have easy access to it. Having digital access to your information puts you so far ahead of the game and makes the process of MWBE certification and simply running your business much easier. For example, know your logins and passwords so you can easily access bank statements, tax returns, proof of filings, etc. We’ve all been frustrated at some point because we couldn’t remember a password. You don’t need that kind of negativity when you’re running a business. You need ease, so set yourself up for success. Also, email yourself digital copies of important documents and paperwork and put the name of the item in the Subject line. Then, later on you can go back and search through your emails by that key word. 2. Keep Track. Keep really good track of your business activity such as your contracts and invoices. Have a bookkeeping system in place. When you go to get MWBE certified, they want to see the biggest contracts you have, and the corresponding deposits of that money into the business account. You should also have proof of income and payments (Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable), and make sure your taxes are up to date. You are a business, so operate like a business. Know the numbers and where you’re at at any given moment, and have a paper trail to back it up! 3. Keep your identification easily-accessible and up-to-date. Make sure you have your license/passport, and birth certificate at the ready.
AMANDA PASCALE PROGRAM DIRECTOR, DIVERSIFY-NY, LLC
FEARLESS QUEEN TOMMI BILLINGSLEY
PHOTOS COURTESY OF S'MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY
CERTIFIED LIFE COACH
PRINCIPAL, FEARLESS QUEENS
FEARLESS QUEEN Having grown up in Syracuse, I’m accustomed to people saying things about “city kids.” It always hurts because I know that the reality is that we have an abundance of creativity, intelligence, beauty, a strong work ethic, and global preparedness, just to name a few things. Inevitably, however, the way some people look at us, is with judgment. But this story isn’t about that, it’s about the power of self-love, the need for words to counter that negativity, and about how each of us could really use a dope hype squad. Enter Tommi Billingsley, entrepreneur and Certified Life Coach. Tommi helps women undo the negative messaging thrown their way from society, friends, family, and even strangers. Tommi is at work undoing the things that people have said to women or about them that they have accepted, believed, or perhaps even allowed to become a part of who they are. Tommi knows that deep down inside, women are not defined by those messages, and she’s a Certified Personal Coach on a mission to empower women to become their truest and best selves. PHOTOS COURTESY OF CIARA FELTHAM OF CIARA STUDIOS
BY DIANA CLARK
FEARLESS QUEEN
“NOW MY MISSION IS TO TEACH, TO GET PEOPLE TO LOVE THEMSELVES.” -TOMMI BILLINGSLEY BY DIANA CLARK Tommi is the founder of Fearless Queens, a “community of women seeking to explore, encourage, and affirm the empowerment and solidarity of sisterhood by recognizing the importance of womanhood.”
She was inspired to become an entrepreneur by her younger brothers. “I saw my brothers coming up, and I realized I needed to teach them, educate them that they can do something other than being in the streets. I was a high school dropout, but then went to college, eventually getting a degree in Business Administration.” Tommi has an entrepreneurial mind and heart. Her first crack at entrepreneurship was selling tshirts, which she purchased by making regular trips Downstate to find new product. Later, she created a business plan for a shoe design, hoping to own her own shoe store, and eventually she ran her own hotdog stand. “My first official business was a hotdog stand.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF S'MARIE PHOTOGRAPY
Tommi Billingsley
Tommi Billingsley . I asked other stand owners how they did it. I painted a truck yellow and made $1,500 a week selling hotdogs. I did that for two summers while in college and finding myself. But, at the same time, I was dealing with a lack of self-love, a jacked-up, fixed mindset.” For a while, Tommi didn’t plan on staying in Syracuse. “My goal was, ‘Boom, get up out of here, work in corporate America.’ At one point, I even had a whole business plan to open a shoe store. Being a young, Black woman, my mindset at the time was that people don’t support Black businesses. Even though I had a full plan, I went looking for a white girl or Black man to run the store, because of fear.” Sound familiar? It’s imposter syndrome, the feeling that you are unqualified to be in a space. Tommi has felt that first hand as a Black woman entrepreneur. “At first it was negative when I was a young woman, based on what was going on in the culture. Back when I was coming up, there was a lot of self-hate in the Black community. What I believed is that people weren’t supportive. I talked myself out of the
PHOTOS C0URTESY OF S'MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY
Fearless Queens hello@reallygreatsite.com www.reallygreatsite.com @reallygreatsite
shoe store because I believed people are more prone to shop in a store with a white man or woman than a Black man or woman. I convinced myself of that. However, over time, I’ve realized 90% of my customers are Black. It had a lot to do with me and staying persistent. I think a lot of people still deal with fear and trauma, especially Black and Brown people. My business really is a personal brand. Personal development is what it is.” Persistent doesn’t seem to be a strong enough word to describe Tommi’s
TOMMI BILLINGSLEY
FEARLESS QUEEN BY DIANA CLARK
journey, especially considering the adversity she’s had in her life. A diagnosis of pancreatic cancer back in 2016 forced Tommi to re-evaluate what it was she really wanted. “I realized I needed to slow down, but also meet more women. During surgery for the cancer, both of my lungs collapsed. In 2016, as I was still recovering, I realized ‘I’ve gotta do something and I believe whole heartedly in being the change I need to see. That’s how Fearless Queens was born. It’s a fear because of the self-hate and judgment of others. So I knew, I’ve gotta get rooted, not only in myself, but in other women. I started to learn more about myself and loving myself.”
Now, through Fearless Queens, Tommi provides events, networking, coaching, and teaching. “Fearless Queens is a women’s empowerment company. We connect with women of all walks of life. Maybe she didn’t go to college, or she doesn’t have a GED, but she has something to contribute. We’re gonna come together and figure this out together.” Tommi has built a number of supports for women to take advantage of. “Early on, Fearless Queens held brunch events I call ‘Power Ups.’ We talked about things like mindset shifting, selflove, discipline, being ambitious, how to face your fears, and how to avoid procrastination. We now also do workshops on professional development topics like credit building, marketing, sales, networking, and economic development. Our slogan is “Rooted and Connected.” It has now also turned into an online community, a group coaching community called Queens Level Up.”
BY DIANA CLARK
Wondering what that coaching is like? “We have a private Facebook Community, we’re on Instagram, and we communicate on an email listserv. Our new website is coming soon. It’s a whole vibe. I believe energy is real. So many of us struggle with being comfortable with being in the skin we’re in because of past experiences or because of what society conditions us to be. Girl, bye! All the success I have seen is from me putting in that work. I am going to take you from ground zero to the highest height that you believe you can achieve by being me and encouraging you to be you. Embrace her, be gentle and kind to her.” What has been the secret to Tommi’s success so far? “It’s not a secret. We all know about it: a nononsense, keep-going attitude. It’s me tapping into a positive attitude. I speak my words of affirmation, write love notes to myself, remind myself not to give up. My mind is the boss and my body is the worker. Whatever I feed my mind, create with my mind, manifest with the mind, is what my body acts out.” Doing that internal work allows Tommi to understand entrepreneurship on a deep level. “People need to be taught it’s about building relationships and be intentional about that. I’m really intentional about leaving a piece of me with you. That’s the mission. I’m not unclear or uncertain about that.”
PHOTOS COURTESY OF S'MARIE PHOTOGRPAHY
TOMMI BILLINGSLEY
FEARLESS QUEEN BY DIANA CLARK
PHOTOS COURTESY OF CIARA FELTHAM OF CIARA STUDIOS
The pandemic has forced Tommi to change in ways that actually grew her business. “I had to pivot to putting myself out there more online in a different way than I was doing when I was putting on in-person events, so that’s how I started group coaching on Zoom. Learning that whole process was not easy. I invested in a coach myself. I had to change my business model because I used to collaborate with existing organizations and present to their clients. I had just launched my life coaching in 2020, and then the pandemic hit. It forced me to identify who my ideal client really is. Now, I like virtual because I can connect with clients outside of Syracuse.” Tommi has some big moves planned for the next three to five years. “I will be making an impact nationally and internationally, not only connecting with women in the States but outside the States as well. Having these women be a part of the tribe and my group coaching, with Syracuse being the core, it will definitely be a solid community brand. Fearless Queens is the go-to women’s empowerment company here in Syracuse because it’s for us.”
CERTIFY CNY
KNOW YOUR OBLIGATIONS
AMORETTE'S TOP TAX TIPS Born and raised in Syracuse, NY, Amorette Mason is Owner of Innovative Capital Management, LLC, an Enrolled Agent with the IRS, a Certified Professional Bookkeeper, and a Certified Quickbooks Pro Advisor. Amorette is a proud Henninger Black Knight, and is at the ready to answer your tax preparation questions. She specializes in LLCs (Schedule C) and Landlords (Schedule E), and is trained in Cannabis and CBD Accounting and Taxes.
DO YOUR BOOKKEEPING It's the start of a new year, the perfect time to get organized. When it comes to owning a business, a large part of that is getting and keeping your finances in order. "First and foremost, you need to know your numbers. Make sure you have a system for recording income and expenses, and that you regularly reconcile your books."
"When it comes to taxes, if you are a Schedule C business owner LLC, you might know that you have to pay federal taxes, but do you have to pay state taxes or local taxes? Do you have payroll liability? Do you have to file sales taxes or taxes in another state? If you are a partnership, are you prepared to file your partnership return? Talk with a tax preparation professional about what your obligations are."
UNDERSTAND HOMEOFFICE DEDUCTIONS "Generally speaking, if you are an employee of a business that you don’t own and you’re working from home, you don’t get a home office deduction. As a business owner, however, if your office is in your home, there may be deductions. Gather all the costs for your household if you operate your business out of your home (mortgage, utilities, etc.) You have to know how much it costs to run your home if you are using it as a principal place of business."
PLAN NOW
"Get ahead of the game. You can create an IRS account so that you have access to your tax information throughout the year. You should also review your business' financial statements often so that you can make executive decisions. When you know your numbers from last year and your anticipated numbers for this year, you’ll know how you’re doing and you can plan accordingly."
TALK TO A TRUSTED PROFESSIONAL "Every business is different and tax law can be complicated. It’s to your benefit to have someone who is proficient in tax law on your team. Your job is to grow your business and you may not be an expert in financial management. Don’t underestimate the value of having a professional on your team." For more information go to www.innovativecapmanagement.com and click Step in My Office to book a 15minute conversation. Follow Innovative Capital Management on Instagram @innovative_amor. CERTIFY CNY
One of Central New York's hottest deejays launches the area's FIRST DJ training center.
DJ BELLA J
AN INTERVIEW WITH DJ BELLA J BY DIANA CLARK
When people talk about possible career pathways for youth, DJ probably isn’t one that readily comes to mind. Even in entrepreneurial circles, it’s not a frequently mentioned line of work. Jasmine Coan, professionally known as DJ Bella J, is on a mission to change that. She’s been a DJ for years now, but the pandemic forced her to make some major changes to her business plans, and brought her back to something she’s wanted to do for years. Jasmine always knew she would end up working in music somehow. “I’ve always had a desire to do something with music.
DJ Bella J
LAST NIGHT A DJ SAVED MY LIFE AN INTERVIEW WITH DJ BELLA J BY DIANA CLARK
Jasmine Coan is the owner of On the One DJ Center, the 2021 $10, 000 grand prize winner of the Key Bank Pitch Your Pivot Contest. “I knew back then that I was gonna pursue something like that for Upstate New York My family has a deep love for music and it was always a central part of our family growing up.” While some people in her family sing, Jasmine was the one that would always end up by the DJ booth. So, it wasn’t a surprise when she started working as a DJ. She booked gigs for parties and events, gave private lessons in her home and in other people’s homes, and worked her way up to larger venues such as Syracuse University Men’s and Women’s basketball games in the Dome. In the early years, she met many DJs around town, but wanted to learn how to really hone her craft. She looked for DJ academies, but the nearest one she could find was Scratch DJ Academy in New York City. Determined, she enrolled, and spent a year traveling back and forth for lessons.
one day.” Years later, Jasmine had a steady stream of work, but in March of 2020, she saw her work immediately shut down due to the pandemic. She had enough to support herself and her family for a few months, but as the pandemic dragged on, she realized she would have to pivot. She took on a full-time job and decided to finally work on opening her own DJ school. By June 2021, she had opened On the One DJ Center in Destiny USA. She decided, “I’m gonna use the pandemic to pivot myself. I did something that a lot of DJs upstate couldn’t do. No one has opened a DJ center. I feel like it’s important because DJs are not taken seriously in terms of career options. When you hear about careers in school, you don’t hear about DJs.
DJ BELLA J
BY DIANA CLARK
I want to be the one who changes that. We should be accepted more as a career and I think I’m on the path to doing that.” One the One is not just a DJ training center. If offers individual and group classes, parties, team-building exercises, recreation, and DJ booking. Its services can be catered for different needs. This October and November, On the One will also hold pop-up concerts at the mall featuring some of their students alongside some veteran DJs. Of course, challenges abound for entrepreneurs.
Jasmine remembers fear being a challenge early on, way before she decided to open her own business. “Fear is what stops us… fear of what people may think. As a female DJ, especially in Syracuse, being one of a very few, I have to push past what they say and just keep going. I’ve learned to build my confidence in what I’m doing and in myself.” Perhaps some of it is that people don’t understand her vision yet. “It’s because it’s so early. What people perceive it [On the One] to be and what I know it’s going to be are two different things. It may take a while for people to see my intentions. I’m not trying to compete with other DJs. What I’m trying to say is, ‘Hey, why during the pandemic we didn’t get PPP loans until the last of the last?"
LIFESTYLE & TRAVEL
05
SEPT OCT 2015
Travel
Story
Why is it that there are so many of us without life insurance and health benefits?’ These are the things I want to tackle. I’m doing it for DJs and not against them.”
By Noel Stein Her biggest pandemic-related challenge is one that will be familiar to many, being “hybrid.” “When I tell you some days, I’m on the verge of collapse…. it’s real having to work full-time and do this. I get caught up telling myself this is temporary. But it’s difficult to balance the work life with the entrepreneur life with the mom life.
Not only did I take a job during the pandemic, I took a Director’s job during the pandemic. There were days when I had to close On the One and miss being at the center because I had to be at work. My main challenge is this hybrid life I’m living.” Challenges aside, Jasmine is making moves at On the One, thanks in part to one of the keys to successful entrepreneurship, relationships.
"DJs have come in saying they want to teach classes at the center. Once I announced that I was opening the DJ center, a lot of people have supported me. I had built a lot of contacts through the years through my work.” Jasmine also recently won the Key Bank Pitch Your Pivot business competition. “It definitely benefited my business and built my network. It put me in a place where a lot of attention is being drawn to the busines and that’s been awesome. So many people have stopped by to see what it’s about and being in Destiny has helped my business. My target market is teenagers and they go to the mall. They have been taking lessons and getting their parents to pay for lessons. There’s a benefit to being in the mall.”
INTRODUCTION
What brings her the most joy? “Seeing people do something that they didn’t think they could do and seeing people realize that what they thought DJs were doing is not that easy. It does take training, it does take practice, it’s not this one-step thing. Also, seeing people realize that they can bring their individuality to the DJ industry. Getting a chance to see it and people actually learning from it, I love that. The dream is to empower more people, especially young girls and women, to pursue a career in DJ, to pursue music if they think that’s their way to express themselves and make them happy.”
Jasmine’s advice for potential entrepreneurs? “Stay grounded in why you wanted to start this business, period. Stay grounded in that because there’s so many challenges. Depending on what field you’re in, the challenges may feel overwhelming, so stay focused on that so you can push through all your challenges because it really helps.”
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THE WAY THE COOKIE CRUMBLES With Award Winning Baker, Tykemia Carmen
By Diana Clark
TYKEMIA CARMEN
CRAVE DESSERT STUDIO BY DIANA CLARK
The past year and a half have given us a heavy dose of grief and pain, both collectively and personally. But from that grief, joy and beauty have emerged in a multitude of ways. Tykemia “Ty” Carman knows something about that. Her business, Crave Dessert Studio, was born in 2015 from the grief and pain she felt after losing her mother. In her own words, “It was a wakeup call for me. Life is short and I needed to do something, so I started dipping strawberries. I didn’t set out to create a business. It was totally unintentional. I was getting miserable and grieving, and I threw myself into it.”
Eventually, Tykemia got to the point that in order to grow her business, she needed commercial kitchen space, so she began looking around. She found space to rent on James Street in Syracuse, and her passion and drive kicked up a notch. For X years, Crave Dessert Studio operated out of that storefront on James Street. Back then, treat tables at events like weddings and showers were just taking off so the timing was perfect. Tykemia found kindred spirits in Facebook cookie groups, where people from different states would share what they had made, help her with pricing, and generally just have each other’s backs.
Tykemia is completely self-taught in baking, the kind of person who will work at something until she’s mastered it. “I will study something until I’m the best at it. I watched YouTube videos over and over again.” Eventually, Tykemia realized that what started out as grief could actually be a full-time business. She built her business up enough that she was even able to leave her full-time job in marketing. “I’m going to make it by any means necessary. For me, it’s about the hustle, about taking $20 and flipping it into $200. I quit my job and my hustle was so good that I made it work.” PHOTOS COURTESY OF TYKEMIA CARMEN
THE WAY THE COOKIE CRUMBLES
CRAVE DESSERT STUDIO
PHOTOS COURTESY OF TYKEMIA CARMEN
BY DIANA CLARK
Tykemia found that some things came naturally to her in business. She has a Bachelor’s in marketing, which she has put to good use. But there has been some trial and error too, especially with things like accounting and legalities. “Some of it has caused me to pause on the financial and accounting side. Learning all that is tough, but I’m figuring it out.” It can, indeed, be challenging being an entrepreneur. “Sometimes it’s tough finding the right connections or information. It was a struggle to get my LLC, and sometimes just trying to make sure I’m headed in the right direction is challenging. But I’ve connected with local bakers and I’m always trying to find like-minded people.”
Perhaps the hardest part has been having to deal with the reality of her mother passing away while at the same time running a business. “I threw myself into the business, but then two years later I actually had to deal with this. It really pushed me, but it was a huge challenge actually having to deal with grief.” Another challenge Tykemia has faced is that the face of the baking industry is still largely white women. “There aren’t a lot of Black bakers in the area that are official businesses. I was really nervous about showing my face when I first started out because I was worried about being discriminated against or about people not
CRAVE DESSERT STUDIO trusting me. So, I used to not show my face when I posted pictures of my work on Social Media. A lot of times people would come to the store and I would come out from the back and they would ask if I was the owner.” After last year, since George Floyd’s murder, things have begun to change, though. “We’re here. We’re in the industry, but we don’t get the following or as much exposure. Having the shop on James St. really gave me a great bump.” Despite a strong start, Ty eventually decided to close her storefront on James St. “I burned myself out and didn’t ask for help, which is another big challenge. When you’re trying to take it all on your own, you can’t grow.” With that experience under her belt, Ty decided to move her business model away from a storefront and focus on online preorders. The shutdown at the beginning of the pandemic taught her she could do it and still maintain her business.
“It was weird because it [the pandemic] had the reverse effect on my business. I created cookie kits with icing bags and sprinkles, and delivered them door-to door. I was doing one hundred cookie kits a week.” In fact, business is so good that Ty is now in a new location with a new focus. “There’s a lot of transitioning happening for me right now. The biggest thing is we’re not a storefront anymore. We have pivoted to more preorders and will sell some celebration sets, instead of everything being custom-made. For example, if I see that unicorns are really popular, I’ll put out a unicorn-themed set. I’m expanding and streamlining. And we just moved into the former Corso’s Cookie building in Geddes. It’s a larger production place, and although it is not a storefront, customers can pick up orders there. We’re focusing on shipping, catering, and preorders.” When I ask Ty to share something she’s really proud of, she smiles. “All of it. Proud of how far I’ve come. It’s hard. It’s really hard, but not giving up and hustling, seeing other bakers come and go and me sticking with it, and maybe not even being the best but being on it…I’m proud of that. And of course, the Food Network. I’m proud I was on the Christmas Cookie Challenge. I’m in a cookie bakers’ group on Facebook and recruiters from Food Network came into the group and announced that they were looking for people to be on their show. I sent in a video and was accepted. It definitely helped my business, especially around the holidays. A lot of times I have to turn down business, but I have my first employee now and hope to hire another by the end of the year.”
T Y K E M I A
C A R M E N
Crave Dessert Studio BY DIANA CLARK Going forward, Tykemia is focused on making her business a well-oiled machine. “My goal in 3-5 years is to have at least ten employees. I want to take on more of a managerial role because right now it’s all on me. I would like to focus on the business connections and get out in the community more.
I would rather show my face and be a part of it, rather than just making the cookies all the time.” Her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs? “Don’t give up and don’t look for instant gratification. A lot of times with some of the entrepreneurs I meet, after six months they wonder why they haven’t had success. Remember that quote, ‘It takes ten years to become an overnight success.’ You have to be bold and courageous and get yourself out there. I feel like I’m just at the beginning of my journey. You have to do the work. Practice, keep practicing, keep practicing. That’s what I’m doing. A lot of people know me, but a lot people don’t know me too, and I want to be known as a go-to brand for cookies. Be on the lookout because I’m not done.” Quote about Certify CNY: “I think that stuff like this is changing the trajectory. We could really be helping each other.”
PHOTOS COURTESY OF TYKEMIA CARMEN
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE
MWBE? MBE
WBE
MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE
WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE U nder Article 15-A of the Executive Law in New York State, a WBE is a business enterprise in which at least
Under Article 15-A of the Executive
fifty-one percent (51%) is owned, operated and
Law in New York State, an MBE is
controlled by citizens or permanent resident aliens
a business enterprise in which at
who are women.
least fifty-one percent (51%) is owned, operated and controlled by citizens or permanent resident aliens who are meeting the ethnic definitions listed below: Black: Persons having origins from any of the Black African racial groups. Hispanic: Persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, Central or South American descent of either Native American or Latin American origin, regardless of race. Asian-Pacific: Persons having origins from the Far East, Southeast Asia or the Pacific Islands.
MWBE
DID YOU KNOW? You may own a company with a partner or
To quality as a WBE, a woman must
Asian-Indian Subcontinent:
partners. Perhaps it's your spouse or your
own at least 51% of the business.
Persons having origins from the
friend. How is MWBE eligibility determined
To qualify as an MBE, a person meeting
Indian subcontinent.
in that case? When you formed your
the NYS ethnic definitions must own at
Native American or Alaskan
company you should have determined
least 51% of the business.
Native: Persons having origins in
what percent each person owned of the
If you are a woman and you meet the
any of the original peoples of
company.
ethnic definitions, your business
North America.
qualifies as an MWBE, both a Minority and a Woman-owned Business
Source: https://esd.ny.gov/doingbusiness-ny/mwbe/mwbecertification-eligibility-requirements Certify CNY
Enterprise.
