ISSN 2334-1106
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ISM was created to give exposure to small business owners and entrepreneurs. Built into the pages of ISM is information on a variety of products and services to help your business grow. Tips and information to make business easier. Every issue we hope to highlight Innovative Entrepreneurs, like the ones you will find in this issue. If you are such an entrepreneurs, we’d love to hear from you and tell the world about you. We are an online magazine with Print on Demand via the website. This is your magazine and we hope that via social media you will participate in the features of the magazine so that you can gain the much needed exposure we small businesses need. There is also bonus distribution as the magazine is also distributed at events and a various banks throughout Sussex and Kent County, DE. We are a national magazine that is growing and looking for your help. Feel free to submit articles, blogs, etc., to be included on the website and/or the POD issue. For information and/or to advertise in ISM, please email us at info@innovativesuccessmagazine.com or visit us at: www.innovativesuccessmagazine.com Much success LH
As I spend a lot of time thinking about progressing from here (where I am now) to there (where I want to be), I come face to face often with analysis paralysis. Over the years I've counseled many entrepreneurs, would be small business owners and while they haven't identified it, they share my "dis-ease" regarding the perfection of products and services. Unfortunately this causes delays in service, unfinished projects and an all around hindrance to our own progress. With this letter, I hope in the upcoming year to hold myself accountable and allow you to as well. :) There's no such thing as perfection, there's is only the way I do it and the way you do it. Everything will always evolve and let fine wine.... get better with time. So, as you move forward with your business idea, plan, etc., be aware of the dream killing "dis-ease" of analysis paralysis and our prescription for you - take five steps forward. If you do that there will be no need to call us in the morning. You will have moved through the paralysis!
Jazelle Taylor, CEO of BWU is a multi-preneur who is not just on the go, she’s UNLEASHED and she sharing and freeing other African American woman as well. With her new blog-talk radio show couples with the latest and hottest topics online, BWU will motivate, inspire and entertain you. ISM has followed Amillion “The Poet” Mayfield since early 2014 and this young man is definitely 1 in Amillion! His love for community and his passion for not only his success but that of his princess, Aaliyah has captured our hearts. Long after this issue has past, we are sure to continue to not only follow but feature Amillion as he is the epitome of Innovative Success!
6 La’Reka Marshall has impressed us since we first met a few years ago. The drive, passion and wisdom wrapped up in this young woman rivals that of those far beyond her years. Also a multi-preneur, her heart for helping those less fortunate stems from tragic experiences in her own life. When you hear “they can’t keep a good woman down”, they were talking about young Ms. La’Reka Marshall. A must read!
The State of Black Salons: Poor customer service? 9 Things Successful People Won’t Do Small Businesses Work for a Living
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Co-Op Lifts People Out of Poverty
12 Making a Strong First Impression 16 Crowd Funding 19
Innovative Entrepreneurs Create Opportunities
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How America's Largest Worker Owned Co-Op
Cooperative Home Care Associates has 2,300 workers who enjoy good wages, regular hours, and family health insurance. With an investment of $1.2 million into the cooperative sector, New York City is hoping to build on the group's success. Before Zaida Ramos joined Cooperative Home Care Associates, she was raising her daughter on public assistance, shuttling between dead-end office jobs, and not making ends meet. “I earned in a week what my family spent in a day,” she recalled. After 17 years as a home health aide at Cooperative Home Care Associates (CHCA), the largest worker-owned co-op in the United States, Ramos recently celebrated her daughter’s college graduation. She’s paying half of her son’s tuition at a Catholic school, and she’s a worker-owner in a business where she enjoys flexible hours, steady earnings, health and dental insurance, plus an annual share in the profits. She’s not rich, she says, “but I’m financially independent. I belong to a union, and I have a chance to make a difference.” Can worker-owned businesses lift families out of poverty? “They did mine,” Ramos said. Should other low-income New Yorkers get involved in co-ops? She says, “Go for it.” New York City is going—in a big way—for worker-owned cooperatives. Inspired by the model of CHCA and prodded by a new network of co-op members and enthusiasts, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Council allocated $1.2 million to support worker cooperatives in 2015’s budget. According to the Democracy at Work Institute, New York’s investment in co-ops is the largest by any U.S. city government to date. Cooperatives are businesses owned and controlled by their members on the basis of one member, one vote. Given enough time, worker-owned cooperatives tend to increase wages and improve working conditions, and advocates say a local co-op generally stays where it’s founded and acts as a leadership-building force. “There is no greater medicine for apathy and feelings of living on the edges of society than to see your own work and your voice make a difference,” says a report on co-ops by the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies in New York.
Selling the council on co-ops This January, as a new mayor (who ran on combating inequality) and a progressive majority of the City Council were taking office, the Federation’s report inspired Councilmember Maria Del Carmen Arroyo to think about co‑ops. “A bulb went off,” she said. Arroyo, incoming chair of the Community Development Committee, represents a South Bronx district that’s still one of the poorest in the nation, even after years of “development.” National retailers, attracted by tax breaks, typically pay low wages and squeeze out local businesses. Partly in response, the Bronx is also home to
an array of co‑ops, from the large CHCA to the small Green Worker Cooperatives, which incubates local green businesses. New York’s investment in co-ops is the largest by any U.S. city government to date. When Arroyo convened a first-of-its-kind hearing on co-ops this February, New Yorkers packed not one but two hearing rooms at City Hall. Among the co-op members who testified was Yadira Fragoso, whose wages rose to $25 an hour—up from $6.25—after becoming a worker-owner at Si Se Puede, a cleaning co-op incubated by the Brooklyn-based Center for Family Life. Translation at the hearing was provided by Caracol, an interpreters’ cooperative mentored by Green Worker Cooperatives. By spreading risk and pooling resources, co-ops offer people with little individual wealth a way to start their own businesses and build assets. That said, if starting and sustaining a successful cooperative business were easy, there would probably be more of them. As of January 2014, just 23 worker-owned co-ops existed in New York, of which only CHCA employed more than 70 people. Nationwide, according to data from the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, roughly 300 worker-owned cooperatives average 11 workers each. Lack of public awareness and funding, as well as a weak support system, holds co-ops back, researchers say, and cumbersome city paperwork doesn’t help.
A working model CHCA is over 90 percent owned by women of color and yet (because of the co-op’s many owners) it hasn’t qualified as a minority- and women-owned business, Arroyo told the hearing. (Such businesses enjoy privileges in bidding for contracts.) “There’s no earthly reason we can’t change that,” Arroyo said. If they are to change anyone’s life for the better, though, co-ops have to be successful businesses, and that’s hard, says Michael Elsas, CEO of CHCA. The co-op was founded in 1985 on the premise that if workers owned their own company they could maximize their wages and benefits, and if workers were better trained and better treated, they’d offer better care to their clients. Creating the worker co-op was the first step. But to truly change life for their workers in a race-to-the-bottom industry such as health care, the founders knew they’d have to change the industry.
To that end, CHCA worked on several connected tracks. To raise industry standards, not just for CHCA workers but across the field, CHCA started the worker-run Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI) that trains agencies across the country while also fighting for policy shifts. (PHI was instrumental in the campaign that recently expanded the Fair Labor Standards Act.) To better address the needs of home care clients, in 2000 they created Independence Care System (ICS), a multibillion-dollar managed -care company, which contracts with the city to work with chronically sick and disabled adults. With ICS, CHCA filled an unmet need while also creating its own primary customer to fuel the coop’s growth. ICS is responsible for 60 percent of CHCA’s business, and the co-op has grown from 500 workers in the late 1990s to 2,300 today. Workers become “owners” with a buy-in of $1,000, paid over time. Of today’s 2,300, some 1,100 are worker-owners, Elsas says. The company had $64 million in revenues in 2013. They’ve raised wages, but more important to workers like Ramos are the regular hours, the family health insurance, and membership in the Service Employees International Union Local 1199. In short, respect. CHCA occupies two floors of a new office building on Fordham Road. Peer-mentors answer caregivers’ calls at desks, with plenty of cushioned sitting-room space for talking. In the PHI training lab, there are no model plastic dummies. Workers in training learn what it’s like to be both caretaker and patient. Wages for CHCA’s health care workers stand at $16 an hour including benefits, Elsas says. It’s not affluence, but it’s still almost twice market rate. Workers enjoy guaranteed hours—an average of 36 a week, compared to an industry norm of 25 to 30. They’re paid for business meetings, and in a state where the CEO-to-minimum-wageworker pay ratio stands at 405: 1, the ratio at CHCA hit its highest (11:1) in 2006. Turnover stands at 15 percent, compared with an industry standard close to four times that. “If I didn’t like it here, I wouldn’t have stayed all these years,” Ramos says.
ment that would not only reduce poverty but also promote upward mobility. Helen Rosenthal was changed by a small co-op: Her mother started one of the first nursery co-ops in Detroit, and she saw how lives improved. Now she chairs the New York City Council’s powerful Committee on Contracts, where she’s helping push the co-op legislation. “With co-ops, democracy is built into the legal DNA,” she said. Administered by the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), the city’s new funds will go to 10 nonprofits (among them, Green Worker Cooperatives and the Center for Family Life). The groups must create “234 jobs in worker cooperative businesses, reach 920 cooperative entrepreneurs, provide for the start up of 28 new worker cooperative small businesses, and [assist] another 20 existing co-ops.” With so few co-ops in existence, creating more is better, says Hilary Abell, author of a new study from the Democracy Collaborative titled “Pathways to Scale.” More is better. Coops thrive in a mutually supportive ecosystem. “But the biggest need right now is certainly for larger businesses, capable of hiring 100 workers and up,” she says, adding that start-ups may not be the best path to scale: “There are 200,000 small businesses in the U.S. today, employing half of all America’s workers. Most have no succession plan.” Might some be ripe, she asks, for takeover by their workers? After 92 years of the Federation’s fight against poverty, its leaders are clear: “Making sure that a safety net exists is not enough to help New Yorkers have satisfying lives. We needed a new approach to workforce development that would not only reduce poverty but also promote upward mobility, and that’s where co-ops can be an anchor,” says Wayne Ho, FPWA’s chief program and policy officer. Funding for supportive nonprofits is not the only thing co-ops need from cities. In Spain, Northern Italy, Quebec, and France, robust worker co-ops benefit from laws that help co-ops access capital and public contracts. In New York, even as public dollars flow to big businesses as incentives, public spending is on the chopping block. The first city-sponsored trainings with a new, cooperative-inclusive curriculum started this summer, but passing co-op-friendly laws is going to take political power—of the sort that elected today’s progressive city leadership.
Asked about New York’s new co-ops, CHCA’s Elsas hesitates. He’s all for making it easier for co-ops to get contracts, but he’s conThis $1.2 million won’t end poverty, but it’s a step in the right direction, says Christopher Michael of the New York City Network of cerned about scale. Worker Cooperatives. “We have all the raw ingredients of a successful policy initiative: engaged groups, a bit of a track record and sup“I’m just not sure that setting up 26 new small co-ops will help port in the city council… change policy or practice,” he says. We needed a new approach to workforce develop-
“This is just a start.”
Laura Flanders wrote this article for The End of Poverty, the Fall 2014 issue of YES! Magazine. Laura is YES! Magazine’s 2013 Local Economies Reporting Fellow and is executive producer, founder, and host of “GRITtv with Laura Flanders.” Follow her on Twitter @GRITlaura.
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What can one say that hasn't already been said about this amazing young man. We met Amillion through a friend and colleague and have been following his success for over a year. While we love his dedication to his brand and his music and poetry, ISM is most impressed with his humility and his heart. His poetry is profound but he is even deeper, his music moves you but he inspires. The events hosted by Amillion give insight into the heart of this Innovative Entrepreneur. His “Father/Daughter Bowling” or “Mother/Son Skate” show not only what is foremost in his heart, family, but it also shows his commitment to bettering the lives of those around him. The Walk the Talk community event held last year rallied the young, old, laymen, politicians and clergy to take a stand and join together for a better environment. The sup-
port this “1 NAmillion” activist received was encouraging. Speaking of Walk the Talk, Amillion practices what he preaches to young one participating in his workshops. Just as he encourages them to know that anything they desire is possible, he mentors his daughter Aaliyah Mayfield, whom has been hailed as one of the “Youngest Selling Authors”. Giving as much attention to her future as his own, her website shows the love of Daddy’s Princess and how she is following closely in his amazing footsteps. Check out her site at www.adaughterandadream.com. One of ISMs favorite saying is “It starts with one” and we know that in the small world of Innovative Entrepreneurs, we’ve found 1NAmillion! Written by: Lillian Harrison
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Meet the New Executive Director for the Delaware Parents Association. Congratulations!!! 11
by: Charen Smith Everyday you meet someone new, which later on can be your new boss or perhaps your new customer. Upon that first meeting, the person makes snap judgments about you: Are you someone trustworthy? Do you look like someone professional and credible? These judgments are often made at lightning speed, mostly in just a span of seven seconds.
convince your prospects to keep your card.
So, if you are attending meetings, conferences, and other business events, what�s the best way to make a good first impression? A good marketing material you can invest in is presentation folder printing. Presentation folders when designed well will give you a competitive edge against other business. They will allow you to give your customers and prospects something they can take home with them. If your folder is able to make an immediate impact to your prospects, the more they are likely to keep it, which will help them remember you. If elegantly designed, the folder will serve as a subtle marketing tool that will impress your customers and prospects.
- Full color printing is always a great way to brighten up your folder. Attractive colors never fail to capture attention. It would be best if you can invest in vibrant impressive colors to make your folder visually appealing.
- It�s important to consider the size and shape of your folder. If you want to draw attention to your folder, it would be best to invest in a big folder. You can also go for a unique shape that will add to the visual impact of your folder. Customizing the shape and size will surely stir the curiosity of your customers and prospects. Of course, In business, first impression is important. Although you can�t stop this will cost you more than using a standard size and shape, but your people from making snap judgments about you, you can always influ- investment would surely be worth it. ence those judgments to work in your favor. You can tell them to make positive impression of you and encourage them to trust you. If - Use a different material. For instance, instead of using standard payou can do this effectively, you will be able to develop long lasting per, you can always opt for a recycled or texture paper. You can also relationships with them. It will even result in a sale and repeat puropt for embossing or engraving to give a different texture to your chases if you are able to hold that impression. folder.
Doing something unique with your presentation folder templates will surely help make them creative and attractive. Remember that a visually appealing folder can make the difference between a sale and bankruptcy, so make sure that you folder gives you the best first impression you can ever have.
If you want to look professional and polished in front of people, it�s time you get your own presentation folder. Here are a few ideas to help you create the perfect folder to serve as your representation. - Always include your business cards. Despite what other businesses claim that smartphones and social media are the best way to exchange contact details these days, you should still never go out of your home or office without your business cards. Be sure to include them in your folder so people will have an easy way to getting your contact details. When they open your folder, the first thing they should see is your card. If designed effectively, it would be so much easier for you to 12
Article Source: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/ article_16063.shtml
One of the emerging concepts when it comes to having an office today is the virtual office. Basically, a virtual office is a very practical way to reduce costs. Instead of operating an �actual� office complete with all the tangible facilities and maintenance, a virtual office offers the same convenience as an actual office but at a lesser cost. Virtual offices are very much like operating a physical office when it comes to the services made available to support you and your business. All these are made possible thanks to modern technology. Even from a distance, an office can perform all of the necessary functions at a much lower price. Here are some of the common services offered by this type of office. � Receptionist Receptionists are important in an office. They are the first ones to assist the guests as they first make contact and start communicating with the office. They are provided with the general information which will allow them to guide the guests in what they want to know. In a virtual office, there are remote receptionists. What makes this set-up possible is using a software system which connects the receptionist to other people in order to provide assistance. � Call centers The function of call centers is almost similar to that of a receptionist. They receive calls coming from clients. However, call centers are trained to handle a large volume of calls and to answer specific questions which are more technical or focused than those handled by the receptionist. There are also call centers which do telemarketing. This means they make outbound calls to reach out for possible clients and then spark their interest about the products or services you are selling. � Voicemail Some virtual offices offer low-cost options to their clients. Just one example is voicemail service. Instead of getting receptionists and call centers, they record voice messages of incoming calls and reply to them as directed. � Virtual Assistants One of the important services of a virtual office is the virtual assistant. An office cannot fully function unless a number of administrative tasks are accomplished first. Examples of these include appointment setting, billing and book keeping. Virtual assistants make the office work easier by taking charge of these details. These are just few of the useful services which are offered by virtual offices. Use of these services make the office operations a lot easier. Enjoy the convenience and the efficiency a virtual office can offer. Secure a virtual office for your business today! by: Bob Hamilton
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Power packed, petite and now, UNLEASHED! These are just a few words that may be used to describe our Innovative Entrepreneur, Jazelle Taylor. A single mother and definitely a multitalented entrepreneur, we first met Jazelle when she was Northern Delaware’s premier wedding planner. Although a mere 5’0 (we think we’re giving her a few inches), Jazelle is a noticeable presence when she enters a room. We reconnected with Jazelle at the onset of Black Woman Unleashed, which somehow seems to fit her very nature. As we follow her building of the BWU brand, JT, as she is affectionately called, is unstoppable and fearless. As with most entrepreneurs launching a brand, we’ve chatted well past midnight in pursuit of a dream. ISM was and is most impressed with JT’s transparency. As women we can be emotional creatures and Jazelle is no different. I know you’re looking for gossip here, there is none. I said that to say, that in the painstaking time and effort you take when building a brand, it’s not measured in nights of sleep lost because when it’s a passion it becomes a labor of love. We can tell, that BWU is that labor of love. The many segments and the website ever evolving is proof of the dedication of our tiniest (couldn’t help myself) entrepreneur. Don’t let the size fool you though, for in such a small frame is housed an articulate, precise and relentless entrepreneur. Since the launch of the online magazine, BWU, she has added radio, scholarship fund and a variety of entertaining features to the BWU website. Featuring love & sex, entertainment, fashion and more… BWU online magazine is an enjoyable read.
she’s got skills and she’s not afraid to use them! Written by: Lillian Harrison
With the skills and talents exhibited in this Innovative Entrepreneur, all we can say is “Watch Out World, 15
Kickstarter isn’t just for funding anymore. In recent years, creative entrepreneurs have found other crowdfunding benefits when using the platform. For instance, some have found it to be a great way to get their name out to the public before launching. Particularly for those entrepreneurs that are launching a new brand, Kickstarter can get that brand in front of a lot of people who may not have otherwise seen it. Though that isn’t its main purpose, the crowdfunding platform has certainly called a lot of attention to new and emerging brands in a relatively short amount of time. There could be some drawmight before
backs to this method, though. For instance, luxury or high-end brands shy away from crowdfunding in general because collecting small donations creating a new line of products doesn’t exactly scream luxury.
But businesses that have used the platform aren’t complaining. Pete Sunderland, co-creative director of Instrmnt, a Glasgow-based watchmaker which ran a successful Kickstarter campaign last year told [1] the Financial Times: “Initially, there was a feeling we might lose some prestige in comparison to other brands that hadn’t been crowdfunded, but my view has totally changed. We almost have more legitimacy because people invested in us so early.” The people who invest in these products are usually the ones interested in owning them. So brands that are raising money on platforms like Kickstarter are also increasing brand awareness and finding out if there’s really a market for their products. Also, the people browsing Kickstarter are usually looking to find projects that are in their early stages. And being one of the first investors in a new brand or product has an exclusive quality to it. So for brands looking to gain exposure and also potentially create an exclusive image for potential investors and beyond, crowdfunding could be the way to go. Article printed from Small Business Trends: http://smallbiztrends.com
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Ten Things You Need to Create Your Own Opportunities Keeping in mind the process above, here is a quick list of the things you'll need to create your own opportunities. The right mind-set: You can create opportunities if you take charge of your career. A spirit of adventure. Self-knowledge: Know your values, skills, strengths, weaknesses and passion. This is the time to shape something to fit you, rather than shape you to fit your work.
An idea and imagination.
Knowledge and skills: In your area of expertise, yes, but you will also need to acquire skills to help with self-promotion.
Ability to analyze opportunities and make sound decisions.
Initiative and drive.
Courage.
Resilience: Success is rarely immediate. Resolve not to abandon this take-action spirit.
Flexibility: When you take the initiative, good things happen, but sometimes they aren't what you intended. Be flexible to what life throws your way. You may be surprised.
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Big things come in small packages! We’ve all heard that saying time and time again. That is certainly true of this ISM Innovative Entrepreneur! La’Reka Marshall has much on her plate these days as she juggles her family, businesses and outreach! All of which, if you ask this young social entrepreneur are passions. Known for her delectable menu through 1,2,3 Easy Catering which happens to be the exclusive caterer for Soulful Gospel Events, La’Reka has turned what was most definitely a tragic life into a remarkable story of triumph. What one may miss if they were to see her, is the quick wit and ability to smile, the trusting manner with which she greets everyone and a wisdom far beyond her years. Her mastery of “the hustle” as we like to call it, ensures that not only is Ms. Marshall (yes, she’s single) is here to stay but also that she is certain to succeed in whatever she puts her hands to. If you’ve had the opportunity to hear Ms. Marshall’s interviews on the radio or catch her on TV or by chance had the opportunity to sit in on a speaking engagement and hear a little bit of her story, the homelessness, abuse she suffered early on, you would wonder, as we did, what has allowed her to remain so hum-
ble and loving. “I love people,” she says, “I want the best for them and will try to help in any way I can”. We wouldn’t have believed it was that simple for any one if we hadn’t seen it time and time again. We’ve participated in Soulful Gospel Events by providing information material and our publisher has even hosted and served at some events. There are opportunities to give back in every event Ms. Marshall does. During an event you can see as you watch her come alive and manage her kitchen as head chef, manage the floor and event hostess and work the room as servant to the people. It’s definitely a site that will humble you. Especially when you realize that the majority of the money comes out of the pocket of this single mother. Asking nothing in return except that people enjoy themselves, her actions gives one inclination to reflect on your own life. Tragedies have not slowed this Innovative Diva one bit but quite the opposite, it has spurred her into action. We’ve heard and often say that “what the devil meant for evil, God turned around for good”… It’s safe to say that He turned her circumstance around for not only her good but for the good of those around her. Stop by Soulful Gospel on Facebook and give a shout out to this awesome, young Innovative Entrepreneur and keep an eye out for the next Soulful event! Written by: Lillian Harrison
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