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"The
group structure of the WEP program creates an atmosphere
of accountability to one another. This was key for me,
since I might otherwise not have completed the work on
my business. The life skills program also helped in this
area. It encouraged me to deal with personal issues that
might have otherwise prevented me from going forward with
my business plans."
—Ivorine Brown |
Ivorine Brown, class of 1999
Ivorine Brown, founder and director of Live More Abundantly
Health Promotion Consultants (LMA) , brought to the program
extensive experience in clinical nursing and in-patient education.
As a registered nurse, Ivorine saw a need for similar training
services outside of a traditional hospital or nursing facility,
and so she created a company that offers seminars, workshops
and guest lectures on various health issues to nursing homes,
churches and community organizations. Additionally, Ivorine
conducts employee wellness programs for companies at their facilities.
Flor Cabello, class of 2001 (Latina)
Flor Cabello overcame many challenges to reach the point where
she could open the doors of her White Plains-based company,
Decoration & Upholstery.
A Peruvian native, she arrived in this country speaking no English.
Shortly after she and her husband moved to the New York area,
she learned of the WEDC program for Latinas through someone
at her church.
Flor learned what she needed to know about opening her own business
through WEDC's training, advice, and one-on-one coaching. She
also learned about how to go about finding capital to open her
business. By persistently pursuing all leads, Flor Cabello eventually
received a healthy $25,000 loan. Finally she had the money she
needed to open her store.
"Through the program, I met
a host of women who have already made it and who showed
me the ropes. My mentor greatly helped me prepare contracts,
and provided me with leads to governmental bodies to which
I can bid for contracts. WEP has been a terrific source
of support and direction."
—Charmaine Cole |
Charmaine Cole, class of 1999
As owner of The Lady Barber, Inc., Charmaine Cole offers
haircutting, facials, manicures and pedicures to women, men
and children. A New York State licensed cosmetologist with over
10 years of experience, Charmaine formed her own business in
1999 to serve a varied clientele and to have a flexible work
schedule. Charmaine has several clients, including a number
of Westchester residential treatment centers, at which she provides
haircutting services to the residents on a monthly basis.
"I
knew I needed to move to the next step in making my business
a reality, and only through this program was I able to
visualize my ideas and be more cohesive in my approach.
Through my experiences in the WEP program, I met incredible
women... We bonded and supported one another."
—Grace Flowers |
Grace Flowers, class of 1999
Grace Flowers, also the name of her business, has developed
a unique process to preserve flowers from weddings, anniversaries,
and birthdays. She also designs dried floral arrangements for
the home. Grace's hobby of preserving the floral bouquets her
husband gave her grew into a thriving business. After years
of adorning her home and those of family members, Grace decided
that she could do it for profit. Most of Grace's floral keepsake
business is done on a contract basis; selected items are sold
in a retail shop in Manhattan.
"Through the topics discussed
and the class structure in the program, I received the
practical business sense I needed, plus a terrific boost
in confidence. I was paired with an incredible mentor
who helped me direct my vision and made suggestions that
proved extremely useful and worthwhile."
—Paula Knuckles |
Paula Knuckles, class of 1999
Paula Knuckles' interest and experience as an educator and exercise
enthusiast led her to establish Christ Temple Trainers,
a Christian-owned and operated health and fitness business for
the mind, body and soul. She devised A Temple Workout, an exercise
program that combines stretching, kickboxing, jump rope, basketball
drills, relay races and weight-training with gospel music and
scripture readings, in order to promote physical and spiritual
growth. Paula currently instructs group classes at a local church,
and provides one-on-one training sessions by request.
Sherry McLeod, class of 1997
Sherry McLeod is a single mother of three school-aged children
who was receiving public assistance from the Westchester County
Department of Social Services when she began what was then called
the Women's Enterprise Project entrepreneurial training program
in the fall of 1997.
Ms. McLeod originally intended to start a restaurant, but through
the WEDC process, she realized that running a restaurant without
prior experience could be risky, and at that point she decided
that her business should be what she does best — cleaning.
In the training program, she learned how to plan for all aspects
of her business, including the marketing, managing and financing
of what has become McLeod Professional Cleaner Services.
Currently, Ms. McLeod is employed in a customer relations department
at a car dealership in Westchester. She works at her business
in the evenings and on the weekends, and presently serves five
clients. She has, on occasion, enlisted the help of family and
friends to meet the growing demand for her cleaning services.
She continues to look for new customers, as her goal is to be
able to work full-time at her own business. Ms. McLeod's plan
is to bid successfully on a contract with a governmental or
commercial entity to take her business to the next level.
"The networking I experienced
through this program, especially in times of crisis, has
been extremely instrumental in our progress. Quite often,
another businesswoman was able to either solve our dilemma
herself, or knew of someone else who could."
—Anita Perry |
Anita Perry, class of 1999
Anita Perry founded America Sings - Again!, a non-profit
corporation that creates and implements intergenerational musical
projects for nursing homes, hospitals, and other community organizations.
She started this business in honor of her father who suffered
from Alzheimer's disease. Anita believes that the addition of
music into people's lives makes a dramatic difference in their
health and well-being, and strives to bring people back to days
of past generations, when family gatherings focused on music.
Anita has found that the young who give of themselves by volunteering
at senior centers and at nursing homes learn the interpersonal
skills needed to be able to effectively communicate with older
people. In this way, young and old alike develop relationships
that carry over to mutual respect for one another's generation.
Shawna Robinson, class of 2000
Ms. Robinson is a single mother of four young children ages
5 to 13. A former recipient of public assistance, she entered
the WEDC entrepreneurial training program to learn the skills
needed to grow her business and to become self-sufficient.
The genesis of her business came from a cost-saving system she
used in her own home:
Ms. Robinson decorated her home by restoring and refinishing
used furniture that was being discarded. The many compliments
she received encouraged her to capitalize on this newly discovered
talent by launching Blair's Hidden Treasures.
While Ms. Robinson learned the basics of owning and operating
a small business in the classroom training, she especially benefited
from the life skills seminars. These empowering and motivational
seminars provided her with the confidence she needed to pursue
her business goals. An indication of her increased self-confidence
is that she went from being afraid to speak in the class to
giving a major presentation in front of 75 people at the graduation
ceremony.
Lisa Clarke, Spring 2004
Lisa Clarke has always dreamed of opening a soul food restaurant.
She has favorite recipes handed down from parents, grandparents
and friends that she has been using in her home based catering
business for several years. Lisa has always worked additional
jobs during the day and catered soul food on weekends. Lisa
Clarke's children and now their children have worked in the
home catering business along side her. Lisa's plan is to open
her own restaurant in the end of 2005 or early 2006.
Lisa has worked as a home health aide while going to computer
school and taking entrepreneurial training classes at night.
Three months ago Lisa graduated from computer school. Two months
ago she graduated from WEDC's 15 week entrepreneurial training
program.
Lisa knew about the entrepreneurial training classes offered
by WEDC because her friend Shawna Holmes had taken the class
several years earlier. This spring the timing was finally right
for Lisa to enroll in the class and begin the steps to opening
her restaurant.
For Lisa, the most useful parts of the entrepreneurial training
program were the networking opportunities, the web-based research
techniques and the information on accessing capital. Lisa said
that the class gave her the confidence she needs to follow her
dream.
Over the next year, Lisa plans to continue to do research in
preparation for opening her restaurant. She's become an avid
reader of small business "how-to" books. Lisa would
be very interested in finding a mentor in the restaurant business
to guide her through the process. In her class and through her
research, Lisa has learned a lot about accessing capital. She
says that when she gets closer to actually opening her restaurant,
she will want to attend an "Accessing Capital" seminar.
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