Author: kevin

The Northwestern Mutual program provides each startup with $100,000 and access to training and resources

Northwestern Mutual, in partnership with gener8tor, today announced the addition of five tech startups to its Black Founder Accelerator program – an initiative the company launched this past year to provide targeted resources and financing to promising Black entrepreneurs nationwide.

“This next class of five startups builds upon the success of the 10 founders we were proud to team up with in 2021. This group was selected based on their unique business models and drive to build tech solutions that help people live longer, better, and healthier lives across multiple areas of focus, including financial services, insurance, and digital health,” said Craig Schedler, managing director of Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures.

“With such positive momentum coming from last year’s cohorts, including 115 investor introductions and more than 100 full-time employees supported by the 10 startups, I’m both excited to see how this group of founders will make a positive impact in their communities and honored to be a part of a company that continues to meaningfully support Black entrepreneurship.”

Black founders receive less than 1% of venture capital. As an extension of Northwestern Mutual’s Sustained Action for Racial Equity (SARE) Task Force, the initiative is designed to help address this racial wealth gap. The Black Founder Accelerator program provides those selected with a $100,000 investment, a 12-week business training program, access to venture capital partners and Northwestern Mutual mentors and more. Past recipients have included Black founders from cities nationwide, including Milwaukee, Wis. 

“Northwestern Mutual continues to drive our commitment toward diversity, equity and inclusion, with a focus on the Black and African American community,” said Abim Kolawole, vice president – financial planning excellence and strategy at Northwestern Mutual. “Through targeting the funding gap for Black entrepreneurs, our Black Founder Accelerator is designed to reinforce an ecosystem that provides an even greater ripple effect on the next generation and beyond.”

The cohort includes startups in Atlanta, Ga., Boulder, Colo., Lexington, Tenn., and Philadelphia, Pa., spanning Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures’ key strategic areas of focus including fintech, insurtech, digital health and data analytics. This class of startups marks the first of two the company will recognize and support this year.

“We are both honored and eager to welcome this year’s Black Founder Accelerator startups into our portfolio,” said Precious Drew, senior managing director of the Northwestern Mutual Black Founder Accelerator, powered by gener8tor. “This partnership with Northwestern Mutual directly supports Black founders nationally by providing important resources, mentorship and funding these innovative entrepreneurs might otherwise not have had access to. We look forward to seeing how they continue to develop their unique solutions.”

The five startups listed below were selected to participate in and receive investments from the Northwestern Mutual Black Founder Accelerator, powered by gener8tor:

Sherisse Hawkins: Founder and CEO | [email protected]
Pagedip (Boulder, Colo.) creates a no-code authoring tool that makes it easy for teams to create and share smart documents. Pagedip’s granular “in-document analytics” can be viewed in real-time, providing key insights about reader interest down to the word or widget.

Bryan Hobbs: Founder and CEO | [email protected]
Pruuvn^™(Atlanta, Ga.), a credentialing and data trust company, leverages blockchain technology to develop tools to empower the gig economy. Targeting companies that use contractors, Pruuvn’s frictionless SaaS platform simplifies contractor verification, onboarding and compliance from multiple steps to one-click, significantly reducing time to hire and costs.

Cody Eddings: Founder and CEO | [email protected]
SnapRefund (Philadelphia, Pa.) allows businesses to send payments instantly and securely through a variety of digital payment rails. SnapRefund partners with insurance carriers, MGAs and TPAs to provide them and their policyholders with a simple, mobile-friendly dashboard where claim payments can be sent and received.

Tiffanie Stanard: Founder and CEO | [email protected]
Stimulus (Philadelphia, Pa.) makes the purchasing process more transparent and helps various stakeholders collaborate to achieve their corporate goals, such as improving diverse purchasing. Stimulus Score evaluates suppliers to provide an objective view of performance, which provides a 360 view for buyers to engage better with current or future vendors.

Victor Brown: Founder and CEO | [email protected]
Xcellent Life (Lexington, Tenn.) provides a comprehensive digital health platform that evaluates more factors utilizing a three-dimensional approach involving advanced methodologies for predictive analytics and artificial intelligence. As a result, this can provide more personalized health insights and identify potential issues more accurately and faster.

About gener8tor

gener8tor is a venture capital fund and startup accelerator. Ranked one of the top-15 accelerators in the United States, gener8tor operates programs for startups, musicians, artists, investors, and workers and prioritizes investing across race, place, and gender. Fast Company named gener8tor one of the 10 Most Innovative Companies in 2020 and one of the Best Workplaces for Innovators in 2021.

Northwestern Mutual Black Founder Accelerator

The NMBFA is a joint collaboration between Northwestern Mutual and gener8tor to advance Black tech startups based in the United States focused on fintech, insurtech, digital health and data analytics. gener8tor is the administrator of the twelve-week accelerator that runs two cohorts of five Black-led tech startups a year.

Innovative new program pairs first-of-their-kind BOLD Incubator^SM events with the power of Wyndham to address development challenges unique to the Black community 

Stonecrest Resorts CEO Vaughn Irons joins as BOLD’s inaugural member, unveils plans for a new 110-room TRYP® by Wyndham hotel in Atlanta’s Stonecrest suburb

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel franchising company with more than 8,900 hotels in 95+ countries, announced today BOLD by Wyndham, a new program designed to engage and advance more Black entrepreneurs on their path to hotel ownership. Developed with insight and support from existing and aspiring Black hoteliers, BOLD, which stands for Black Owners and Lodging Developers, aims to expand awareness for the unique challenges faced by Black entrepreneurs while using the scale and resources of Wyndham to help address those challenges and increase the number of Black hoteliers.

“Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has always championed diversity, equity and inclusion both within our Company and throughout the greater travel industry,” said Geoff Ballotti, President and CEO, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. “Earlier this year we launched Women Own the Room—the industry’s first-ever program targeting women’s advancement in hotel ownership— and now have more than a dozen by-Wyndham hotels under development with women owners. With today’s debut of BOLD by Wyndham, we’re looking to further leverage the power of Wyndham and create even more development opportunities for underrepresented ownership groups.”

The National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers (NABHOOD) reports that Black employment in the hotel industry represents nearly 20% of all team members in the industry, yet, less than 2% of hotel owners are Black. Meanwhile, McKinsey reports 20% of Black Americans are starting or currently running businesses – more than any other ethnic group. BOLD is Wyndham’s approach to attract more Black entrepreneurs to hospitality as well as help accelerate those already familiar with the significant opportunities hotel ownership provides, offering the tools and guidance needed to achieve success.

“Combine the natural challenges of entrepreneurship with the lasting effects of systemic racism, and the result is that Black entrepreneurs are woefully underrepresented in hotel ownership,” said Galen Barrett, vice president, Strategic Development for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. “It’s why we connected directly with existing and aspiring Black hoteliers to help us create BOLD by Wyndham. Understanding their unique needs—and how they differ from other underrepresented groups—was critical for building a program that can help overcome barriers and put the keys to hotel ownership in their hands.”

Engaging and Empowering Black Hotel Ownership
BOLD is founded on two key building blocks: attracting more Black entrepreneurs to hospitality by promoting hotel ownership as a vehicle for potential wealth creation and accelerating the path to hotel ownership.

Laying the Foundation – Opening the doors to hospitality through education and outreach is essential to advancing Black hotel ownership. Through BOLD, Black entrepreneurs can participate in Wyndham-sponsored networking and educational events and receive resources designed to help explore if hotel ownership is right for them and what it takes to be a successful hotelier. During each event, participants will have the chance to learn more about ownership, common barriers and how to overcome them, tips for securing financing and more.

Accelerating the Path to Ownership – For Black entrepreneurs who already know that hotel ownership is the right choice for them, BOLD exists to eliminate barriers and help expedite the route to ownership. Wyndham will provide qualified members with access to enhanced capital and operational support; financing opportunities, including lender introductions; and discounts with preferred suppliers. Qualified members will also be invited to participate in signature BOLD Incubator^SM events, connecting them with committed lenders and brokers and offering the opportunity to explore partner/joint venture opportunities and package development deals that come with additional capital support.

Vaughn Irons’ BOLD Vision for Priví Stonecrest
Vaughn Irons, Principal, Stonecrest Resorts, is the inaugural member of BOLD by Wyndham having recently been awarded a new construction 110-room TRYP by Wyndham franchise in the Atlanta suburb of Stonecrest, Ga. The hotel will be a welcome enhancement to Stonecrest Resorts’ current $17 million adaptive reuse project, Priví, which is transforming The Mall at Stonecrest into a family entertainment and lifestyle destination.

Stonecrest Resorts has already successfully developed the 25,000 sq. ft. SeaQuest Aquarium in the first phase of their Priví Stonecrest project, which opened November 2021. The 2^nd phase is already underway and will soon add a health & wellness complex, fine art gallery, bookstore, coffee shop, incubator for creatives and 5,000 sq. ft. events facility.

The new construction hotel is a cornerstone of the project’s next phase, which will introduce new lifestyle elements, including a 50,000 sq. ft. chef driven food hall, history museum, fashion designer emporium and expanded family entertainment. These elements will increase the total investment of the Privi project to $35 million with the hotel expected to break ground in early 2023.

“We’re not just creating a new one-of-a-kind gathering place for those in east metro Atlanta,” said first-time hotelier, Irons. “Priví is an economic development project solidifying Stonecrest as a tourism destination and drawing visitors from all around the Southeast and eventually internationally. Throughout each and every interaction Wyndham has been a true partner in listening to fully understand our tourism potential and delivering on our needs to offer a lifestyle brand experience in Stonecrest.”

Having the backing of Wyndham, means having the support and resources of the world’s largest hotel franchising company behind our community’s desire to be a safe-haven for Black excellence and wealth creation.”

To learn more about BOLD by Wyndham, including details around upcoming events, visit BoldbyWyndham.com. For additional details on franchising opportunities, visit www.wyndhamdevelopment.com. For more information about Priví please visit www.StonecrestResorts.com

The Indisputable Top 10 Love Songs by Black Male Singers Sung to a Woman

Love has been sung about in Soul Music in a myriad of ways: philosophically, poetically, sexually…in glorious full bloom, in grey rainy reflection…to win someone once, to win them again…to reconcile, to walk away. As Valentine’s Day 2020 approaches, this writer would like to train a laser light focus on ten songs that definitively and intimately express love, devotion and adoration from a Black male soul singer directly to The One he loves. Let’s meditate on that very specific musical aspect of Black Love Songs for a moment – five male solo singers, five male vocal groups – …and now we may begin.

“You Send Me” – Sam Cooke (Sam Cooke)

Expressing love doesn’t get anymore elementary than this wistful heart-on-sleeve chestnut. Simple, sincere and sure, it gets the love message across like a paper airplane love letter airmailed on a spring afternoon breeze.

“I’m Still in Love with You” – Al Green (Al Green, Al Jackson, Willie Mitchell)

Though America’s last real president brought another Green classic back into the limelight (“Let’s Stay Together”), THIS is arguably Reverend Al’s most lovingly focused missive (covered with much grit from a female p.o.v. by Shirley Brown).

“Adore” – Prince (Prince Rogers Nelson)

Through the course of a six-and-a-half-minute masterpiece that is equal parts blue lights in the basement slow jam, EPIC mack, and a sermon as wordy as a rapper’s rhyme, ever-eager-to-please Prince had her heart back at the beginning when he simply said “Love’s too weak to define just what you mean to me.”

“I Want You” – Marvin Gaye (Leon Ware, Arthur “T-Boy” Ross)

Speaking of mackin’, Marvin could never resist waxing philosophical in the middle of a love beg (“We’re all sensitive people with so much to give”) but here, the great Leon Ware Cyrano’d him some next-level convince-her fare concerning half-a-love vs. what should be precious, cherished, pure and fair.

“So Amazing” – Luther Vandross (Luther Vandross)

Leave it to Luther to pen a song so easy that any groom might have written it on his wedding morning, yet sing and produce it in ways that are sunnily Heaven-sent.

“(Still Water) Love” – Four Tops (William “Smokey” Robinson)

Robinson has written about love from every angle, but he truly nailed the vibration of long-distance marathon love with this single stanza of Smokey Poetry cosmos-launched by Levi Stubbs and his Four Tops kin along with some soul sister assist.

“Forever Mine” – The O’Jays (Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff)

From the tender caress of Walter Williams’ butter to the ferocious wallop of Eddie Levert’s jam, this hearth oven-baked biscuit sets off a romance-dipped soul feast like no other with its Afro-Zen rendering of love’s yin and yang.

“Always and Forever” – Heatwave (Rod Temperton)

There’s a reason that DJ’s around the world still close sets sending lovers into the night with this dreamy declaration. Via an earnest tenor that swoops into a floating falsetto, Johnnie Wilder, Jr. conveys all that needs be said at that delicate moment to bring a misty watercolor sparkle to one lucky girl’s eyes.

“Imagination” – Earth Wind & Fire (Maurice White, Charles Stepney, Philip Bailey)

“The Fire” is best known for songs of spiritual uplift but they also have love gems sprinkled among their mystic texts…none more bedazzling than this heartstopper featuring the dynamic orchestration of Charles Stepney and the most impassioned, career-best vocal performance ever of Philip Bailey.

“All This Love” – DeBarge (Eldra Debarge)

In a simpler time before his life got so dark and complicated, a young El Debarge sat down at a piano and poured his purest heart into a little song that has become as much an anthem of love as it is the valentine he composed it to be.

I’ve been working from home now for many years, and I have learned the hard way how to be the most efficient, save the most money, and get the most accomplished, and I’m going to share that with you so that you can save time and money and be more productive in your daily work.

Some of these things may work for you when working from home, and some may not but read all of them to see where you’re weak and strong.

Have a schedule

Map out a schedule you adhere to each week of what you plan to accomplish when working from home. For example, your sales day might be Thursday, your check-your-bills day might be Friday, and Monday and Tuesday may be catch-up days.

Decide which days are going to be used and for what. You may decide to take Monday and Friday off or do less work. Whatever the case, write down a schedule for yourself and stick to it. Things will pop up, and you may have to flip your plan but have a base to guide you.

Take Breaks

Take multiple breaks throughout your day every couple of hours. Working from home can affect your motivation. Get up and walk around or run an errand. Stretch out.

Sitting at your desk all day will cause fatigue and eventually weight gain if you don’t get up and get some exercise in or take a break. That may mean just making lunch for yourself, checking your mailbox, or walking around the block several times.

Plan on taking at least three breaks throughout your eight-hour to 10-hour day.

Learn to Multitask

As you read this, I’m walking 3 miles; I’m recording my voice-to-text through an app and writing the story by voice-to-text, which is much more efficient than writing it or typing it.

I’m multitasking. Exercising simultaneously, I can get my point across better and edit it when I sit down. That’s just one example of multitasking, and there are other ways you can multitask too.

For instance, I have Bloomberg TV on all day while I learn how the stock market works while I’m working from home. The more I watch, the easier it gets for me to understand the language and the terms, all while getting my other work done.

There may be something else you want to watch in the background while you work, but learn to multitask throughout your day to get a lot more accomplished.

Respect your work hours when working from home

Respecting your workday means no personal calls during the day. Just like you were at a job. Personal calls tend to pull you away from your focus, and you will find that you waste time.

Often, entrepreneurs are friends with other entrepreneurs, and when we are on a break during the day, or we go to a doctor’s appointment or in traffic, our entrepreneur friends will pick up the phone and call us. You don’t have time for this during the workday. So avoid the tendency to pick the phone up, or you will throw yourself off track when working from home.

It would be best if you respected that you are at work and being productive, and you can talk to them after work hours when the workday shuts down. If it’s important, they’ll text you or leave a message.

Another bad habit was checking my mailbox once or twice a week. My mailbox is about 15 miles away from where I live. With gas prices the way they are, this wasted time and money.

Now, I check the mailbox once a month. Being efficient in the process saves me money and time.

Plan a monthly mini vacation

Fortunately, where I live in LA, is an environment with many mini-vacation spots around me, such as Palm Springs, San Diego, and more. Most of which are only a couple of hours away by car, and even with gas prices, a mini-vacation dramatically improves your mental state and peace of mind from working from home.

Save money, for example, by using your points for a hotel to stay in for a few days. You will be refreshed, reinvigorated, and ready for the next work week. I would strongly suggest mapping this out at least once a month if there is something close by. We all could become overwhelmed with our tasks, and we need to be able to break away at times.

Treat Yourself

Pat yourself on the back and treat yourself to a nice lunch or dinner once a week to give yourself a nice break from working from home, whether by yourself or your partner, wife, or husband. Or even friends, we all need that pat on the back for what we’ve achieved, and this is a great way to do it and kill several birds with one stone (multitasking again).

If you want to save money, make sure you don’t go to a super expensive restaurant, especially when it involves other people. I have friends who insist on eating at expensive restaurants, and I don’t believe in doing that too often.

I used to feel sorry for people when I saw them eating alone, but now I admire them. Especially when they are at peace. Sitting at a restaurant for an hour and being served is a fantastic thing as a pat on the back.

Keep healthy foods in the house.
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As the old saying goes, never go shopping when you’re hungry; you’ll always pick the worst things. Keep healthy food in the house for snacks you can eat throughout the day. Of course, anything with sugar or a lot of carbs will tire you.

Know that this will take away your productivity while working from home. So if you feel like you have to snack on something, ensure you have quality food in the house. It’s easy to get into the refrigerator or take a nap when you work from home, and you want to avoid that. Once again, you want to respect your work hours.

Working from home – Get 7 to 9 Hours of Sleep

Getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep is critical, especially the older you get. Being well-rested means your body has had a chance to recoup, all your cells are restructured and your energy is up to par.

You’re going to get a lot more accomplished working from home after you get a good night’s sleep. Sometimes it’s hard because you may have late nights and early mornings, especially if you’re a new entrepreneur, but once you start going to bed at 9 o’clock, your body gets used to it.

I prefer early mornings to get up because being on the West Coast, I get a lot more accomplished, and my day is pretty much over by 11 a.m., and then I have the remainder of the day to work on other projects.

Being efficient often means ensuring that you have other projects in your Wheelhouse, and you never know when you may have to depend on something else.

Working from home – Be on the Lookout for Trends

Always be on the lookout for new trends when working from home. Have someone younger around you who is aware of the trends. This will help prolong your relevance and sustainability.

Right now, I know TikTok is super hot. I’m not into TikTok, but I know younger people who are, so I hire somebody to establish our connection on the network. Whether or not it’s necessary for my business is something I need to test out since I work in a niche industry, but it cannot be ignored, and your clients will see if you’re involved. People love social media, and Facebook is not enough even though I accomplish a lot on Facebook.

Keep Younger people in your Wheelhouse.

It would be best if you found a way to keep younger people around you. Sometimes you will be disappointed because they don’t have your work ethic.

I’ve hired people to write and paid them and then discovered they were copying word-for-word from other sites, which drove me nuts because I told them not to do that, and I wasted money paying them. Sometimes in the thousands.

I would never get that money back, but it taught me another lesson. Make sure you do your due diligence, no matter how nice and sweet the people who work for you are. DOUBLE CHECK their work before you pay them … REGULARLY until you get into a good rhythm with them which could take a year or two.

Unfortunately, there is a significant lack of respect for black business by a lot of Black people. As painful as it is, they don’t GAF about you, so you better care about yourself. This is all still a part of being efficient and productive, and having to do the work again after wasting money is no joy.

All is not lost; nevertheless, being around younger people or mentoring more youthful people can be ideal for learning what’s coming and brewing. They will also be brutally honest about your brand and products.

Never be afraid to listen to somebody younger who may not have experience in doing what you do. They could have excellent information and accurately tell you what you’re doing wrong and how you can remain relevant.

Always be on the hunt for a new opportunity.
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Keeping young people around you lets you be aware and alert of the next opportunity you don’t want to miss.

Sylvia Robinson had had a career in the music industry for decades. When she noticed the new trend was on the rise in the black neighborhood. Hip-hop in the mid-70s, she jumped on it and recorded the first record by the Sugarhill Gang, “Rapper’s Delight.” She made history with the first recording and reinvented herself well into her 40s, and became the Godmother of Hip-Hop. She learned about the concept from her younger nephews and her sons and paid attention.

She saw the kids were going crazy for it and knew a new trend was brewing.

You can get much more accomplished by doing a lot less than you’re doing or a little more in the way of what works best for you. As I stated in the beginning, that will be a good indicator of what you need to do to accomplish much more in your day when working from home.

My best in business

Kevin Ross

Weeks after a successful national retail launch, Celebrity Drummer Ralph Rolle’s Soul Snacks cookies have rolled into the Kroger line of supermarkets.

Rolle, who provides the backbeat for hit makers such as Nile Rodgers& Chic, Sting, Queen Latifah and will tour with Cher this fall, founded The Soul Snacks Cookie Company over 25 years ago. Based on recipes inherited from his mother and grandmother (who emigrated from Florida to NYC decades ago), Ralph’s line of treats ranges from Georgia Oatmeal Raisin, Peanut Peanut Butter, Down Home Double Chocolate Chip, Ebony and Ivory Almond Cookie, Grampy’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie and most recently added, but now #1 seller, Sweet Potato Cookies.

Kroger joins big retailers such as Walmart and Walgreens that proudly carry Soul Snacks cookies.
For more information, go to www.soulsnacks.com

Click the following to see the electronic press kit – EPK

What are the benefits that you get with Amazon Prime? What is Amazon Prime?

Amazon Prime memberships can be very beneficial. Prime is an entertainment service that provides thousands of music streams, movies, TV shows, and digital programming along with rush delivery mail service on items for sale on the Amazon website. If you are currently subscribing to cable TV like Spectrum, in my opinion, you are probably wasting a ton of money. I got rid of cable TV, but I have an inexpensive internet subscription that allows me to watch thousands of movies and TV shows. Today let’s talk about the benefits that you get with Prime.

When is Amazon Prime Day?

In 2022 it’s July 12 and 13th.

What do you get with Amazon Prime?

One of the best benefits that you get with Prime is the 2-day and even next-day delivery of eligible items you can order off the site. Many apartment buildings are now equipped with drop-off setups, and now Amazon even offers SAME day delivery for some selected products and addresses. Get two-hour delivery on a wide selection of groceries, including meat, seafood, produce, snacks, and household essentials. (Check availability in your area).

Did You Know You Can Share Your Account for FREE?

You can also link your Prime account with one other adult to share shipping, streaming access to movies and TV shows, Prime Reading, and more for free.

Unlimited Movie, TV, and Streaming Music

You get thousands of free movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video and Prime Amazon shows (Originals). For an additional fraction of the Cable TV package cost fee, you can subscribe to several digital networks like Showtime, HBO, discovery+, Paramount+, EPIX, NBA League Pass, Starz, BET+, allblk, amc+, A&E, Cinemax, PBS Documentaries, MLB, IFC and more. You can watch on any device.

Binge Watch Your Favorite Shows

One of the things that I like most with Prime Videos is that you can binge-watch your favorite TV shows with limited commercial interruptions even when you subscribed to some of the other networks. This, of course, saves a lot of time, and you don’t have to live on the schedule you have regular cable TV

Prime Reading

Thousands of eBooks, popular magazines, audiobooks, and comics with Amazon Prime

Amazon for Music

Unlimited music streaming with over 75 million songs and millions of podcast episodes for $8.99 a month or 2 million songs and podcasts with the regular plan.

AmazonFresh Stores

If you search for quality “food near me” online, change your search to AmazonFresh near me. That’s right, look no further than AmazonFresh. You can either pick your food up or have your groceries delivered with Amazon Prime memberships.

Initially, I was not a big fan of Amazon Prime until they rolled out their grocery stores after a failed attempt to cash out on the expensive Whole Foods franchise they purchased before creating AmazonFresh grocery stores. AmazonPrime is an excellent grocery outlet.

With Amazon Prime, Whole Foods and AmazonFresh are somewhat synonymous, except for the prices. AmazonFresh has many of the same elements as Whole Foods, but it’s much better priced.

Amazon Coupons in Your Mail

Don’t throw out those coupons in your mailbox each week until you check out the AmazonFresh paper that usually has excellent coupons like a recent buy $40.00 and gets $20.00 back. That is unheard of.

AmazonFresh’s deli is also excellent quality good food that is not the usual burnt chicken you get at Ralphs. Many grocery stores hire HORRIBLE cooks in their hot bars, and a TON of food must go to waste daily. This is not the case with AmazonFresh. I’m suspicious of self-serve sections because people can be downright disgusting, but they also have an area where you have your plate, sandwich, or Pizza made without just anyone touching it.

Prime vs. Spectrum and other Cable Providers

Not only can you see a great movie or TV show on Prime, but you can also get subscriptions to digital channels like STARZ. While Amazon prime movies are not free, a prime subscription is still pretty reasonable at about $15.00 a month, or you can get a discount if you subscribe yearly.

You can see many historic blaxploitation films or current digital TV shows or subscribe for a fraction of the cost to HBO, Showtime, or Starz without having a million other channels from Spectrum or other cable providers you don’t watch. You certainly have to have an essential internet subscription to be able to watch digital media, but today, I know very few people who have cable TV. There are so many options with services like Prime.

Overall, Prime is a Great Service

 Overall I can honestly say Amazon prime is a great service all-around. I switched from a monthly to a yearly subscription, and now that the Amazon fresh stores are included, it’s a really good deal all the way around these days do you want to save as much money as possible and digital cable with the major cable companies it’s just not worth it.

In my opinion, especially when you get offered so much and you can pick the channels you wanna watch and pay a fraction of the cost per subscription with so many different networks. Hopefully, you learn something new today, and you can use it to your benefit. I strongly suggest you try Amazon Prime if you don’t have it already, or go here to look at more benefits that we may not have mentioned. Enjoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4yRBIvVzXA

Morgan State U African-American, Science Complex – Maryland Board of Public Works Approves Agreement with Moody Nolan to Begin Design Services

Following contract approval by the Maryland Board of Public Works during the board’s first meeting of the new fiscal year, Morgan State University (MSU) today announced its official selection of the nation’s largest African-American-owned architecture firm — Moody Nolan, Inc. — to lead the creative vision for a new, innovative, state-of-the-art science complex. The agreement, valued at approximately $20.1 million, allows the firm to provide complete professional design services for all design phases of the project. The design of the new facility is expected to be completed in spring 2024, with an anticipated opening in fall 2027.

“Make no mistake about it, there is a monumental transformation taking place on and near the campus of Morgan State University. The growth that we’re experiencing has come to be known as Morgan Momentum, and to sustain that growth we’ll need modern facilities that are equipped to address the work of the future and the future of work,” said University President David K. Wilson.

To bring to life the vision for a high-tech science facility capable of housing some of our top research projects and STEM instruction, we sought to partner with an equally innovative design firm with experience in the HBCU space and a national reputation for creative architecture. And we believe we have that in the selection of Moody Nolan.”

Over the past 40 years, Moody Nolan has been a leader in facility design and the development of Historically Black College and University (HBCU) campuses across the country, working on projects at 30 HBCUs.

Among the firm’s most recent work is service as the interior architect for Morgan’s new Thurgood Marshall Hall, which is slated to open this August. As a part of its process, the firm’s design professionals take time to get to know and understand each HBCU’s mission and rich history, incorporating those key learnings into the design of a leading-edge facility for the future.

“For our firm, this represents a unique design opportunity. The designated location of the new science complex will serve as a gateway to the campus and a beacon to the surrounding Baltimore community,” said Curt Moody, chairman of the board and design partner for Moody Nolan. “We will make the new science complex a place that will endure as a threshold and a catalyst for ushering in a new era of research and innovation for Morgan State students and faculty.” 

The proposed science complex at Morgan represents yet another example of the University’s commitment to joining the higher echelon of Carnegie-classified universities by attaining an R1 (“very high research”) classification.

Constructing a new science research facility replete with modern classrooms and laboratories is a significant step toward achieving this goal. The completion of a new science facility aligns with the University’s longstanding expansion of its research and will ensure Morgan students are adequately prepared, having access to top-level expertise, amenities, technology and programs.

“It is vital that the new science complex not only serve as a place for rigorous exploration and innovation but given MSU’s standing as one of our nation’s signature HBCUs, we will do our part from a design standpoint to ensure that it reflects the diverse culture of its student and faculty community,” said Renauld Deandre Mitchell, partner and managing design executive for Moody Nolan.

In addition to being an African-American-owned firm, Moody Nolan has committed to achieving minority business enterprise (MBE) goals of 63.47% for demolition design and 47.75% for the new building design. Combined, this will represent approximately $10.6 million in MBE dollars.

Previously, the University had announced its plans to construct a new science complex to house Morgan’s Biology and Chemistry Departments as well as the dean’s office of the School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences. Morgan’s existing science complex, which comprises four buildings — Carnegie, Calloway, Spencer and Key Halls — has aged and is in need of repairs. In addition, because of growth in the science disciplines, there is insufficient space in the current science complex to appropriately serve the Biology and Chemistry Departments.

The new facility will be erected on campus at the site of the current Washington Service Center, which is scheduled to be demolished. Construction cost for the new, 246,435-gross-square-foot science center is approximately $150 million, with work set to begin in summer 2024 and projected completion in summer 2027. MSU’s Office of Design & Construction Management will manage the project.

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Black-owned, natural hair Pixie Puff Doll Collection available this Fall Exclusively at Walmart

Purpose Toys, one of the largest Black-owned toy start-ups, announced their new forthcoming Tightly-Coiled Natural-Hair Fashion Doll line, Pixie Puff Collection, a celebration of short and chic natural hairstyles, this past National CROWN Day on Instagram @MyNaturalistas.

Natural Curly Hair Styles

CROWN Day is a holiday that celebrates the first signing of the CROWN Act into legislation in California, on July 3, 2019.

The CROWN Act is legislation aimed to outlaw Natural-Hair discrimination in schools and the workplace.

Naturalistas is a line of ultra-glam, contemporary Natural Hair Fashion Dolls, created to celebrate children with coily, curly and naturally textured hair.

With the announcement of the Pixie Puff Collection, the Naturalistas brand continues to grow by bringing the first culture-driven fashion doll line that centers around and celebrates children with coily “4-textured” hair, one of the most common hair types found across the African American community. 

Working with Just Play and Kidfinity Inc. (a Just Play affiliate company), the line will be sold and distributed by Purpose Toys at Walmart beginning in September 2022.

“Whereas there is an over-representation of long straight hair and long loose curls across the Black doll category, the reality is that many African American children actually have gorgeous tightly coiled hair,” said Purpose Toys CEO, DeeDee Wright-Ward. “From the standpoint of authentically representing distinctively Black characteristics, most doll products marketed to Black children don’t often reflect their beautiful pixie coils, which can inadvertently send a message that hair that looks like theirs isn’t equally valued…no matter the intent of the manufacturer.”

For Natural Hair Products

“A Celebration of Short Hair and Chic Style,” Pixie Puff dolls (SRP $12.97) are the beautiful girl-next-door addition to glamour-driven core Naturalistas product. The Pixie Puff Collection features characters Peety and Penny – both of whom come with beautiful cropped (coily) “4C” textured hairstyles, varying custom skin tones, modern contemporary fashions, and character profiles that speak to their pride and commitment to their healthy, unique natural tresses.

Natural Hair

Lisa Whitaker, Co-President of Kidfinity states, “We are honored to support DeeDee and Purpose Toys on a brand that is centered on delivering accurate representation through beautiful dolls that will uplift and celebrate children everywhere.”

With legislation, such as the CROWN Act in place to protect against Natural Hair discrimination in schools and in the workplace, Naturalistas and the Pixie Puff Collection hope to do their small part in supporting the self-esteem and confidence of children who may face contrasting messaging at a young age about their perfect coils.

DeeDee adds, “Our tagline across all Naturalistas brands is ‘Be Proud of Your Crown,’ and on National Crown Day and always, we will continue to support the healthy emotional development of children who wear their Natural Hair through our nuanced, culture-driven product. It goes without saying that Purpose Toys is grateful for the support of Just Play and Walmart in bringing celebratory, uplifting ‘dolls-of-culture’ to toy aisles.”

About Purpose Toys

“A Supportive Community of Black Founders”, Purpose Toys’ mission is to partner with and uplift burgeoning toy entrepreneurs, by providing the infrastructure and resources necessary to succeed. Additionally, their mission is to also provide authentic “Product with a Purpose,” which perfectly aligns with the modern Black experience which we hope to deliver with contemporary brands, Naturalistas, and “Pixie Puff Collection.” Purpose Toys’ products will be available coming Fall 2022 across the U.S. For more information, please email [email protected] or visit MyNaturalistas.com and follow social channels @mynaturalistas via Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

About Just Play, LLC

Just Play is a passionate toy company and global leader across a broad range of children’s consumer goods including figures, playsets, dolls, plush, role-play and dress-up. They create unique and innovative proprietary lines, as well as award-winning products based on popular children’s entertainment brands with best-in-class licensing partners. Just Play was founded by two toy industry veterans, Charlie Emby and Geoffrey Greenberg, in 2010 and has risen to a top 10 toy company according to NPD for the past 5 years. To learn more about Just Play’s products, please visit www.justplayproducts.com or follow the company on Instagram (@JustPlayProducts) or on Facebook (www.facebook.com/JustPlay).

About Kidfinity Inc

Kidfinity is a new company formed by industry veterans Lisa Whitaker, Darryl Wizenberg and Tolly Wizenberg. Kidfinity is closely aligned with Just Play and works together with its team to create new and innovative toys and consumer products outside of traditional toy lines.

Have you ever wondered how small businesses start up? What gives them the courage to start up the process? How do they take that first step, and what encourages them to keep it going? Here I break it down.

Frustration

I want to start a business but have no ideas

I started my business radiofacts.com 27 years ago from frustration.

I was frustrated with how Radio was going in my career, and I felt like my voice wasn’t being heard. So I wrote a brutally honest letter to a few friends in the industry and emailed it, and they, in turn, emailed it to other people. By the end of the next day, I had over 300 responses telling me they felt the same way and that I had to keep this going, whatever I was doing.

There was a hole in the market to fill, and I didn’t even know I was doing it. I know I did not sleep that night when I sent it out.

Not being able to sleep when it comes to business is often a good thing it means that your mind is in overdrive, and you’re probably on to something and probably have a couple of good ideas, which is our next segment. Your best ideas will come to you at 3 am. Keep a pad and a pen by your bed to jot it down before you forget.

Small Business Ideas – Idea

Ideas to start a business comes from seeing something that is not being done that you can easily do. Of course, you have to motivate yourself to make an effort. Still, you’re probably on target for a new business, especially if others feel the same way.

Make sure you don’t blow off the idea and don’t tell other people about it because they can’t often see into the future. They could only see things from their perspective.

Business with no money

Make an effort to put your idea on paper and then into fruition. It is possible to start a business with no money if the company is online, so in this case, you’re ahead of the eight ball if that’s your goal. Like if you have an excellent idea for a blog or site to discuss a specific subject.

Mistake

Some small businesses start with a “mistake,” kind of goes with what I said earlier as it’s falling into something, but it could also be from a mistake you made and how you had to correct it on your own. For example, getting ahead of your credit on your own instead of hiring one of those companies that do what you can do but charge you for it.

That’s how they got started too. When it comes to credit reports, many people don’t know that you can fix that on your own, and you don’t need to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for someone else to do it.

It’s not even as time-consuming or complicated as people think, but figuring it out yourself could be a great way to inform others about how they can correct their credit, and this could be a great blog or social media group. For example

Well planned

Your business may be well-planned, something you have wanted to do for a long time, and you’re going to give it a shot. I have a friend right now who has a well-planned business for a grocery app, and he has partners and a lot of frustration.

There are times when you can have a well-planned business, and you bring other people into the fold, and they are not moving fast enough or at the same pace. That can cause significant problems and make you feel less motivated.

Just know, no matter how well-planned your business is, no small businesses start without having bumps and bruises, and you must keep yourself motivated. This is the difference from what we’re about to talk about next.

Passion

The most successful businesses start with a passion for a subject or concept you’re deeply concerned about and want to fix or change.

Everything else can fall into place when passion is at the forefront. This is how I started my business. I was very passionate about getting ahead in the radio game but ran into a lot of racism and issues with my own people in the industry when it came to progressing in the radio industry.

Once I wrote about it, I got it on paper and sent it out to the universe. I cured my frustration and turned it into a business.

I would strongly suggest writing your ideas on paper first from your hand to that paper. It’s going to get that idea going, and I know million-dollar businesses that started on a napkin at lunch.

Suggestion

Some small businesses start because some people are good at one thing, like making cheesecakes.

I had a friend who enjoyed making different cheesecakes during the weekend. He would do other cheesecakes like peach cobbler, peanut butter, red velvet, Oreo cookie, etc. Then he would take the cheesecakes to work to avoid gaining weight and dole it out to his coworkers.

They enjoyed his cheesecakes so much that they were willing to pay him $75 per order. That’s a hell of a profit. He started a weekend business and made more money during the weekend than he was making the entire week working at the gas company.

He didn’t want to do it full-time, and he wanted to continue enjoying the benefits of his job.

Some people just like that you can have a part-time business and keep working simultaneously and enjoy the benefits and security of a full-time job but know that you may have to make a choice at some point.

Hobby

There may be something you enjoy doing, like art, but you’ve never tried selling it online. Some people make a ton of money by buying items in a large market and selling it online to smaller markets around the country.

I have a friend who does this with model cars, and he buys the cars from a retailer in Los Angeles and then sells them on eBay for a profit.

There are many portals online where you can sell your art, and they do everything for you. They print it, frame it, sell it and collect the money for you, and they keep a percentage and then send you a more significant portion.

Payment is a passive income business. Is there a hobby you have that you can multiply online, or have you investigated it? Something like an artist is a great example.

Perhaps your design T-shirts instead. Passive income is key, and there’s no more incredible feeling than seeing an automatic deposit in your account when you didn’t expect it.

Boredom

We all have talent. Sometimes, we don’t know what it is, and sometimes it comes to us in our deepest frustrations or boredom.

What did you enjoy doing as a child? Can you do that as an adult? Is it something that brought you joy? The thing is, it may bring other people joy as well. This is well worth investigating to start a small business.

Whichever segment fits you best, you will never have a more significant benefit than working for yourself. When it comes to how small businesses start up it’s not for everybody and not always easy, but it’s always rewarding when you get to keep most of your profits.

PepsiCo is recognizing this milestone by:

• Accelerating its efforts to achieve its Racial Equality Journey commitments to increase its investment with Black-owned and Hispanic-owned suppliers. A goal part of PepsiCo’s pep+ agenda to create growth and shared value with sustainability and human capital at the center.  
• Further diversifying its spend and deepening engagement with advocacy organizations to help remove barriers for diverse suppliers – from farmers and transportation providers to marketing agencies and professional service providers
• Leveraging existing forums, such as its diverse-owned Media Days, to expand its base and increase spending with diverse-owned media and marketing agencies

PURCHASE, N.Y., July 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — PepsiCo is celebrating the 40^th anniversary of its Supplier Diversity Program, where it currently spends more than $1 billion annually with certified, diverse suppliers, including Women, Black, Hispanic, Asian, LGBTQ+, Native American, Individuals with Disabilities, and U.S. Veterans. The anniversary commemorates a tremendous milestone for the company, from an initial spend of $5 million in 1982 to nearly $30 billion spent over the past 40 years across PepsiCo’s entire value chain. The company is also committing to expanding its base and increasing overall spend through new forums, mentorship, partnerships and resources, including increased support around the supplier certification process to help businesses grow and sustain their economic impact for years to come.

“As one of the leading convenient food and beverage companies in the U.S., we have a responsibility to leverage our size and reach to help address the systemic barriers that too often limit or exclude diverse suppliers from developing and expanding their businesses,” said Melani Wilson Smith, PepsiCo’s Global Chief Procurement Officer. “We’ve been on this journey for decades and we are committed to growing with our diverse suppliers and procuring new ones. Working with diverse-owned businesses is one of the more important ways we can help build a more inclusive supply chain which, in turn, strengthens the communities where we operate and yields greater value for our consumers and customers.”

Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) are staples in the American economy, generating more than $400 billion in economic output annually and resulting in the creation and/or preservation of 2.2 million jobs, according to the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council.

Increasing spend with Black and Hispanic Suppliers

Building on the overall growth of its Supplier Diversity Program, in 2020, PepsiCo doubled-down on its support for Black and Hispanic suppliers as part of its Racial Equality Journey, a more than $570 million investment in a set of commitments over five years to increase representation within its workforce, leverage its scale and influence across suppliers and strategic partners, and help drive long-term change by addressing systemic barriers to economic opportunity and advancing economic empowerment for Black and Hispanic Americans.

As part of this journey, in 2021, PepsiCo spent nearly $500 million with Black and Hispanic suppliers, including adding more than 10 Black-owned and Hispanic-owned marketing agencies to its roster, which has resulted in leveraging an award-winning Black woman-owned agency for the rebrand strategy of the Pearl Milling Company and the development of the P.E.A.R.L. (Prosperity, Empowerment, Access, Representation, Leadership) Pledge which provides grants to non-profit organizations working to empower Black women and girls across the country; and an award-winning Hispanic women-owned agency to launch ‘Juntos Crecemos‘, a multi-faceted platform to support small Hispanic-owned businesses. Additionally, through its diverse-owned media days, it has increased its spend with Black and Hispanic media companies by more than 50% of its 2020 spend. 

Removing barriers to economic advancement

PepsiCo has also hired Pink Patch Group, a Black-woman-owned certification consultancy, to help with the diverse supplier certification process and remove barriers to economic advancement. A recent MIT study revealed that the onerous certification process taxes the very companies that supplier diversity programs seek to help. In fact, only about 1% of diverse companies achieve certification despite meeting the required criteria. PepsiCo has since assisted several companies with the process, including Webber Marketing & Consultancy, LLC and Extrategic Culture, a culture-first social experience agency.

“We would like to give a special thanks to PepsiCo for believing in our capabilities and being an invaluable ally through the certification process,” said Jeffrey Duque, Co-Founder of Extrategic Culture. “Their support demonstrates PepsiCo’s commitment to developing a robust supplier base that includes diverse-owned businesses that provide quality goods and services.”

We know that minority certification will allow diverse businesses to work with many Fortune 500 companies beyond PepsiCo,” said Christina Tyson, Director of Supplier Diversity at PepsiCo. “Hiring a third-party consultancy to assist small diverse-owned businesses with the certification process is one of several steps we’re taking to drive racial equality and create systemic change in the communities we serve.”   

Diversifying spend through partnerships, advocacy and mentorship

Through existing partnerships with organizations such as the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) and the National Black Growers Council (NBGC), PepsiCo has also advanced its efforts to create opportunities for these diverse businesses, deepen their relationships and identify potential new partners. The company has nearly doubled its spend among Black growers within the agriculture segment and continues to mentor growers on expanding their acreage and capacity available to purchase.

“As farmers in underserved communities, we typically find ourselves isolated and concentrated,” said P.J. Haynie, a fifth-generation farmer from Virginia and board chairman of the NBGC. “Having relationships and mentors, and knowing you can call another grower to share information that will help your operation – whether they’re 100 or 1,000 miles away – is a priceless tool in our toolbox. Companies like PepsiCo understand that.”

To learn more about potential business opportunities with PepsiCo, interested businesses can visit PepsiCo’s Supplier Diversity Portal.