Nicki Minaj announces a new fragrance partnership with prestige beauty company LUXE Brands.
Minaj’s new partnership with LUXE Brands provides the opportunity for her to reinvent her fragrance franchise with fresh innovation.
Nicki added, “I am very excited to partner with LUXE Brands. Their passion for greatness has always been second to none! There’s no better feeling than working with a brand that genuinely wants to get it right for my fans. My fans know I always come with the best for them. The next fragrance is by far my favorite. I’m very excited, to say the least.”
“Undeniably, Nicki encompasses authenticity and creativity in everything she does. She is an authority on breaking barriers and building successful brands and partnerships across product categories. LUXE Brands is pleased to welcome Nicki to our brand family and to have the opportunity to partner with her to drive further global success for her fragrance portfolio,” added Joel B. Ronkin, Chief Executive Officer of LUXE Brands.
LUXE Brands is a growing force in the beauty category specializing in the development, marketing and distribution of fine fragrances and beauty products globally. The company’s most recent milestone earlier this year includes the incredible success of Ariana Grande’s fragrance franchise which has already exceeded $150 million in retail sales globally since launching in 2015. LUXE Brands’ expertise spans key fragrance markets including North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Real Estate Mogul Jay Morrison Raises $9.6 Million In First Seven Days of Historic IPO of First African-American Owned Real Estate Crowdfund
Atlanta based real estate mogul Jay Morrison recently announced the initial public offering (IPO) launch of the Tulsa Real Estate Fund, the first African-American owned Regulation A+ Tier II crowdfund designed to revitalize urban communities across the U.S.
Tulsa Real Estate Fund, The People’s Fund, is a real estate crowdfund qualified by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that allows both accredited and non-accredited investors to collectively invest and own real estate projects around the country that are unique, diversified and yield a reasonable rate of return. Tulsa Real Estate Fund seeks to raise up to $50 million in equity capital in its initial public offering under Regulation A+ of the Jump Start Our Business Start-Up (JOBS) Act. The Regulation A+ Tier II offering officially launched on June 1, 2018, at www.TulsaRealEstateFund.com and began taking investments immediately. The much-heralded 21st century fund raised $8 million in its first weekend.
“Tulsa Real Estate Fund was created for the sole purpose of the revitalization of urban communities across America, as well as a means for working class people to own shares and equity in a portfolio of real estate assets that will combat gentrification,” said Jay Morrison, CEO and manager of the Tulsa Real Estate Fund.
The mission of the Tulsa Real Estate Fund is to perform comprehensive redevelopment of both people and real estate in key urban areas. The innovative fund allows socially conscious individuals and financial institutions the opportunity to invest in the people and real estate in local communities that matter most to them. Tulsa Real Estate Fund redevelopment projects being considered include single family, multi-family, commercial, and agricultural projects. Other redevelopment projects around the country will be announced in the coming months.
Tulsa Real Estate Fund is named in honor of the businessmen and businesswomen of the once prosperous Greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa, Okla. In 1921, more than 2,000 black-owned homes and businesses thrived in the self-sustaining community known as ” Wall Street” before they were destroyed by an angry white mob and hundreds of African-Americans were killed in the worst armed race riots in U.S. history. Through the Greenwood community’s perseverance, Wall Street was resurrected in 1925 and reached its economic peak in 1941. However, economic progress was short-lived due to discriminatory Jim Crow laws that crippled the community, including an urban removable program and a highway that was built over much of the area.
“Tulsa Real Estate Fund is the perfect economic vehicle for the urban community to collectively pool its more than $1.3 trillion in spending power to effectively control and revitalize our neighborhoods,” said Morrison. “With the current tone in Washington, D.C., urban neighborhoods across the country will not have control of their dollars, real estate or small businesses for the foreseeable future. As a result, urban neighborhoods across the country are being redeveloped by individuals who do not have the best interests of the community in mind, which often leads to the displacement of longtime residents due to increased property values, thus making the cost of housing in our communities unaffordable. We believe Tulsa Real Estate Fund is the solution to this rapidly growing problem.”
Tulsa Real Estate Fund’s path to delivering reasonable returns to its fund managers and crowd partners will consist of identifying real estate with added value in urban communities, while repairing the constituency residing there; a grassroots approach that will allow access to the most advantageous public-private real estate opportunities; and a wealth management team with more than 30 years of combined experience in urban redevelopment projects.
In February 2018, Tulsa Real Estate Fund was notified by the SEC that it had qualified its Form 1A Application that allowed the company to move forward with its offering, which will leverage the key components of the Regulation A+ Tier II rules that allows for the solicitation of the general public as well as traditional investors and financial institutions.
“Regulation A+ is a big win for urban black entrepreneurs because it opens the door for access to capital. It’s also a big win for investors since more people will have access to investment opportunities,” said Morrison. “Historically, non-accredited investors have been left on the sidelines for many investment opportunities such as initial public offerings (IPOs) and venture capital. Regulation A+ opens the door to these investment opportunities, which will in effect allow Wall Street to thrive once again, but in more urban communities around the country.”
The Tulsa Real Estate Fund builds on Project Rebuild, President Barack Obama’s $15 billion proposal to invest in a national effort that leverages private capital and expertise to rehabilitate hundreds of thousands of communities across the country. Building on the successful ideas developed during the implementation of the Neighborhood Stabilization Project, Project Rebuild provides funding to purchase, rehabilitate, and/or redevelop foreclosed, abandoned, demolished, or vacant properties. Funding also helps grantees establish and operate land banks and create jobs maintaining properties to avoid community blight.
The Tulsa Real Estate Fund recommends investors read its Form 1A Statement and other public reports and financials filed with the SEC for further information. All management profiles, public filings, financials, and other company information are available on the Tulsa Real Estate Fund’s website at www.TulsaRealEstateFund.com. Its Regulation A+ Tier II offering circular can be found online at www.sec.gov.
About Jay Morrison
Jay Morrison is the CEO and fund manager of Tulsa Real Estate Fund. As an African-American young man growing up in poverty, Morrison was destined to become a statistic after dropping out of high school and becoming a three-time felon by the age of 20. However, he turned his life around and has become a much sought-after celebrity real estate agent and multimillion-dollar real estate black entrepreneur.
Want to be inspired? Take some time to watch these movies and give your business a boost. In each of these movies, there is a common thread of inspirational and powerful messages.
Surround Yourself with the Right People
Build a Legacy in instead of a business
Hire People Who Know What You Don’t
Dare to Dream
Ask Questions: you DON’T KNOW What the Response Will be
Vision is the Key to the Door of Opportunity
If You Don’t Gamble You Can’t Win
It’s Never Too Late to Be Who You Were Meant to Be
The Blind Can’t See
Know What’s Next
Ignore Obstacles and Eventually, Others Will Too
You Can’t See the Top of the Mountain from the Gutter
The person/people that you are following may be following you or someone else
YOU are the leader
Believe in YOU
You Are Your Potential
If You Keep Failing You’re Not Winning
Take a road trip, Escape to Rejuvenate
The Matrix (original) 1999
Your Greatest Enemy and Friend … is YOU
I have probably seen The Matrix (original version) 20 times over the last 19 years. There are SO many incredible messages in this movie not just for the black entrepreneur but about life. I told another friend who also loves the movie as much as I do, and is an black entrepreneur that this is damn near a cult movie for black entrepreneurs. At least those who get it. Everything about this movie was stellar to the ones that followed especially the cast.
The movie is about an extremely bored tech employee who is living beneath his potential. He circumvents his boredom by hacking computer systems and selling the information illegally and he goes to a job he hates each day. His life is forever changed when his computer alerts him to an opportunity to do what he has been dreaming about forever, to meet Morpheus. He deems Morpheus as his saving grace but Morpheus teaches him that he is his OWN saving grace.
The original Oracle, played by Gloria Foster was in the first two movies but the legendary actress died from complications of Diabetes before the third movie could be completed and she was replaced. What black black entrepreneur could not relate to her character in the first movie? We’ve seen this woman growing up hundreds of times. The best exchange between her and Neo? In the kitchen in the projects: “Don’t worry about the vase.” Neo, “What vase?” He turns and knocks it over, “That one” He apologizes profusely for breaking it and she says “I said don’t worry about it” then she says “What’s really going to bake your noodle is would you have broken it if I hadn’t said anything?
One of the other favorite scenes is when Neo is in the car and Trinity is trying to remove the bug from his navel but Switch offers a negative response and tells him “It’s our way or the highway.” Neo is about to walk away from an opportunity when Trinity interrupts and says “You’ve been down that road before, you know where it ends and I know that’s not where you want to be” Neo looks at the road and decides he wants something more out of life and stays. If you have not seen the movie see it but in the end, Neo discovers the person he was looking for to change his life … was him.
The Founder – 2016
This movie is amazing. Unfortunately, it flopped at the box office but it is a MUST SEE for ALL black entrepreneurs. Ray Kroc is a frustrated milkshake machine salesman who belies in himself even though everyone else has given up on him. He is made to feel over the hill at 52 but he knows he hasn’t scratched the surface of his potential. He hasn’t given up on himself but everyone around him as given up on him. He has had many ideas over the years and has repeatedly failed at trying his luck as a door-to-door salesman and now he has become a joke to the people in his small town. He comes across a hamburger shop owner, brothers, who want to order nine of his milkshake machines in their meticulously designed restaurant in California called McDonald’s. He can’t believe that someone wants to order his milkshake machine and he thinks it’s a joke since he has not been able to sell any of them. He drives down to meet the owners to take the machines and he is floored at the great concept the owners have with people waiting in line to get their burgers and the precise way the burgers are made. This concept is completely opposite of anything he has seen anywhere else.
The owners who are also older are tired and settled are extremely strategic in running the one operation but Ray sees something much bigger. I won’t give you all the details but I will say that Ray had something the brothers didn’t have … VISION. They wanted to die running the one shop but Ray saw the potential for a huge franchise. In the end, Ray ended up owning the McDonald’s brand to the brother’s chagrin but when you see what he was up against you actually root for him. SEE THIS MOVIE, you will learn a lot and be incredibly inspired.
The Pursuit of Happyness – 2006
It’s About MORE than YOU … NEVER GIVE UP
In the past, I have actually felt bad for Will Smith. He was typecast as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s goofy nephew and it seems he’s been fighting for a long time to escape that (I have never seen one episode of the show).
Will comes through here giving an amazing performance as a man who refuses to believe his time has come and gone. Like The Founder, he is selling broken down medical devices and he’s broke. This is the true story of Chris Gardner who’s wife, family and friends didn’t believe in him. He ends up getting kicked out of his apartment and being homeless with his son (played by his real-life son Jaden Smith) in San Francisco.
This movie proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that hanging on to nothing may sustain you but it is also killing you. Sometimes you just have to start over, sometimes you have to hit rock bottom. Gardner lands a job at a prestigious brokerage in NYC but they job doesn’t pay. He seizes the opportunity because the person who does the best job from all the intern candidates will be offered a job within the brokerage. He ends up struggling to no end then winning the position. Here is the trailer for the movie.
Imitation of Life (2nd Version) 1959
Your Children are Watching You
1959’s Imitation of Life is an incredibly tragic movie. The characters Annie Johnson (Juanita Moore) a single mother and her interracial daughter Sarah Jane are homeless and living on a beach when a widow Laura Merideth (Lana Turner) and her daughter Susie are at the beach and Susie gets lost. She is playing with Sarah Jane. When Laura finds her Annie asks if she has any room for them to stay. Laura says no but finally acquiesces and let’s the two strangers stay in a supply closet in her kitchen. Long story short, Annie’s daughter grows up to resent her mother and she is ashamed of her for being so desperate and needy, she misses the point that it was all for her. She doesn’t want to be like her mother and is ashamed of being black. If you ever live in LA you will see that there is no shortage of this (lol).
What makes this movie great for black entrepreneurs is Annie makes great pancakes and waffles and Laura decides to open a restaurant featuring Annie’s pancakes. She offers Annie 20% of the business as it explodes but Annie turns it down offering to continue to be a servant to the nice white lady (this is the only part that pissed me off because even the DUMBEST person would have not only taken the 20% but asked for MORE).
It has been rumored for decades that this is the actual story of Aunt Jemima pancakes and the black woman who created them and how she got ripped off. Annie’s character didn’t know anything about business so she allowed herself to be ripped off because she was so gracious to have a place to stay and a LOT of black women, unfortunately, have been through this especially during those days and when you add in racism and the lack opportunities for black people which was much more prevalent back then she would have probably had no choice but to give her business to the white lady but the exchange o how it happened is not believable.
The lesson from this movie is balanced and knowing your value. Believe it or not, working in the music industry I STILL see black people give away their ideas to people outside the race allowing them to profit from black culture and ideas. There is a belief that we like to save everybody but ourselves which is often true.
The Wizard of Oz – 1939
A lot of people are completely unaware that this movie was made three times before the 1939 feature film classic. By this time EVERYBODY has seen the Wizard of OZ and I have to say that as a kid, the witch scared the hell out of me. She played that role a little too well. The black entrepreneur lesson from this movie? The Lion, Dorothy, the Tinman and the Scarecrow were all looking for something they already had (like the Matrix) a belief in themselves. The big booming voice talking to you from behind the curtain may be an old fat and short old guy desperate for power. That voice needs to be YOUR higher power and you need to listen to it and follow the instruction.
Nightcrawler – 2014
Your Next Blessing May Be Hidden in Your Despair
This is another great movie that eloquently catches the seedier side of LA that is often not revealed to moviegoers but it is to anyone who takes a drive at 3 am in the morning. Jake Gyllenhaal who plays Louis Bloom is unemployed and a thief, he comes across a horrible car wreck and sees photographers taking pictures of the scene. He asks one of the photographers what they are doing and the photographer tells him they sell the footage.
This is a HUGE business in LA and the right image can get the photographer hundreds of thousands of dollars. Louis decides to take the seeder route and get images of gruesome crimes. He builds his business very fast and becomes a successful black entrepreneur but the job is dangerous. There are many interesting twists to this film that you should see for yourself.
I have another hobby, as black entrepreneurs should (lol) I like to paint and take pictures. Here are a few pics of LA scenery this weekend. Feel free to pin.
Byron Allen has been at the game for decades and to see him still going strong and to be so ambitious at 57 years of age. Watch this video and be inspired by how the mogul admits how he made adversity work in his favor. Please like and share
Mark Cuban, Don Peebles, And Byron Allen To Speak At The 23rd Annual Enterprise Entrepreneurs Summit
Enterprise Entrepreneurs Summit – The nation’s largest annual gathering of African American business owners, in Charlotte, North Carolina, June 6–9– Join Enterprise at the 2018 Entrepreneurs Summit hosted by Nationwide on Wednesday, June 6 through Saturday, June 9, at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a powerhouse lineup of some of the nation’s most accomplished and celebrated black entrepreneurs and motivational speakers. The three-day conference brings together more than 1,000 of the country’s leading black entrepreneurs, business-funding sources, and corporate executives. The Entrepreneurs Summit is designed to provide attendees with countless opportunities to meet, network, and learn from hundreds of black entrepreneurs, including angel investors, from around the country with a focus on innovation, capitalization, monetization, and growth.
The 2018 Enterprise Entrepreneurs Summit boasts high-powered sessions on critical business topics such as “Fireside Chat with Mark Cuban,” “BE Talk: Design Your Business Breakthrough,” “The Right Way to Fund Your Startup,” “SistersInc. – Handling Our Business,” and “Franchise Fever,”just to name a few.
Ramon Ray, Entrepreneur, Editor, Smart Hustle Magazine
Spectacular Smith, Founder & CEO, Adwizar
Carla Hall, Co-host, ABC’s The Chew
Reham Fagiri, Co-founder & CEO, AptDeco
Hope Wiseman, Co-founder, Mary and Main
John Webb, CEO and Managing Partner, Quantum Reach
Dawn Dickson, Founder & CEO, Flat Out of Heels; PopCom
Angelina Darrisaw, Founder, C-Suite Coach
…and many more.
The Summit will also host the annual ElevatorPitch Competition, where four finalists will pitch their business ideas to a panel of accomplished black entrepreneurs (including Enterprise CEO Earl “Butch” Graves Jr.) before a live audience will have the opportunity to win $10,000 to fund their business.
The Summit will allow attendees to gain access to the connections, financing, resources, and strategic insight they need to launch and grow their dream businesses. This is a must-attend event for aspiring business owners, startup founders, and established black entrepreneurs looking for new money-making and growth opportunities for their ventures.
“Nationwide is proud of our continued Enterprise Entrepreneurs Summit sponsorship and our commitment to supporting minority businesses and diverse communities,” said Lu Yarbrough III, Associate Vice President of Diverse and Cause Marketing at Nationwide. “This conference has something that will benefit all who have an black entrepreneurial spirit … from those who are thinking about starting a business to those who already have one up-and-running.”
The 2018 Enterprise Entrepreneurs Summit is hosted by Nationwide, with presenting sponsor, Toyota; platinum sponsor Koch Industries; corporate sponsors Day Runner, FedEx, Walmart, and Wells Fargo; and strategic partners, Fifth Third Bank, NC Education Lottery, Carolinas-Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council, and Visit Charlotte.
“MARY JANES: THE WOMEN OF WEED,”A Groundbreaking Documentary About Women as They Lead the Cannabis Industry, Debuts in Seattle
Windy Borman, Producer-Director of Mary Janes: The Women of Weed (PRNewsfoto/Eden Labs)
Women Leading the Cannabis Industry – The film features intriguing interviews from Grammy® Award-winning singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge and other noteworthy cannabis women executives, as they reveal how legal cannabis is leading to serious progress on an array of social justice issues.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, SEATTLE ART MUSEUM – PLESTCHEEFF AUDITORIUM, May 15, 2018, 6:30 PM, Directors Q&A Party Follows Screening; No-Host Cocktails
Eden Labs, Inc. will host an exclusive Seattle premiere screening of the feature-length film, Mary Janes: The Women of Weed in The Seattle Art Museum Plestcheeff Auditorium at 6:30 PM on May 15, 2018.
Women Leading the Cannabis Industry
The film features award-winning Director-Producer Windy Borman using powerful personal stories to explore how cannabis is the first new industry to emerge in the 21st century, and the impact of its women leaders. The film examines the intersection of gender parity, social justice, and environmental sustainability in the industry.
“From farms to labs to dispensaries and beyond, the film sheds light on the female researchers and black entrepreneurs blazing a trail in today’s legal cannabis industry. From interviews with scientists, doctors, lawyers, activists, growers, and bakers, I learned cannabis is not only an industry but also a movement of dedicated, pioneering women,” says Director Windy Borman.
The host of the Seattle Premier is Eden Labs, a Seattle-based a pioneer of CO2 and ethanol extraction systems used in the nutraceutical, medical and cannabis industries. Gold Sponsor, Emerald Scientific, and Silver Sponsor, Right Sciences, are also helping to bring this event to Seattle. The film’s director, Windy Borman, will be available after the screening for a question and answer opportunity.
MARY JANES: THE WOMEN OF WEED explores the movement to end marijuana prohibition and Borman’s assumptions about the plant. Through a series of empowering and educational interviews with the industry’s “Women of Weed,” Windy’s assumptions are transformed as she discovers how cannabis liberation intersects with the most urgent social justice issues of our time. She learns how this green revolution has significant effects on environmental sustainability, ending the War on Drugs and the Prison-Industrial Complex, and the destructive domination of Big Pharma.
Mignon Clyburn stepping down as the FCC Democratic Commissioner. Clyburn who is an advocate for low-income minority communities announced plans to step down from the agency today, effective May 10. This ending her eight-year tenure with the FCC. “I’ve done all I know to do. And it’s time for me to serve in another way,” she said.
Clyburn was an Obama nominee and former black entrepreneur who joined the FCC in 2009. She is an outspoken proponent of Net Neutrality, lowering prison phone rates and media ownership reform but she consistently clashed with the current FCC chairman Ajit Pai over policy. This is certainly not a good look for Net Neutrality to remain a constant at this point.
Mignon Clyburn Stepping Down from FCC Post
This will leave an open seat for President Trump to assign someone else but it has to also be confirmed by the Senate. Another Obama appointee Terrell McSweeny also announced that she will be leaving the FCC at the end of the month.
Marco’s Pizza’s People Prove to Be an Unstoppable Force – A Story of Resiliency, Collaboration, and Community Engagement Fuels Marco’s Pizza to 900-Units
Marco’s Pizza has announced the opening of its 900th location in Bayamόn Puerto Rico. Due to the tenacity, faith, and sheer determination to come together after the devastation of Hurricane Maria last year, the brand is persevering and bringing new business to the community as it rebuilds.
As thousands of homes and business were destroyed, the island of Puerto Rico was left in a state of disaster, resulting in the community looking to each other for support. Families and business owners like Marco’s Pizza franchisee, Edgardo Beniquez Santiago, created safe havens for the community offering food, shelter, and phones to contact loved ones, and even a place for families to keep cool. Through determination and collaboration, Marco’s Pizza and the Puerto Rico team were able to reopen all six locations and continue the development of others – including the 900th milestone, which opened April 6, aiding in the rebuilding of San Juan.
“Marco’s is only as successful as the people behind the brand. What Edgardo and his team were able to accomplish is a true testament to the stellar group of individuals working to accelerate our success in becoming a premier community-oriented company,” said Tony Libardi, president of Marco’s Pizza. “Our leadership team has built a culture of accountability vital to our growth. As we move forward, we plan to enhance this culture and encourage collaboration, unity, and trust among our franchisees, employees, and guests. When everyone grows together, we become an unstoppable force.”
As Marco’s continues its strategic journey to 1,000 units, its energies will focus on building future leaders at all levels of the organization. By curating an atmosphere that is open where people listen, challenge, and build each other up, Marco’s is inspired to personally choose to rise above the circumstances and demonstrate what’s necessary to achieve results. This fierce DNA of the brand is driving it to achieve new heights as it rapidly expands its footprint around the globe.
As the only national franchise chain founded by a native Italian, Marco’s Pizza has carved out a niche in the industry as the expert in authentic Italian pizza, known for its fresh dough made daily onsite, a proprietary cheese blend that is fresh, never-frozen, and a secret original pizza sauce recipe from its founder Pat Giammarco. Marco’s commitment to its people and authenticity will drive its long-term growth as the brand aims to have 1,500 locations open by 2020.
For more information on Marco’s Pizza franchising opportunities, visit www.marcosfranchising.com or call 800-836-2074.
ABOUT MARCO’S PIZZA:
Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco’s Pizza is one of the fastest-growing pizza companies in the United States. Marco’s was founded in 1978 by Italian-born Pasquale (“Pat”) Giammarco and thrives by making authentic Italian Pizza with fresh ingredients. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate 900 stores in over 35 states and in three countries. Most recently, Marco’s Pizza was ranked No.25 on Entrepreneur’s 2018 Franchise 500 ranking. Other recent accolades include being named “America’s Favorite Pizza Company” according to 2017 Market Force QSR Consumer Research: Pizza Sector, No. 8 on the Military Times Best: Franchises 2018 list, and landing No. 3 fastest-growing U.S. chain on the Nation’s Restaurant News Top 100 report for 2017. To inquire about franchise opportunities with Marco’s Pizza, visit marcosfranchising.com.
Starbucks Arrests of Patrons, Racist or Homeless Problem? – Starbucks has become a haven in many cities for the homeless population
The Starbucks arrests of two black patrons are the result of a much bigger problem for the corporation that needs to be addressed. Recently, two black men were sitting at a table in the establishment and asked to use the bathroom (code) the barista refused to give him the code and told him that bathroom use is for paying customers only. After that, the barista asked him and his guest to leave and he refused. The barista told him he (or she) was going to call the police and he allegedly told the barista “Go ahead, call the police.” There was probably much more dialogue that is missing but this is the gist of it. This is also one of the situations that you would have to ask yourself, as a black man, how a black man thinks he is going to win? Without question, lawyers are on these two like white on rice right now to start a lawsuit that will probably end up in a settlement thanks to the white patron who defended them on the tape as evidence.
In many states coming into a store and not buying anything is considered loitering which probably led to the altercation and the Starbucks arrests. But for Starbucks, there is a bigger problem. Starbucks has become a haven in many cities for the homeless population and that is a very sensitive issue. Starbucks arrests can’t be something that happens daily even though many of the stores have people who come in and don’t buy anything. It appears the corporation is in a tether. They can’t appear to be mean to the homeless by asking them to leave and not use their facilities but they also have a business and a brand to keep up with. Who can blame the hardworking employees for being frustrated with having to repeatedly clean the bathrooms?
The CEO made a statement after the Starbucks arrests on twitter. “We regret that our practices and training led to the reprehensible outcome at our Philadelphia store. We’re taking immediate action to learn from this and be better.” A statement from CEO Kevin Johnson: and the police chief in Philly, Richard Ross, also responded about the Starbucks arrests stating: “As an African-American male, I am very aware of implicit bias; we are committed to fair and unbiased policing,” he said. But he added, “If a business calls and they say that ‘someone is here that I no longer wish to be in my business,’” the officers have “a legal obligation to carry out their duties and they did just that.” Finally, the mayor of Philadelphia, Jim Kenney, has since ordered the city’s Commission on Human Relations to review Starbucks’ policy.
Real Estate Developers or Contractors?
This situation involving the Starbucks arrests is unfortunate because the men were black and it’s easy to assume it was racial and the men could have indeed been targeted. They said they were in Starbucks for a meeting and that they are real estate developers. I’m a real estate agent, I’ve never seen developers meet in sweats like this. This is not to say they are not developers but this is odd. Perhaps they are contractors? In addition, he could have simply told the barista they were waiting for a friend and they planned on buying something when he asked for the code.
I use a Starbucks in LA to get work done and can honestly say that if I am there working for two hours, at least 100 people come in from off the street, of all colors and incomes, and ask for the code to use the bathroom. The code box is put there for a reason, Starbucks is policing their bathrooms and they have a right to do that. The employees just give them the code, it’s probably a lot easier than causing a scene. I’ve seen a LOT of homeless people go in there and take their luggage to bathe and others just randomly using the bathroom without buying coffee. I’ve also seen homeless people and mentally ill people ask customers for money and cause problems. When any business allows anyone to use their bathroom, the bathrooms are often left disgusting and the employees have to keep cleaning them and it is unfair to paying customers, the employees, AND the business.
These are mostly kids working in Starbucks and yes there are a LOT of people who come in there to charge their phones and don’t buy anything too but the bathroom issue and the charging issue is a HUGE problem for the entire corporation and the customers who want to use the facility for meetings and work. The only reason Starbucks has probably not done more about the problem is that most of their customers are in and out during peak hours and they have a drive-thru at many locations which helps the paying customers.
There is another Starbucks in Studio City, CA where the people who come in there every day and BUY coffee have gotten so possessive they will tell you “That’s my seat” when they come in and they bring their desktop (not laptop) computers and lounge chairs to sit around like they are in their backyard or home office. I’m not sure how Coffee Bean and other coffee shops avoid this problem but Starbucks has a HUGE problem on their hands and they have to address it. People ARE taking advantage of the business from ALL walks of life. I’ve seen homeless people come in and have their luggage stashed next to them while they sleep and Starbucks doesn’t say anything.
The Need is for More Public Bathroom Facilities
At the end of the day, it’s up to the city to have more public facilities as bathrooms but once again, people will take advantage and how can this be policed.
As a Business Owner, what would you do?
Out of curiosity, If you owned a coffee shop and people constantly came in off the street to mess up your bathroom and use the toilet paper and other supplies along with using your electricity to charge their phones AND took up your table space while people who have purchased coffee stand there with no place to sit, what would you do?
