Clara Villarosa Gets Down To Business

NAACP Image Awards

Just back from LA and the NAACP Image Awards.  Although our book Down To Business didn’t win, and congratulations to Steve Harvey, I can truly say that it was an honor to be nominated.  The trip was a whirlwind of activities from the Women’s Tea, the pre party, awards ceremony and after party.  Many thanks to all of you who supported and voted and particular thanks to the anonymous angel who nominated the book.

I am truly blessed.

Hello All, take a look at my appearance with Toni Yuille Williams, inspiring women and definitely Brooklyn Savvy!

DC and Baltimore Events

Meet in DC.  January 27 where I'll be in our nation's capitol to kick off The Walker's Legacy Women in Business Lecture Series.

Named in honor of Madam C. J. Walker, this special event is a quarterly series designed to enhance leadership skills, create networking and learning opportunities and bring exposure to emerging trends in business for women.

Each power-packed learning program is complimented by the refinements of a reception style luncheon and post-event dessert networking.

Event Info (all programs)

Location:
The Historic Sumner Museum
The Great Hall
1201 Seventeenth St. NW, Washington, DC 20036-3008
 
Agenda:
11:30am - Registration
12:00pm - Reception Style Luncheon
12:45pm - 1:45pm - Opening Remarks & Learning Luncheon Keynote
1:45pm - 2:00pm - Desserts & Networking

To Register:
Please click here to register

$60 - Per Program
$225 - Four-Part Series (first 50 registrants receive a free copy of Expect to Win by Carla Harris)

For more information visit www.nataliecofield.com

Then on to Baltimore

Join me at the Historic Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park and Museum for a"Book Signing and Small Business Workshop by January 27 at 6:00pm.
For more information click om the Facebook link.

Thanks For Helping Me Get Down To Business

My labor of love finally came to fruition when my book "Down to Business:  The First 10 Steps To Entrepreneurship For Women" was published in September 2009. You can read an excerpt here on The Root.

And now I'm proud to announce that we have been nominated for an NAACP Image Award.  Please support us with your vote and if you're not a member, what better time to join the NAACP, they need us now more than ever.

Many thanks to everyone who made it possible, my editor Lucia Watson and all the people at Penguin, my wonderful and touch agent Barbara Lowenstein, and all of the inspiring female entrepreneurs who let me tell their story. 

Down to Business Workshops and Book Signings

First Steps is a 60 to 90 minute interactive workshop that is entertaining and informative with concise format to give the attendee specific information about how to start a small business. Starting with who you are, your business idea and eventually ending with template for a business plan. The 10 steps process is for people with a business idea who want to know what to do to get started. The workshops are also beneficial to entrepreneurs who are in the beginning stages of a business that may even have begun as a hobby and is morphing into a business: and the next question is “what do I do now to make it work as a real business?”

This is a place to start, to get information and ask questions that are specific to moving the business forward and to the next level.

Workshop participants are asked to provide information about their business type, how long they have had it or state the idea for their prospective business. This allows me to tailor the workshop to their needs and to use examples in the presentation that would be relevant to the audience

The workshops are conducted at local banks for customers who have asked for business loans and set up business accounts as a way to outreach the business community and assist the customers and potential customers in qualifying for loans. They are also available to Small Business Development Centers and community organizations to reach out to their constituents with helpful information.

Upcoming Workshops:

Down To Business: Book Inspiration

 

The seeds for the content of “Down to Business: The First 10 Steps to Entrepreneurship for Women” sprouted out of an effort to hold the attention a group of middle school students who outgrew the picture book story hour, a weekly event I held at the bookstore to interest students in reading. The older kids wanted to know how I started the Hue-Man Bookstore so I made it into a game and gave them a scenario.  I asked them to imagine wanting to open a bookstore. What would you need? The hands shot up---get money, a location, customers, cash registers, employees, a name, bookshelves and books. And for each suggestion, I told them what I did to open the store. From their input, I expanded the list and came up with “First Steps in Starting the Hue-Man Bookstore”. Over the years, I fleshed out the story to a general workshop since its’ principles related not just to bookselling, but to all businesses and the steps resonated with prospective small business owners.

The workshops that followed were the result of an invitation by a Harlem bank manager.  I was asked to give a presentation to customers who had inquired about bank loans for their business ideas but were unprepared and could benefit from the information. I was surprised that the attendedees were 80 percent women. They took copious notes and at the end always asked for a takeaway or if I had a book. Eureka! The book idea was born.  I wanted to reach out to potential and existing women owned businesses who were passionate and eager to launch or expand their enterprise.  “Down To Business” provides concise information in an accessible format and is enlivened by inspirational stories of women in an eclectic assortment of businesses.  And since I lived in Harlem and personally knew many female business owners in the area, I used them as examples in the book.  Each chapter includes exercises and if the reader completes them, that budding entrepreneur will have overcome a major obstacle and will come away with a basic business plan.

This book about getting women “Down to Business”      

Is Now Really A Good Time To Start A Business?

The answer to that question is Yes, No and Maybe.

First lets look at the Pros:

ü    Cheap Labor- with the employment creeping up towards 10 percent, they can finding all kinds of qualified employees ready, willing and able to work for a paycheck.

ü    Cheap Rent and materials – so many businesses shuttering and fewer willing to hang their shingle, landlords are making deals and offering build out incentives.

ü    Fewer and weaker competitors – not just for market share and creating an customer base, but with fewer competitors, everything you do from a Grand Opening to special events will grab the spotlight.

ü    Cheaper advertising- and due to fewer players on the, advertising rates have softened so your marketing and advertising dollar will go further and buy more.

Even with these factors in your favor, starting a business in a recession can be a difficult prospect.  Think about how that marketplace had changed and how your business can respond the needs of your customers in the current economic climate.  Since people become more fiscally conservative so you may find your niche by becoming the bargain alternative. Whatever your strategy, stay alert to changing needs and keep your business flexible to take advantage of current trends.