Going Beyond the Dream Part II

by Yolonda D. Coleman

May 10, 2007

Motto for this entry: Crack open the sky to give your Coffeedreamz mobility." -YDC www.coffeedreamz.com

The Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference (BEC) workshop, "How to be Your Own Boss," allowed business owners to hear personal testimonies and success stories of those who made much with little.

"My problem was that entrepreneurs in my community were non-existent. The funeral and barbershop owners---those people started to disappear as I got older. I had to travel too far to spend quality time with my daughter. I needed a place that would make me feel comfortable as a woman and a place for church women to go," Sharon Joseph, founder of Harlem, Lanes said.

Joseph continued to stress to business owners that they should find a way to solve a community problem. Her solution was establishing Harlem Lanes, the first African American female built and owned 24 lane bowling and entertainment facility. This was made possible as she partnered with her aunt Gail Richards and introduced bowling back into the Harlem community after 30 years.

"I fasted and prayed and wrote down the business plan---friends said it was stupid. The only cheerleaders I had were myself and my God," Joseph said. Joseph declared that she asked God if he wanted her to keep pursuing her venture, to keep blessing her. And that God did. It took Joseph 4 years to raise 5 million dollars to open Harlem Lanes. 2007 marked the one year anniversary of Harlem Lanes.

A native New Yorker, Joseph continues to invest in her community as an executive board member with the Women's Alliance of Harlem and a member of President Clinton's Urban Initiative Program.

Just a coin toss from Sharon Joseph sat Ken Brown who tells people, "I never worked a job a day in my life." Ken Brown encourages entrepreneurs to get paid internships. "They had something I needed. It's a temporary assignment," Brown explained. He wanted to create a future for himself so when it was time for him to move on to the next assignment, he did so leaving them having been served well while he worked there.

Ken Brown now operates two of the most successful McDonald's restaurants in the system. He wrote the vision and mission before he started and is able to profit simply from knowing that above and beyond anything else, his restaurants serve more than food. "People work hard for their money," Brown said. He explained that people are happy to patronize when they are satisfied.

Born of teen parents, 13 and 14 years old respectively, Brown credits the success of his McDonald's restaurants to serving customer satisfaction. "Service is the debt we pay for the space that we occupy in the business community. Customer service is your currency," Brown said.

Brown is currently diving into the hotel management industry. "The basic needs of a human is food, water and shelter. Now, I will be able to sell them all three," Brown said.

The "How to be Your Own Boss" kept business owners at the edge of their seats. At the seminars conclusion Sharon Joseph encouraged attendees to raise money and build their dreams one step at a time. Joseph said, "Think of the numbers in small chunks. It’s easier to ask for large sums of money from private institutions. And if you want to write a 300 page book, write one page a day."

Clips of motivational seminars presented by Ken Brown can be viewed on https://www.kenbrowninternational.com/about/. In the meant time. Dream, sip and create your dreams and make them come true.

Yolonda D. Coleman

www.coffeedreamz.com