Nicknamed the Magic City, it’s a robust business setting for growing clientele and cultivating creative interests. The region’s great demand for services inspired Douthit to consider an entrepreneurial venture. Approaching her 21st year as the nutritional administrator for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Douthit is also finding success with Petit Cakes (www.petitcakes miami.com), her line of gourmet cupcakes and miniature Bundt and layer cakes. Launched in 2009, Douthit’s home-based, part-time operation produces orders of roughly 2,000 to 3,000 cupcakes per month to an increasingly supportive group of patrons across industries. “I’m still young enough that I’m going to continue working,” says Douthit of her retirement in roughly 10 years, “and I’d rather be my own boss. My goal is to keep this at a slow and steady pace of growth.”

Here are several recommendations for your Miami experience.

ACCOMMODATIONS
A popular conference location, the Doral Golf Resort & Spa (www.doralresort.com), site of the 2012 Black Enterprise Golf & Tennis Challenge, spreads across 650 acres and offers a range of services and amenities that make it a comfortable environment for business exchanges, including its five champion golf courses.

Premium service is what guests can expect at the Mandarin Oriental (www.mandarinoriental.com/miami) located on Brickell Key. Booking a suite provides car service to and from Miami International Airport. This luxury hotel also offers exceptional year-round specials.

The boutique-style Hilton Bentley Miami/South Beach (www.hiltonbentleymiami.com) provides a choice between a studio, one- or two-bedroom suites, and the penthouse, all elegantly appointed in European fashion. The penthouse is 3,500 square feet with a spiral staircase that leads to a split-level rooftop terrace overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

RESTAURANTS
Truluck’s (www.trulucks.com) service extends beyond creative and succulent dishes to its own private crab fisheries and specially selected farms. There is live entertainment, and the after-dinner drink selection is as impressive as the wine collection.

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Rated one of the best Italian spots in Miami, Perricone’s Marketplace & Cafe (www.perricones.com) is open for lunch and dinner, with private rooms and special menus for business gatherings.

ATTRACTIONS
Three major sports teams have homes in Miami: the NFL’s Miami Dolphins play opponents in Sun Life Stadium; the NBA’s Miami Heat takes its talents to American Airlines Arena; and MLB’s Miami Marlins will swing their bats in the New Marlins Ballpark in 2012.

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts (www.arshtcenter.org) is the largest performing arts center built in the U.S. in the last 30 years. Located on Biscayne Boulevard, it hosts a range of artistic and cultural engagements. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is scheduled to perform in February 2012.

There are a number of society events, such as the Annual Hat Luncheon in February, that take place at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (www.vizcaya museum.org). The Moonlight Garden Tour, complete with live music and wine, is a favorite for visitors.

Influences: Kima-Cherry’s mother worked as a human resources recruiter in their hometown of Las Vegas. As a teen Kima-Cherry worked for her mother during the summers and after school, and learned the value of matching candidates with company culture. Finding someone with the right skill set and educational background was important, but a cultural match was key.

Experience: Upon graduation, Kima-Cherry landed a sales position with AT&T that required strong interpersonal skills and the ability to identify technology tools to make the company run more efficiently. “[I was charged with] uncovering needs that they didn’t know they had, and then plugging a product into it. So it’s not coming in and saying, ‘You need BlackBerrys.’ It was watching employees doing service calls and saying, ‘Your people write down everything they do and then you have to wait for that piece of paper to process the order. What if you used a Bluetooth pen that automatically transmits the information back to the company?’”

Previous Position: Operations manager with the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Executive Board in their newly formed Leadership Academies, which trains CEOs and other corporate officers, both domestic and international, in best practices of hard and soft skills. “I was interviewed by the two executive directors and one of them hired me as executive assistant for the team he was building. The platform was new and they were a fresh team so I grew with the job and was promoted after one year.”

Skill Set: “My ability to listen, identifying others’ strengths, and helping them develop.” Kima-Cherry is also able to analyze complex work situations and is solution oriented. She understands how to connect the right people based on organizational opportunities and challenges, and she leads by example.

Learning Curve: Kima-Cherry struggles with demonstrating how HR can result in a consistent and positive return on investment for any company. “We’re a touchy-feely profession. We can tell you how this initiative will make everyone feel better, but if you go to a CEO in the public sector and say that, it doesn’t translate into money,” she says. “We have to be able to talk as HR professionals in hard skills and find out how an initiative can create ROI. Yes, we’re HR and we have good intentions, but we have to put our intentions around business, processes, and improvements so that people can see the benefits.”

Age: 30

Job: Art Director, Italian Wine Merchants

Education: Studied visual arts and art history at Rice University

Location: New York

Responsibilities: Since February 2011, Miller has been the art director, responsible for print, logos, design, redesign, and general brand management of the company. Most recently Miller has been appointed the task of redesigning the website. Previous Position: Online Producer, Rockstar Games

Developing a foundation: “I was able to work with my adviser and professors to create an independent study, which meant taking random marketing and fine arts classes.” Building his own major was imperative; the majority of what he knows has come through mentorship and apprenticeship.

Working his network: Miller landed the art director position through his nurtured relationship with a past client from a former freelance post. “I was working for a local hybrid marketing firm/design shop/record label, and the wine shop was one of the clients. They [later] needed quick print turnaround work. I came in and met with them and it seemed like a good fit, so I freelanced for a month before they asked me to come on full time.”

Learning curve: Before this position, Miller knew nothing about wine distinctions. “Knowing the difference between wine from Piemonte, Toscana, and vineyard wines [was a challenge]. Before I worked here there was red, white, and sweet wine. Now I know the difference between a Barolo, a Brunello, and a Chianti.”

Balancing act: The company’s goal is to reach two very different types of customers. “A lot of people feel that wine is stuffy and inaccessible. So we’re trying to appeal to the people that don’t drink wine, while still maintaining that relationship with people that are wine connoisseurs—that’s something I’ve been able to help the company in navigating.”

Staying relevant and competitive: “I don’t stress myself to keep up with all the changes,” Miller says in response to the quick pace at which technology changes. “I just stick to the fundamentals and learn what I need to know as I go. Know good composition in a photograph when you see one. Know typography. Be organized.” And most importantly, “Stay in the pocket and push the boundaries to break someone out of their [comfort zone].”

“I’m definitely more connected with my customers. We have an interactive relationship where they can tune in to the radio stations that I have and they can hear my voice on the radio,” says the Cleveland-based Rogers, who is among a group of McDonald’s operators who are testing Creadio nationwide. “It kind of gives [the store environment] more of a community focus.  At any point during the live stream Rogers can call Creadio’s studio and request a song for a customer that immediately gets cued for the next play. This makes the customers’ experience that much more personalized.

Broadcasting Inspiration
Will Lucas, a former disc jockey in Toledo, Ohio, and Detroit, was inspired to start Creadio while shopping in a store that played traditional broadcast radio. During a commercial break, the station played an advertisement for one of the store’s competitors. “I thought, ‘They need their own radio station that just talks about them,’” says Lucas. For him, that meant tailoring everything from DJs to commercials in each separate store in order to “customize the consumer environment.”

Using streaming technology, Lucas delivers music over the Internet from the Creadio studio to store locations. Aside from a speaker system, end users need only a $200 Exstreamer, a device that plugs directly into a modem or router, to broadcast content over their Internet connection. Creadio configures the hardware before it’s shipped. The company requires a minimum download speed of 150 Kbps, but prefers clients to have 500KB to 1 MB for buffering or to allow for other uses of the bandwidth.

Creadio, which grossed $95,000 in revenues last year and projects an increase to $140,000 in 2011, has set up several different radio stations, including Hispanic, R&B, jazz, country, classical, soft rock, top 40, and a customized network for The Andersons, a general store chain in Ohio. Creadio’s monthly fees range from $34 to $114 for radio (Lucas pays $9 to $11 a month per store for royalties), and $45 to $175 for TV, depending on the scalability. The company’s TV software delivers the same features as its radio software, along with the ability to display live social media messaging to and from customers in the store. “We give you a real TV station where all the content is the same news, sports, and weather, but it’s all branded with the company’s logo,” says Lucas.

Despite established competitors like DMX and Muzak, Lucas is confident that his service is top tier. “I wanted something that could be a live, real-time, instantaneous changeable feed.” Creadio can change the dynamic of a customer’s experience on the spot, which keeps the environment fresh and streaming for current and new consumers.

Responsibilities: Hicks’ job is to manage the client intake process, which entails researching what the potential recipient’s business is, what service/product they provide, and what technical assistance they need—whether it’s marketing visibility locally, finances, business planning, or all of the above. “Financial needs assessments are done for most all businesses,” says Hicks. “If it’s a new business we request projections and overhead costs, for example, what are the startup costs for your business on day one.” WACIF also looks at cash flow income statements and their capacity to sustain debt. “We’re looking for businesses that are going to create more jobs for D.C. residents.”

Getting the job: Hicks lost her last position, as executive director of Vinegar Hill South Main Street, when the organization lost its funding. She still had the desire to work in the unpredictable world of nonprofits, though, so she reached out to the previous organization she was working with. Through that network she found out about the vacancy at WACIF.

Strongest skills: “Communicating with the client and educating the client on what they need to do to successfully receive funding for their company.”

Biggest learning curve: “Getting used to the financial side of the nonprofit research, from a lender’s perspective,” says Hicks. Absent accounting or business experience, Hicks had to catch up on the key factors for determining access to capital, such as how much money goes into their business and how much goes out—also known as debt-to-income. As a lender she wants to ensure the client has the ability to repay, making sure WACIF is a responsible lender.

Biggest on-the-job lesson: Working with a staff of five in the nonprofit arena, Hicks has had to “be aware, adapt, and get accustomed to wearing many hats on a daily basis.”

Surprises or frustrations: “Nonprofits are underfunded; we want to give more loans but we don’t have the capacity to support every single business that deserves the assistance. There’s always a need to increase funding, and that’s for any nonprofit.” Hicks continues, “There’s a big misconception that there are all these grants to start small businesses, but usually if the business is getting a grant it’s for a very specific project.”

(Image: Dale Coachman)

On Monday August 22, a powerful figure of American history was prodigiously cemented in world history at the grand unveiling of the long-awaited Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial site. Press and camera crews from international and domestic media outlets descended upon the recently finished four-acre site located on the Washington, DC’s National Mall to witness the impact that one man’s dream has had on the world.

Five years ago the groundbreaking development was initiated, and just days before the 48^th Anniversary of the March on Washington where Dr. King delivered his timeless, I Have a Dream speech, the dream of erecting a memorial in his honor became a reality. Although plans for President Obama, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and other stakeholders to officially dedicate the site at a ceremony on Sunday have been postponed due to the threat of hurricane Irene this weekend, BlackEnterprise.com was there to document the historical moment and to speak to some of the senior officials who had the important mission to complete this monumental project, which now stands as the first memorial in Washington, DC, dedicated to a person of color.

President of the Martin Luther King Memorial Foundation, Harry E. Johnson, Sr., who led the project and, from 2001-2004, served as president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc—the Greek organization Dr. King was a member of—explained the mission of the memorial, the overall theme and the objective of the site’s positioning: “I’ve said time and time again, ‘location, location, location,’” said Johnson. “Its [location] creates a visual line of leadership between Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials with the Washington Monument.” Johnson also highlighted the importance of encompassing King’s ideology. “His vision of America is captured in his message of hope, and the possibility of future citizens dignity and mutual respect—a message that challenges each of us to recognize that America’s true strength lies in our diversity of talents.”

That vision is displayed architecturally with a range of grace, humility and power that’s felt immediately when entering the site. Lisa Anders of McKissack & Mckissack and the senior project manager on-site briefly explained the logistics and the huge responsibility that she felt when appointed to her role. “It’s a four-acre site. We started construction in December of 2009 and we were completed in August, 2011,” she says of the task that took two years to physically complete. “I was overwhelmed at the opportunity. I was actually called by Deryl McKissack  (President and CEO of McKissack & McKissack), to come and run this project, and for me that was a great testament to my previous work; but this memorial is very important to our country…

Designed by sculptor Master Lei Yixin and his team, 159 granite blocks create the memorial’s Mountain of Despair and Stone of Hope, which features a 30-foot sculpture of the late practitioner of civil disobedience, peering out proudly (if not defiantly) toward the landscape. The site also hosts 14 quotations from speeches, sermons and writings, and a contains a 2,871-square-foot bookstore.

There’s already been enormous commentary on the outcome of this six-year undertaking (like the fact that the organization has raised an impressive $114 million for the memorial, but is still short of its $120 million goal). But Deryl McKissack eloquently summarizes the project by saying, “The construction of this memorial was more of a movement, it’s something more than just us.”

For more information on the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, visit mlkmemorial.org.

Hunter admires the fact that his father always helped people in need. He was a man who invested in his community and in his family’s “spiritual and mental banks,” but unfortunately “the financial bank remained empty,” says Hunter who was 27 when his father died. “Out of all the money made and good work that my father had done throughout his life, there wasn’t even enough funds available to put him in the ground.

Estate and insurance planning is not just for the wealthy or the elderly. It is for anyone who wants control of where his or her assets end up. But 35 million households have no life insurance coverage, according to a 2010 Trends in Life Insurance Ownership study conducted by research firm LIMRA. With individual life insurance at a 50-year low, four in 10 U.S. households with children would have immediate trouble paying bills if the main breadwinner died today.

As the eldest son of 14 children, Hunter—now the father of eight—is making sure he leaves behind not just enough money to cover burial expenses but an inheritance that will expand over generations to come.

The 34-year-old is principal and executive vice president of International Strategies and Operations at GeniusCo, an Atlanta-based IT management and services company that made $8 million in revenues in 2009. When it was time to choose a life insurance policy it was important that he and his wife, Aliyyah, 36, purchase a plan with adequate coverage that was also affordable.

Hunter identified four main items that the policy should contain. His first objective was to estimate the family’s life insurance needs. “We had to determine how much we could afford and how much we would need for either of us to maintain our lifestyle after the other spouse was gone,” he explains. Hunter factored in three years of his earnings, figured out how much he would owe if he died tomorrow, and included his wife’s and children’s living expenses.

Next, Hunter checked the longevity and consistency of life insurance companies, visiting their websites and paying special attention to each company’s board of directors and top management. He also investigated whether the insurer consistently paid out dividends.

Hunter then gauged the flexibility of several plans. He was interested in a plan that would allow him to borrow against it before retirement age without incurring fees and penalties. Lastly, he searched for a policy that would protect him if he were injured on the job. For example, some insurers offer a disability waiver premium, which ensures that insurance coverage is not lost when the policy owner is unable to pay premiums due to a total disability.

All the research guided the Hunters to a 15-year custom whole life insurance policy with New York Life Insurance. Here’s how it works. A portion of the premium goes into an investment account and accrues cash value allowing the policyholder to invest in bonds, money market accounts, and stocks. You can also borrow against the cash value of your policy.

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Although Hunter and his wife have a combined coverage of nearly $2 million in cash value, it was equally important that he create a long-term financial strategy for his children: Jasirah, Muhyideen, Maryum, Zulaikah, Inshirah, Layan, Umar, and Marwa.

While choosing a policy for children can be a difficult decision the Hunters felt it was the best choice. Each of his children has coverage worth $750,000 in cash value, which costs him about $700 a month. Although an expensive and unconventional choice it’s one that Hunter, who makes an annual salary of $250,000 a year, insists on. He says his children can tap into the policy’s cash value through the use of either a policy loan or by cancelling the policy and using the funds for retirement income, college tuition, a down payment on a home, or for emergencies.

“I now live with a level of security that I never had and it feels great,” says Hunter. “I am confident that if I were to leave this earth tomorrow, my goals could be accomplished and my family will be secure.”

HUNTER’S ADVICE
Hunter did extensive research before he found a plan suitable for his family. Here are some tips to keep in mind.

• Create a policy tailored for you. Some insurance providers allow policyholders to add “riders”—an additional set of terms and conditions that “rides on” the basic package. For example, the Hunters added a disability waiver to ensure that all future premiums would be waived and the policy would keep them insured if they were to become totally disabled.

• Compare policies. “Insurance policies look alike from the outside but there are little features that make them different,” says Hunter. Ask yourself, “What happens if I get sick?” “If I make a withdrawal and repay the policy back by the end of the year will I suffer a penalty?” “Will I still get dividends for the whole year even after the withdrawal?” Hunter says, “Some stuff is obvious, but when you compare apples to apples you have to split them down the middle and see which one has a little bit of rot in it.”

• Estimate your insurance needs. “We had to determine how much we could afford and how much we needed for either of us to maintain our lifestyle after the other spouse was gone,” explains Hunter. This calculation included Hunter’s salary for the next three to five years, funeral expenses, the cost of operating his business, and overall financial obligations such as the mortgage, debt, estate taxes, etc. (See “The Meaning of Life Insurance,” Moneywise, September 2010).

I work with the state of New Jersey as a clerk and don’t know how to get out of this title once I receive my degree in business management. I’m in my 30s and I would like a professional career in Washington, D.C. Any advice on steps I need to take in this competitive workforce?

—T. Flack
Via E-mail

First off, you should applaud yourself for aspiring to higher career goals. It’s important to shift your attitude to believe you are worthy of a better position and seek the necessary education to achieve your ultimate career goals. The Career Passion Coach, Catherine Jewell, recommends having a target area or city in mind to narrow your employment search, so you’re on the right track. Research industries and companies you want to work for in Washington. The next step is to tap into your network. Call and e-mail all the folks you feel can help you seek out job leads. Try to set up informational interviews with many companies to get a clear sense of the job opportunities available. Also, join professional organizations such as Executive Leadership Council (www.elcinfo.com) that can help you expand your network.

Make sure to read Career GPS: Strategies for Women Navigating The New Corporate Landscape by Ella L.J. Edmondson Bell, Ph.D. (Amistad; $25.99) and Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life) by Cathie Black (Crown Business; $24.95).

This Q&A appears in the October 2010 issue of Black Enterprise in Workplace.

Floyd V. Myers

Title: Chief of Business Development & Partnerships; Business Management Specialist

Organization: National Parks of New York Harbor (National Park Service)

Location: New York

Age: 44

Power Play: Myers uses his extensive Park Service training to support the superintendents and the partners of the National Parks of New York Harbor, which consists of 10 parks. His responsibilities in the commissioner’s office include drafting agreements to establish partnerships with local and federal agencies, such as the City of New York and the Army Corps of Engineers, and other groups. He also supports the parks’ concessionaires and nonprofit partners in enhancing the visitor experience.

Why should a company spend the money to make sure its employees are properly trained?
A well-trained staff can take your company to new heights. By investing in employee training, a company strengthens its primary human resources by building proficiency and common skills across the organization. Employee training provides a self-regulating scorecard of development. Staffs that are well-trained tend to be more organized, confident in the services they are providing, less stressed, and more open to new ideas. And the company benefits from their creativity, dedication, and focus.

How does employee training assist in a company’s sustainability?
A well-designed training program can engage an individual employee in a continual learning process that allows him or her to adjust to new technologies and changing market climates without losing productivity. For the staff, it can mean the difference between a company riding the waves of social and economic disequilibrium or crashing and sinking as a result of incompetence and a lack of confidence. It doesn’t matter how large or small the company, sustainability rests in the ability to not only adjust to changing times and develop the skills needed on the local and national stage but also the ability to be prepared for the often unexpected changes occurring in the global arena. Ongoing, effective employee training will ensure your company’s existence in the future.

Is there an ideal set of skills for an effective team?
The most efficient teams are those who have mastered skill integration and time management. Every team member has a unique skill that can be useful for a company or organization. Your job as the director or manager is to help the staff member identify his or her strengths and organize your team so that each staff member is operating at his or her highest capacity in an area that will benefit the entire team and, ultimately, your business. By creating multiple training opportunities, you can help your staff to develop their unique abilities within the framework of their job functions so that they are happier and more willing to work hard for the company’s success.

How critical is preparation for the overall success of a company?
Training is not only good for the image of the business, it is good for the employees as well. Preparedness not only creates an organized and properly functioning business, it helps employees psychologically with their work. Training makes them feel more confident in what they’re doing and decreases the mishaps that could occur in the business.

Many people believe they accomplish more by doing more, but that’s not always the case, says Loretta Love Huff, a business coach and consultant in Phoenix. When you do too many tasks you spread yourself too thin, and all your work can suffer in the process. By assigning tasks to others, you free yourself up to spend more time doing what will move you toward your goals. Love Huff adds, “You want to leverage your skills and gifts for their most productive use.”

Though common sense suggests we’d all appreciate a helping hand, many people struggle with delegating because they equate handing over tasks to others with admitting that they can’t handle the job, experts say. Others fear that those they delegate to will either outshine them or perform poorly. “It’s your ego that tells you you’re the only one who can do this,” says Cherry A. Collier, Ph.D., a life and executive coach in Atlanta.

So, while one part of effective delegation involves getting over yourself, another requires establishing a formula to work from so you can develop the willingness to delegate and the confidence to trust the results.

When Okafor brought on an assistant and began outsourcing tasks to independent contractors, expenses naturally went up at her Rockville, Maryland-based company, Jules Management & Consulting. But Okafor slowly realized it was now easier for her to make up the difference. “The month after I started delegating, I realized I’d put in less time but still taken on more clients,” she says. By letting others take on work associated with developing e-mail marketing campaigns and event planning, Okafor now had time to pursue new clients. And those she delegated to also developed an emotional stake in the company’s success.

Looking back, Okafor acknowledges that her resistance to delegating hindered both her growth and the company’s. She says she now understands how “the job of a leader is to share the vision.”

If you’re having a tough time letting go of some of your responsibilities, consider the following:

• Prioritize your focus. You will be better suited for some tasks, like face-to-face interaction with your best clients or cold calling prospective ones. “Spend time doing things that make or save money,” suggests Love Huff. Items further down on your to-do list can be delegated, especially those you continually put off.
• Assign appropriately. Of course, some tasks are more fun than others. What can help promote positive performance as well as alleviate resistance and resentment is delegating a task to someone who shows an interest in taking it on. If possible, find out who wants to be involved. In a work situation, assessments can identify employees who have the appropriate skills. And, thanks to technology, you’re not limited to the people in your geographical circle, says Collier. Virtual assistants or remote independent contractors can also lend a hand.
• Take time for training. Many people don’t delegate because they think they can do a task more quickly themselves. “Instead, invest the time in training someone else to do certain tasks—so they become part of their skill set,” says Love Huff. The last thing you want to do is hand over an important assignment to someone who doesn’t have adequate preparation or instruction. Training may seem tedious, especially if you’re delegating to lighten your load. But establishing a firm foundation now will help to streamline the process later. Write down all the crucial steps, as well as any legal or compliance issues, and give the person room to add his or her own stamp of individuality to the process.

Lose Control
Still holding on tightly to tasks? Implement these four strategies to loosen your grip:

1. Evaluate your workload. Do a cost-benefit analysis. Write a list of the worst things that can happen if you delegate, as well as the potential benefits, suggests Love Huff. Compare the worst-case scenarios with what you can potentially achieve, and determine how you would respond if the worst-case scenario occurred. Remember to include the intangibles you’d gain, such as a lower stress level, by eliminating some of your responsibilities. For some, having too much to do can mentally paralyze them from doing anything.
2. Start small. Don’t start off giving all your tasks away. “If you’re nervous, start with something small,” Love Huff advises. When you see the person is able to handle the task, it will give you the confidence to let go of bigger things. Also, it’s OK to hold on to tasks you enjoy doing or that you believe are integral to your role.
3. Think win-win. You’re not the only one who benefits when you delegate; others get the opportunity to learn new skills. “The more you let go, the more you help to build up other people,” says Collier. If you’re worried that the person will do a better job than you did, consider their success a reflection of your leadership and training, not to mention that you’ll probably do your remaining tasks better now that you have more time.
4. Realize that delegating is good. It’s not a negative reflection of you. Collier says if you have the opportunity to delegate, you improve your own communication and leadership skills. She adds, “In most cases when you see a successful person, that person is not successful without having delegated.”