Lisa Marie “Phoenix” Jackson draws daily on the inspiration of her mother, who passed away in 2007, and the advice she received to follow her dreams at any cost.

After holding jobs in sales, customer service, and accounting at companies such as Sprint, Jackson decided to give up the stability of a steady paycheck in 2011 to become an entrepreneur at the ripe young age of 26.

“I had created so much for other corporations, I thought why not do it for myself?” says Jackson, now 27.

The Brooklyn, New York, native had developed a knack for building online relationships and helping her employers connect with customers using sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. So she created a business plan to launch her social media consulting firm, Phoenix Aficionado (www.phoenixaficionado.com).

Jackson used personal savings of $2,500 to cover startup costs for Web design, photography, marketing software, an iPhone, a tablet, and a professional camera. She also bartered with local entrepreneurs.

“I met with graphic designers that were like, ‘If you help me set up my Facebook and Twitter page, I’ll help you with illustrations,’” she recalls.

Jackson started out with two clients found through word-of-mouth.

“I humbled myself to work for them at no cost on a term basis so that I could develop my portfolio,” she says.

The risk was worth it, as these two companies later became paid clients. Her third client, bow-tie maker Modern Day Mogul (www.moderndaymogul.com), came on at a reduced rate; Jackson now oversees its social media marketing, online advertising, and media partnerships. Jackson also turned to resources such as Mashable.com, LinkedIn groups, Craigslist, and multiple freelance sites to find short-term contracts doing blog content development, social media, and customer relationship management.

When Jackson enrolled in the Black Enterprise Small Business University (SBU) powered by Dell Inc., she was looking for practical strategies she could put into play immediately.

The eight-week program of online video courses (www.blackenterprise.com/sbu) provided original tutorials featuring a team of rotating business, marketing, and technology experts. Among SBUs all-stars were author and SmallBizLady Melinda Emerson; Buzz Marketing Group Founder and CEO Tina Wells; Young Entrepreneur Council Founder Scott Gerber; The Money Coach and personal finance author Lynnette Khalfani-Cox; SocialPeople.tv Founder James Andrews; digital lifestyle guru Mario Armstrong; and technology expert Mel Parker, vice president and general manager of Dell consumer, small office, and member loyalty in North America.

“Sometimes people are intimidated by the word ‘university’ because they think there’s going to be a massive time commitment,” Jackson says.

But the couple of hours a day that she spent watching the videos and applying the advice were well worth the effort. And she was chosen out of nearly 10,000 SBU registrants as the grand prize winner of a package that includes a $10,000 Dell office setup.

Launched in January 2012, Phoenix Aficionado has six ongoing clients at the time of this writing, and Jackson’s business is in the black—averaging $3,000 to $4,000 in monthly income. She’s in the process of hiring a part-time assistant to help her manage her blog and assist with social media. “Small Business University gave me confidence in growing my business that I didn’t have before,” she says.

When Kristina Parker thinks back to why she and Mae Beasley become close friends, she doesn’t immediately reveal it was due to what they had in common: They were both single mothers. She’s not ashamed or forgetful. Instead, what they found in other far exceeded the boundaries of friendship, the confines of support.

“If you happen to be working as a single mother then there’s this idea out there that everything should be fine for you,” says Parker, “when it reality it’s not.

“She really knew how difficult it is being a single parent and how there weren’t any programs or a support system in place to address the needs of the working single parent, and we wanted to build that community.

What started as a friendship based on support turned into action. Together they started the organization R.O.K.S. (Raising Our Kids Solo) to build awareness and support for single parents. After several challenging years and different iterations of the idea, R.O.K.S launched again in 2011. “We look forward to soon championing the cause of single parent families everywhere.”

Parker processes and evaluates grants applied for by governmental agencies and non-profit organizations for Laurel Consulting Group in Rosslyn, Va. She served in the military and has worked in the private sector and in non-profits for 17 years. She joined the Marine Corps in 1986 and was honorably discharged in 1993.

Parker says educating, equipping and empowering single parents is what’s needed to changing the negative stigma attached to single-parent families.

“There are a wide array of programs for parents who are on some type of government assistance, and that is fine because some people actually need that help, but there didn’t seem to be anything in that nature for the working single parent,” says Parker.

R.O.K.S. is seeking to build resources to help single parents find affordable child care, legal and medical assistance, socializing — and even a create a safe space for single parents to come and vent their frustrations. “Sometimes that’s all you need,” Parker affirms, alluding to how it helped her. “You know the problem won’t get solved during that particular block of time, but you at least will be able to let off steam to a group of people who know exactly what you’re going through.”

As for the stigma of single-parent families, Parker’s ability to articulate a new framework will be instrumental in helping her land investors. And R.O.K.S. isn’t just for mothers. It’s for fathers, too. “A lot of single parent families are borne out of divorce, a non-marital relationship dissolving or death. You hear stories sometimes like that of LaShandra Armstrong who drove herself and her four children into the Hudson River because she was not getting help from her children’s father. No one should have to feel that alone and despondent and think taking their life and the lives of their children is the only way out.”

You’ve taken the courses, now give us your feedback! We want you to help us make the Small Business University even better! Go to www.blackenterprise.com/sbu/survey to tell us what you think. We want to hear from you.

We know that whether part-time, newly launching or seasoned entrepreneur, your time is precious, and we don’t take that lightly when we consider the amount of passion and dedication you’ve shown through your interest in the Black Enterprise Small Business University. We thank you for being a part of it and for being about your business!

We also don’t take lightly any technical issues you may have experienced. If ever there is a problem or question, please email us at sbuinfo@blackenterprise.com and we will work to get back to you within 24 hours with an answer and, after we’ve investigated it, with a solution.

It was recently brought to our attention that there has been some confusion regarding the accrual of points.  Some things to note:

• The amount of points you get each for logging in is 40 (FORTY) points. (On our “Rewards” page and our “How it Works” page there was a misprint that said “100 points,” which of course caused confusion)

 

• When you tweet or post to Facebook about SBU you get 75 (for tweets) and 150 (for Facebook) posts ONCE daily. So posting two or three times does not add up additional points.

 

• There appears to be a delay in points showing up for you after you’ve reviewed some of the newer videos. We are working to fix this problem but rest assured, we’ve checked the system and see that it is, indeed, counting everyone’s points accurately.

 

• Although we were so ready to test your skills with our weekly quiz, we decided to move the quiz feature to our next phase of SBU so we can focus on correcting any other issues.

 

Now that you have some updates, here’s a way to rack up even MORE POINTS!

• Read a Tip: Reading the small business tips articles helps you gain 35 points for each.

 

• Complete Your Extended Profile: Have you completed your full profile? Do so and gain 250 points!

 

• Watch the Entire Video: Our videos are concise and to the point, so be sure to watch the ENTIRE video to earn 350 points.

 

• Rack up the Badges: Badges are worth 100 points each! For each three videos you watch under the weekly themes, you’ll earn that particular badge and 100 points.

For other frequently asked questions, be sure to check our FAQ page. We appreciate your support and your feedback!