Grab 7 Mac Apps For The Price Of One With This Deal
Even if you have a powerful computer with the most advanced specs, you won’t get to maximize it if you don’t have the proper software. The key to productivity is having the right programs in tow, ideally ones with built-in functions that would allow you to execute all your tasks. But computers today rarely come with built-in apps, or if they do, they’re rarely useful. If you want to install top-rated programs, you have to shell out hundreds of dollars.
That’s why when deals like The Premium Limited Edition Mac Bundle pop up, it’s hard not to take advantage. It’s basically a collection of 7 well-reviewed apps and lifetime subscriptions for productivity, graphic design, video, security, and more. The best part? You’ll get all 7 for the price of a single app.
Microsoft Office 2021
Score a lifetime license to the classic MS Office apps you already likely use on a regular basis, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and OneNote. With this deal, you can install all these programs on a computer for use at home or work, and you also get free customer service for life.
Ivacy VPN
A recipient of the 2019 BestVPN.com Fastest VPN Award, Ivacy VPN renders you anonymous whenever you hop on the internet. It also lets you bypass geo-restricted content, thanks to its 3,500 servers spread across over 100 locations worldwide. With National Cyber Security Alliance being its official partner, Ivacy VPN is a big proponent of cybersecurity, privacy education, and awareness.
SplashID Pro
Forget your passwords often? SplashID was developed to securely store confidential information like passcodes and financial records. It syncs your data with the cloud, WiFi, or not at all, and performs automated backups, so you don’t have to. Named a Top 6 Password Manager by CSO Online, it gives you peace of mind knowing that your sensitive information remains safe from the hands of nefarious hackers.
VideoCom Pro
Create and share personalized and engaging videos without exerting much effort with this user-friendly platform. Whether you want to put together tutorials, demos, presentations, reports, and the like, VideoCom lets you record your screen and webcam with ease, share your videos online, upload, manage and store your existing projects, and track viewer management. With this license, you also get 256GB of cloud storage for housing your essential media.
Aside from these four apps, you also get XSplit VCam, which offers cutting-edge background removal and blurring, Mail Backup X, a one-stop solution for email management, and Live Home 3D Pro, a program that allows you to redesign or renovate your home using realistic design tools.
If bought separately, the apps that are part of the Premium Limited Edition Mac Bundle would set you back $1516, but for a limited time, you can get it all on sale for $49.99.
Marie Gill Honored as One of South Florida’s Most Influential, Prominent Black Women in Business
Marie R. Gill, Founder and CEO of M. Gill & Associates, Inc., is ending the year on a high note after being named as one of South Florida’s Most Influential and Prominent Black Women In Business and Industry of 2022 by M•I•A MEDIA GROUP LLC., publisher of Legacy Miami and Legacy South Florida.
“Being named as one of South Florida’s Most Influential and Prominent Black Women In Business and Industry of 2022 is a tremendous honor,” said Marie R. Gill, Founder and CEO of M. Gill & Associates, Inc. “I’m thrilled and humbled to be recognized alongside so many successful, inspiring women in business.”
Over 30 years ago, Marie R. Gill founded M. Gill & Associates with a mission to help businesses to succeed, according to a press release. She wears many hats and in addition to serving as the CEO of her own firm, she is also the Executive Director of the MBDA Export Center – Florida, where she continues to exceed expectations. A consummate professional, Marie Gill is the first woman, the first Black, and the first of Caribbean descent to have won the U.S. Department of Commerce contract to operate the MBDA Business Center in 2001.
About M. Gill & Associates, Inc.
M. Gill operates the Florida MBDA Export Center, the Miami MBDA Business Center, and a newly awarded MBDA Infrastructure Center. All MBDA Programs are funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). All MBDA-funded programs provide technical assistance services, free of cost, to assist minority businesses to build scale and capacity, increase revenues and investments, create and retain jobs, and expand into new and global markets. M. Gill also provides management and economic development services to U.S. and International corporations, government agencies, and educational institutions.
M. Gill also manages the City of Miami’s Small Business Center, providing specialized services free of cost to businesses within the City of Miami in exchange for the City’s Cost Share Strategic Partnership on the MBDA Programs.
Nantale Muwonge Named Entrepreneur of the Year By Black Women Marketers
Founder of Black Girl PR, Nantale Muwonge, has been selected as Black Women Marketers 2022 Entrepreneur of the Year.
The award designates an agency owner who is building and sustaining a successful agency, according to a press release.
“Every day Black women contribute to marketing campaigns and strategies with our expertise and intellect. Our cultural competency has made advertising what it is today, and for that, we’ve created these awards to honor women often overlooked in this industry. Being selected as a Black Women Marketers Achievement Award winner means you’re backed by more than 300 [plus] women who believe you’re beyond impressive as a marketer,” says Jasmine Gibson, founder of Black Women Marketers.
According to BWM, Muwonge was selected because she excels in the fulfillment of her assigned roles and responsibilities as it pertains to the marketing industry; she exhibits the highest standards of professionalism, commitment, integrity, and accountability in her work; she has made an important and notable contribution to the achievement of the mission and goals of Black women in the marketing industry; and she aligns with the mission and vision of Black Women Marketers.
“My goal with Black Girl PR is to lift Black women up to receive the recognition they deserve, so to be recognized by Black Women Marketers is so affirming. They’re an incredible organization! They give us a voice, a supportive community and a safe space to be, so they’re doing very impactful work,” says Muwonge .
“And being among Black women in marketing who are at the forefront of innovation is an honor,” she adds.
Muwonge has helped 2,500 plus entrepreneurs increase their market share over the last two years. She educates them on marketing and digital PR best practices and provides them with an action plan to increase their visibility, so they reach more people in order to have a bigger impact. For the core group of clients who’ve been through The Brand Impact Program™, Muwonge has helped them expand their reach to a potential audience of 2,655,567,400 plus, and increase their website traffic and sales by up to 60 percent.
They’ve been featured on major platforms like Essence, Fox TV, Insider, MSN, Rolling Out, Shondaland, Time and Yahoo News. And in addition to visibility and website traffic, the media exposure has brought them brand partnerships, corporate sponsorships, awards, and more importantly, it’s helped them claim their rightful place as leaders in their industries.
For more information or to learn more about Nantale Muwonge and the work she’s doing with Black Girl PR, visit http://www.BlackGirlPR.com.
Martha’s Table Names Community Champion Tiffany Williams as President and CEO
Martha’s Table announced the Board of Directors’ unanimous decision to appoint Tiffany Williams as its new President and CEO following an extensive national search.
Williams brings more than 25 years of experience as a dynamic education and nonprofit leader; she has held key leadership roles at Martha’s Table for eight years, most recently as the interim chief executive officer. As head of programs, she was the chief architect of the design and growth of Martha’s Table’s offerings, which include high-quality education, healthy food, and family supports.
“Tiffany has a rare and unique combination of skills in executive management, governance, and operations; the board enthusiastically supports her as our new leader,” said Ken Bacon, co-chair of search committee and incoming Board Chair. “Our search process was informed by community input, and her exemplary record as a collaborator and bridge-builder with our neighbors and staff has been evident since her early tenure at Martha’s Table. She was our singular choice from a pool of 200 exceptional candidates from across the country.”
For over 40 years, Martha’s Table has supported strong children, strong families, and strong communities by increasing access to quality education, health and wellness, and family resources. Notably, Williams served as an integral member of the leadership team that laid the foundation for meaningful community relationships in advance of Martha’s Table’s relocation from 14th Street to its Ward 8 headquarters and community hub in 2018.
“I am honored to lead Martha’s Table at this pivotal time in our history; it has been humbling to be part of the evolution from our days as a food security and child care provider to truly becoming a place-based, community-led organization,” said Williams.
“I am proud to continue to advance this important work alongside our neighbors and our team to co-create a future where everyone realizes their highest aspirations.”
Martha’s Table recently expanded its programs with a focus on long-term economic mobility, including pioneering a direct cash assistance program for mothers and families and a $100,000 Community Impact Fund to build the capacity of grassroots nonprofits in Ward 8. The organization has also launched emotional wellness programs that have served 400 community members in the first year.
“As the community voice on the search committee, I could not be more ecstatic about Tiffany’s selection; she was demonstrably the best candidate for this role,” said Lamont Michell, Chair of Anacostia Coordinating Council and a newly appointed Martha’s Table Board Member. “She is a quiet giant and visionary. Tiffany and her team have been steadfast in centering the needs and aspirations of the community, prioritizing equity, building generational wealth, and providing mental health services with compassion and without stigma.”
We are thrilled to announce community champion, Tiffany Williams, as our new President & CEO! Tiffany brings more than 25 years of experience as a dynamic education and nonprofit leader and has held key leadership roles at Martha’s Table for 8 years. https://t.co/AjOtzE5Mbhpic.twitter.com/eQ0sVoYkbG
The search was led in partnership with Good Insight, an executive search firm based in Washington, D.C.
Martha’s Table is a nationally recognized community institution that is advancing a bold model of self-determination charted by insights from community members, having recently expanded its offerings to include workforce development as well as signature programs Parent University, District Dads and Baby & Me Early Parenting. To learn more, visit MarthasTable.org.
Pittsburgh Yards’ Co-working Members and Tenants Bring Kwanzaa Principles to Life Year Round
Pittsburgh Yards, a mission-driven entrepreneurial development on the southside of Atlanta, is a community of more than 140 Black-owned and run businesses and organizations that is community-inspired.
Its mission is simple – to serve as a catalyst to spur economic equity, job growth and entrepreneurship to benefit area residents and entrepreneurs throughout Atlanta for future generations. Situated in the historic Black neighborhood of Pittsburgh with a rich history (352 University Avenue), Phase I of Pittsburgh Yards was completed in 2020 and included James Bridges Field, the infrastructure for the pad sites for future development, and The Nia BuildingTM, which serves as the development’s nerve center and hub. Named after one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa – Nia means purpose in the African language of Swahili. The word “purpose” defines the mission of Pittsburgh Yards as a place to create unprecedented opportunities for the community and beyond. What happens at Pittsburgh Yards and through the businesses there personifies the principles of Kwanzaa throughout the year.
As Pittsburgh Yards delivers against its purpose and mission and encourages mission-driven businesses and organizations to join and become co-working members or tenants, many of the businesses bring the seven principles of Kwanzaa to life. Here are just a few:
Umoja (Unity)
Stakeholders within the community came together in 2017 through numerous community meetings and work groups to engage in creating the spirit of Pittsburgh Yards, from the actual name to the art from local artists throughout The Nia Building. The space was designed for collective productivity and as an enjoyable place to work and collaborate with a vibrant group of like-minded entrepreneurs and businesses. As Pittsburgh Yards evolves and grows, husband and wife team, Anthony and Sharon Pope, principles of Atelier 7 Architects, LLC, are at the center of designing the ten shipping container retail spaces for the future Container Courtyard that will be situated adjacent to an access point to Atlanta BeltLine’s Southside Trail.
Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)
Born in Atlanta, Mary-Pat Hector is a graduate of Spelman College and a current graduate student at Georgia State University. She began community organizing at the age of 12 years old. At the age of 18, she was one of the youngest community leaders to advise President Barack Obama on criminal justice reform in the oval office. By the age of 19, she became the youngest woman and person of color to run for public office in the state of Georgia, losing by only 22 votes. She is the founder of Equity for All, an organization that develops that develops successful get-out-the-vote programs for partners across the South. Hector finds inspiration in this quote by Coretta Scott King: “Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it in every generation.”
Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)
Our Village United, the collaborative partner and organization that leads the programming and curates community culture for Pittsburgh Yards, is grounded in the core belief that by serving the whole business, the entire community prospers economically and holistically. Through their work, they support the growth of Black solopreneurs and microbusinesses by delivering targeted technical assistance and shared professional services that not only focus on the health of the business but also the health of the business owner to empower and elevate small businesses to grow and scale.
Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)
Malika Redmond is CEO and co-founder of Women Engaged, an initiative that uses a creative, hands-on learning approach to advancing Black women’s human rights, youth empowerment and civic engagement efforts in Georgia, offering leadership development opportunities, public policy advocacy, and year-round non-partisan voter engagement campaigns. She solicited the talents of Amber Lawson, the president/CEO of Aspire Construction & Design to design and build out her office space at Pittsburgh Yards. Aspire is a commercial design-build general contractor providing entrepreneurs like Malika and Women Engaged a one stop shop for design and construction services. She launched Aspire to provide opportunities for under-represented demographics in the architecture and construction industry. Her real passion is imagining the possibilities of a space – building something different than what was there yesterday, and doing that for other entrepreneurs, especially women entrepreneurs.
Nia (Purpose)
Reggie Hammond, CEO of Your Crescendo, empowers individuals, teams, leaders and organizations to connect their work to their purpose. This includes coaching, strategic planning, high performing team building and placement services – all centered in purpose.
Kuumba (Creativity)
There’s no shortage of creativity at Pittsburgh Yards. In addition to having an artist studio, there’s an inspirational, art-centered environment in which to work. From co-working member, Thomas Gray, CEO of Zwenty 58 Entertainment, the creator of Adult Game Nights games, to Destiny Brewton, CEO of A House Called Hue, which is more than a high-quality embroidery company, but also a business that has become an incubator for local creatives in the community, thus developing more artists in Atlanta. And then there’s Sharon Brooks Hodge, CEO and managing partner of Phenomenal Media Productions, a company that creates multimedia content relevant to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Black businesses. It includes content development and traditional media, new media, social media, and corporate communications.
Imani (Faith)
“Chin up champ, you’ve got this!” is the quote Danielle Walker, CEO and founder of BLKGTV Network LLC, has used to motivate herself, even before she was an entrepreneur in the business of helping independent filmmakers maximize their revenue growth through viewership by providing a controlled environment for them to host their content. Although she’s had her business for 9 years under the parent company YJLM LLC, BLKGTV Network was founded in 2021. According to Walker, being a part of the community has elevated her confidence in her ability to grow her company to its fullest potential. “Pittsburgh Yards is motivating and inspiring because you are in a building with like-minded individuals — all working towards one real goal and that’s to be the change we want to see,” said Walker. “Pittsburgh Yards is a movement. It represents hope.”
You can explore more businesses by going to the 2022 Pittsburgh Yards Gift & Giving Guide.
More information about becoming a Pittsburgh Yards co-working member or tenant can be found at PittsburghYards.com or by visiting the community in person and taking a tour on the second Thursday of every month at 11:30 a.m. or at 2:30 p.m. at 352 University Avenue in Atlanta. Contact Pittsburgh Yards via email at info@pittsburghyards.com or by phone at 470-890-5030.
Take Back the Mic (TBTM) Studios Makes History with Live-Action Performances in the African Metaverse
TBTM (Take Back the Mic) Studios has just produced the first-ever African concert in the Metaverse, featuring some of the brightest rising stars from the award-winning TBTM flagship series, The Mic: Africa.
The concert took place Nov. 30 in a plot of Ubuntuland (the African metaverse) called altMTN, according to a release. Africa’s largest telco MTN sponsored both the concert and Season 3 of The Mic: Africa, a talent competition and docuseries broadcast across 20+ Sub-Saharan countries by PremiumFree Satellite TV, featuring artists from Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania.
The Mic: Africa in the Metaverse Concert featured Season 3 Grand Prize Winner, Nigerian singer, Neky, as well as soulful South African singer MaLaCo, Ghana’s hottest new rapper Yung Pabi, Ghanaian dancehall artist Ayibor Gaza, and The Mic: Africa Season 1 Grand Prize Winner, Nigerian rapper and singer, Fecko, along with Nigerian Afro-Fusion trailblazer, Villy. These artists rank among the first from each of their countries ever to perform in the Metaverse.
TBTM Studios President of Production, Stan Jakubowicz, recruited a talented in-house graphics team in Argentina to create fantastical and vibrant virtual worlds for the live-action performances of Africa’s brightest rising stars.
“This concert was seamlessly produced between Dubai, Accra and multiple cities in Argentina, which is a testament to our commitment to develop and showcase talent in the Global South,” said Jakubowicz.
“This Metaverse Concert culminates a year of innovation for our company,” said TBTM Studios CEO, Derrick N. Ashong.
“This year, we launched a host of new features in our play-to-earn TBTM video streaming app, including the digital currency, Kola, which lets users redeem engagement points for brand rewards, starting with Mobile Data in Africa; we produced Season 3 of our award-winning show, bringing still more brilliant African artists to the world stage; and we signed partnerships with Mastercard and MTN; in addition to producing this historic virtual concert. I couldn’t be prouder of our team, which today spans Africa, India, Europe, the Middle East, the US, and Latin America.”
In 2022, TBTM Studios stands at the vanguard of highlighting the ways in which the Global South is indeed Taking Back the Mic.
Watch The Mic: Africa Metaverse performances here:
Here are Tips From Ten Top Money Experts To Help You In The New Year
Originally Published Dec. 26, 2022
2024 is just over the horizon now that we’re in December and it’s setting up to be another year of instability with inflation still rising along with unemployment and the country heading into a recession.
If you’re a budding entrepreneur, an investor, or someone looking to build wealth, doing it the right way will take research, a hustle mentality and the right information. BLACK ENTERPRISE is here to help with ten tips from top financial experts to help you in the new year.
Determine your financial goals
Everyone has different goals. Whether it’s restoring credit, saving for retirement, buying a home or college tuition, knowing what you want to do in the new year is the first step.
Determining your short and long-term financial goals is the first step towards reaching them and will also keep you from setting your goals too high.
“One of the difficulties with goal-setting is ‘all or nothing thinking,” Brittney Castro, a certified financial planner at Mint, told NBC. “It’s an extreme mindset, and when we do things like that, we set ourselves up for failure because we don’t take into consideration all the grays of life.”
Budget
The second step in any financial plan is budgeting. It doesn’t matter what your goals are, saving, restoring your credit or wealth building, you can’t get on the road to financial freedom without a map and you budget it that map.
“My best tip for tracking, organizing, and staying on top of my finances is to create a monthly budget or a spending plan (for those who find the word budget really boring). The importance of creating a budget cannot be over-emphasized because having a budget helps me,” Esther Mukoro, a financial coach and the founder of Money Nuggets told Liberty Paperwork Solutions.
If you can’t stick to your budget, plan your spending
If you’ve set budget after budget and continuously blow through them, then it may be easier to create a spending plan instead.
“The concept of living on a spending plan instead of a budget can give you freedom and peace of mind,” Loreen Gilbert, a wealth manager, and CEO at WealthWise Financial Services told Bankrate.
Additionally, a spending plan allows you to choose what to spend your money on instead of being focused on what you can’t buy. Start with necessary expenses, rent, food utilities and savings. Money Management apps can also help you keep track of things and make automated payments or transfers.
Track your accounts and your purchases regularly
In some months people can be frugal while in other months people might overspend a bit if issues or events come up. Tracking your accounts regularly will not show you where your money is going, but will also show you know when your spending is getting out of hand. Additionally, it can also help let you know when it’s time to pull back on spending and save more.
“Check your account balances daily and see where your money is really going. This can also help you see when your funds are getting too low and you need to curb your spending. I also recommend that people track every purchase for 30 days and also write down how they felt after the purchase. Many times we spend mindlessly and not necessarily within our values. This exercise can be eye-opening,” Melanie Lockert, author and founder of the blog Dear Debt told Liberty Solutions.
Plan monthly no-spend weekends
One of the best ways to save money is by not staying in. No-spend weekends are a great way to give your accounts and cards a break. Start by planning for your weekends ahead of time. Pick up whatever food and entertainment you need before the weekend. If you live in a large metro area, figure out what free events there are that weekend that’ll pique your interest. Another option is to stay at home with some comfort food, stay out of the winter weather and stream your favorite movies and shows
“I did my first no-spend week a few months ago and saved over $200,” Emma Newberry said in an article she wrote for The Motley Fool.
MoneyGeek also features a list of more than 40 things you can do on a weekend to fill a no-spend weekend.
Boost your retirement savings
For those of you who are already well into your financial plan and are waiting for that beautiful day called retirement, boosting your retirement savings is paramount as inflation is driving many who called it quits back into the workforce.
Today, you need to make sure your retirement money will last and unpredictable circumstances don’t empty your savings faster than you planned. Lorna Sabbia, the head of retirement and personal wealth solutions at Bank of America, suggests taking a long-term approach to your retirement plans.
“Use [the new year] to boost or maximize contributions to 401(k)s or HSAs, plot out holistic retirement goals (e.g., Where will I live? Will I work? How much to budget for travel?) and, no matter your age or life stage, take meaningful steps to boost your financial wellness,” Lorna Sabbia, the head of retirement and personal wealth solutions at Bank of America told Bankrate.
If You’re investing, wait for the right opportunity
Finance experts across the U.S. continue to say that a recession is coming at some point in 2023 and while many are scared about that, Kara Stevens, The Frugal Feminista told Black Enterprise Senior Vice President Alfred Edmond Jr. last month that a recession also brings opportunity.
“Technically a recession is when there is no growth or negative growth in the economy and typically you’ll see higher unemployment, higher interest rates and less consumer spending,” Stevens told Edmond on the Your Money, Your Life podcast. “The larger context is that these are cycles.”
“For those of us that understand the cycles, this is a great time to take advantage of sales in the market so if you change that mindset of scarcity of one into opportunity knowing that recessions happen and after the bear market there’s a big bull market right after so you want to be able to get through the recession for whatever happens after.”
Sticking to your financial goals during a recession will give you access to more opportunities as the market and the economy begins to bounce back.
Finding capital to start or help your business
It’s no secret that Black entrepreneurs struggle to find capital. However, the COVID-19 Pandemic and the 2020 Black Lives Matter Movement, led to a revolution in Black business.
So if you’re a budding entrepreneur looking for funding there are now a wealth of places where you can apply for funding. Lendistry, the only nationwide fintech CDFI and the only African-American-led small business lending company, is giving out $200 million to small and micro-businesses in New York. The Black Cooperative Investment Fund (BCIF) is providing microloans to small businesses in Southern California.
“We consider ourselves probably one of the largest African-American deployers of capital in the US,” EverettSands told BLACK ENTERPRISE. “And after George Floyd, what was very important to me as the CEO is that we got a chance to sit at the table and help to influence or add our voice when various clients were starting to create programs such as the NY State Seed Fund.”
Additionally, Black celebrities including tennis legend Serena Williams, rapper Jay-Z and Producer Pharell Williams and others are giving out loans to minority and female-led small businesses.
Stay away from risky investments
The tech industry has been one of the most tried and true investments in recent years with the growth of Amazon, Apple and Google. Cryptocurrency has also been viewed as a fast way to drive your accounts up.
However, the tech industry is currently laying off thousands of workers across the country. At the same time, many who poured money into cryptocurrency have lost it in what is an unregulated market including some notable celebrities and athletes who took money in Bitcoin.
Investing in safer areas isn’t foolproof, but they are areas where investment and the world are growing. Green energy is an area where investment is currently exceeding predictions due to rising energy costs across the world. Additionally, there are several sectors in green energy including solar, wind, hydroelectric and geothermal, that are growing across the world including in the U.S.
“Expanding opportunities for small and underserved producers is a key goal of Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities. Small and underserved producers are facing the impacts of climate change head-on, with limited resources, and have the most to gain from leveraging the growing market demand for agricultural goods produced in a sustainable, climate-smart way. Our goal is to expand markets for climate-smart commodities and ensure that small and underserved producers reap the benefits of these market opportunities,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a USDA release.
Remember, money management is a marathon, not a sprint
Any form of money management no matter how big or small takes time. Rome wasn’t built in a day and your financial goals won’t be achieved in a day either. It will take months and maybe even years of you saving, spending frugally, and sacrificing.
If you feel like budgeting and limiting your spending is too hard, remember what the goal is and how far you’ve made it. Also, make it a point to celebrate small milestones on the way to your goal, it’ll keep you motivated to get to the finish line.
Remember this is for your financial future and freedom, so stay positive and keep your goal in mind, because when you finally hit that goal, you’ll realize it wasn’t as hard as it seemed on that first day.
New Year, New You: Here Are the Best Moves To Begin Building Wealth In 2023
Millions of people begin each year with a new year’s resolution but by February most people have already given up on their resolution.
But what if I told you your next resolution can make you rich if you stick with it? Would you follow through then?
Well, BLACK ENTERPRISE is helping you get a jump start on building wealth in the new year with some tips to get you started. However, before we start, you’ll have to come to grips with the fact that building wealth is not a fast or easy process.
Make a plan and budget
Building wealth takes planning and patience, identifying your goals and developing a plan to achieve them is the first step to any financial plan.
Sitting down and going through your finances can help you find out how much money is coming in, how much is going out, and if you need to make any adjustments to those. If you can afford it, hire a financial advisor or Certified Financial Planner (CFP) to help you begin your wealth-building plan.
If you can’t afford a full-time financial advisor, there are plenty of apps offering financial advice and access to professional financial advisors. Two apps, Betterment and Ellevest, provide managed investment portfolios and access to financial advisors that can help you on your financial journey. Additionally, both Betterment and Ellevest have detailed reviews by Forbes.
Automate your finances
You deal with a lot in life, including family, friends, children, and work. Constantly managing your finances in addition to every other aspect of life can be difficult. Let technology help by automating your saving, investing, and bill paying.
Having your expenses automatically deducted from your paycheck and applied to each expense can help you track your budget easier, improve your credit score, and manage your money without constantly worrying about it.
Manage and eliminate your debts
According to Bankrate, the average American carries more than $90,000, so don’t feel bad or like you’re the only one. Some debts, such as a mortgage, are considered good debt thanks to their wealth-building potential.
However, other debts such as credit cards carry high-interest rates so paying them off as fast as possible is important. The good thing is you can fight this kind of debt off in more than one way.
There’s a debt snowfall, in which you start by paying off the smallest debt and then taking the money you were using to pay that off to help pay off the next smallest debt. There’s also a debt avalanche, where you pay off the debt with the highest interest rate first and after you use that to pay off the next highest debt.
If it takes you months or even a year to pay off a debt, remember, this is not a fast process, so take a deep breath and remind yourself that slow and steady wins the race.
Take advantage of technology
If you have a goal of building wealth in 2023, you have an invaluable resource walking around with you in your pocket every day, your smartphone.
There is a bevy of financial tools and resources available on the internet today. If you’re struggling with getting your finances in line, check out the Netflix show Get Smart With Money, in which four financial experts help everyday people. The show is a wealth of financial advice and tips from advisors, including Shareef “Ross Mac” McDonald
There are numerous finance figures on the internet that can help you with entrepreneurship and starting a business, investing in the stock market and businesses and wealth building. Another valuable resource is BLACK ENTERPRISE’s Your Money, Your Lifepodcast, in which BLACK ENTERPRISE‘s Senior Vice President Alfred Edmond Jr. talks with entrepreneurs, financial executives, and experts.
Stick to your goals
Inflation continues to raise prices, unemployment is beginning to rise again and the stock market is still worried about a looming recession. That being said, this is no time to lose sight of your goals.
Instead, keep reminding yourself to stay on the path. Don’t throw away those statements showing you paid off a debt, keep them as a trophy for your diligence. Now that you’ve automated your accounts, use your banking apps to view how much progress you’re making toward your financial goals.
Even keeping a journal showing your progress from the beginning can help keep you on the path to financial freedom and the positive reinforcement from accomplishing small goals will keep you motivated for that big hill you have to get over. If you happen to slip up, don’t beat yourself up. The goal here is progress, not perfection.
Curing Holiday Shopping Hangovers: Strategies To Wipe Out Credit Card Debt
It’s the holiday season, so everyone is building a Christmas list and checking it twice before heading to the stores or online to swipe that credit card.
However, a month from now, when those holiday bills are due, it can have you feeling hungover about the holiday season. Don’t worry too much because BLACK ENTERPRISE has you covered with its list of strategies for wiping out that credit card debt.
1) Evaluating Your Finances
Before you can pay off your credit card debt, you must first find out how much you owe and how much you can pay off monthly while still living. That means creating a list of how much debt you owe on each credit card, each card’s annual percentage rate (APR), and your other monthly bills.
The next step is comparing your debt and expenses (groceries, rent, utilities, etc.) with your income and working out a monthly amount to pay off each month. After that, it’s time to prioritize your spending, set a budget, and stick to it.
2) Tackling The Debt
Now it’s time to begin paying off the debt. Some people may want to tackle the biggest debts first to save some money on the back end, while others may want to take care of the smallest debts first to use positive reinforcement to get to the end.
Either way, find what’s your most comfortable with. Credit Karma has a debt calculator that can help. Simply enter the balance you owe, the interest rate, and your expected monthly payment or desired payoff time frame to determine how long it will take to eliminate the debt. You can also automate the payments, so the payments are made even if you forget.
Another step is paying more than the minimum balance if you have the money. This will help you eliminate the debt faster, and your card company is required to chart this out on your statement giving you an idea of how effective it is.
3) Debt Consolidation
One of the biggest issues with credit card debt is the high-interest rates. According to MoneyGeek, the average credit card interest rate is 19.49%.
If you have good credit, consolidating your debt into one account is a way to make one payment each month to wipe away the debt. Replacing your credit card debt with a credit card consolidation loan, also known as a debt consolidation loan or a personal loan.
That will allow you to pay off your credit card balance with a new loan for the same amount but at a lower interest rate than 19%.
4) Work With Your Creditors
It may be hard to do, but admitting your financial situation to a credit card issuer may help you negotiate payment terms and qualify you for a hardship program, especially if you’ve been a longtime customer with a good track record.
With interest rates climbing and the threat of a looming recession growing every day, credit card companies are more likely to work with their customers to pay off their debts. Something as simple as swallowing your pride and answering your phone can lead to significant savings and the end of those annoying phone calls.
5) Additional Financial Advice
If you need additional financial advice, including estate planning, 401(k)s, saving for retirement, and entrepreneurship, BLACK ENTERPRISE has a wealth of podcasts, articles, and discussions on these topics with the leading Black businessmen and women in the U.S. who share their knowledge and experience that can inspire you.
Black Owner of a Liquor Brand Launched to Great Acclaim Then Lost It All — Here’s How He Made a Multi-Million-Dollar Comeback
Disclaimer: This story has been republished with permission from Entrepreneur.com.
Jackie Summers, founder of Jack From Brooklyn, Inc. and its widely acclaimed Sorel Liqueur, knows what it takes to make a comeback.
Summers says he was the only licensed Black distiller in the U.S. post-Prohibition in 2012, and when he launched his hibiscus-based liqueur that year, he had to navigate an industry that wasn’t set up for him to succeed.
“I started working the market, and when I went to accounts, no one believed I was the brand owner,” Summers tells Entrepreneur. “To this day, most places I go (and I’ve been to thousands) have never met a Black liquor brand owner before.”
In spite of the odds, the brand gained immediate recognition among cocktail enthusiasts.
Then things began to fall apart.
Summers’ distillery in Red Hook was ravaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and insurance wouldn’t cover the damages. Still, he managed to rebuild by 2013, recapturing Sorel’s momentum until soaring demand and Summers’ do-it-all approach brought the brand to a halt once again — this time, for several years.
But that still wasn’t the end of the story, which, Summers says, actually begins thousands of years ago in Africa, where “the red drink” made from hibiscus flower — and the basis for Sorel — originated.
“Fast forward to 500 years ago, and the Transatlantic trade starts,” Summers says. “Now, bodies and spices are being stolen from the continent of Africa and transported.”
The hibiscus flower came with them, taking root in the Caribbean.
And though the recipe for the red drink also known as sorrel wasn’t written down, its devotees kept it alive through oral tradition.
“These are people who had everything stolen from them,” Summers says. “They were taken from their home; families were destroyed. They were given new names, forced to practice a different religion. They had every part of their identities destroyed. But somehow they preserved this cultural identifier.”
Naturally, variations in the beverage arose between nations, based on the spices traded at their ports.
“The difference in spices that were traded on various islands correlated directly to the ethnicities of the indentured servants working there,” Summers explains. “Jamaica, for example, had a high number of Chinese indentured servants, hence ginger and cardamom. Islands like Trinidad and Tobago had a high influx of East Indian indentured servants who brought their spices with them, so cinnamon, nutmeg and clove.”
Summers’ own family would carry the tradition of sorrel with them from Barbados to Harlem, New York in 1920. His grandfather, a chef, taught his mother how to make sorrel, and his mother taught him.
Summers also recalls enjoying the drink at the annual Caribbean Day Parade, where two million people from every island celebrated on the Eastern Parkway with costumes, dancing, flags and food.
“I remember being this child,” Summers says, “and I didn’t care about all of the other stuff — just beef patties and roti and curried goat, all this delicious food, and washing it down with this red drink, non-alcoholic because I was a kid.”
“What I really want to do is day drink. I want to be around interesting people in the middle of my day, in the middle of the week”
For 20 years, Summers batched his own version of sorrel in his kitchen “like a good Caribbean boy,” making it for parties and barbecues with family and friends.
But a cancer scare in 2010 would change the trajectory of Summers’ life — and his relationship with the red drink that had always been part of it.
“My doctor found a tumor inside my spine the size of a golf ball,” Summers says. “He said, ‘You have a 95% chance of death and 50% chance of paralysis if you live. You should organize your paperwork.’ I lived, and the experience will adjust your perspective.”
Summers was the director of media and production at a fashion magazine at the time, and he asked himself what his true priorities were.
“What I really want to do is day drink,” Summers says. “I want to be around interesting people in the middle of my day, in the middle of the week. I want to have great conversations with great food and beverage, and I want to monetize it.”
When he couldn’t figure out who was going to pay him to enjoy that lifestyle, he decided to launch a liquor brand.
Summers started with the sorrel product itself: He needed to compensate for the acidity of hibiscus and make the drink shelf-stable. It took 624 tries to get it just right.
“I [compensated for the acidity] by giving it the right balance of other botanicals,” Summers explains. “So my version of this beverage — and there’s no definitive version of it — has cloves to add brightness, cinnamon for warmth, nutmeg to add a dry finish at the end, and it’s got ginger to almost perfectly mask the heat of the alcohol. So you never actually taste booze; you just feel booze.”
And to make the red drink last?
“The organic matter in the base mix is removed in the form of complex polysaccharides, and everything that’s left is crystal clear and shelf-stable,” Summers says. “Again, I am not a food scientist. It took me a long time to figure that out. But that’s my contribution to this centuries-old story.”
The decision to drop the additional “r” in “sorrel” for Sorel’s brand name was two-fold.
“First, I have a speech impediment and have great difficulty pronouncing the letter ‘r,'” Summers says. “However, I had eight years of enunciation lessons in public school. One of the things I learned was: words that end in a down sound are sad. ‘Sorrel’ is a sad word. ‘Sorel’ is happy, and I can pronounce it.”
Summers also notes he can’t trademark “sorrel,” as it’s generic; he’s currently in the process of trademarking “Sorel.”
The ways to enjoy Sorel are near-limitless, Summers says. Although people of Caribbean descent typically drink it straight (hot or cold), it complements an array of seasonal cocktails too. Part of Sorel’s unique appeal is in its flavor-first approach.
“Big liquor companies solve the problem [of alcohol tasting bad] by adding flavors to alcohol,” Summers explains. “So we have blueberry-flavored vodka and habanero-flavored tequila. I reverse the process. They add flavors to alcohol; I add alcohol to flavor. Flavor’s always the most important component of what we produce.”
“I figured that the people who kept this beverage alive had to go through more than I did, so I should at least try as hard as they did”
Summers had Sorel’s recipe down — the same one the brand bottles to this day. But he needed investors and a place to distill. The way he landed both is “actually a really fun story,” he says.
About six months after Summers left corporate America behind, a friend and VP at Hearst magazines asked him to lunch to consider an attractive job offer: mid-six figures, a corner office on the 32nd floor overlooking Central Park.
“In my heart, I knew I was going to tell him no,” Summers says.
But the pair met at a small burger joint on the Upper West Side, and Summers gave his friend one of the bottles he’d made in his kitchen and told him about his big idea — at that point, he didn’t yet have his license to distill or a place to do it.
A man at the next table overheard their conversation and asked if Summers was looking for investors. Summers gave him his card and an extra bottle he’d brought (“Because I live in New York City, I know to be prepared,” he says.)
The man turned out to be Alexander Bernstein, son of internationally acclaimed conductor Leonard Bernstein. He became Sorel’s first investor and made it possible for Summers to acquire the brand’s distillery in Red Hook.
Cocktail connoisseurs quickly took note of the delicious and versatile red drink.
Then, six months into the brand’s strong launch, Hurricane Sandy hit.
“Six feet of seawater in the basement,” Summers recalls. “Five feet of seawater on the first floor. All of the commodities, all of the equipment, destroyed. The building took major structural damage. Insurance did not pay a dime. FEMA did not pay a dime. The SBA rejected 90% of the applications that came out of Red Hook.”
But Summers wasn’t deterred.
“I rebuilt it with a lot of sweat, and it took every last dime to relaunch the business,” Summers says. “That really should have been the end right there. That should have stopped us. But I figured that the people who kept this beverage alive had to go through more than I did, so I should at least try as hard as they did.”
Sorel relaunched in 2013 and brought its distribution up to 22 states.
But Summers and his vice president Summer Lee, who remains with the company to this day, were “literally doing everything” themselves, and it wasn’t sustainable.
When The New York Times listed Sorel in its holiday gift guide that year, calling the drink “Christmas in a bottle,” the demand became too much to meet.
“You can do everything yourself, but you can’t do everything well,” Summers says. “I was making the product, doing sales calls, opening new markets, doing all the marketing, packaging, merchandising, keeping up all the books. I wasn’t doing a good job of all of it, and I was neglecting myself in the process. [We] could not keep up with how much product we needed to make to be a successful business.”
In the middle of it all, Summers also struggled to find investors whose values aligned with the brand’s. A series of frustrating close calls ensued: A national deal to take Sorel across the country for millions of dollars. A bidding war among three of the biggest liquor companies in the U.S. Another deal worth millions that made it to final negotiations in 2016.
None of them came to pass.
“My goal is to use the product as a vehicle for storytelling. Because story matters”
By the second half of 2016, the company had failed, and Summers was living on the street.
“I was homeless for a year and a half,” Summers says. “And I had to learn that my value was innate and not directly linked to the success or failure of my company. The company can do well, and the company can do poorly — I’m still me.”
During that time, Summers never stopped having conversations with potential investors who could help him bring the brand back. He believed Sorel’s struggle was just “a footnote in the bigger story.”
“The people who created this deserve to have this story told, and that doesn’t happen if my goal is to build it and then flip it,” Summers says. “My goal is to use the product as a vehicle for storytelling. Because story matters. So for me, the big part was not just finding money, but finding people whose intention and values align with my own.”
In addition to prioritizing investors who share his values, Summers has spent years writing, teaching and coordinating educational curricula to promote diversity and inclusion within the beverage industry.
“There was a time, and it wasn’t long ago, when we did not talk about sexism, homophobia, racism, antisemitism or any of these things in our industry,” Summers says, “and because I experienced a particular level of discrimination myself, I wanted to make sure that we could make the most level playing field possible for everyone involved.”
For many years, Summers taught a seminar called “How to Build a Longer Table.” But in 2019, when nothing had fundamentally changed, he decided to teach a different course: “How to Build Your Own Table.”
“Because it’s easier to construct something that is equitable from the ground up than to convince people who exist in structures that are not equitable that they should change for anyone’s benefit,” Summers explains.
So that’s exactly what Summers is doing with his team at Sorel today.
“There are people in my company that look like [the people at] the table that I want to sit at,” Summers says. “My vice president is a woman who is mixed race. My chief scientist is disabled in that he is blind from birth. My operations person is Latino. We are the people that we want to have at this table — all differently disadvantaged by society, but all with so much to offer and so many different skills. And it has been a blessing in that all those different perspectives come together, and they are more than the sum of their parts.”
“The only thing better than building a company that they offer you $100 million for is building a company they can’t afford”
So how did Summers get back on track and build the team he wanted to see?
When yet another negotiation with an investment group went sideways at the final stage, Summers did something he doesn’t normally do and is still working on: He asked for help.
Summers wrote to Fawn Weaver, founder and CEO of Grant Sidney, Inc. and Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, to see if she could offer him any guidance.
Unbeknownst to Summers, just one day before, Weaver had been discussing the many Black-owned brands the Uncle Nearest Venture Fund supports in an interview when the interviewer asked if she was helping Summers. Weaver knew who Summers was — they’d met on the speaking circuit — and she didn’t think he needed any help. “Talk to Jackie,” the interviewer said.
Summers’ email arrived the next day. During their initial conversion, Weaver asked Summers what he wanted to do with the brand: Build or flip?
“And I sat back and I said to her, the only thing better than building a company that they offer you $100 million for is building a company they can’t afford,” Summers says. “And I see that’s what you are doing. If you’re asking me if I’ve got a chance to create legacy, the answer is yes.”
The Uncle Nearest Venture Fund invested $2 million in Sorel.
Sorel returned to shelves in October 2021 and “had an especially auspicious first year back,” Summers says. In 2022, Sorel entered international spirits competitions and placed gold or better 37 times.
“We cleaned up,” Summers says. “And I tell my team this all the time: Most brands go their life cycle with a gold medal, and they’re very proud of it. We got literally dozens. And while entering the competitions is no guarantee in itself, it [builds] both consumer and distributor confidence. People love to get behind the winner.”
And that’s exactly what happened. Sorel expanded to 20 states within one year. Today, it can be found at Disney resorts, Hyatt hotels, Spec’s in Texas, and BevMo and Total Wine locations across the country. Some of the major Las Vegas casinos have also put in requests.
Over the next five years, Summers says Sorel will expand somewhat, but the brand’s primary focus will be diving deeper into its current markets. “We want to dig into the story and the education,” he says. “It’s required to let people know what this is and why they should care about it. And yes, it’s delicious. But there’s more to it.”
Summers also wants to “get granular” and determine what other companies need from Sorel to succeed. “I sincerely believe you have to tie your success to other people’s success,” Summers says. “So every time I walk into a bar, restaurant or retailer, I want to know what helps them win so I can contribute to their winning. So we plan to help other companies do well, and through creating that experience, grow our own brand.”
When it comes to Sorel’s long-term future, Summers cites several exciting developments in the works.
The government of Barbados reached out to Summers; they love the brand, and Summers has had several meetings with the Ministry of Finance about building a distillery on the island.
“We’ll pay for it together so that this beverage, which came from Barbados, can be brought home,” Summers says. “Made with local hands, made with local ingredients. And then they would get behind it as a country and make sure it is in every restaurant, hotel bar and duty-free shop across the Caribbean.”
There are also plans for another U.S. distillery. Currently, Sorel is made in New Jersey at Laird & Company, the oldest distillery in the country. But the goal is to bring Sorel back to Brooklyn in the next year.
As Summers looks out even further, he hopes to expand Jack From Brooklyn’s offerings to include other products that have been waiting to be bottled for centuries.
“How many other products are out there right now that have historical [and] great cultural significance to a small group,” Summers says, “but no one has bothered to figure out how to make it shelf-stable and market it yet?”
Summers isn’t interested in making another rum or tequila, though he respects those who do — he’s on a mission to “introduce categories of one.”
Summers’ perseverance helped lay the foundation for Sorel’s triumphant return, and for those entrepreneurs hoping to make a comeback of their own? Summers has an additional word of advice: “cocoon.”
“Our culture says you must keep going at 100 miles an hour at all times,” Summers says. “If you don’t have a chance to reflect, you don’t get the opportunity to see what your strengths and weaknesses are, and how you’re going to compensate for both. It’s important to cocoon on a regular basis — whether [that’s] 20 minutes of meditation a day or being able to get away once every few weeks and spend some time in nature and quiet your mind. Once you have clarity, all sorts of things can move forward.”
