Bessie House's CSDMB Holds Graduation

Dear Bessie, This is Dr. Bessie House. I would like to welcome you to the new, graphically enhanced blog. We have some big news this issue. The Center For The Study and Development of Minority Businesses had its graduation June 3rd, 2006 and things are looking up, up, up! Bessie House's CSDMB Holds Graduation The Center For The Study and Development of Minority Businesses (CSDMB) held a graduation ceremony for its new alumni at the Twin Lakes Country Club Saturday, just outside of Kent, Ohio. The Center, which is headed by Dr. Bessie House, was proud to graduate 41 individuals. To graduate, individuals had to maintain the high standards put in place by Dr. House and the Center; besides having a good attendance record, students had to create a business plan that held the future course of action for their businesses. The graduates of the center included Earl Van Gaston, founder of the North Coast Acupuncture Clinic, Anitra Cash, who started At Your Service, a legal advice firm, and Leslie Carroll-Wiggins, who began her “The Egyptian Corner Import” store after attending the classes at the center. Other individuals in the graduating class represented a variety of business interests and places along the path to creating businesses. The center helps those that are formulating a business, have started a new business, and have been in business for a longer period of time. Mr. Floyd Borders was the emcee of the ceremony, opening the graduation up with a soul-stirring speech, expressing the need for networking, being technologically savvy, and by being fair in their businesses’ interactions. Mr. Borders also recognized Mr. Roscoe Stuart, the father of graduate Brenda Stuart, and founder of The Stuart Landscaping Company, Inc. Mr. Stuart exemplified the qualities Mr. Borders claimed that successful entrepreneurs must have before being successful.

Advanced Classes Starting Up at the CSDMB

The CSDMB is currently holding classes which are geared to those graduates of the intensive class at the Nordonia Hills Branch Library in Northfield, Ohio, pictured above. Individuals that have successfully graduated from the intensive class at either the CSDMB or the Entrepreneurial Academy can take these advanced classes, getting one on one help with their business plans. Students also learn about the impact of technology on businesses, how to write a successful grant, and what strategies are successful in keeping a business afloat. The class, which focuses on building on the framework that was given in the intensive class, is much more pointed at things students need to further their business success. Instead of the twelve-weeks of the intensive class, this particular iteration of the class is a svelte four-week creature.

Keeping In Touch

Finally, we at the Center For The Study and Development of Minority Businesses want to make a call out to any former student of our Center. If you move or have some other method of contact, please contact us! We love hearing about your new businesses, business plans, and any other information that you choose to share with us! There are individuals in our class that we have not heard from since they stopped attending; keep in touch! Contact information is at the bottom of this blog.