December 18th Blog

Greetings!

Sincerest Greetings to each of you! I am absolutely delighted to present you with the 28th edition of our Entrepreneurial Alternatives Newsletter. Our theme for this edition is "The Power of Collaborations." I have been asked many times through the years about what is the secret to developing successful collaborations that work in the real world. And, I have been delighted to answer this question. I have had the opportunity to be involved in a number of very successful collaborations through the years, so for me, it is not about theory. It is about practice.

With this in mind, I am absolutely delighted to report that that our most recent collaboration with the Honorable Jay Williams, Mayor of the city of Youngstown, the Youngstown Mahoning Community Action Partnership, the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., which I oversee, and Youngstown State University to create the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy, has been a resounding success! In this edition, we provide a brief synopsis of the 1st Annual Graduation Ceremony of the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy which was recently held in October of 2007. I want to personally congratulate all of the graduates who successfully completed the rigorous requirements to matriculate through the intensive business training classes offered by the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy. The Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy is an affiliate center of the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., headed by Dr. Bessie House.

When I first created the Applied Business Curriculum that is now used in the NCE and its' affiliate centers, some individuals said that it would never work. Well, I am delighted to say that after having almost 400 participants to take our classes and helping to create more than 51 new business start-up companies, our system works very well indeed! We are delighted to welcome the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy's graduates into the exciting world of entrepreneurship. We are overcome with joy that they are now moving forward to start their own businesses and create new jobs and wealth in their communities in Mahoning County.

In this edition, we present information about the 1st Annual Graduation Ceremony for the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy and begin our series on the 10 Rules of Developing Successful Collaborations. We also provide a brief synopsis of my recent acceptance of the prestigious Oni Award from the International Black Women's Congress in Portsmouth Virginia and information about an upcoming Wealth Building Seminar being organized by Mr. Melvin Richardson in the greater Cleveland area; and last, we will share with you our Dear Dr. House letters for this week which come from the Chancellor at Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis; the CEO of Kenyatta College in Kenya, East Africa; and Austin, Texas.

Quote of the Week

I want to say something very special to Dr. House because she reminds me of what we all must become as Black people in the 21st century.

She is a servant leader..... and our servant leaders are the most humble, they are the most relevant, they are the most open, they are the most teachable, they are the most respectful, and they are the most caring leaders in our community. And, we love you for that. Thank you for committing your life.

-- Mr. George Fraser --
President, Founder, and CEO, Frasernet
Best Selling Author and Entrepreneur


Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy Holds First Annual Graduation Ceremony
by Dr. Bessie House

The Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy held its' first annual graduation ceremony on Thursday, October 25, 2007 at the Chevrolet Centre Community Room in Youngstown, Ohio from 6:00-8:00 P.M. The creation of the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy in Spring 2007 came about as the result of a creative collaboration between the city of Youngstown, the Youngstown Mahoning Community Action Partnership, the National Center for Entrepreneurship (which is headed by Dr. Bessie House), and Youngstown State University. The Honorable Jay Williams, Mayor of Youngstown, Ohio, initiated the collaboration because he believed that it was vitally important to develop strategies to help citizens of Youngstown to become self-empowered.

There is no better way to do that than to embrace entrepreneurship for the 21st century. The Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy is modeled on the Cleveland Entrepreneurial Academy that Dr. House directs. The Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy is an affiliate center of the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., headed by Dr. Bessie House.

Ms. Sharon Woodberry, Director of Economic Development for the City of Youngstown was the Mistress of Ceremonies. Mr. Herman Hill, Director of the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy, welcomed all attendees to the great event. Opening remarks were made by the Honorable Jay Williams of the city of Youngstown. Dr. Bessie House, President, Founder, and CEO of the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc. provided a history and program overview for the event. Dr. House reiterated how very happy she was with the results of the 1st year of activities of the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy.

According to House, 'when I first created the model for these centers 12 years ago, people said that it would never work. Since that time, the NCE and its' affiliate centers have collectively trained almost 400 individuals and have helped to launch more than 51 new business start-up companies. I would say that the model works very well.' Mr. Herb Washington was the keynote speaker for the event. Washington owns the Youngstown Steel Hounds as well its' parent company, Blue Line Hockey. He is the very first African American to own a professional hockey team and is also the owner of several McDonald Franchises located in the Mahoning Valley and Western Pennsylvania region. He discussed many things that entrepreneurs need to know in order to be successful in business. He emphasized the importance of having honest people around you in the business organization. He also pointed out that "failure is not fatal and success is not final." According to Washington, one of his most important ingredients for success was the ability to stick to something over the long haul. Mr. Arnold Clebone, Regional Director for Economic Development for the Ohio Department of Development, made congratulatory remarks on the program.

Dr. House and Mr. Hill presented graduation certificates to the 16 individuals who fulfilled the rigorous requirements for graduation. Congratulations go out to the 2007 graduating class which include Sherry Berry, Gerald Beulah, Jr., Lori Beulah Mary Boyd, Antoinette Carter, Priscilla Colbert, La Shonda Cross, Tammy Duck, Sonya Harris, Kimberly Kitchen, Danielle Lazaro, Ina Madison, Faye Miller, Eddie Pierce, Jr., Marie Sinkfield, and Lynnise Wells.
Dr. House-Soremekun Receives Prestigious International Award

Dr. Bessie House-Soremekun was the recent recipient of the prestigious Oni Award from the International Black Women's Congress on September 22, 2007 at their annual conference held in Portsmouth, Virginia. According to the leadership of the International Black Women's Congress, "The Oni Award symbolizes the essence of all that is good in African people. The word ONI is taken from the Ife culture of Nigeria. It represents a spiritual force that protects the people. A recipient of the Oni Award has been identified as someone who protects, defends, and enhances the general well-being of African people. A recipient of the ONI is diligent, persistent, and noncompromising. We like to think of her as our unsung heroine. With the creation of the Oni Award, the International Black Women's Congress salutes those women in our communities who keep on working on behalf of African people. They are truly committed. Their vision is clear."

Dr. Bessie House-Soremekun is the Public Scholar in African American Studies, Civic Engagement, and Entrepreneurship at Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis (IUPUI), where she holds dual Full Professorships in both the Department of Political Science and the African American and African Diaspora Studies Programs in the School of Liberal Arts. Her research and publications have focused both on African political and economic development processes as well as African American economic development and entrepreneurship. She is a nationally recognized leader, advocate, and expert on entrepreneurship and economic development. She is also an award-winning author, entrepreneur, and inventor. She is the President, Founder, and CEO of the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., whose main objective is to promote entrepreneurial efficacy and economic growth all across this country. According to Dr. House-Soremekun, "the role of a scholar at an institution of higher learning is to produce and disseminate knowledge that can be used to solve real world problems. I am deeply honored to be the recipient of this wonderful award and am delighted that my research and outreach activities under the umbrella of my entrepreneurial training centers have led to the creation of more than 51 new business start-up companies by people of African descent in recent years. "
Building Effective Collaborations That Work
by Dr. Bessie House

As we move further into the 21st century and realize the point of diminishing returns in our everyday lives, the catchword of the day seems to be collaborations. Over the past decade or so, we have been involved in a number of collaborations and have become aware of 10 rules that can enhance your probability of achieving success. This week, we will provide rule numbers 1 and 2. Tune in for the remaining rules in upcoming volumes of Entrepreneurial Alternatives.

Rule Number 1: Do not enter into collaborations lightly and make sure that you develop your own criteria for the collaboration. We have developed three criteria to govern our own involvement in collaborations and partnerships through the years. First, make sure that you work with an organization that has a good reputation in the community. Second, make sure that the mission and goals of your organization are compatible with the mission and goals of the partnering organizations.

Third, the best collaborations take place when the skills and strengths of the participants do not replicate each other, but rather complement each other. In other words, work with organizations that have strengths in areas in which you may have perceived weaknesses.

Rule Number 2: All collaborations are not good collaborations. Be deliberative in your thinking and decision making process as you consider who the ideal partners for the collaboration might be. Make sure that you have clarity in your thinking process and that you get suggestions from the partnering organizations along the way to ensure their buy-in and support of the project.
Wealth Seminar To Be Offered in Beachwood, Ohio

The Seminar is entitled, "Wealth Beyond Measure". It will take place January 19, 2008, Saturday, from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. The location is the Embassy Suites Hotel, located at 3775 Park East Blvd. Beachwood, Ohio 44122.

It's all set and ready to go. At last a seminar designed to help people achieve financial independence and start living their dream.

Matt Bacak, multi millionaire internet marketer will be there to show people how he became a multi- millionaire on the internet.

Matt's program is designed to help small business owners achieve great success by building a list of customers that they can sell to over and over again.

Matt will also show small business owners how to establish joint venture opportunities and create an abundance of cash.

Do you want to market your business on the internet? Great!! Matt's got the answer.

With the upcoming new year everyone will be ready to set new year's resolutions. Well I say don't set new year's resolutions, set goals instead. I will demonstrate, "The Power Of A Written Goal", and how the goal setting process can help you achieve the things in life you truly want and help you develop razor like focus.

You will understand how to get from where you are to where you want to be.

Establish balance by setting goals in all six areas of life, which include the mental, physical, spiritual, social, career, and the family.

Only 3% of the people in the world have written goals and they are by far the most successful.

Also speaking will be Joyce Hamilton Johnson the CEO of KAF, Kingdom Authority Financials. Joyce holds an Associates degree in accounting from Cuyahoga Community College. As well as a masters degree in Business Administration from Wesleyan University. You will begin to understand how to take back your rightful wealth utilizing kingdom principles. KAF also provides services which include financial planning and financial counseling.

The contact for this wealth seminar is: Mel Richardson, and he can be reached at 216-956-3640.
Dear Dr. House

Bessie,

This looks very good---thanks for putting me on the list-I'm sharing with some business colleagues-as well as VP Ed Marshall.

Charles R. Bantz
Chancellor - Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis
Executive Vice President, Indiana University

Dear Charles:

It was such a pleasure to get your lovely note. I want to thank you so much for inviting me, Monroe Little, and the other new public scholars to participate in your Diversity Cabinet Meeting a few weeks ago. It was a true honor for us to meet with you and the cabinet members to discuss ways in which we can jointly work to develop more civic engagement opportunities and promote closer ties between Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis and the business and civic communities in this great city. I am delighted to be a part of the IUPUI team. Thanks also for passing our Entrepreneurial Alternatives Newsletter on to other colleagues at the university.

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season.

Sincerely Yours,
Dr. Bessie House

Bessie,

Much congratulations. A distinct honor.

All best wishes.

Juliet.

Juliet E.K. Walker, Ph.d.
Professor of History
Founder and Director
Center for Black Business History
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas

Dear Juliet:

I hope that you are doing well and that you had a wonderful semester at the University of Texas at Austin. I want to thank you so much for your recent letter of congratulations regarding my speech and award from Tuskegee University. It was a wonderful opportunity and I felt humbled by the award. I want to thank you so much for your tremendous support of our efforts through the years. I truly enjoyed the spectacular documentary that you were a part of titled, "Where Wealth Lives". I must say that you were simply outstanding in your sections of the documentary where you discussed both African and African American involvement in business and commercial activities. You are truly the foremost expert and scholar on the history of Black business in America! I will be using this documentary in a class I will teach at IUPUI next semester on "Minority Entrepreneurship." We will also be using parts of your award-winning book on the History of Black Businesses in America."

Best wishes for a great holiday season and my husband also said to tell you hello.

Sincerely Yours,
Dr. Bessie House

Hello Dr. House:

May I belatedly congratulate you on your new positions at Indianapolis. I wish to also congratulate you for the two awards. Yes, you deserve all the accolades. You have and continue to uplift the lives of many directly or indirectly. I'm proud to have met you. In my last communication, I did inform you that our institution has been accorded interim accreditation by the Kenyan Government to be an independent university. We now have admitted our first undergraduate students (250 of them). They are either pursuing BCom or BScit. We have also moved ahead and established an Entrepreneurship Center very much in its' infant stages. I shall soon be requesting for some sort of formal linkage between this center and your center. I'm trying to convince my governing council for this formal linkage.

I will be presenting a conference paper on the Kenyan entrepreneurship at ARNOVA in Atlanta on 11/15/07. I shall contact you by phone in Atlanta.

Kind Regards,

Dr. Daniel Musungu Oruoch
Vice Chancellor Designate
Kenyatta College of Accountancy University
Kenya, East Africa

Dear Dr. Oruoch:

Thanks so much for your warm letter of congratulations and for updating me on your progress in establishing an Entrepreneurial Center at the Kenyan College of Accountancy in East Africa. We would be delighted to have a formal linkage between your Entrepreneurial Center and the National Center for Entrepreneurship which I created. As you know, the NCE is a national, international, and regional collaboration of business centers which use my very successful model of applied entrepreneurship. As you also know, much of my earlier field work and earlier publications, ie. books and articles, focused on economic and political development in Kenya. I look forward to coming back to Kenya in the future to work with you first hand as you seek to build and enhance entrepreneurial capacity in East Africa.

I will not be able to meet with your colleague in December as you had planned. I understand that you wish for her to tour our centers and learn more about our model. I will get in touch with you with a more suitable time for me in early 2008. We look forward to this great opportunity to develop a collaboration with your university.

Sincerely Yours,
Dr. Bessie House

President, Founder, and CEO
National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc.

Director, Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland

Public Scholar in African American Studies, Civic Engagement, and Entrepreneurship
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis

Professor of Political Science
Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies, Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis

Quick Links
# NCE
# E-Academy
# B. House Communications, Inc.
# The Dr. House Minority Business Blog

In Closing
Finally, we at the National Center for Entrepreneurship and the Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland want to make a call out to any former student of our Centers. If you move or have some other method of contact, please notify us! We love hearing about your new businesses, business plans, and any other successes that you might be experiencing. If you could send us a recent photograph and a small description of your success, we will include them in one of our upcoming editions of Entrepreneurial Alternatives.

Our demand pull is high, and we cannot conceivably get everything that we would like done without your aid. We are looking for volunteers for both of our centers. If you are interested in volunteering for us, please call our Cleveland center at 216.280-8081.

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.

Dr. Bessie House
Public Scholar in African American Studies, Civic Engagement, and Entrepreneurship
Professor of Political Science
Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies

Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis
425 University Blvd.
Cavanaugh Hall Room 504 A
Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-5140

Email: minoritybusinesses@gmail.com
phone: 216-280-8081
web: http://www.eacademy.biz

December 4th Blog

Greetings!

Sincerest Greetings to each of you! I am absolutely delighted to present you with the 27th issue of our Entrepreneurial Alternatives Newsletter. Our theme for this edition is gratitude. As we approach this holiday season, my heart is filled with joy over the numerous letters, emails, phone calls, and many other acts of encouragement and support that we continue to receive. We are overcome with happiness. We have found out that we have many supporters in near and far places around the globe and we are happy to continue to develop professional relationships and alliances that help us to promote more understanding and mutual respect and support mechanisms across time and space.

For those of you who have sent so many wonderful notes to my personal email address or to our gmail address for the newsletter, do not despair, I am working my way through each of them and am trying to respond to them individually. Please, bear with me as I have not forgotten about you. As many of you know by know, I am firmly entrenched in my new role as Public Scholar at Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis and I can honestly say that I feel truly energized in this position. All of my colleagues over here have been extremely warm and gracious and I appreciate that very much.

In this edition, we conclude our discussion of the 10 personality characteristics of highly successful entrepreneurs; share information with you about my recent keynote speech at Tuskegee University where I was presented with a beautiful plaque award; provide reflections on my role as Public Scholar at Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis; and present you with our Dear Dr. House letters for the week which come from Tuskegee University in Alabama; Chur, Switzerland; and Chicago, Illinois.

Quotes of the Week

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."

-----John Quincy Adams-

"Always do what you say you are going to do. It is the glue and fiber that binds successful relationships. "

---Jeffrey A. Timmons---


The Ten Personality Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs, Parts 6-10 (of 10)
by Dr. Bessie House

Personality Characteristic Numbers Six-Ten: The following information is an excerpt from Dr. House's fourth book, "The Ten Personality Characteristic of Successful Entrepreneurs." This book is based on research findings of Dr. House's in which she examined the lives of hundreds of entrepreneurs and was able to isolate and identify ten personality traits that they shared in common which contributed to their ability to achieve entrepreneurial success).

Characteristics Number 6: Creativity

By creativity, I don't just mean developing goods or services, but rather bringing in some new twist that makes the product or service uniquely different in some way. A new millionaire is created every day in this country, and the reality is that there are so many areas of the marketplace that still have not been penetrated. But, creativity has another meaning as well: It means that you have the ability to see the big picture as well.

Characteristic Number 7: Risktaking

In order to be an entrepreneur, you must be willing to take risks. There are simply no guarantees in the world of business. Remember that when Michael Dell dropped out of college in the 1970s to start his computer company, he discussed his ideas and vision with his parents and when he finished speaking, his mother looked at him and said, "But Michael, why in the world would anyone ever want to buy a computer?" The rest is history.

Characteristics Number 8: Effective Management

Business owners must manage their own time effectively and their employees' time as well. It is not always how much time you have, but rather how effectively you use it to do the work and delegate tasks in a responsible manner.

Characteristic Number 9: Strong Work Ethic

In order to be successful in business, you have to work long hard hours to succeed and sometimes it can take years for a business to become a profitable enterprise.

Characteristic Number 10: Passion

The results of my data indicate that entrepreneurs who are very happy in their chosen profession as entrepreneurs are more successful than those who are not. This is intuitive and is certainly born out by my research.

If you would like a copy of Dr. House's audiobook, please e-mail minoritybusinesses@gmail.com for instructions on how to purchase a copy.
Dr. House Presents Keynote Speech at Tuskegee University and Receives Plaque Award

Dr. Bessie House recently presented the keynote speech at the Twelfth Booker T. Washington Economic Development Summit held at Tuskegee University, October 3-5, 2007. The theme for this year's conference was "Asset Building and Entrepreneurship in Rural Communities and Best Practices, Programs, and Initiatives." The topic of Dr.House's keynote speech was "Prerequisites for Black Business Success in the New Economy of the 21st Century. In her speech, Dr. House discussed practical and insightful strategies that entrepreneurs can use to achieve economic success.

The idea of having the summit developed out of a major conference that Tuskegee University held in 1995 to celebrate the centennial of Booker T. Washington's famous address presented at the International Cotton Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia in 1895. Washington and his supporters argued that economic independence is vital for African Americans to be able to participate equitably in American society. Dr. House was also presented with a plaque award at the event from Dr. Velma Blackwell, Chairperson of the Booker T. Washington Economic Summit.
Reflections on Dr. House's Role as Public Scholar

The term public scholar refers to an individual who is able to bridge the gap between academic institutions of higher learning and the real world. Public scholars are professors who perform teaching and research but they also add an additional unique dimension which is working with the larger world community in the real world which is often located beyond the mere confines and boundaries of the academic ivory towers.

When I first started out as a professor in academia almost 20 years ago, I was performing the traditional role of a faculty member which was to perform research and teach students at the university. I was also performing research for research's sake to get tenure. I had no desire to connect with individuals outside of my discipline, so to speak. Then, somewhere along the way, around 1995, I underwent a metamorphosis where I began to perform interdisciplinary research to solve real world problems. It was a major paradigmatic shift for me and I have never been happier. As I have said before, "the role of an academic at institutions of higher learning is to produce and disseminate knowledge that can be used to solve real world problems." That is why my work on entrepreneurship is so important and vital but it focuses critical attention on many factors that lead to success and failures for existing and aspiring entrepreneurs. Being a public scholar allows me to do what I do best, to make critical connections, perform meaningful teaching and research and connect this important work to real world issues, problems, and dynamics. That is truly scholarship at its' best!

Shown left to right in above picture: Dr. Modupe Labode, Public Scholar in African American History and Museum Studies; Dr. Bessie House; Dr. Monroe Little, Chair, African American and African Diaspora Studies Programs; and Dr. Ronda Henry, Public Scholar in African American and African Studies and Undergraduate Research).
Dear Dr. House

Dear Dr. House:

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to you for taking the time from your busy schedule to be our keynote speaker at the Plenary Session of the Booker T. Washington Economic Development Summit on Thursday, October 4, 2007. Preliminary evaluations show that your speech was very well received by the audience and highly rated. Your presentation was timely and relevant in helping us to meet the needs and expectations of our participants by giving essential information on business entrepreneurships and how to take advantage of networking opportunities.

Again, many thanks to you, and we indeed look forward to your continued support and involvement in the BTW Economic Development Summit and other Extension initiatives in entrepreneurial research and education in Alabama.

Sincerely,
Dr. Velma L. Blackwell, Chairperson
Booker T. Washington Economic Summit
Tuskegee University

Dear Dr. Blackwell:

Thanks for your lovely letter. It was a great honor for me to present the keynote speech at Tuskegee University, one of our great institutions of higher learning. Tuskegee has such a great legacy with such a wonderful history of the wonderful work of Booker T. Washington, the creative genius of George Washington Carver, and the wonderful legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen.

I look forward to collaborating with you and Dr. Barahanyi on developing a Center for Rural Entrepreneurship at Tuskegee University and surrounding counties.

Sincerely Yours,
Dr. Bessie House

Dear Bessie -

This is very good news. Please accept my heartfelt congratulations.

Over here, we recognize Purdue as a center of outstanding research and practice in the entrepreneurship field.

I am sorry to hear you can't make it to this year's ABEAI conference in Maui.

- Lutz

Dr, Lutz Schlange
Professor of Business Administration and Marketing
Swiss Institute for Entrepreneurship
University of Applied Sciences
Chur, Switzerland

Dear Lutz:

It was simply wonderful to hear from you. Thanks for your lovely note. It has been a long time since we have communicated. I trust that you are doing well and that your semester has been good. It seems that this year continues to go by so quickly, that I can hardly catch my breath. (smile) Thanks so much for your congratulatory remarks on my new position at Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis. Yes, Purdue has quite a great reputation and as you mentioned, they have a very well established and renowned entrepreneurship program.

Yes, unfortunately I will not be able to attend the International Applied Business Conference this year in Maui as I had hoped as I have been so busy getting used to my new post over here. I had really hoped to present a paper on technological innovation and the process that I underwent in going from idea to patent to prototype development to venture creation to commercialization. I may have mentioned to you that I have a patent pending with the U.S. patent office for an invention that I came up with several years ago. I am currently working on commercializing my invention. It has been a very expensive and exhausting process, but I am working with some very talented individuals on this project at the moment. I look forward to presenting my paper at next year's conference.

Es freute mich sie kennen zu lernen and ich werde mehr von ihnen zu horen.

Sincerely Yours,
Dr. Bessie House

Hello Dr. House -

Congratulations, on your new position!! I hope you and your family had a smooth transition to Indiana. I'm still working at the University of Chicago, but preparing to enter a doctoral program in Community/Social Psychology. When time permits let's plan a brief chat to catch-up

Best Wishes,
Ranada T. Harrison
Senior Research Assistant/Field Researcher
University of Chicago
School of Social Service Administration

Dear Ranada:

It was absolutely wonderful to hear from you and thanks for your warm congratulatory remarks. I am absolutely delighted to hear the great news that you will soon be enrolled in the Ph.D. program. What a great experience it will be for you. I enjoyed our last meeting at Kent State a few years ago.

I am settling in quite well over here in Indianapolis and all of my colleagues have given me a great hoosier welcome. Hopefully, you and I can have lunch next year in 2008 when I come to Chicago to see the off Broadway production of the Color Purple.

I will give you a call once our final exams are over and we can chat more.

Warmest Regards,
Dr. Bessie House,

President, Founder, and CEO
National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc.

Director, Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland
Public Scholar in African American Studies, Civic Engagement, and Entrepreneurship
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
Professor, Political Science
Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies
Quick Links
# NCE
# E-Academy
# B. House Communications, Inc.
# The Dr. House Minority Business Blog

In Closing
Finally, we at the National Center for Entrepreneurship and the Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland want to make a call out to any former student of our Centers. If you move or have some other method of contact, please notify us! We love hearing about your new businesses, business plans, and any other successes that you might be experiencing. If you could send us a recent photograph and a small description of your success, we will include them in one of our upcoming editions of Entrepreneurial Alternatives.

Our demand pull is high, and we cannot conceivably get everything that we would like done without your aid. We are looking for volunteers for both of our centers. If you are interested in volunteering for us, please call our Cleveland center at 216.731.4426.

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.

Dr. Bessie House
Public Scholar in African American Studies, Civic Engagement, and Entrepreneurship
Professor of Political Science
Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies

Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis
425 University Blvd.
Cavanaugh Hall Room 504 A
Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-5140

Email: minoritybusinesses@gmail.com
phone: 216-731-4426
web: http://www.eacademy.biz

October 29th Blog

Greetings!

I am absolutely delighted to present you with our 26th issue of Entrepreneurial Alternatives Newsletter. I send you warm greetings from Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis, where I now hold the position of Public Scholar in African American Studies, Civic Engagement, and Entrepreneurship. For the past few weeks, I have been getting adjusted to my new environment in the great city of Indianapolis, home of the Indianapolis 500 and the super bowl championship team, the Indianapolis Colts. So far, all of my new colleagues have given me a great Hoosier welcome! We continue to get numerous phone calls and emails at our entrepreneurial training centers. The National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., is still located in greater Cleveland as is the Entrepreneurial Academy. My new email address in Indiana is beshouse@iupui.edu and the phone number for our Cleveland offices is 216-731-4426.

Our theme for this edition is change. All around us the world is changing and we cannot stand idly by. As Sylvia Robinson once wrote, "Some people think it's holding on that makes one strong. Sometimes it's letting go." So, we must be willing to embrace change if we are going to move to the next level, even if this change takes us into new, unchartered territories. We must also adjust our sails to respond to the new dynamics and demands of the 21st century global economy and all that this entails.

In this edition, we present the 5th personality characteristic of highly successful entrepreneurs; present information about my new position at IUPUI and new contact information for me; provide information about the new International Award that I received from the International Black Women's Congress; and provide our Dear Dr. House-Soremekun letters for the week.

Quotes of the Week

"There has never been a statue erected to the memory of someone who let well enough alone."

--Jules Ellinger

The Ten Personality Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs, Part 5 (of 10)
by Dr. Bessie House-Soremekun

Personality Characteristic Number Five: Frugality

The following information is an excerpt from Dr. House-Soremekun's fourth book, "The Ten Personality Characteristic of Successful Entrepreneurs." This book is based on research findings of Dr. House-Soremekun's in which she examined the lives of hundreds of entrepreneurs and was able to isolate and identify ten personality traits that they shared in common which contributed to their ability to achieve entrepreneurial success).

Frugality refers to the art of being able to sacrifice short-term gains for long term benefits. Many people are simply not able to do this. For some people, this may involve a major paradigm shift. This personality characteristic is particularly problematic for African American people because of our history. We have moved forward out of slavery, but for so long, many economic and political rewards have been denied to us. Some of us are still waiting for our forty acres and our mule.

If you are the type of person who has to have quick riches, entrepreneurship is not for you. Entrepreneurship is like being on a roller coaster ride, especially in the early stages. Few African Americans inherit multimillion dollar enterprises from their parents and sometimes it may take years to develop your business into a profitable enterprise. You must save more and spend less and be frugal as you start and expand your business operation.

If you would like a copy of Dr. House-Soremekun's audiobook, please e-mail minoritybusinesses@gmail.com for instructions on how to purchase a copy.
Dr. House-Soremekun Receives Prestigious International Award

Dr. Bessie House-Soremekun was the recent recipient of the prestigious Oni Award from the International Black Women's Congress on September 22, 2007 at their annual conference held in Portsmouth, Virginia. According to the leadership of the International Black Women's Congress, "The Oni Award symbolizes the essence of all that is good in African people. The word ONI is taken from the Ife culture of Nigeria. It represents a spiritual force that protects the people. A recipient of the Oni Award has been identified as someone who protects, defends, and enhances the general well-being of African people. A recipient of the ONI is diligent, persistent, and noncompromising. We like to think of her as our unsung heroine. With the creation of the Oni Award, the International Black Women's Congress salutes those women in our communities who keep on working on behalf of African people. They are truly committed. Their vision is clear."

Dr. Bessie House-Soremekun is the Public Scholar in African American Studies, Civic Engagement, and Entrepreneurship at Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis (IUPUI), where she holds dual Full Professorships in both the Department of Political Science and the African American and African Diaspora Studies Programs in the School of Liberal Arts. Her research and publications have focused both on African political and economic development processes as well as African American economic development and entrepreneurship. She is a nationally recognized leader, advocate, and expert on entrepreneurship and economic development. She is also an award-winning author, entrepreneur, and inventor. She is the President, Founder, and CEO of the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., whose main objective is to promote entrepreneurial efficacy and economic growth all across this country. According to Dr. House-Soremekun, "the role of a scholar at an institution of higher learning is to produce and disseminate knowledge that can be used to solve real world problems. I am deeply honored to be the recipient of this wonderful award and am delighted that my research and outreach activities under the umbrella of my entrepreneurial training centers have led to the creation of more than 51 new business start-up companies by people of African descent in recent years. "
Dear Dr. House-Soremekun

Dr. House-Soremekun -

Congratulations on your new appointment. Hopefully, you'll enjoy your stay in Indianapolis.

Have a pleasant weekend,

Dr. Kwaku Obosu-Mensah
Lorain County Community College

Dr. House-Soremekun -

Congratulations.

You receiving your new position is great!! I wish you all the best. It was a great pleasure to work with you. I learned so much from that experience. I'm very pleased just to have known a great African-American woman like you.

Much love to all your accomplishments in the future, I know you will have many many more, as this is only half time for you!!!!

-Bethany Green

Dr. House-Soremekun,

Congratulations! I wish you the best in your future endeavors. I wish I had had the opportunity to work with you.

Sincerely,

Dr. Necia Boone,
Olde Northfield Township Bicentennial Committee

Dr. House-Soremekun:

Congratulations on both your new position and receiving the first Marcus Garvey award. I'm planning to attend the International Business Conference, maybe we will have a chance to talk.

Evelyn Y Cleveland
Ohio Department of Development

Bessie -

Congratulations, and I am quite proud of you and hope you will keep me on the mailing list when you relocate to Indianapolis.

Love always,

Jeaneen Mcdaniels

Dr. House-Soremekun -

I read all of the news about you from so many colleagues who appreciate all that you have done for Kent State and the community. And I read, with delight, your account of your new position at IU-Purdue University. It sounds fantastic. I wish you & your family great happiness in your new home.

Abracos,
Dr. Doris J. Turner,
Kent State University,
Modern and Classical Language Studies

Dear Dr. Obusu-Mensah and others:

Thanks for your kind words and your notes of congratulations on my new job in Indiana. I am looking forward to becoming a Hoosier and, in my spare time, attending some of the football games of the Super Bowl Championship team, the Indianapolis Colts.

Hope your summer is going well.

All the best,

Dr. Bessie House-Soremekun
President, Founder, and CEO
National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc.

Director
Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland

Public Scholar in African American Studies, Civic Engagement, and Entrepreneurship
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis

Professor, Political Science
Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies
Quick Links
# NCE
# E-Academy
# B. House Communications, Inc.
# The Dr. House-Soremekun Minority Business Blog

In Closing
Finally, we at the National Center for Entrepreneurship and the Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland want to make a call out to any former student of our Centers. If you move or have some other method of contact, please notify us! We love hearing about your new businesses, business plans, and any other successes that you might be experiencing. If you could send us a recent photograph and a small description of your success, we will include them in one of our upcoming editions of Entrepreneurial Alternatives.

Our demand pull is high, and we cannot conceivably get everything that we would like done without your aid. We are looking for volunteers for both of our centers. If you are interested in volunteering for us, please call our Cleveland center at 216.731.4426.

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.

Dr. Bessie House-Soremekun
Public Scholar in African American Studies, Civic Engagement, and Entrepreneurship
Professor of Political Science
Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies

Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis
425 University Blvd.
Cavanaugh Hall Room 504 A
Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-5140

Email: minoritybusinesses@gmail.com
phone: 216-731-4426
web: http://www.eacademy.biz

July 20th Blog

In this issue...
# The Ten Personality Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs, Part 4 (of 10)
# Dr. Bessie House Accepts New Position at Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis (IUPUI)
# Dr. House to Present Keynote Speech at Black Culture International Business Conference Luncheon and will Receive Marcus Garvey Award for Outstanding Entrepreneurship
# Dr. House to Appear on Culture Time Television Show
# Kent State University Press to Publish the 2nd Edition of Confronting The Odds
# Dear Dr. House


Friday, July 20th, 2007
Greetings!

We are delighted to present you with our 24th issue of Entrepreneurial Alternatives Newsletter and our 8th issue of 2007. I am absolutely thrilled to inform you that I have accepted a new position at Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis (IUPUI) as "Public Scholar in African American Studies, Civic Engagement, and Entrepreneurship." I will also hold dual Full Professorships in both the Department of Political Science and the African American and African Diaspora Studies Program in the College of Liberal Arts. By accepting this position, I look forward to the opportunity to take my work to the next level.

Moving to the next level and seizing the moment has been a constant theme of ours for the past decade as our entrepreneurial training centers have served as a catalyst for the promotion of more meaningful dialogue in the area of entrepreneurial development. In the process, we have established several premier entrepreneurship centers which include the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., whose mission is to build entrepreneurial capacity all over this country. We have also developed the Center for Minority Businesses at Kent State University which is 9 years old, the Entrepreneurial Academy of the Cleveland Empowerment Zone (now 3 years old), and more recently have worked collaboratively with the Mayor of the City of Youngstown to establish the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy. Yet, much more work needs to be done and we have received numerous requests to establish additional affiliate business centers all across America. We intend to honor our commitments to help many other cities to rethink and rebuild their entrepreneurial development capacities over the next few years. It is so very exciting!

In this edition, we present the 4th personality characteristic of successful entrepreneurs, more information about my exciting new position at Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis (IUPUI), provide details about my upcoming television appearance on the "Culture Time" show this Saturday afternoon, provide information about my upcoming Keynote speech at the International Business Conference in Cleveland and my selection to receive the 1st Marcus Garvey Award for Outstanding Entrepreneurship, and our Dear Dr. House letter for this week, which comes from Los Angeles, California.

Quote of the Week

"There will come a time when big opportunities will be presented to you, and you've got to be in a position to take advantage of them."

---Sam Walton---
Founder of Wal-Mart, Inc.


The Ten Personality Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs, Part 4 (of 10)
by Dr. Bessie House

Personality Characteristic Number Four: Determination

(The following information is an excerpt from Dr. House's fourth book, "The Ten Personality Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs." This book is based on research findings of Dr. House in which she examined the lives of hundreds of entrepreneurs and was able to isolate and identify 10 personality traits that they shared in common which contributed to their ability to achieve entrepreneurial success.)

"There is in this world no such force as the force of a man determined to rise."

--W. E. B. DuBois

"I was determined to achieve the total freedom that our history lessons taught us we were entitled to, no matter what the sacrifice."

--Rosa Parks

In order to succeed, you must be determined and must not give up. Entrepreneurship is not an area for people who are easily discouraged. You need to have a tough skin. The reality is that many doors will be closed in your face. Many people will also do things to get you angry because they understand the psychology of anger. What happens when you get angry? You don't do anything because when you become emotional, your internal logic loses the battle with the forces of emotionalism. So, you become immobilized and you accomplish nothing. How should you cope with this? Cry if you must, vent your anger with a friend, go jogging, go to a movie, do whatever you need to do. Then, get over it, stay focused, and move on.

There is also a psychology to not giving up. One reason that many businesses fail is that they give up too soon. If only they had stayed in place a little while longer, some of the very doors that had been closed in their faces would have opened up. We've had our own share of disappointments in our businesses, but we kept on going. And, if you think that things are difficult for you today in the 21st century, what about the enormous challenges that entrepreneurs faced in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Don't take my word for it. Pick up a copy of my third book, Confronting the Odds: African American Entrepreneurship in Cleveland, Ohio.

If you would like a copy of Dr. House's audiobook, please e-mail minoritybusinesses@gmail.com for instructions on how to purchase a copy.
Dr. Bessie House Accepts New Position at Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis (IUPUI)

Dr. Bessie House has recently been appointed by Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis (IUPUI) to the position of "Public Scholar in African American Studies, Civic Engagement, and Entrepreneurship." She will also hold dual Full Professorships in both the Department of Political Science and the African American and African Diaspora Studies Program in the College of Liberal Arts.

Dr. House is a nationally recognized leader, advocate, and expert on entrepreneurship and economic development. She has a strong background and expertise in urban economic development processes and entrepreneurship. She received her Ph.d. degree from the University of Denver in 1988 in International Studies with a GPA of 3.89 out of possible 4.0. She is an award-winning author and poet, administrator, professor, inventor, and talk-show host. She is also an entrepreneur herself, having established several for-profit and non-profit business enterprises. She currently has a patent pending with the United States Patent Office for a technological invention which she seeks to commercialize and sell to the public later this year under the umbrella of her latest for-profit company, Finders-Keepers, International.

She is the President, Founder, and CEO of the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., which is a national, regional, and international collaborative of business centers which use the model of applied entrepreneurship that she created. She was the Executive Director and Founder of the Center for Minority Businesses at Kent State University and is the Director of the Entrepreneurial Academy of the Cleveland Empowerment Zone.

Under her leadership, the NCE and its' affiliate centers have produced award-winning research, curricular materials and business training programs. They have also helped to launch 51 new business start-up companies in recent years. She is currently finalizing her fourth book, Confronting the Odds: African American Entrepreneurship in Cleveland , Ohio, 2nd Edition to be published by the Kent State University Press in 2008, and performing research on her fifth book, Beyond the Empowerment Zone: Rethinking Inner City Development for the 21st Century and Beyond with James McQuiston, her Ph.D. student.

Dr. House says this about the future of her centers: "The National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., which I founded last year, will continue to maintain its' national headquarters in the greater Cleveland area and the Entrepreneurial Academy of Cleveland will also remain there as well and thus I shall return periodically to the Cleveland area to maintain oversight and management capability over these entities. The Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy is doing very well and will continue to be directed by Mr. Herman Hill. I am currently in discussions with Kent State University about the future of the Center for Minority Businesses (formerly The Minority Business Program) which I established 9 years ago. It is my hope that this center can continue to provide assistance and leadership to the community in the area of entrepreneurial development."
Dr. House to Present Keynote Speech at Black Culture International Business Conference Luncheon and will Receive Marcus Garvey Award for Outstanding Entrepreneurship

Dr. Bessie House will present the Keynote speech at the Black Culture International Business Conference Luncheon to be held at Cuyahoga Community College Metropolitan Campus (2900 Community College Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio) on Thursday, August 9, 2007. The title of her speech is "International Business Opportunities for Black Entrepreneurs in the Global Economy."

Dr. House will also receive the very first Marcus Garvey Award for Outstanding Entrepreneurship at the Ambassadors Ball to be held on Friday evening, August 10, 2007 at the Terry Macklin Event Center in Solon, Ohio. According to Dr. House, "I look forward to addressing members of the international community on viable business opportunities and strategies that black entrepreneurs can use today to create wealth for themselves and their communities on a global scale. I am also deeply humbled to be the upcoming recipient for such a prestigious award named in honor of Marcus Garvey, who was one of the great Pan Africanists of his era. He also established one of our greatest organizations, the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)."

If you are interested in attending and purchasing tickets to these great events, call 216-761-2501. We look forward to seeing you there.
Dr. House to Appear on Culture Time Television Show

Dr. House to Appear on Culture Time Television Show on Saturday, July 21st, 2007 at 6:30 P.M. on Channel 21 (Time Warner Cable). Dr. House will discuss her new position as public scholar at Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis (IUPUI).

She will also discuss her many entrepreneurial training centers that she has established through the years, including the National Center for Entrepreneurship. Carl Williams is the host of "Culture Time" television, and is pictured on the right.
Kent State University Press to Publish the 2nd Edition of Confronting The Odds

Kent State University Press has announced its' plans to publish the 2nd Edition of "Confronting the Odds", Dr. House's seminal work on African American entrepreneurship in Cleveland, Ohio. The 2nd Edition of the book will include an updated history of African American businesses and the African American community in Cleveland from 1795-2007 along with additional life histories of successful entrepreneurs, new public policy recommendations an additional information. The release of the 2nd edition is slated for 2008.

The first edition of "Confronting the Odds", published in 2003, experienced many successes. It was the recipient of the Henry Howe Book Award, received much favorable press coverage in several major newspapers and sold several thousand copies. According to Dr. Juliet E.K. Walker, one of the foremost experts on Black business history and entrepreneurship in the United States, "Confronting the Odds: African American Entrepreneurship in Cleveland, Ohio" provides one of the first systematic studies of the historical development of black business history in an American city. Proceeding from a multidisciplinary perspective in conceptualization, analysis, and methodology, this compelling well-written assessment provides a wealth of data, concluding with valuable and insightful public policy recommendations for black business activity in the twenty-first century. [It is] a well-conceived study that will have a significant place in the expanding field of both historical and contemporary assessments of black business activity in American cities. A must read for scholars, businesspeople and public policy analysts.'

To purchase a copy of Confronting The Odds: African-American Entrepreneurship in Cleveland, Ohio for personal or classroom use, please contact Dr. Bessie House at 330.672.5307 or email her at minoritybusinesses@gmail.com.

Please also contact Dr. House if you have any information, pictures, or experiences relevant to the subject matter of the work. Look for additional information in following issues of Entrepreneurial Alternatives.
Dear Dr. House

Thanks for the newsletter. There is much good information in each issue. Let me know when you are in the LA area. Continued success.

- Pat Tobin
President/CEO
Tobin & Associates, Inc.
4929 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 245
Los Angeles, CA 90010

Dear Ms. Tobin -

Thank you for the kind words. We hope to provide an informative, hard-hitting blog with each issue we send out. Your e-mail to us represents one of the most necessary things that an up and coming entrepreneur can do, and that is to network.

I hope to be out in the Los Angeles area and the greater west coast in the near future, and wish you and your company the best in the years to come.

All the best,

Dr. Bessie House
President, Founder, and CEO
National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc.

Director
Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland

Executive Director and Founder
Center for the Study and Development of Minority Businesses
Kent State University

Public Scholar in African American Studies, Civic Engagement, and Entrepreneurship
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis

Professor, Political Science
Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies

Quick Links
# NCE
# The CSDMB
# E-Academy
# B. House Communications, Inc.
# The Dr. House Minority Business Blog

In Closing
Finally, we at the National Center for Entrepreneurship, the Center For The Study and Development of Minority Businesses and the Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland want to make a call out to any former student of our Centers. If you move or have some other method of contact, please notify us! We love hearing about your new businesses, business plans, and any other successes that you might be experiencing. If you could send us a recent photograph and a small description of your success, we will include them in one of our upcoming editions of Entrepreneurial Alternatives.

Our demand pull is high, and we cannot conceivably get everything that we would like done without your aid. We are looking for volunteers for both of our centers. If you are interested in volunteering for us, please call our Kent center at 330.672.5307 or our Cleveland center at 216.731.4426.

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.

Dr. Bessie House
President, Founder and CEO, National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc.

Director, Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland

Executive Director and Founder, Center for the Study and Development of Minority Businesses, Kent State University

Public Scholar in African American Studies, Civic Engagement, and Entrepreneurship Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis

All Stories, Pictures, and Works Copyrighted by their Original Owners. Entrepreneurial Alternatives is a copyrighted publication of the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Incorporated. © Copyright 2007, Dr. Bessie House

June 20th Blog

In this issue...
# The Ten Personality Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs, Part 3 (of 10)
# Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy's classes start with standing room only crowd of participants
# Dr. House participates in the 10th anniversary celebration of the Northern Ohio Live Magazine Rainmaker's Organization
# Dear Dr. House


Tuesday, June 12th, 2007
Greetings!

We are delighted to present you with our 23nd issue of Entrepreneurial Alternatives Newsletter and our 7th issue of 2007. We are absolutely delighted to report that we remain energized about economic development prospects for our country and we are currently engaged in about 6 exciting projects which we will inform you about in the future. This is a happy time for us. Our theme for this edition is clarity of vision. I cannot emphasize how important it is to craft a vision and implement it. This is absolutely essential if you wish to take yourself to another level in your developmental processes.

In this edition, we discuss the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy's classes which have just gotten underway with a great start, Dr. House's participation in the 10th anniversary celebration of the Northern Ohio Live Magazine Rainmaker's Organization, the third personality characteristic of successful entrepreneurs, and our Dear Dr. House letters which this week come from West Palm Beach, Florida and Nairobi, Kenya.

Quote of the Week

"If you don't know where you are going, why should anyone else follow you down that road?"

---Dr. Bessie House---


The Ten Personality Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs, Part 3 (of 10)
by Dr. Bessie House

Personality Characteristic Number Three: Clarity of Vision

(The following information is an excerpt from Dr. House's fourth book, "The Ten Personality Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs." This book is based on research findings of Dr. House in which she examined the lives of hundreds of entrepreneurs and was able to isolate and identify 10 personality traits that they shared in common which contributed to their ability to achieve entrepreneurial success.)

In order to be a successful entrepreneur, you need to have a clear vision for the future. You need to look at both your short term and long term goals in a very deliberative way. One way to develop a clear vision is to craft a personal plan or in the case of entrepreneurs, develop a business plan. Remember, that a business plan is simply a blueprint for the present and future development of the business and should be as detailed as possible.

What kind of business should I establish? Why do I need to start a business right now instead of a year from now? What types of products and services will I offer to the public? Where will I locate my business? Who are my clients going to be? Where will I acquire the financial capital that I need? How much capital will I need to start and expand my business over time? These are only a few questions that a good business plan should answer. In the words of Napoleon Hill and Dennis Kimbro, "the ship's captain cannot see his destination for fully 99% of his journey, but he knows what it is, where it is, and that he will reach it if he keeps doing certain things a certain way."

Do you know where you are going?

If you would like a copy of Dr. House's audiobook, please e-mail minoritybusinesses@gmail.com for instructions on how to purchase a copy.
Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy's classes start with standing room only crowd of participants

We are very delighted to report that the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy's business training classes started on Thursday, June 8, 2007 to a standing room only crowd of participants. The Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy is the result of a creative and exciting new collaboration initiated by the Honorable Mayor Jay Williams (pictured at right) of the city of Youngstown. The collaboration includes the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., the Mahoning Youngstown Community Action Partnership, and Youngstown State University. The Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy is an affiliate center of the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc, headed by Dr. Bessie House who is a nationally recognized leader, advocate, and expert on entrepreneurship and economic development issues. Mr. Herman Hill, a former graduate of Kent State University is the Director of the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy.

The Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy opened its' doors to the public on Monday, April 9, 2007 after a press conference was organized by Mayor Jay Williams in which he discussed his vision for the city of Youngstown in developing opportunities for minority and female-owned disadvantaged business enterprises. Dr. House and Mr. Hill also participated and attended the press conference as well. The Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy uses the model of entrepreneurship that was developed and popularized by Dr. House over the past twelve years. This is a model of applied entrepreneurship which has successfully generated 51 new business start up companies over the past few years. It has also helped many existing businesses to take their work to another level.

According to Dr. House, "We are very excited about this collaboration because it represents the best spirit of regional collaborative efforts that are designed to boost and strengthen our economies in Northeast, Ohio. Together, we can work to make the dreams of our citizenry with regard to attaining economic empowerment become a reality." Within a few days of the announcement of the opening of the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy, almost 200 people made phone calls and registered to take their classes. If you live in Youngstown and are interested in taking upcoming classes in the future, please call Mr. Herman Hill at 330-747-7921, extension 1190.
Dr. House participates in the 10th anniversary celebration of the Northern Ohio Live Magazine Rainmaker's Organization

Dr. Bessie House recently celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the establishment of the Northern Ohio Live Magazine Rainmaker's Organization at a reception at their new headquarters. According to the mission statement of the organization, "Rainmakers are women who take on huge risks to meet high standards and attain meaningful goals." Dr. Bessie House was inducted into the 2003 class of Rainmaker's as she was selected to receive the 2003 Northern Ohio Live Magazine Top Rainmaker of the Year Award in the category of education and research. She was also selected to grace the cover of the magazine.
Dear Dr. House

Hi Dr House,

I enjoy reading about the great things you are doing to promote entrepreneurship in Cleveland and other parts of the country. Entrepreneurial Alternatives , is a good read for me.

I met you in 2004 in the company of Dr. Noah Midamba. At the time of our meeting, I was doing my Executive Doctorate of Management at Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. I graduated in May 2006 and am now back in Kenya. I am the current CEO of Kenya College of Accountacy.

I'm interested in entrepreneurship, and wish for some sort of affiliation between your Entrepreneurial Academies and our college.

During my doctorate, I researched "Factors that contribute to the dearth of entrepreneurship among African Americans in Cleveland's Inner City." Your book Confronting the Odds, helped me quite a lot in my literature review. I also quoted extensively from a journal where you had written about the Psychological Capital and how it influences entrepreneursip in an individual. Ultimately, I extended this study to Kenya where I looked at "Factors that Facilitate Invention to Venture Creation among College Students and Nascent Entrepreneurs." It was both an exploratory and confirmatory research. Please take time to consider my request.

Kenya College of Accontancy will receive its' accreditation in July this year to become a full fledged university. Currently we have 13,000 students pursuing various studies in accountancy, ICT, law, and entrepreneurship amongst others.

Hope to hear from you.

Kind regards, Dr Daniel Musungu Oruoch
CEO,
Kenya College Of Accountancy,
PO Box 56808(00200),
Nairobi.Kenya.

Dear Dr. Oruoch:

Hope you are doing well and thank you so much for your marvelous letter. It was both encouraging and stimulating. I enjoyed meeting you a few years ago and am happy to see that you have used my work extensively while pursuing your Ph.D. at Case Western Reserve University and later on as you have since traveled back to your homeland of Kenya. As you know from our newsletter, our entrepreneurial activities are continuing to grow and expand across time and space. Thank you for requesting an opportunity to develop some type of affiliation between our National Center for Entrepreneurship and your college to create an Entrepreneurial Academy in Kenya. I am delighted to hear that you are the CEO of Kenya College of Accountancy. I would be delighted to discuss further with you how we can work to establish such an affiliation and as you may know, I have done a lot of work on Kenya, and performed field research at the University of Nairobi some years ago for my Ph.D. dissertation.

I will contact you in the near future and we can develop a strategy to develop a great affiliation between our respective organizations.

All the best,

Dr. Bessie House
President, Founder, and CEO
National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc. and
Director
Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland
and
Executive Director and Founder
Center for the Study and Development of Minority Businesses
Kent State University

Dr. House -

Good afternoon! I'm excited and so overwhelmed with how God Moves Us! I'm sorry, my name is Andre M Russell, I live in West Palm Beach and I am a good friend of your brother William. I was praying yesterday on how can I positively make a difference in my neighborhood other than what I am doing right now. I decided to call William to ask if he can do an event for me and after I explained to him what I wanted to do, he started telling me of you and your work.

My parents have been in education for over 40 years and I have been in education for over 12 years, and we agree that we are not teaching our youth how to succeed in life as it is today. I am looking to start a Charter School for Practical Business Practices / Entrepreneurial training and Media Communication. I would love for your input and guidance in doing so. If you would please allow us to converse on this idea, I'm sure you would be able to give us a wealth of information and general direction. Please feel free to contact me. We look forward to talking with you.

- Andre Russell

Mr. Russell -

Thank you so much for your kind letter. I also want to thank my brother William for sharing the Entrepreneurial Alternatives newsletter with you. It is excellent to hear from you, and it is always heartening to learn of efforts to help out up and coming entrepreneurs. I will have my secretary to contact you so that we can have a conference call with you and William to see how we can collaborate together on your project with the charter school.

From one educator to another, I sincerely wish your Charter School the best of luck in the years and the decades to come.

All the best,

Dr. Bessie House
President, Founder, and CEO
National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc. and
Director
Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland
and
Executive Director and Founder
Center for the Study and Development of Minority Businesses
Kent State University

Quick Links
# NCE
# The CSDMB
# E-Academy
# B. House Communications, Inc.
# The Dr. House Minority Business Blog

In Closing
Finally, we at the National Center for Entrepreneurship, the Center For The Study and Development of Minority Businesses and the Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland want to make a call out to any former student of our Centers. If you move or have some other method of contact, please notify us! We love hearing about your new businesses, business plans, and any other successes that you might be experiencing. If you could send us a recent photograph and a small description of your success, we will include them in one of our upcoming editions of Entrepreneurial Alternatives.

Our demand pull is high, and we cannot conceivably get everything that we would like done without your aid. We are looking for volunteers for both of our centers. If you are interested in volunteering for us, please call our Kent center at 330.672.5307 or our Cleveland center at 216.731.4426.

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.

Dr. Bessie House
President, Founder and CEO, National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc.
Director, Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland
Executive Director and Founder, Center for the Study and Development of Minority Businesses, Kent State University

All Stories, Pictures, and Works Copyrighted by their Original Owners. Entrepreneurial Alternatives is a copyrighted publication of the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Incorporated. © Copyright 2007, Dr. Bessie House
email: minoritybusinesses@gmail.com
phone: 330-672-5307
web: http://www.eacademy.biz

May 15th Blog

Greetings!

We are delighted to present you with our 22nd issue of Entrepreneurial Alternatives Newsletter and our 6th issue of 2007. I greet you today as the President, Founder, and CEO of the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., which is an exciting new organization that I established a few months ago. Our theme for today's edition of our newsletter is "Making Dreams Come True." For the past few years, I have dreamt of taking my work to the next level and I was able to do this with the establishment of The National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc (NCE). The NCE is a national organization that was created to build entrepreneurial capacity and enhance economic growth and development in our country and in our region. It is a perfect way to help promote regional and national collaborations. We believe that the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., is in a perfect position to continue to help facilitate meaningful collaborative efforts to promote regionalism and economic growth.

We are delighted that our subscriber list for our Entrepreneurial Alternatives Newsletter includes several thousand people and continues to grow each week. We are delighted that some of our subscribers are located in far-away countries in Europe and Africa as well. Please, feel free to forward copies of our newsletters to your family and friends and please send us additional names of individuals that you would like us to add to our list. We will be happy to send them copies of our newsletters right away. In today's edition, we provide the second of the Ten Personality Characteristics of Successful Black Entrepreneurs, a brief synopsis of my recent presentation at the Western New England College in Massachusetts, and our Dear Dr. House letters which come from Kenya and Cleveland, Ohio.

Quote of the Week

"Sometimes, we don't know what we don't know."

---Les Brown---
Bestselling author and International Motivational Speaker


The Ten Personality Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs, Part 2 (of 10)
by Dr. Bessie House

Personality Characteristic Number Two: High Self Esteem

(This section is a brief excerpt from Dr. House's book, "The Ten Personality Characteristics of Successful Black Entrepreneurs."

If I could rank these 10 characteristics, I would rank self-esteem as the most important of the 10 traits. But, ironically, for people of color, it is by far, their weakest characteristic.

There is certainly a great irony here. It should be their strongest characteristic.

The reality is that ever since Africans came to the Americas under the umbrella of the TransAtlantic Slave Trade in the 1400's, their cultural values, beliefs, and lifestyles have been denigrated in this country. This constant onslaught on the self-esteem of people of color has had dire and devastating consequences to their confidence and feelings of self-esteem. As Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the founder of the Association of Afro-Life and History and the author of the"The Mis-Education of the Negro" has so eloquently written,

"When you control a man's thinking, you do not have to tell him not to stand here or to go yonder. He will find his proper place and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door. He will go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one out for his own benefit."

If you would like a copy of Dr. House's audiobook, please e-mail minoritybusinesses@gmail.com for instructions on how to purchase a copy.
Dr. Bessie House Invited to Speak in Massachusetts

Dr. Bessie House was invited to speak at the 2nd Annual Conference sponsored by the Western New England College Law and Business Center for Advancing Entrepreneurship in Springfield, Massachutsetts. The theme for this conference was "Current Issues in Community and Economic Development" and the conference was held on March 30, 2007. Participants presented papers on a number of topic areas which included Set/Asides and Affirmative Action, how to facilitate public-private partnerships, urban entrepreneurship, and fringe banking programs. Dr. House presented a paper titled, "The Impact of Minority-Set Aside Programs on Black Business Success: Implications for Public Policy." Dr. House's paper will be published in the November edition of The Western New England Law Review.
Dr. Bessie House Establishes the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc.

The National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc. was founded several months ago by Dr. Bessie House, President and CEO of the National Center for Entrepreneurship, in consultation with several of its' board members which include Mr. John Bustamante and Mr. Steven Simms. Mr. John Bustamante is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NCE. The purpose of the National Center for Entrepreneurship is to promote entrepreneurial development and economic growth in our region, the state of Ohio, and in the United States, more broadly speaking. The National Center for Entrepreneurship is a collaborative of regional and national business centers which have been created to use the successful entrepreneurial model developed by Dr. Bessie House over the past twelve year period. The National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., has created a national model of entrepreneurial excellence that is based on empirical research performed by Dr. House on numerous factors which promote business success that has been validated many times over in the business training classes provided by the National Center for Entrepreneurship and its' affiliate centers over the past decade. The NCE is a non-profit business franchise that is developing more affiliate centers across the United States. The goal is to replicate the entrepreneurial model used by the NCE in many towns and communities in order to generate more new business start-up companies and to help existing businesses to take their work to another level.

Affiliate centers of the NCE include the Center for the Study and Development of Minority Businesses at Kent State University, the Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland, and the recently established Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy in Youngstown, Ohio. According to Dr. House, "We are delighted to say that we have also been asked to establish affiliate business centers in Akron and Canton, Ohio, as well as in Chicago, Illinois, Detroit, Michigan, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and New York City."

If you are interested in establishing an affiliate center in your home town, please contact Dr. House about the details of such a collaboration and the requirements for becoming an affiliate center at 330-672-5307 or 216-731-4426.
Building Local Entrepreneurial Talent: An Evaluation of the Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland
by Dr. Richard Njoku, Independent Program Evaluator

The Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland (E-Academy of Greater Cleveland) belongs to a genre of non-academic and non-accredited entrepreneurial programs that are in the forefront of preparing ordinary citizens to take the plunge into the murky waters of entrepreneurship. Its mission is premised on assisting residents of the Cleveland Empowerment Zone communities to acquire the hands-on skills necessary to achieve economic success in the marketplace. However, the E-Academy of Greater Cleveland is not just another entrepreneurial program, as it is differentiated from the pack by at least three factors. First, it was founded as an innovative partnership of a broad-spectrum of community stakeholders including 1) Kent State University, 2) the City of Cleveland Empowerment Zone, 3) the Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation, 4) the Glenville Development Corporation, 5) the Consortium for Economic and Community Development, and 6) Midtown Cleveland. Second, its founding values are grounded in sound research, especially, on the predictors of economic and business success. The affiliation with Kent State University has ensured that the E-Academy of Greater Cleveland benefits from a pipeline of sound research in the field of entrepreneurship conducted by Dr. Bessie House and other instructors at the Center for the Study for Minority Businesses. Finally, the E-Academy of Greater Cleveland boasts of a practical curriculum that aligns business training with skill development, and business coaching conducted by accomplished entrepreneurs.

The Goal-based Evaluation

This goal-based evaluation was designed to generate usable information to guide policy and programmatic revisions of the Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland (E-Academy of Greater Cleveland), with a view to strengthening its overall quality. The evaluation assessed the success of the E-Academy of Greater Cleveland in achieving its formative and summative goals. On the formative side, it assessed 1) the extent to which recruitment and enrollment complied with the eligibility requirements of the City of Cleveland Empowerment Zone; 2) the quality, quantity, duration and intensity of program delivery, including entrepreneurship training and business coaching; and 3) the rate of retention, completion, and graduation in the program. On the summative side, it assessed 1) gains in functional knowledge of business and entrepreneurship as assessed with pretest and post tests; 2) transfer of learning, and the extent to which participants used knowledge and skills to advance entrepreneurial activities, as demonstrated by the development of business plans; and 3) new business startups or expansions by participants. Levels of satisfaction with the program were also assessed and reported. The evaluation focused on the success of the 41 participants who completed both the basic and advanced workshop series in entrepreneurship in 2006.

A mixed data collection strategy was employed in the course of this evaluation, including an extensive review of program documents and records; key informant interviews with program managers; pre and post tests of participants; and surveys of program graduates.

Evidence from the evaluation leads to the following conclusions regarding the results of the E-Academy of Greater Cleveland in 2006:

*The program targeted a diverse group of participants, in terms of age, gender, level of educational attainment, marital status, previous business experience and other relevant demographic and personal variables.

*Recruitment and enrollment met all the eligibility requirements of the Cleveland Empowerment Zone. Program records indicate that all participants (100%) were recruited from the EZ communities of Fairfax, Glenville, Hough, and Midtown Corridor.

*Participants received a total of 122 training hours and 284 business coaching hours during the year.

*Retention, completion, and graduation rates were very high. Analysis of data showed 82% retention, completion, and graduation rates.

*Levels of satisfaction with the E-Academy of Greater Cleveland's program were very high. At least 98% of participants rated the training workshops "excellent" or "very good" on all 5 categories of assessment, including 1) relevance of the workshop content; 2) usefulness of the workshop content; 3) instructors' presentation style; 4) instructors' level of preparedness; and 5) overall rating of the training workshop.

*Participants made statistically significant gain in their functional knowledge of business and entrepreneurship concepts as assessed with pre and post tests. On the average, participants in the basic workshop series made a 30-point gain in knowledge, while those in the advanced workshop series made a 32-point gain.

*All participants (100%) developed business plans of their current or prospective businesses; a clear demonstration of the use of knowledge and skills gained in the program.

*A total of 28 businesses were either established or expanded by graduates of the E-Academy of Greater Cleveland within the past year. On the legal structure of the businesses established by the graduates, close to one-half (48%) had established limited liability companies (LLCs), while slightly over one-third (35%) established C or S corporations. Thirteen percent (13%) established sole proprietorships, while 4% established 501(c) (3) tax-exempt organizations.

*The types of businesses started included personal services (21.3%); business services (17.9%); retail trade (14.3%); educational services (10.7%); professional services (10.7%); real estate (7.1%); energy/utilities (3.6%); computer & Internet (3.6%); Arts & entertainment (3.6%); maintenance (3.6%); and automotive services (3.6%). The evaluator, Benchmark Consulting Group, is currently collecting hard data on business and economic outcomes (jobs created, microloans raised, individual wealth created, etc.) to enable it assess the overall impact of the E-Academy of Greater Cleveland on the city's economy. For further information regarding this evaluation, please contact Richard E. Njoku, Ph.D at (216) 374-8655, or send an email to: rnjoku@aol.com.
Youngstown Mayor Announces New Collaboration with National Center For Entrepreneurship (Headed by Dr. Bessie House)

Mayor Jay Williams of the city of Youngstown and Dr. Bessie House [picture on right], announced in a press conference on Monday morning, April 9, 2007, the creation of a strategic partnership and collaboration with the City of Youngstown, the National Center for Entrepreneurship (housed in the greater Cleveland area and headed by Dr. Bessie House), the Mahoning Youngstown Community Action Partnership (headed by Mr. Richard Roller), and Youngstown State University. Together, they have established the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy. All of the collaborating partners in the collaboration were present at this historic event!

The development of this important partnership is in perfect harmony with efforts that are now underway in Northeast, Ohio to encourage more collaborative initiatives that promote the goals of regionalism, economic and racial inclusion, and to develop a common economic development strategy to help the entire region to prosper and enhance economic self-sufficiency.

This strategic collaboration will also help to further the city of Youngtown's goals of providing business training assistance to minority and female residents, and disadvantaged individuals of Youngstown in order to create more viable businesses, job opportunities, and wealth creation. The ultimate goal is to help the citizens to become economically independent and to acquire skills to enhance their own empowerment.

The creation of the National Center for Entrepreneurship (NCE) by Dr. Bessie House in 2006 was the natural outgrowth of her earlier development of two other business training centers during the past 10 year period which include the Center for the Study and Development of Minority Businesses at Kent State University and the Entrepreneurial Academy for Greater Cleveland. Through the years, these centers have produced award-winning research, award-winning curricular materials and business training programs. The National Center and its' affiliate centers have developed innovative, research-based business training programs, which are different in many respects from other existing business centers in Ohio and the nation. Thus, they have developed a very impressive track record of success as they have served more than 350 clients and have helped to generate more than 51 new business start-up companies in Northeast, Ohio. They have also helped existing businesses to take their work to another level. These businesses have contributed greatly to economic growth and development for this region and the state of Ohio.

Dr. House is also a nationally-recognized leader, advocate and expert on entrepreneurship and economic development and is also an entrepreneur herself, having established several for-profit businesses. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed book, "Confronting the Odds: African American Entrepreneurship in Cleveland, Ohio" which will be one of the required textbooks used in the business training classes.

The Director of the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy will be Mr. Herman Hill, who is a former graduate of Kent State University. He possesses a strong background and keen understanding of economic development issues for our region.

The Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy began its' operations on April 9th, 2007 and already has almost 200 people on its' waiting list to take its' entrepreneurial business class. It will offer two intensive introductory business training classes starting in June of this year and will later offer an advanced business class. It will also help participants to achieve micro loan support and will work to establish space and support mechanisms to house its' new business start-up companies. The goal of the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy is to produce new business enterprises and to provide assistance to existing entrepreneurs as well. For more information about the program and to enroll, please contact, Mr. Herman Hill, the director at 330-747-7921, extension 1190.
Dear Dr. House

Hi Dr House,

I enjoy reading about the great things you are doing to promote entrepreneurship in Cleveland and other parts of the country. Entrepreneurial Alternatives , is a good read for me.

I met you in 2004 in the company of Dr. Noah Midamba. At the time of our meeting, I was doing my Executive Doctorate of Management at Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. I graduated in May 2006 and am now back in Kenya. I am the current CEO of Kenya College of Accountacy.

I'm interested in entrepreneurship, and wish for some sort of affliation between your Entrepreneurial Academies and our college.

During my doctorate, I researched "Factors that contribute to the dearth of entrepreneurship among African Americans in Cleveland's Inner City." Your book Confronting the Odds, helped me quite a lot in my literature review. I also quoted extensively from a journal where you had written about the Psychological Capital and how it influences entrepreneursip in an individual. Ultimately, I extended this study to Kenya where I looked at "Factors that Facilitate Intention to Venture Creation among College Students and Nascent Entrepreneurs." It was both an exploratory and confirmatory research. Please take time to consider my request.

Kenya College of Accontancy will receive its' accreditation in July this year to become a full fledged university. Currently we have 13,000 students pursuing various studies in accountancy, ICT, law, and entrepreneurship amongst others.

Hope to hear from you.

Kind regards, Dr Daniel Musungu Oruoch
CEO,
Kenya College Of Accountancy,
PO Box 56808(00200),
Nairobi.Kenya.

Dear Dr. Oruoch:

Hope you are doing well and thank you so much for your marvelous letter. It was both encouraging and stimulating. I enjoyed meeting you a few years ago and am happy to see that you have used my work extensively while pursuing your Ph.D. at Case Western Reserve University and later on as you have since traveled back to your homeland of Kenya. As you know from our newsletter, our entrepreneurial activities are continuing to grow and expand across time and space. Thank you for requesting an opportunity to develop some type of affiliation between our National Center for Entrepreneurship and your college to create an Entrepreneurial Academy in Kenya. I am delighted to hear that you are the CEO of Kenya College of Accountancy. I would be delighted to discuss further with you how we can work to establish such an affiliation and as you may know, I have done a lot of work on Kenya, and performed field research at the University of Nairobi some years ago for my Ph.D. dissertation.

I will contact you in the near future and we can develop a strategy to develop a great affiliation between our respective organizations.

All the best,

Dr. Bessie House
President, Founder, and CEO
National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc. and
Director
Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland
and
Executive Director and Founder
Center for the Study and Development of Minority Businesses
Kent State University

Dear Dr. House:

I would like to receive information on Dr. House's book, "Ten Personality Characteristics of Successful Black Entrepreneurs."

Shirley Shadwick

Dear Ms. Shadwick:

Thanks for your note. You can purchase copies of "The Ten Personality Characteristics of Successful Black Entrepreneurs" by contacting our office at 216-731-4426.

All the best, All the best,

Dr. Bessie House
President, Founder, and CEO
National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc. and
Director
Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland
and
Executive Director and Founder
Center for the Study and Development of Minority Businesses
Kent State University

Quick Links
# The CSDMB
# E-Academy
# B. House Communications, Inc.
# The Dr. House Minority Business Blog

In Closing
Finally, we at the National Center for Entrepreneurship, the Center For The Study and Development of Minority Businesses and the Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland want to make a call out to any former student of our Centers. If you move or have some other method of contact, please notify us! We love hearing about your new businesses, business plans, and any other successes that you might be experiencing. If you could send us a recent photograph and a small description of your success, we will include them in one of our upcoming editions of Entrepreneurial Alternatives.

Our demand pull is high, and we cannot conceivably get everything that we would like done without your aid. We are looking for volunteers for both of our centers. If you are interested in volunteering for us, please call our Kent center at 330.672.5307 or our Cleveland center at 216.731.4426.

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.

Dr. Bessie House
President, Founder and CEO, National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc.
Director, Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland
Executive Director and Founder, Center for the Study and Development of Minority Businesses, Kent State University

All Stories, Pictures, and Works Copyrighted by their Original Owners. Entrepreneurial Alternatives is a copyrighted publication of the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Incorporated. © Copyright 2007, Dr. Bessie House
email: minoritybusinesses@gmail.com
phone: 330-672-5307
web: http://www.eacademy.biz

April 17th Blog

April 17th, 2007
Greetings!

We are delighted to present you with our 21st issue of Entrepreneurial Alternatives Newsletter and our 5th issue of 2007. Our theme for this edition is "Moving to the Next Level." We have certainly been doing just that over the past decade. Over the past eleven year period, while performing exciting research on African American entrepreneurship, I also became an entrepreneur myself, having been involved in the development of 4 non-profit business organizations and two for-profit businesses.

Our latest business ventures are the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., (housed in Greater Cleveland), which I established some months ago, in consultation with some of the board members of the National Center for Entrepreneurship, and the establishment of the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy, in collaboration with the Mayor of the city of Youngstown, the Mahoning Youngstown Community Action Partnership, and Youngstown State University.

The National Center for Entrepreneurship is now the flagship center which oversees the strategic operations and activities of two other affiliate centers that I created in the past decade which are the Center for the Study and Development of Minority Businesses at Kent State University and the Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland. We are very happy to welcome aboard our newest affiliate center established last week, which is the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy. More information is also included below about our exciting new collaboration with our affiliate partners in Youngstown.

We also provide you The Ten Personality Characteristics of Successful Black Entrepreneurs based on some excerpts from my fourth book with the same title, as well as more information about both the National Center for Entrepreneurship, the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy, and our upcoming scholarship dinner presented by Health Legacy of Cleveland on April 29, 2007. I am delighted to serve as the Chairwoman of the Development Committee for this exciting organization. Last, we offer you our "Dear Dr. House" letters and responses.

Quote of the Week

"I have found no greater satisfaction than achieving success through honest dealing and strict adherence to the view that, for you to gain, those you deal with should gain as well."

---Alan Greenspan---
Former Federal Reserve Chairman


The Ten Personality Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs
by Dr. Bessie House

Personality Characteristic Number One: Salesmanship

(The following is a small excerpt from Dr. House's fourth book, "The Ten Personality Characteristics of Successful Black Entrepreneurs: How to Achieve Them". )

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a business conference that was organized by the Wall Street Journal. One of the panels featured several prominent millionaires that were entrepreneurs. One of the panelists got on the stage and made the following statement: "The number one rule of business is to make sure that you sell something that someone actually wants to buy." It makes perfect sense.

What is entrepreneurship? The best definition I can give you is simply this: entrepreneurship is the art of developing a concept or an idea and using it to create value in the economic marketplace. You create value by taking the idea or concept and converting it into a tangible product or service that you then turn around and convince people that they need to pay you a particular price for that product or service in order for them to possess it.

Salesmanship, is thus, the first personality trait of successful entrepreneurs, but the selling takes place on two different levels. On one level, you are selling your product or service. On the second level, you are selling yourself. These levels are separate, but they are very much interwoven.

As you start your business and to out to try to get contracts or to make bids on various jobs or even to get business loans, at the back of the other persons' mind are questions like these. What kind of person is Sally? If Sally gets the contract, can she really deliver the goods at the agreed upon time? What kind of character does Sally really have? Is she honest and straightforward? Can she be trusted? Can she really get the job done? Ultimately, it's about credibility. So, it's about selling a product and selling yourself as well.

Dr. House has written four books, numerous scholarly articles and book chapters. She is the author of the critically acclaimed book, "Confronting the Odds: African American Entrepreneurship in Cleveland, Ohio" which received the coveted Henry Howe Book Award. A much sought-after public speaker and presenter, she has made numerous public presentations to diverse audiences in the United States and abroad. Dr. House will be autographing and signing copies of all of her books, as well as her audiobook.

If you would like a copy of Dr. House's audiobook, please e-mail min oritybusinesses@gmail.com for instructions on how to purchase a copy.
Dr. Bessie House and Board Members Establish the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc.

The National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc. was founded several months ago by Dr. Bessie House, President and CEO of the National Center for Entrepreneurship, in consultation with several of its' board members which include Mr. John Bustamante and Mr. Steven Simms. Mr. John Bustamante is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NCE. The purpose of the National Center for Entrepreneurship is to promote entrepreneurial development and economic growth in our region, the state of Ohio, and in the United States, more broadly speaking. The National Center for Entrepreneurship is a collaborative of regional and national business centers which have been created to use the successful entrepreneurial model developed by Dr. Bessie House over the past twelve year period. The National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., has created a national model of entrepreneurial excellence that is based on empirical research performed by Dr. House on numerous factors which promote business success that has been validated many times over in the business training classes provided by the National Center for Entrepreneurship and its' affiliate centers over the past decade. The NCE is a non-profit business franchise that is developing more affiliate centers across the United States. The goal is to replicate the entrepreneurial model used by the NCE in many towns and communities in order to generate more new business start-up companies and to help existing businesses to take their work to another level.

Affiliate centers of the NCE include the Center for the Study and Development of Minority Businesses at Kent State University, the Entrepreneurial Academy of Greater Cleveland, and the recently established Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy in Youngstown, Ohio. According to Dr. House, "We are delighted to say that we have also been asked to establish affiliate business centers in Akron and Canton, Ohio, as well as in Chicago, Illinois, Detroit, Michigan, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and New York City."

If you are interested in establishing an affiliate center in your home town, please contact Dr. House about the details of such a collaboration and the requirements for becoming an affiliate center at 330-672-5307 or 216-731-4426.
Youngstown Mayor Announces New Collaboration with National Center For Entrepreneurship (Headed by Dr. Bessie House)

Mayor Jay Williams of the city of Youngstown and Dr. Bessie House [picture on right], announced in a press conference on Monday morning, April 9, 2007, the creation of a strategic partnership and collaboration with the City of Youngstown, the National Center for Entrepreneurship (housed in the greater Cleveland area and headed by Dr. Bessie House), the Mahoning Youngstown Community Action Partnership (headed by Mr. Richard Roller), and Youngstown State University. Together, they have established the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy. All of the collaborating partners in the collaboration were present at this historic event!

The development of this important partnership is in perfect harmony with efforts that are now underway in Northeast, Ohio to encourage more collaborative initiatives that promote the goals of regionalism, economic and racial inclusion, and to develop a common economic development strategy to help the entire region to prosper and enhance economic self-sufficiency.

This strategic collaboration will also help to further the city of Youngtown's goals of providing business training assistance to minority and female residents, and disadvantaged individuals of Youngstown in order to create more viable businesses, job opportunities, and wealth creation. The ultimate goal is to help the citizens to become economically independent and to acquire skills to enhance their own empowerment.

The creation of the National Center for Entrepreneurship (NCE) by Dr. Bessie House, John Bustamante, and Steven Simms (members of the Board of Directors of the NCE) 2006 was the natural outgrowth of her earlier development of two other business training centers during the past 10 year period which include the Center for the Study and Development of Minority Businesses at Kent State University and the Entrepreneurial Academy for Greater Cleveland. Through the years, these centers have produced award-winning research, award-winning curricular materials and business training programs. The National Center and its' affiliate centers have developed innovative, research-based business training programs, which are different in many respects from other existing business centers in Ohio and the nation. Thus, they have developed a very impressive track record of success as they have served more than 350 clients and have helped to generate more than 51 new business start-up companies in Northeast, Ohio. They have also helped existing businesses to take their work to another level. These businesses have contributed greatly to economic growth and development for this region and the state of Ohio.

Dr. House is also a nationally-recognized leader, advocate and expert on entrepreneurship and economic development and is also an entrepreneur herself, having established several for-profit businesses. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed book, "Confronting the Odds: African American Entrepreneurship in Cleveland, Ohio" which will be one of the required textbooks used in the business training classes.

The Director of the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy will be Mr. Herman Hill, who is a former graduate of Kent State University. He possesses a strong background and keen understanding of economic development issues for our region. .

The Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy will begin its' operations immediately. It will offer two intensive introductory business training classes starting in June of this year and will later offer an advanced business class. It will also help participants to achieve micro loan support and will work to establish space and support mechanisms to house its' new business start-up companies. The goal of the Youngstown Entrepreneurial Academy is to produce new business enterprises and to provide assistance to existing entrepreneurs as well. For more information about the program and to enroll, please contact, Mr. Herman Hill, the director at 330-747-7921, extension 1190.
The third annual Health Legacy of Cleveland (HLC) Award and Scholarship Dinner will be held on Sunday, April 29, 2007.

The third annual Health Legacy of Cleveland (HLC) Award and Scholarship Dinner will be held on Sunday, April 29, 2007, at 6 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom at Landerhaven in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. The event is held annually to raise awareness for the importance of diversity in medicine and dentistry in Northeast Ohio.

Cleveland Clinic will serve as the event's presenting sponsor, honoring Jefferson J. Jones, D.M.D., the first African-American endodontist (root canal specialist) in Ohio, with the Award for Excellence. In addition, scholarships will be awarded to African-American students pursuing careers in medicine and dentistry who intend to return to the Cleveland area to practice.

Delos Cosgrove, M.D., president and CEO of Cleveland Clinic, is serving as general chair of the event. Anthony Stallion, M.D., staff, Pediatric Surgery and Pathobiology, at Cleveland Clinic, and A. Gus. Kious, M.D., president of Huron Hospital, are serving as Honorary Chairs.

The HLC Award for Excellence honors the living legacy of African-American physicians and dentists who have served the Cleveland area in their professions and provided mentoring and role models for the community's youth. In 2007, this award program will reach out to the broader community that supports diversity and education and the programming that inspires diverse young people to pursue careers in medicine and dentistry in the northeast Ohio region.

High school scholarship applicants include Cleveland Municipal School District students pursuing health careers, as well as medical and dental school students from the Cleveland area who intend to return to Northeast Ohio to practice.

Individual seating for the dinner begins at $150 Corporate sponsorships begin at $1,500 and are available for company tables, student seating, scholarships and programming in education or diversity. Online event registration and scholarship applications are available online at http://www.healthlegacycleveland.org.

About Jefferson J. Jones, D.M.D. Jefferson J. Jones, D.M.D., is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Endodontics at Case Western Reserve University School of Dentistry, Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Jones has a strong interest in Minority Recruitment and Graduation for the Dental School and for the University. He has been on the faculty for thirty-five years and Department Chair for the last twenty-four years.

About Health Legacy of Cleveland

Health Legacy of Cleveland, founded in 1993, is one of the few African-American founded nonprofit foundations that awards scholarships to African American students pursing professions as physicians and dentists who intend to return to the greater Cleveland area to practice. Its mission is to increase the pool of African American physicians and dentists in the Greater Cleveland area.

Contact Information:

Cynthia Clark
Health Legacy of Cleveland
P O Box 201519
Cleveland, OH 44120

PHONE. 216 621-1933
FAX. 216 621-4174
EMAIL: cynthiaclark@healthlegacycleveland.org
Dear Dr. House

Dear Dr. House:

Hi Bessie,

Great newsletter and even greater to reconnect. Hope all is well with you. I'm attaching my newest project. It's great fun. I have a nightly radio show On Air with In Business and you can listen to the pod casts and use them in a variety of ways.

Here's the link!!

http://podcast.loyalears.com/wtdy.php?task=shows&show_id=51

Hit FREE on the shows you want to hear.

Let me know what you think.

Best of luck with your new venture, not that you need it. It looks GREAT!!

Joan Gillman
Executive Education
School of Business
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Dear Joan:

Thank you so very much for your spectacular letter and your warm remarks about our blog. Your foray into podcasting shows a fire that is necessary for any successful entrepreneur.

It is not enough in this current economy to merely provide a needed service, but one must constantly innovate and impress. Your show is an example of this, and entrepreneurs looking to succeed in the current economy should sit down and plan out how they will make a similar impact.

All the best,

Dr. Bessie House
Director
The Entrepreneurial Academy
And Executive Director and Founder
The Center for the Study and Development of Minority Businesses
Kent State University

Quick Links
# The CSDMB
# E-Academy
# B. House Communications, Inc.
# The Dr. House Minority Business Blog

In Closing
Finally, we at the Center For The Study and Development of Minority Businesses and Entrepreneurial Academy want to make a call out to any former student of our Center. If you move or have some other method of contact, please notify us! We love hearing about your new businesses, business plans, and any other successes that you might be experiencing. If you could send us a recent photograph and a small description of your success, we will include them in one of our upcoming editions of Entrepreneurial Alternatives.

Our demand pull is high, and we cannot conceivably get everything that we would like done without your aid. We are looking for volunteers for both of our centers. If you are interested in volunteering for us, please call our Kent center at 330.672.5307 or our Cleveland center at 216.731.4426.

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.

Sincerely,

Dr. Bessie House
Director, The Center for the Study and Development of Minority Businesses
Director, The Entrepreneurial Academy

All Stories, Pictures, and Works Copyrighted by their Original Owners. Entrepreneurial Alternatives is a copyrighted phrase of the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Incorporated.
email: minoritybusinesses@gmail.com
phone: 330-672-5307
web: http://www.eacademy.biz