Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Get this Button if you are Wifey on her Grind

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Legal grinding are those actions that create out of the box opportunities that provide the freedom to start, support, and raise a family on your own terms and not within anyone else’s limitations. 

NJ Pastor Bans Facebook Profiles for Congregation

Many of you may know but this past Sunday Pastor Cedric Miller of Living Word Christian Fellowship in New Jersey publicly told his entire congregation that social media is a catalyst for infidelity. He even went so far as to demand that all church officials in his congregation remove their facebook profiles or step down from their leadership positions.  This comes at the wake of Pastor Miller's revelation that he is currently counseling 20 married couples having marital issues because of their spouse reconnecting with an ex on facebook. This is actually after he initially suggested all married couples share their Facebook passwords.

The question that comes to mind is if a pastor should be creating such a mandate like this to his congregation? Is he really dealing with the root cause of these couples in counseling real marital issues? If that spouse is going to "ignite passion" with an old flame by chatting on Facebook are they not capable of also chatting it up with a man or woman at the grocery store? So many questions arise as to if what Pastor Miller is mandating is even a viable solution.  Moreover, is he not created possible drama in marriages that have not even been affected by Facebook at all.  What about the happily married couple that are now looking at each other discussing whether to close their accounts or not? One may agree, one may not.  I am sure the pastor's intentions are genuine to help repair the marriages of those he is counseling. When is it actually too much since he is pushing his beliefs on the ENTIRE congregation about something that is of the flesh "The Internet".

Not that this should be related but Pastor Cedric Miller's past also resurfaced after this public demand to his congregation.  He actually admitted in a 2003 criminal case proceeding to a 3-way relationship between his wife and a church assistant. The church assistant's wife also sometimes participated. This was a sexual relationship that often occurred during Thursday bible meetings and after Sunday church services. This situation along with the alleged scandal of Bishop Eddie Long brings forth it is not about Facebook or the Internet we must deal with the individual people's issues leading to behaviors that may trouble a marriage.

Your thoughts?

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Advance Your Cash: Truth Creates Money, Lies Destroy It ~ Suzy Orman



While cruising around my home town searching for locations to possibly open a business, to my amazement I saw a cash advance & title pawn companies on every corner. There are even businesses that were previously restaurants now open for business serving up cash. If you are not aware these companies offer short term small cash loans at or below $500. The borrower writes a post dated check for the loan amount plus fees in exchange for the cash. Usually there is a 2-3 week maturity date by which the borrower comes in to pay the loan off with cash or allows their personal check to be deposited in the lender's account for repayment. Often borrowers actually come in as they become habitual users to the point of the clerk asking them "Do you want to re-write today?" Meaning post date another check! Now the lenders are also getting savy as to offer pre-approval via the click of the keyboard furthur luring you in and saving the embarassment of God forbid someone seeing you going in there.

I know how the story goes because I have been there. Right of of college, getting accustomed to what my young adult spending patterns should be, I was a customer of a company that offered these services. My $100 payday loan I would pay $15 in fees that didn't sound like much at the time.  However if I borrowed every 2 weeks the APR would be 390% so I soon realized a few hundred dollars in fees a year doesn't make much sense. Then I got savy and thought what if I just get a credit card with a balance of like $250. The first $250 is like "free" money then when I get paid I can pay it off.  Same concept but as long as I pay my balance within the 30 day grace period, they make no money off me.  Wrong! Becasue the behavior of myself who was not financially savy at the time didn't follow that plan. Instead I found something to spend the money on creating a life style of spending that didn't match my income.  Then paying the $15 monthly minimums to the credit card company started and there I was again held hostage to high APRs. After at least a year or more of this rat race, I finally realized that as long as I did not spend unless I had the cash I could clean up the mess. The light bulb truly went on when I heard a quote from Suzy Orman's late night financial show: " Most Bad Debt Occurs because Of a Lie." I found this to be so true as a lot of us spend while out socializing through our affiliations which causes us to try and please other people. We are all works in progress in the financial area but until we stop lying to our self and others we will continue to disallow the Truth to Create Money and will continue to allow Lies to Destroy It.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Missions Accomplished: The Life List (B.C.) Updated





Two things checked off The Life List B.C (Before Children).....


We are proud to announce our convenience store attached to my mother in law's restaurant The Fish House in Tennessee is now open for business! We are able to provide the neighborhood quality & low cost products along with great food.  


I previously updated you that our company Expressive Beauty launched where we have opportunities for women that are looking to become part of the Billion Dollar haircare industry.  Finally African American women that have so long only been a consumer of human hair extensions can now be at the top of the distribution chain to sell direct to salons & each other. 


Now the next level of work begins to grow these businesses.  Stay tuned as the "Grind Unfolds" & stay focused on your projects.



"The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It's as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer."


- Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese's




THE LIFE LIST

  • Debt Reduction Plan- student loans, business loans if applicable
  • Learn how to swim
  • Get Lasik
  • Pole dancing classes
  • Spiritual growth
  • Home improvements to our condo
  • Take cooking classes (various cuisines)
  • Car payoff
  • Open locally branded convenience store(s)
  • Launch grassroots company to empower women

Invisible Capital: Start a Business with it Today

It may sound ludacris but Chris Rabb so eloquently speaks to us in his book Invisible Captial that entrepreneurship is very attainable.  There is a little known fact among many that it really doesn't take any money to start a business.  Essentially, the first thing you need is not physical capital but human capital that is found with in yourself.  Rabb explains the invisible capital is human, social and cultural capital that interlock to reveal the beginning of a company launch.  Human capital is your skills, credentials and experiences; social capital being your network and what they think of you; and cultural capital being how you operate in different environments and your ability to communicate in ways that inspire confidence and create opportunity. Now doesn't this make the average personal believe now that the American Dream of working for yourself more attainable. It is very true that it does take physical capital to build and grow a business but the reality is the launch begins with you and that is the ONLY way to begin.



"In financing growing companies, we always looked for human value that didn’t appear on the balance sheet.. the quality of management, especially its entrepreneurial drive."
Michael Milken