The Business: Central East Warehouse, a Miami-Dade-based hardware wholesaler chiefly serving hotels in South Florida and throughout the Caribbean.
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Sometime you have to follow your heart. That was sage advice Monica received from her mother who is also her inspiration, and social media guru. You see, Monica was heading down the path to become a neurosurgeon. She wanted to save the world. While she was in school she also studied Eastern Asian studies. But at some point she began courting the idea of focusing on her East Asian Studies, dropping Neurosurgery altogether. She did in fact drop it, and completed her BA in East Asian Studies and Chinese. After finishing school she moved to China and taught as a visiting professor.
A family illness caused her to return to Dallas where she accepted what was to be a short term stint at an international IT firm. She clocked six years at the firm, gaining experience as a Business Analyst, and earning an MBA along the way.
Monica was able to tailor her MBA program in International Management to combine her varied background in psychology and neurosurgery with her passion for culture and language studies.
With her MBA in hand, Moffitt sought to get a meaningful job within corporate America leveraging her education and experience to help company with marketing and consumer behavior across international boundaries.
In Sept of 2011, Monica officially started business as Tianfen Consulting. Tien Fen, talent literally. She explains that that means heaven's gift, whatever your talent is. When asked why she became an entrepreneur, she joked, “It is so clear… because I love status quo.”
Tianfen Consulting is a cultural consulting firm with a myriad of integration points from Educational Services to Business Planning to Strategic Design. Beyond general management consulting they offer analytics and strategy design for HR, Sales, and Marketing.
Core offerings include:
Business Planning
Cultural Consulting
China Visa Prep/Consulting
Educational Services
Strategic Design
EB-5 Visa/Immigration Consulting
Foreign Direct Investment Specialists
How SCORE Helped
Shortly after hanging her shingle as a consultant, Monica went to SCORE. "My first big question was taxes. Things like QuickBooks. I needed to know what was out there. I also had to unlearn some things. My biggest concern was taxes. I didn't want to make any mistakes. I'm lacking in financial and accounting. Also, what about international taxes and how do i get paid.
When asked what advice she would give another entrepreneur, Monica said, “Think about your role in the business 5, 10, 20 years from now. How invested are you. Do you want investors? Start with your end goal and then work backwards. That is the basis of how you will move forward.”
What if you had the flavors of New Orleans readily available in Dallas? You know the flavors - Bananas Foster from Brennan’s Restaurant, Bread Pudding with Vanilla Rum Sauce, Pralines and Cream, Southern Sweet Potato, and Cafe Au Lait from Café Du Monde. What if? Well you do have it thanks to Antoinette Lafayette, and Chef David Carter, New Orleans natives that are supplying the city of Coppell with those wonderful flavors of The Big Easy. In June of 2012 Pink Frosting Cupcakes opened its doors to treat seekers looking for flavors not commonly found.
This is a long time coming for Antoinette. She’s been baking since she was a child. She was inspired by her late grandmother who was an executive chef for the Federal Reserve Bank for 27 years. There was nothing out of a can or box for this baking duo. Everything was from scratch and at Pink Frosting Cupcakes it still is. There is no canned sweet potato in Pink Frosting Cupcakes; only the real thing.
Apart from being inspired by her grandmother, Antoinette wanted to bring something from her New Orleans heritage to her Dallas community. She discovered plenty of bakeries in her community but found none of the tastes from back home. She was also motivated to avoid being the empty nester with nothing else to do except stalk her children. As she put it, “I wanted to prepare for this time of life. I wanted to let my kids go freely. I didn't want to stalk my children once they’re gone. I figured it would be easier to let go if I had something to do that I loved. Well, I love to bake. I'd always baked for family and friends.”
She never stopped baking even when she ran her own salon for 17 years. But timing was always an issue. For the past couple of years she was afforded the opportunity to spend time perfecting her craft while working part time for others. She would bring in samples for people to taste and then ask for feedback. She heard about texture, sweetness, color and more – she took it all in. She shared, “I was working at a company and doing this like 2 days a week. I always had willing tasters. People would tell me you're in the wrong field. You should really do this.” She added, “When I finally did open the doors they all came to my grand opening.”
In 2010 Antoinette went back to school and completed a degree in business management. At Pink Frosting Cupcakes, she handles the front of the house while chef David handles all of the baking.
Antoinette said, “When I ran my own salon, I managed employees, kept track of inventory, and normal operational stuff but going back to school to get my degree gave me hr experience, the 4 Ps of marketing, so much more.”
Owner/Founder
Antoinette Lafayette and Chef David Carter
How SCORE Helped
She added, “I learned of SCORE through my marketing teacher. He recommended SCORE and was also a board member for the Chamber of Commerce. When I went to SCORE I had a partial business plan.
But, once I spoke to Chuck Rudnick, my counselor, I realized how much more I needed. He was amazing. He helped me walk through the business plan, crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s. I had 8 meetings with Chuck. He would give me homework assignments. Then we’d meet 2 weeks later and finish that part of the plan. I even went back before I signed my lease, when I was contemplating the location.”
Published Mar. 17, 2013
Ask SCORE
After working for more than 25 years in the publishing industry, the company I worked
for downsized and I accepted an attractive buyout package. Now I’d like to start my own
business. What do I do first?
About the Author
This column is brought to you by the Merrimack Valley Chapter of SCORE, with nearly
70 current and former business executives available to provide free, confidential, one-on-one
business mentoring and training workshops for area businesses. Call 603-666-7561 or visit
merrimackvalley.score.org for information on mentoring, upcoming workshops and volunteer
opportunities. SCORE is a national, non-profit organization and a resource partner of the U. S.
Small Business Administration.
After 5 years of a high-paced life as an NFL running back, Ken Jenkins spent the next 20 years working for others in every industry from banking to IT. He grew weary of being at the mercy of industry fluctuations that could swiftly change his employment status and realized he had the skills and experience to branch out on his own. So he took the ball, and ran with it. Along with his wife, Amy Lewis, the duo combined their experience in alternative medicine to start Got Pro Health, LLC. Through the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) he was put into contact with the Washington, DC chapter of SCORE and began meeting regularly with his mentors who helped Got Pro Health define its offerings and learn how to broadcast that message to potential clients.
www.gotprohealth.com
Washington
DC
United States
My Successes
Ken describes his own launch into entrepreneurship as quite similar to his days returning punts in the NFL: “It’s the most frightening, harrowing experience ever but also hugely rewarding.”
Together with his mentors, Joe Clarke and Dee Rogers, Ken developed a business plan for Got Pro Health, LLC that has allowed the business to “prioritize goals” and “create a more focused strategy to grow.” Just 2 years into his alternative medicine business, Jenkins has already witnessed the improvements these plans have made; Got Pro Health will be adding 2 full time administrative employees by mid-2013 with plans to add 4 more positions by the end of the year.
Got Pro Health was chosen as a winner of the Sam’s Club Holiday Cheer initiative in December 2012, receiving a $1,000 grant and a trip to Dallas to attend a high speed growth marketing workshop hosted by SCORE. This workshop helped Ken develop a social media strategy for the business and a plan for improving their website.
The current aim of the business is to connect former athletes with alternative care providers but they also have an even greater goal of increasing awareness of the general public about health and wellness.
What's Great About My Mentor?
Once Ken got connected with SCORE, he says he attended a workshop and was immediately hooked. Since then, he’s met with mentors Joe Clarke and Dee Rogers once a month working to write a business plan, forecast projections, and learn about marketing, messaging and positioning. Ken says his mentors “gave us a structure for how to prioritize our goals which resulted in a more focused strategy to grow.” They are still in the process of implementing this strategy but are already beginning to see the results in the form of increased exposure and revenues.
Published Mar. 5, 2013
Choosing Among Sole Proprietorships, Single-Shareholder Corporations And Single-Member LLCs For New Businesses
Choosing Among Sole Proprietorships, Single-Shareholder Corporations And Single-Member LLCs For New Businesses
Q: I’m starting a new business in New Hampshire. I will be its only owner. Should my business be a sole proprietorship, a single-shareholder corporation or a single-member LLC?
About the Author
John Cunningham is a N.H. business lawyer whose practice is focused on LLC law and tax. He chaired the N.H. Business and Industry Association committee that drafted the Revised New Hampshire Limited Liability Company Act, a radical revision of New Hampshire LLC law that went into effect on January 1st. LLCs are, by a wide margin, the entities of choice for N.H. business start-ups.
News Release
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“I always gave 100 percent no matter where I worked. For so many years I did it for everyone else, and I decided I was going to do it for myself,” said Stephens.
With the help of her family, SCORE, her accountant Darryl Vick, and a lot of prayer, she found a way to make her new dream a reality.
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