liHere comes the MOB
\'Wuture entrepreneurs go door to door selling bath products
?1?
8J.COURTNEY GA1LLARD
1M? CHRONICLE
fc
???They call themselves the
3faiing MOB and the next time
jm spot them in your neighbor
Wed they may be armed with bath
pniducts. to sell that is. These
Inring entrepreneurs are making
good use of their free time during
lljysummer vacation and they will
JoC leave your doorstep until you
Jse*sold their product.
?^?Young MOB (Minds On Busi
ness) is a youth economic
{i$owerment program made up
otjO high school students deter
mined to become "job makers
ipslead of job takers ." Profit is not
th'e-only concern of these young
sters. who want to be certain that
clients are genuinely sold on mer
chandise the youths say they're
"selling from the heart."
After hundreds of area youths
were faced with a long and hot
jobless summer due to state budg
etary cuts. Toby Hunter and Faith
Johnson, both of Third Eye Con
sultant Group, decided to take
matters into their own hands.
Hunter and Johnson teamed up
with Joe Dudley of Dudley's
Products to create a successful
summer job opportunity that
would provide investment, sales
and leadership training to adoles
cents.
? "We didn't want to give them
(teens) a job ...We decided to give
them an opportunity to earn
money the same way that every
one else earned money, which was
through sales." said Hunter, who
explained that most corporate pro
fessionals he has encountered
made money through sales posi
tions of some kind.
Dudley's packaged up a bath
set - complete with body lotion,
body spray and shower gel - for
the Young MOB to sell to generate
a profit. Clients can choose either
a cocoa
butter or
peach
scented
bath set to
purchase.
Neighbor
It o o d s ,
churches,
conven
tions and
expos are
all areas
i lit Knilrl itc
? e r ?" ""frwv"*t ~
clientele list.
Hunter said that he participat
ed in a program similar to Young
MOB when he was in high school
until it was cut once area busi
nesses decided that it was not
profitable.
"1 wanted to re-create the pro
gram to give the same experiences
that I had." said Hunter, who
explained he had no plans to
organize a business opportunity
for area youths when he started his
consulting company.
The Young MOB is not look
ing for handouts either, explained
Hunter, who said the group pur
chased the bath sets from Dudley
Products to develop a "self-sus
taining" tvork ethic in the young
entrepreneurs. Hunter said the
group has even turned down
grants to support the program so
that group members might main
tain the philosophy of being "self
reliant" business people.
"We want people to know that
these are some kids that are about
business," said Hunter, who is
known for his discipline and no
nonsense training tactics with the
teen-agers. "We don't want any
one to give abundantly to the pro
gram because then they may think
they have some type of leverage
on the program....We are not a
charity."
Gerard Orie is a student at
Parkland High School and once
he signed up to become a part of
the Young MOB. Orie assumed
that selling Dudley Products
would be a piece of cake. At first
Orie expected clients to approach
him for the product, but he quick
ly realized it would take a little
more footwork, literally.
"It's not easy....I learned a lot.
I learned that things (do not) come
easy in life; you have to work for
them." said Orie, who is spending
his summer break knocking on
doors, making daily sales pitches
by foot in neighborhoods.
La Tonya Panky said that
Young MOB has taught partici
pants. like herself, a solid work
ethic that is critical to becoming a
successful bttiness tycoon. Panky
is a student at Reynolds High
School.
"In the fust couple of weeks
you really see how much work it
takes to be an entrepreneur. As of
now, everybody's work ethic has
changed, and that is what the pro
gram is really about," Panky said.
John Raye has joined on to
help get the young business group
started and acts as a corporate liai
son between Dudley Products and
Young MOB. Raye assured the
teens that Joe Dudley is ecstatic
about the business venture and
neither has ruled out the possibili
ty of this program becoming a
national initiative for teen-agers
everywhere.
"I predict that this is going to
spread rapidly because it is going
to show that this is our future.
Fourteen- to 17-year-olds, nobody
wants to give them a shot, and
now they know they don't have to
go beg for a job." said Raye. who
appreciates the many positive
traits - such as public speaking
skills, self-confidence, economic
awareness - that the teens are
developing along the way.
Joshua Garrett had his sights
on becoming a professional ath
lete until he joined Young MOB.
The entrepreneur program has
caused him to broaden his hori
zons on what he not only wants to
do. but what he can do after he
completes college. Garrett attends
school in Greensboro.
"(Becoming) an entrepreneur
never came to mind....Going
around and selling the products
really made me think about what
else I want to become." Garrett
said.
0 Tamika Hayes, another mem
ber of the Young MOB and a stu
dent at Parkland High School,
said. "I didn't think I could do
it...but now 1 know I can do it
because I have faith."
Young MOB members are
also receiving some lessons in
spiritual welfare to assist them
with their business venture. Mar
garet Johnson, pastor at Rhema
Triumphant Ministries in Greens
boro. volunteers with Young
MOB as a spiritual director of
sorts by leading a weekly motiva
tional devotional with the young
capitalists.
"It's important that we devel
op their spirits, not just their busi
ness (side), because what we're
looking at is future millionaires
who are going to do things in this
city," Johnson said.
Young MOB plans to continue
selling the bath sets year-round
and are even looking ahead to next
summer when they can serve as
instructors to a new band of young
entrepreneurs like themselves.
To tmler u bath set from the !
Young MOB, call I.U6) 918-5X88.
Hunter
th?* urniin iv t;irot>(inii
Photo, by Courtney (iaillard
Gerald One, Joshua Garrett, La Tonya Panky and Tamika Hayes display some of the prod- C
acts they will be trying to sell to city residents this summer. q
Fate of black high school topic at upcoming meeting
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The Winston
Salem/Forsyth County Board
of Education has scheduled
two action meetings near the
end of July.
The board will meet on
July 23 at 6 p.m. for a regular
action meeting.
On July 30, the board will
meet at 4 p.m. It will go into
closed session to discuss a
personnel matter, then return
to open session at 6 p.m. Dur
ing the open session, the board
will consider site locations for
the new southeast high school
and vote on the location.
A public hearing to consid
er names for the southeast
high school and the new
northwest high school will be
held Aug. 13 at 6 p.m. before
the board's regularly sched
uled meeting. Action on the
names is scheduled for Aug.
27.
Anyone wishing to submit
a name for either school
before Aug. 13 should send it
in writing to Pan Briles, Win
ston-Salem/Forsyth County
Schools. P.O. Box 2513. Win
ston-Salem. N.C. 27102.
All meetings will be held
in the school system's third
floor auditorium at 1605
Miller Street.
AG makes grants available
for domestic abuse agencies
Funds from Nine
West shoe settlement
will go to shelters
and programs
8H C1A1 lo IIII CHRONICLE
GREENSBORO - Attor
ney General Roy Cooper
announced last week that
domestic violence and sexual
assault programs across North
Carolina will receive $360,000
in grants as the result of a con
sumer settlement with Nine
West, a major manufacturer of
women's shoes.
"Thanks to domestic vio
lence and sexual assault shel
ters. women in North Carolina
who suffer from these terrible
crimes have a safe place to
go," Cooper said. "With this
extra help, these programs will
be able to help even more vic
tims become survivors."
Grants averaging nearly
$3,000 each will go to 112
community programs that
serve victims of sexual assault
and domestic violence in
North Carolina. Cooper
worked with the N.C. Coali
tion Against Domestic Vio
lence. the N.C. Coalition
Against Sexual Assault, and
the N.C: Council for
Women/Domestic Violence
Commission to identify the
grant recipients.
"We are thankful for Attor
ney General Roy Cooper's
continued commitment to end
ing violence against women.
This unexpected funding dur
ing difficult financial times
will help domestic violence
programs continue their vital
work," said Mary Beth
I r> ii /?lr c _
Sorrell of
the N.C.
Coalition
Against i
Domestic
Violence. 1
"This
m o nVy ;
will
allow ;
a d v o - i
cates to I
provide ;
clothing, emergency housing ;
and transportation for victims i
of sexual violence," said
Monika Johnson Hostler, who
works with the N.C. Coalition i
Against Sexual Assault. j
The funds are the result of i
a multi-state antitrust settle- i
ment with Nine West. North
Carolina and 55 other states
and territories alleged that
from Jan. I, 1988, through July
31, 1999, Nine West pressured
retailers not to discount shoes
it sold under the following
brand names: Nine West, Enzo
Angiolini, Easy Spirit, Ban
dolino. Calico, Capezio. Pap
pagallo. Evan-Picone. Joyce,
Amalfi, 9 & Co.. Selby, West
ies and CK/Calvin Klein.
Nine West did not admit
that it engaged in price fixing
but did agree to pay the states
$34 million on behalf of con
sumers who purchased Nine
West shoes. According to the
court-approved agreement,
states must use the fund to
benefit health, educational,
vocational, and/or safety pro
grams for women.
Nine West also agreed to
abide by antitrust laws and to
notify shoe stores that they are
free to sell Nine West shoes at
any price they choose, not just
at the company's suggested
retail price.'
Information about the 122
-(immunity organizations
receiving grants (listed by
aunty) is available on the Web
?it www.jus.state.nc.us under
"Important News."
Cooper
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