A 20 Year Old Promise...That I Still Plan to Keep!!!

20 Years Later...Where am I Now?

20 years ago, May 1995, was a very important time for me as it was the first time that I appeared in a nationally renowned magazine, Entrepreneur, in an article entitled "Head Start - Entrepreneurial programs give today's youth a competitive edge" written by Cynthia E. Griffin [that's me in the article photo].  I remember the photo shoot like it was yesterday, and one of the questions that I was asked during the shoot.  "Where will you be in 20 years?"  

This all came about after coming across a copy of the magazine and making me think about my current business aspirations as it relates to this article and more importantly to the response that I gave which was a truly optimistic and naive response..."semi-retired...working 4 hours a day doing the two things that I love to do; working with computers and helping people"  “I think I will reach that goal by the time I turn 35 years old.” 

Some may say that I have actually reached the goal that I set for myself, however it is not the way that I initially envisioned it.  Of course, being 25 years old, I was filled with high aspirations for myself and did not see any limit to the success that I would be able to achieve in 20 years; especially after the success that I had already experienced during the first four years of pursuing my entrepreneurial endeavors. 

I just turned 45 years old [which is not always guaranteed these days – so I chose to celebrate it like it was my 25^th birthday]; I have started a new business where I will be working with computers with a mission of helping individuals (novice and beginner users) to become more efficient, effective, and productive users of technology and computers; and I ONLY “work” about 4 hours a day. Not because I am semi-retired, but because I am currently dealing with health issues that at best allow me to concentrate and use computers between 3-4 hours a day before taking a toll on me mentally and physically.  So you see I have reached the goal I set forth 20 years ago, just not in the way that I initially thought I would.  Not to mention the obstacles that “Life” itself can put in one’s way as her or she pursues their personal goals.  I won’t get into that right now even though it has played a very important role into the delaying the time frame for achieving my entrepreneurial endeavors originated from this article in May of 1995.

That being said, I have decided to use the 20^th anniversary of this article as motivation to set new goals, based on those from this article, new strategies and a clearer more defined story of success to be told in 2025.  So put on your seat belts and enjoy the ride.

Click here to read the article as a PDF file.

To learn more about TAB Training & Consulting, LLC, 

please visit my web site at www.tabtraining.com

ProfessorTAB...My Story (part 2)

Hello All,

My name is ProfessorTAB; otherwise known as the “accidental social-preneur of technology training” (I’ll share more about that in a later post).  I am a former resident of the New York City Housing Development and that is where it all began!  Little did I know that I was about to embark on a journey that would become my career and life’s mission! 

As I previously stated, it all began one hot evening during the summer of 1992.  There I was sitting in one of the local (Far Rockaway, Queens) community center classrooms preparing for my entrepreneurship class.  The instructor and owner of the program, Mr. K., began the class every evening with a motivational phrase that we would repeat at the beginning and at the end of the class.  The energy in the class was very high even though there were few people in attendance.  This was a shock to me due to the fact that many of the neighborhood residents often complained about the lack of educational resources available in the community center.  Classes were two hours long and we always had some type of homework to complete before the next class.  Six weeks later I received my entrepreneurship certificate after completing and submitting my very first business plan; it must have been a total of 10 pages long (double-spaced).  The business concept I created included typing resumes, school papers, and creating desktop publishing materials for local businesses.  For the first time I felt truly empowered to take control of my life, while embracing my new career path as an entrepreneur. Working at the local supermarket was no longer the goal, even though I managed to become one of the youngest assistant grocery managers there in less than a 2-year period. 

Mr. K. hired me as one of his assistants where I handled all of his company’s computer and graphical responsibilities.   Graduation from the program also bonded me with the gentleman that was passing out the flyers in front of the community center; his name was Mr. J.  He worked for New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and also accepted me as his mentee.  His mentorship was instrumental in exposing me to the youth entrepreneurship movement within NYCHA and New York City in general.

My first experience as a presenter happened in 1993 at a city-wide youth conference sponsored by Youth Force, a youth-based organization that promoted youth empowerment in New York City.  I remember being nervous, even with Mr. K. in the room with me, because of the 40 screaming and restless young adults.  Our workshop was about entrepreneurship and we discussed ideas on how they could start their own businesses.  The young adults were very excited and truly embraced the concept of starting their own candy store or t-shirt business.  I remember feeling my confidence growing after getting that workshop under my belt, but now I had to prepare for the big arena.  Within a few months I was heading down to Baltimore, Maryland to be a co-presenter at the First National Youth Entrepreneur Symposium.  I was so excited with the opportunity to travel outside of New York City for my first business trip and to be a part of a growing phenomenon that was exploding all throughout the country – youth entrepreneurship.  

During this same time period, New York City experienced significant changes within its inner-city communities such as new educational and technology-based programs (something other than the typical sports-based programs).  This seemed to be the direct result of NYC having its first and only African-American major, the Honorable David N. Dinkins (1990-1993).   Inner-city communities were growing with a buzz about youth entrepreneurship and business ownership.  The concept of “grassroots” pride and empowerment was growing at a rapid rate and I had my grandmother to be thankful for she instilled in me early on in my life such values and now I had a platform on which to grow.