Dorina Yuen

Oro Bakery and Bar
375 Broome St (between Mott St & Mulberry St)
NYC, NY
(212) 941-6368

After taking the WIBO workshop, I had the confidence to open Oro within five months after graduating from the program.

Nikima Le Frenche

Le Chateau de Frenche Day Spa & Private Tea Room
441 Tompkins Avenue (btw Halsey and Macon Streets)
Brooklyn, NY
718 399 8621
Le Chateau De Frenche website

The WIBO workshop helped me to create a business plan good enough to receive two loans for my business. I tell people all of the time, if you are not willing to take WIBO and write a solid business plan, then you are not ready to go into business.

Shannon Pridgen

Heavenly Crumbs
355 Franklin Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
718 623 6271
Heavenly Crumbs's website

WIBO made me look at how efficiently I was running my business. The workbook organized and clarified my thoughts. It changed the way I operated my company.

Jennifer Singleton

Jennifer Temps
(212)964-TEMP (8367)
The company's website

I heard about WIBO through a friend and decided to take the 16-week workshop before starting the business. It was great because it helped me organize my thoughts and put my ideas on paper. The interaction with other people was crucial because it’s great to get feedback from others. WIBO has been a positive force in my business for the past 12 1/2 years.

Ce Ce Chin

Eighty Twenty
Send an email to Eighty Twenty
The company's website

I am definitely glad I completed the WIBO course. I remember when the leader asked us to give our quick pitches to the rest of the students. It was a bit nerve-racking but in real business you have to do this all the time. I also feel the break even exercises were very important for realistic financial planning. I suggest WIBO graduates take advantage of WIBO’s business coaching service. It can feel isolating running your own business so it helps to have someone to coach you along.

Todd Pemberton

Bugs Are Gone Exterminating
(718) 735-BUGS
Email Bugs Are Gone
The company's website

The course covers the nuts and bolts of business ownership while providing individualized attention to current and future business owners in the class. Through WIBO’s quality instruction, I have learned how to better set clearly defined and measurable short/long term goals, as well as develop and implement effective marketing strategies. WIBO has pushed me “to think out of the box”. I am certain that once I’m a graduate of WIBO, I will be a well-rounded, well-informed, and a successful entrepreneur.

Farid Ali and George Constantinou

Bogota Bistro
141 Fifth Avenue
@ St. John's Place
NYC, NY 11217
(718) 230-3805
Email Bogota Bistro
The website

There was always someone to pick my brain and make me think. The volunteers pushed, probed, and questioned me about my business goals. For us, we have a special situation because one of the volunteers used to own a restaurant. So, we had a special connection with her.

Tye Robertson

Especially For You Planners, LLC
516 616 5053
The company's website

WIBO is an amazing workshop program. After graduating in January 2006, I had the opportunity to plan a client's six-figure wedding. I couldn't have achieved it without the assistance of WIBO and its volunteers. I will be forever grateful.

Barbara Garelick

Barbara Garelick Enterprises
800 772-2617
To contact BGE
BGE website

A typesetter friend asked me to go to a free business workshop in Brooklyn with her. I was living in Queens and working in Manhattan, so it didn't seem like something I truly wanted to do at the time. However, she was determined, and offered to drive me home after the class every week if I would go with her. She had a dream of starting her own typesetting shop, and I lived her dream.

The energy and enthusiasm drew me in immediately. I started my business during the first several weeks of taking the workshop, and I became a volunteer the very next session. I was hooked and became quite active, from group leader, to coordinator, started up a class in Queens, then became a board member. I lived, breathed and worked WIBO. I was inspired and I loved being someone else's inspiration. It made me feel good about myself.

Samarra Mbenga

Samarra Ann Management
Click here to learn more about Samarra's healing finances

This excerpt from Samarra Mbenga's graduation speech on June 19, 2007 shows how WIBO has made a difference in her life.

My name is Samarra Mbenga. Words can never express my gratitude to WIBO, the staff, my classmates, our teachers Don Alexander and Nancy Caballero, the partner organizations and the 16 business owners who gave their time to speak with our classes. Thank you all so much.

I've spent my educational and professional life in one profession acting. But each time the lights came up after a show, I found I still had a lot that I wanted to say, but I wasn't willing yet to say it as myself. That changed when I started Samarra Am Management on April 22, 2006.

Now I am on a new path. Because of WIBO, we now have the answers and tools for building the foundation of our businesses. I feel immense gratitude. Thank you WIBO for creating a safe space and showing us that passion and ideas are where it begins. Researching, knowing your target market, knowing your competition, pointing out your differential advantage, branding, financial projections, strategizing, networking, connecting and continuously planning are key if you want a business that lasts. Thank you WIBO for being here for 40 years to meet me when I was ready to be in the world as myself-a business owner. THANK YOU ALL!

John Rusk and Mary Kocy

Rusk Renovations
Rusk Renovations

Speech made by John Rusk of Rusk Renovations at graduation after completing WIBO's 16-week workshop on June 14, 2006.

You know what the worst thing about WIBO is?

It means my wife was right.

Right about setting ourselves apart in the marketplace, Right about low cost marketing, Right about figuring out our overhead to set our markup, Right about recruiting personnel using job descriptions, Right about record keeping, Right about the benefits of keeping crystal clean, and Right about how to manage our money.

And right about the fact that even if I was in business for 20 years, I still needed solid business training.

Mary joined our firm a year and a half ago after I’d been running it alone for 20 years. Mary found us WIBO and I wasn’t super happy to be there that first day. But these classes and their instructors and these group leaders and this class of people so exceeded my expectations I’ve recommended so many of my colleagues who are in business to take it. It brought the best out of me, my wife, and truly, our company. It also brought us to the same page, even if it was Mary’s page.

Tony Lopez

UPS Store
4768 Broadway
New York City, NY 10034
212-304-0282
Email the UPS store

4th Annual Alumni Networking Extravaganza

March 22, 2006

Keynote Speaker

Tony Lopez - WIBO graduate and UPS Store Owner

Good evening everyone. It is truly an honor for me to be here tonight. I would like to thank WIBO for inviting me to speak and share some of my experiences with you. I would also like to thank my family and friends for supporting me through the rollercoaster ride of entrepreneurship.

About 2 years ago I opened the doors of my UPS Store in the Inwood section of Manhattan. It was by far, both the most exciting and nerve racking experience I have ever had. After about a year of running my store I realized that I didn’t really know what the hell I was doing. I mean I could run the day-to-day operations just fine, but I had no clue what to do with regards to MANAGING my business. I guess you can say I was a small business owner but not really an entrepreneur.

That’s when I discovered WIBO. Now I know this is beginning to sound a lot like a WIBO infomercial but I assure you that I speak in complete honesty when I say that WIBO has been the foundation of my success as an entrepreneur.

During those 16 weeks at WIBO I learned so much and was fortunate enough to meet some incredible people along the way.

So here we are 1 year later and thanks to WIBO I’ve made so many changes in my business. One thing I’ve done differently is to focus on not only identifying my differential advantages, but making them noticeable to the customer. A perfect example is The World Class Customer Service that we deliver at The UPS Store. I’ve made Customer Service a priority and it really makes my store standout in the neighborhood.

Mustaqeem Abdul-Azeem

Mustaqeem's Essentials
125th and Lenox
Harlem, NY
917-378-3405

Mustaqeem's Essentials has grown from selling merely all natural raw shea butter and black soap to a wide range of natural products including essential oils for for aromatherapy and body fragrances, natural hair care products promoting luster, strength, and hair growth, dead sea bath salts, charcoals, lotions, body washes, incense, oil burners, other soaps and more.

Mustaqeen states that if you are serious about business, you can't afford to delay taking the WIBO workshop.

Anthony Kirby

AnthonyT. NEW YORK
138 Court Street #307
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718.783.2570
Start shopping today! Click here to visit our website

Anthony T. New York Online is now Open.

For the collection of Men's Wear that is elegant and timeless. Richly colored men's dress furnishings. The utmost in handmade quality.

With the launching of our new site we would like to offer you a 15% discount on your first order. Your discount will be applied at the time that your order is processed.

Christine Dimmick

The Good Home Co
Click here for more information about products and services

2004 Inc's Magazine annual list of America's 500 fastest growing private companies includes the Good Home Co., owned by a WIBO graduate Christine Dimmick

2003 Revenue: $4.2 million
In a 2002 Time Out NY article, Christine recommended WIBO as the workshop that helps entrepreneurs learn "how to get people to buy from you".

Nancy Colas

Simple Gifts and Goodies
(845)568-0050

Dear WIBO,
After many years of dreaming and saving, WIBO graduate, Nancy Colas, finally opens business "Simple Gifts and Goodies", located in Newburgh, New York. I must say that all the things that I learned from WIBO has been invaluable in my Success. We have been open since February 13, 2004, being in business is difficult, but you just have to hang in. We are not yet reapping the fruits of our labor, but we are still holding strong. I have seen other businesses open and close with in three to four months. And I know that all the nights that I spent at the 116St location has made all the difference. Not only has WIBO helped me develope my business sense, but it has also help me to become a home owner. All the steps that you take in developing a business are the same in planning and purchasing a home. Listen, Observe, Ask lots of questions, and Learn everything that you possibly can about what you want to pursue. Thank You again!!!! If you would like to contact me, please do so at the store. The phone number is(845)568-0050. I have also been featured in The Times Herold Record, October 17, 2004. The article is called, "Political wind shifts in the mid-Hudson". Online, please visit to th-record.com
With much admiration, Nancy Colas

Nadine Robbins

design@namaro.com

Namaro Graphic Designs was awarded 3 awards for design excellence from the well known LOGO 2004/David E. Carter competition, for the following logos:

• Park Avenue Synagogue
• Steamboat Foundation
• WIBO alumni Association

Your logos will appear in the "4th Big Book of Logos" to be published later this year. As a courtesy and gesture of appreciation, certificates for the winning entries will be forwarded to you in August.

Congratulations to all of you for working with Namaro in creating your award wining logos.

Regards,
Nadine Robbins, WIBO graduate
Principal
Namaro Graphic Designs

Ellen

Therapist

January 19, 2006

Dear WIBO:

Thank you for a great experience at the Washington Heights WIBO class this past fall. I am pleased to be making a donation FROM my business account which has seen increased revenues as a result of your training.

WIBO is a such a valuable and productive experience for the community. Have you considered going nationwide? I can just imagine a WIBO in every city helping to build community and small business. The need for your nuts and bolts approach is so obvious!

I commend your staff and volunteers for their enthusiasm and positive energy which is simply contagious for us small business owners.

With best regards,

Ellen

Ellen Lurie Polivy, CSW Director

CSW
326 West 83 St.
Suite ID
New York, NY 10024
212-362-2076

September 26, 2000

Dear Beverely;

I am happy to give you $250. WIBO really helped my business and my future and I am glad to be at the point where I can write a check and not worry about it.

I had been fighting myself with my professional practice for 19 years because I didn't have the business know-how to make it grow. Since I took the WIBO course, my business took off. I was able to take my professional competence and imbue it with a business confidence. I made more this year than I have probably in made in the past 5 years combined.' I now understand pricing and why I need to charge what I do. It's a tremendous benefit to be able to "run the numbers" and come up with some meaningful information about costs. Now, instead of feeling guilty having to send out bills, I am real serious about it. I know that for clients who need long term care planning and advocacy, they are not going to find a more knowlegeable, seasoned person than me, and I explain it that way. I began to request a deposit up front. Since I have explained my value, they gladly pay it. Clients not only know that I mean business, but that I am the best value they can find. It may seem expensive to them, but they know that they will get the help and save well more than my cost in the long run. I have a mantra that I say to myself. "Clients are clamboring to pay me", and darned if it isn't happening. In fact, I have not had one person not pay their bills since 1 took your course. And they pay right away.

In fact I have gotten so busy that I took on an assistant. I had missed your class on hiring staff, so I had to go back to the workbook to see what I missed. I did everything wrong. I hired by instinct without knowing first what exactly I needed. I hired someone who was much like me. Great with clients. Terrible at office work. It was like the blind leading the blind. But we worked it out and it now turns out that she is good enough at office work and helps tremendously with clients, so we can give our clients twice the attention, which equals more value.

WIBO really works. Too bad I've been so busy that I havent had time to get back for a refresher. I look forward to a little down time, just a little, so I can do some planning and get back to your classes.

Sincerely, Ellen Polivy

Renee Alevras

The Tasting Room
72 East 1st Street
New York, NY 10003
212-358-7831
The Tasting Room

The Workshop in Business Opportunities program (WIBO), which I took in the Spring of 1998 at the Gramercy branch, provided the perfect springboard from which to launch my business ideas and watch them fly. I took the class just as my husband and I decided that we needed some formal training in business plan writing, as well as financial planning, so that we could start creating an outline for our own small business and realize our dream of opening a restaurant together.

The format of the workshop was particularly effective for me because I enjoyed discussing the ideas that I had already begun to formulate with an audience of interested and supportive participants. The homework questions helped me to elucidate the thoughts and plans, which were beginning to take shape in my head, and put them on paper and say them out loud. These thoughts would become the elements of a written business plan months later. The class participants were varied in background and goals--someone wanted to open a clinic, someone wanted to start an internet business, someone wanted to improve the sales of (heir handmade hats & bags, someone wanted to open a sportswear store. The colorful blend of ideas enriched the experience in an atmosphere where varied points of view could be expressed.

Having to go through the process of verbalizing vague ideas helped them to take form and lead me to the point where I could put together a cohesive narrative to explain my business to the three most important people who would help me take the plan a step further to its inception as a real business. These three "people," I learned at WIBO were my lawyer, my banker, and my insurance agent--all of whom we had chosen before we had even found a location for the restaurant because of the advice of my WIBO instructor.

The greatest mental challenge came for all of the participants when we sat down to the financial segment of the course and learned about devising our break-even point, and how we would structure our businesses and earn the money to keep business afloat and eventually make a profit. This part of the workshop proved to be one of the most valuable aspects of the experience. The amount of knowledge which I gained, saved me money which could have been lost on expensive errors, and protected me from confusion in the future when it came to discussing finances with eventual business partners and die bank:'TheinvestmenroTmy time'ancTthe small fee for the class was returned 100 times.

After the workshop was over, I was able to compile my notes and use my knowledge to sit down with my husband and write our business plan including financials for The Tasting Room Wine Bar & Cafe. We showed it to the lawyers, the bankers, the insurance agents, the business partners and the real estate agents and inspired their faith in us because we were prepared with the knowledge and the vocabulary to express what we wanted to do and how we planned to do it. We had to the power to gain the confidence of people so that they would take a chance on two young entrepreneurs with a lot of energy and hope and skill. Our business really exists, has gained recognition and continues to grow. We look back on the steps that helped us to get where we are now and WIBO certainly has its role in the creation of our success. Thank you WIBO

Charlene Heyliger

Gourdchips, Inc.

Charlene Heyliger is the founder and owner of Gourdchips, Inc., a retail women's boutique specializing in personalized shopping, Gourd jewelry, (Girlfriend pins), Contemporary African Fashions, Designer's Wearable Arts, custom-made dolls, figurines, and Gourd-geous You Cosmetics. Charlene's business has serviced the Downtown Brooklyn community since 1989.

Because of the uniqueness of her art form, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, Indiana, The Weeksville Museum of Brooklyn, New York and the DuSable Museum in Chicago have purchased Gourd pieces for their permanent collection. The Studio Museum in Harlem displayed Charlene's Gourd Crafts Art in its Gift Shop and Mail Order Catalogue. The Amsterdam News, Brooklyn Trend, New York Recorder, Class Magazine, American Visions magazine, Black Elegance Magazine, and Newsday have published articles on her.

Some well-known artists who have purchased or received Charlene's jewelry as gifts are: Rita Moreno (screen artist), Jackie Jackson (wife of Jessie Jackson). Betty Carter (jazz vocalist), Pattie LaBelle (soul vocalist) and Winnie Mandela.