| Name | justine |
|---|---|
| Last Name | Jones |
| Home Address | 2895 old Britain Circle Chattanooga, TN 37421 United States |
| Organization Name | The Justique Foundation |
| Describe Your Role In The Organization | I am the owner of Ashanti Design Studio. In addition to my hair salon, I also use our studio to provide workshops, training, and classes for the community. Our main focus is on business development and our youth. My role in our organization is to create a schedule of classes, invite speakers, and the overall administrative work. I am excited to work with other local and national organizations to bring this information to our business owners. I also will serve as a facilitator for some of the workshops in my area of expertise as a business owner and cosmetologist. |
| Organization Address | 2441 Glass St. Chattanooga, TN 37421 United States |
| Website | |
| Best Phone Number To Reach You | 423 503 9565 |
| Alternate Phone Number | |
| Email Address | ashantishairdesign@yahoo.com |
| Alternate Email Address | Corribischer@gmail.com |
| Please Describe Your Project In Detail | Our year-long project is designed to help youth and adults develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Our series is designed to help youth (ages 6-17) and adults learn their passion and create a business based on that passion. We understand that the youth interest may change, but understanding the principles of business builds a solid foundation for any business they wish to pursue. We provide classes on the various aspects of starting a business, sustaining it, and scaling it. Our youth program meets after school from 3-6pm. In recent studies, it is known that most criminal activity is committed by our targeted age group during these hours. We are designed to give them an alternative to being lured into a gang or criminal activity. We believe prevention is the best answer to addressing the issues of gun violence. Our adult classes are both for daytime and evening classes to accommodate working adults Our adult workshops are designed to provide information for existing businesses and start-up businesses. We provide training on financial resources, marketing, sales, legal structure, and setup. We have partnerships with our City Diversity program to become suppliers to the city government for local supplies and services. Our participants will also have the option of joining the National Black Mastermind Group. NBMG provides training in federal contracts and financial sustainability. We are the resource that our local businesses need to help recuperate from the negative effects of Covid-19. More than 1.9 million minority businesses were closed permanently because they were not prepared to withstand the adversities of 2020. Our project will |
| Please explain how your project meets the requirements of the American Rescue Plan | Our plan meets the requirements of the American Rescue Plan in two ways. One, by reaching the youth through our program, we will give them a positive self-image, responsibility, and skills that will last them a lifetime. By teaching these skills early and creating a culture of entreprenuership, we believe we can keep them from illegal activities by presenting legal means to make the money that often lures them into that life. Our adult program will help our local economy, the backbone of America. With a strong local economy we are contributing to the state and federal economy. We all are contributing factors to do exactly what this grant is to be used for, to rescue America. When we bring strong businesses, we bring jobs, skills, character and integrity to neighborhoods. This is what we want for our communities just like 1000's of communities across the country. Our project is the American Rescue Plan. |
| Where would your project take place? | Our location is 1441 Glass St Chattanooga 37406 |
| How much will your project cost in total? | 68500.00 |
| Do you have any matching funding sources from other local governments, private entities, non-profits, or philanthropic entities for your project? | No |
| Please describe the source and list amounts of any other funding. | |
| What portion of the project are you asking the city to fund? | |
| If funded, when would your project start? | March 1, 2022 |
| How long would your project take to complete? | 03/01/2023 |
| What milestones would you use to measure your project’s progress? | We will measure our milestones in a variety of ways. One, by reaching our target number of youth in our program. Our goal is 15 students. In our adult program, our initial goal is to provide services for 20 business owners. Our success will be measured by our participant's ability to access business credit lines, raise capital, and maintain a positive cash flow without reinvesting profits into the business for the first 3 years. We will have a pre-test for business knowledge as well as a post-test that will help us determine exactly what was retained during our program. We also will determine our progress by the number of youth that are able to sustain and grow their business even as they are in school and/or for the summer school hours. |
| How would you ensure accountability and transparency throughout the project lifecycle? | We will create a peer culture and partnership within the program. As assignments and research are given, participants will be partnered together to get these assignments completed together. We strongly believe this accountability will prove a valuable tool in helping the business owners learn to not only rely on others but know that they are being relied on as well. Too often, as business owners, they take on too much of the responsibilities and do not learn how to delegate. Our program will teach them how to do that. Each participant will sign a non-disclosure agreement so each participant's intellectual property is protected. Parents will need to sign this for our youth as well. |
| If successful, how would your project benefit the community? | Our company will benefit our community by restoring income lost as a result of Covid-19, teaching businesses new ways of adjusting in times of difficulties, and creating a strong economic web in our local economy. This will be successful because of a new understanding of collaborative economics. This is how we truly change the trajectory of small businesses. Participants will see how much they affect other businesses and vice versa as we build a web of interlocking businesses. It is through our role-playing activities we can see where our dollars go and how important they are to the local economy. We will give our youth a foundation and skill-set that will last them a lifetime. They will understand the foundation of a business that includes problem-solving, calculations, supply and demand, communications, marketing, sales, leadership, dedication, profits&losses and more. Our youth will have the skills and talents to keep them off the streets and to make better choices than some of their counterparts who have not learned how to use these skills in a positive and profitable way. |
| How will you attract community buy-in for your project? | We will attract community buy-in because our project is design by our community. We have asked what were some of the contributing factors that led to businesses closing and we based our project on that. We wanted an exact answer to the problems our community faced. One, something for our youth to do. Second, how to get our businesses reopened with additional resources and skills to not let adversity close them again. We have involved community leaders and professionals as speakers, workshop leaders, and counselors. We are addressing many areas of business, a wide variety of business types, and are marketing on a citywide search for all of those who want help to be able to come and get help. With our resources, I believe those who truly want to help businesses will show up, like the City of Chattanooga Diversity Office and Office of Economic Development has great resources. Businesses who want help will be able to find us through our many marketing campaigns described earlier. |
| Name | Corri Bischer |
| Contact Information | 423 320 3248 |
| Is there anything else you would like us to know about your project? | Thank you in advance for seeing the benefits of what our program has to offer. If you need a more detailed list of our planned classes, that is available. I know Chattanooga needs a change. We need to spread the information about the resources available on a local and federal level. We all know that nothing spreads quicker than information in a hair salon. This is why our venue and program are perfect for this opportunity. Thank you in advance. |