New Orleans women pass along entrepreneurial skills

New Orleans women pass along entrepreneurial skills
September 18, 2011
Annette Sisco
Nola.com

Growing up in New Orleans, Jade Russell was surrounded by a bustling small-business economy. Sweet potato pies were sold on the corner, a fruit truck cruised the streets and ladies from her church peddled suppers every Friday.
ec.sista880.jpgTed Jackson, The Times-PicayuneTara Alexander, left, and Jade Russell want to empower people to start their own businesses.

Russell, now a corporate lawyer, channeled some of that self-reliant spirit when she and her family started a tutoring service. She also owns a sports training business with her husband. She will teach the tools of success to others who are just getting started during a free 10-week entrepreneurship class starting Sept. 24 at the Community Hope Center at 630 Jackson Ave., in a partnership with Household of Faith Church.

The class is the brainchild of Russell and musician Tara Alexander, director of PureWater ministries in Mid-City, a music producer and recording artist. As the owner of several businesses and through her work as the director of a business training program called Young Christian Entrepreneurs, Alexander realized that people needed a way to turn their talents into sustaining careers. She and Russell developed a curriculum to teach business techniques that help everyday people find a niche and fill a need.

"We are not talking about businesses that are pie in the sky, by and by," Alexander said. "We are talking about microbusinesses. If you bake cakes, if you sell pralines, if you tutor or have a maid service -- businesses have to start somewhere."

Russell is a founder and former president of the Urban League of Greater New Orleans Young Professionals and is a commissioner for the Downtown Development District. She's a strong believer in self-reliance, especially in an economy where job security is uncertain.

She also believes that business opportunities are plentiful right here in New Orleans. After earning her undergraduate degree at Howard University in Washington and her law degree from the Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Russell moved to Chicago to practice law. In 2005, she was suddenly joined by her parents, in-laws and sister who evacuated New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina. Then she had a baby. At that point, she and her husband, Donnie Russell, realized how important it was for them to stay close to family. They moved back home after the storm.

Alexander is the CEO of Siloam Music, which she runs with her husband, drummer Jeffery Alexander of Papa Grows Funk. She's also a minister, and to her, small business is more than a way to create wealth.

"My goal is to make sure that we focus on entrepreneurship -- and philanthropy," she said. Running a small business allows people to generate funds or products to give back to the community, she pointed out.

Russell agreed. "When people get into a position to start their own business, they definitely need to build into their business plan a component of philanthropy to give others the same opportunity they received. I call it paying it back by paying it forward."

The class is free. All the staff is volunteer. It is offered as a community service by the center and its partner, the Household of Faith Church. The Community of Hope Center also offers parenting help, outreach to seniors and youth, addiction recovery groups and a women's book club.

The entrepreneurship class will be taught by Russell, with guest instructors for some subjects. Topics to be covered include organizational structure, marketing, financial planning, making a business plan, understanding costs and customer service. Students will be expected to apply the techniques they learn to their own small businesses, Alexander said. At the end of the 10 weeks, there will be a vendor fair at the Community Hope Center to showcase the business owners who took part, their services and products.

"We're not just talking business," she said. "We're doing business."