APR 12
2010 Managing Your Credit Card: It Takes Discipline! Michelle Smith: Shares Her Chocolate Dreams Is it Ok To Hook Up with a former Boyfriend/Girlfriend?
Editor’s Note
It has been a week since we launched our Facebook fan page and we have close to 600 members, the page has been buzzing with interesting discussions thanks to our loyal readers. This week we share one of our discussions. Also we take a look at the phenomenal entrepreneur Michelle Smith and how she accomplished her Chocolate Dreams plus more. So feast on our literary offerings and enjoy this moment only for you. Don’t forget to continue sending your comments.
Cheers
Photography by Warren Buckle
Click here to follow us on Twitter
www.ezineslimited.com
Join our group on Facebook
your style eZine
finance
Managing Your Credit Card It Takes Discipline!
“
Gone are the days when having a credit card was a luxury for the wealthier among us, today it is almost a necessity.
”
T
Tendering bills in exchange for services nowadays seems almost quaint if not yet archaic. Gone are the days when having a credit card was a luxury for the wealthier among us. Today it is almost a necessity. But are we fortunate to have been afforded this convenience? A very important yet often neglected fact is that the spending power made available to you through credit cards is money that is being lent to you. Using a credit card is convenient and can be helpful, assuming you can learn to use it wisely and maturely. These pointers will help you to be in command of your cards instead of them taking control of you.
Cash Advances Cash Advance is the most expensive feature of a credit card, one which card users should always try to avoid. Local banks often affix various interest rates to their credit cards. There is a rate for purchases and another rate for other types of card usage, primarily cash advances. The rate given to regular spending is comparatively low but cash advances tend to attract a considerably higher fee. Thus, if you have to resort to cash advances it means that you need to revisit your budget and spending habits. If it so happens that you need the cash that badly, perhaps it is a case of an emergency, you can substitute your credit for cash with a friend. That is, find a friend that is willing to make a purchase with your credit card and retrieve the cash from them once you’ve made the pur-
www.ezineslimited.com
chase. This way you avoid the additional charges that come along with making cash advances.
Adding a Secondary User How often do we consider adding an additional user to your credit card? Admittedly, it might seem a good idea to add a child, partner or family member to your card just to streamline the number of back and forth transactions. BUT when it comes to credit cards and spending, proceed with caution as it is extremely difficult to control another individual’s spending habits. There is no sure and fast method of determining a secondary user, but it should also be paired with an adequate appraisal of the responsibility of the candidate.
Maxing out Your Credit Card There are so many reasons within this reason why it is detrimental to max out your credit. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that the credit card balance becomes harder to repay. You may plan to pay the balance in full but soon those interest rates and late fees pile up. And I am assuming that your inability to make your payment is one of the reasons why the card is maxed. This immediately gives your bank/creditor a red light and will further ruin your ability to get future credit. Most notably, a maxed out credit card could also take years to repay. your style eZine
Michelle Smith
cover story
Shares Her Chocolate Dreams
“
We were tucked away on Roosevelt Avenue for a very long time, but when we opened up at Devon House, it gave us a whole new meaning. It gave us a lot of foot traffic and exposed us to a whole new market; whereas down here (Roosevelt) it is mostly people with a car
”
T
These days life is good for Michelle Smith, 50, who has come a far way from working at American Airlines, to sweet success as the sole proprietor of Chocolate Dreams. The dream became a reality in June 2004 after Michelle and her partner visited Maine in the United States, and checked out several “mom and pop” enterprises. There, arrangements were made to introduce her to the supplier of her base product. “I was inspired to start my own business by economics, but Chocolate Dreams came out of a lot of different thoughts; travelling, seeing things and going to people’s businesses,” says Michelle, who has always dabbled in chocolate, trying different things, going on the internet and looking around. “I realize there are a lot of things you can do
www.ezineslimited.com
with chocolate. You can bake, do a chocolate fountain, provide services; chocolate has a never ending added value.” Michelle admits that things were not always easy, as she faced numerous difficulties that most small businesses face today. “Getting funding and getting people to buy into your dream is hard, because most people won’t share your dream,” she says. “Often, you hear them talking on TV about funding being available for small businesses but truth be told, most bank mangers want to see dollars and cents. You may believe that your business idea is worth the risk but that doesn’t mean they will share the sentiment.”
your style eZine
Michelle Smith
cover story
Shares Her Chocolate Dreams Undaunted by these obstacles, her desire to see her dream fulfilled keeps her going. Undoubtedly, the business is moving in the right direction, as Chocolate Dreams is on the verge of being incorporated under the Companies Acts of Jamaica.
Michelle Smith involved in the creative aspect
Chocolate lovers have always flocked Chocolate Dreams’ initial store on Roosevelt Avenue for their daily servings of chocolate, but October’s opening of her Devon House location has provided easier access for her clients. “We were tucked away on Roosevelt Avenue for a very long time, but when we opened up at Devon House, it gave us a whole new meaning. It gave us a lot of foot traffic and exposed us to a whole new market; whereas down here (Roosevelt) it is mostly people with a car.” Chocolate Dreams’ clientele goes beyond the traditional walk-in clients, since she often does weddings, caters for corporate functions, supplies restaurants and hotels, as well as British Airways’ first class flights. Michelle is looking to the future and to even greater success for her business. She has no intention of slowing down. “We are looking at supplying a major supermarket chain at every location, which means that we will be extended across the country. [Also] to be in export by the end of the year and to have a branch in the Cayman Islands,” she says.
Tamarind balls being dipped in chocolate
A wide array of chocolate
www.ezineslimited.com
your style eZine
cover story
Michelle Smith
Shares Her Chocolate Dreams WHO you’ll find in her inner circle Mike, who is my other half, and my two daughters. One is a teacher and the other is going on to become a doctor. Usually my daughters will come around for the busy seasons. My family and friends are what keeps me running. WHAT advice would you give to females who desire to be entrepreneurs? I see where I went from opening five days of the week to seven days, and I was literally burned out. So, I recommend factoring in at least two weeks out of the year just for you. Time away helps you to rejuvenate and rethink. A lot of people don’t realize what this does for your mental health and how important it is. It helps to keep the body functioning bearing in mind the physical limitations. Have a good support group and a bottle of wine to sip along, because entrepreneurship is a challenge. Very rewarding but the work is hard. WHEN her customers are satisfied Satisfied customers are rewarding and I know I have a lot of satisfied customers. It gives you the feeling that the purpose of Chocolate Dreams has been achieved. WHERE she retreats to balance work with play Going to the beach. My soul mate Mike has a boat and we often go to the Cays, and of course hanging out with friends. WHY she believes that many are unwilling to enter the chocolate industry in the nature Chocolate Dreams has Chocolate requires a certain environment to be made, kept, delivered and baked. It is a hard product to keep, has to have a humidity of 50 degrees, stay in a temperature of 70 degrees. When most businesses have to turn their air conditioning off when their offices are closed, I usually have to keep mine running. And most importantly, it is rather difficult to cater chocolate to people’s individuality. But on the flip side, that’s what I like about what I do, [which] is giving people a more personalized touch. When I make something at Chocolate Dreams it is made specifically for that individual.
Awards: 2008 Inaugural NCB Strength Award 2009 Heart Trust/NTA Female Entrepreneur
Philanthropic Efforts: Cancer Society of Jamaica The Heart Foundation of Jamaica “We are [from] a country that is in need, and I have come to realize that there is only so much that you need. Therefore if you have what you need and there is excess, then you should give to someone who has none.” -Michelle Smith
HOW the internet has played a big part in Chocolate Dreams The internet has been 100% my friend. I really did not know my suppliers when I first started out because they were all through the internet. Overtime, I have come to be really good friends with a lot of them. Chocolate Dreams’ Devon House location
www.ezineslimited.com
your style eZine
Is it Okay to Hook Up
facebook discussion
Y
With a Former Boyfriend/Girlfriend?
ou both decided that it can no longer work (let’s not even get into who dumped whom!), you told yourself that you would test the waters and you knew that you still had the goods to reel a few of them in. Sadly the water is not as you thought it would have been? Is it OK to go back to your ex? Share you thoughts.
Ingrid Greene-smith
What I throw away I do not pick up back. Simply put.
Alecia Maria Sawyers
Ingrid, your response suggests much about your choices in men: the disposable kind? Don’t get me wrong, I speak without malice. The least you can do is respect what you had (hopefully it was a respectable affiliation) and based on the circumstances of your present, determine the wisdom of the decision to go back or move on. Some of our past relationships were of toxic proportions. Despite this, there is the tendency to extend what could become more episodes of your dysfunctional affair. Beware of these, they have the potential to become consuming cycles. The ex at times is not symbolic of a hex and the reason for dissolution of the relationship in this instances, allows for rethink. Perfectly legal to’re-dabble’. Another option when testing the waters leave you soaked: stay dry. You don’t have to brave the waves or dash back to Johnny Yesterday. I am an advocate for time and space between relationships. Discover how you REALLY like your eggs (a la Julia Roberts, Runaway Bride). My personal belief: it’s all circumstantial.
Shanique Le Ch’amp Ellington
Well I don’t know about you but I don’t get back with my ex’s... it’s not a rule of mine or anything but back then I was the
www.ezineslimited.com
“
If there is still something there and you both can work pass the differences you had before. Give a try. -Ozane Bell
”
kind of person that will remember all the bad times and when I try to “work it out” after we sort of break up, it’s like I can’t let go. It’s a bad thing to keep up things but look, if you keep telling yourself that this is just something I’m gonna have to live with, then best believe you are conditioning yourself for other faults that your gonna have to live with. One thing I do though is to learn from both of our mistakes and so in the relationship I’m in now, we do things like, resolve anything before it becomes a “situation” and everything we do we think about how it would make the other feel if we did it before it’s done. In previous relays things were said and done and the reality is that even though u wish u never described him using such strong words or deliberately crushed his ego, none if it can be taken back and really n truly if u love someone n respect them you’d never even have done that in the first place. So when all of these are being dished out to you, you shouldn’t stand for it and regardless of if u believe you are in love, LEAVE HIM! LOVE CAN HAPPEN TWICE IN A LIFETIME! I hate seeing when girls are in dysfunctional relationships and they refuse to leave the
guy cause they love the person. Come on ladies! You can fall in love again. Try moving on even if it hurts. Why should you SETTLE when there is someone else out there! Take risks too! Look where it landed me :) happily “taken”. I was even in a phase where I thought I let a good one go, and I even thought for a while that ALL MEN ARE SATAN’S WORKERS! lol! But had I not waited VERYYYYY patiently, I wouldn’t have found my {^.^} So my point is, if you realize that something is just not working for you, don’t try to push it because you might just miss out on that good one.
Damion Mitchell
What’s the reality here...Does the X want you back? Cause you might be in for a rude awakening.....
Debra Callender
If both of you are happy be together. Doesn’t matter if you go back but not just because you are lonely...do it if you realize you are still in love or in love again.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed does not necessarily state or reflect those of Your Style eZine and eZine Limited or entities thereof.
your style eZine
$3&%*54
16#-*4)&3
F;JOFT -JNJUFE 4VJUF 5FDIOPMPHZ *OOPWBUJPO $FOUFS 6OJWFSTJUZ PG 5FDIOPMPHZ 0ME )PQF 3PBE ,JOHTUPO 5FMFQIPOF ."/"(*/( %*3&$503
5ZSPOF 8JMTPO &%*503
.FJTIB (BZ .BUUJT %&4*(/ "/% -":065
XXX F[JOFTMJNJUFE DPN 4FOE VT ZPVS DPNNFOUT UP FEJUPS!F[JOFTMJNJUFE DPN
8BSSFO #VDLMF 46#4$3*15*0/
TVCTDSJQUJPO!F[JOFTMJNJUFE DPN &%*503*"-
FEJUPS!F[JOFTMJNJUFE DPN :PVS 4UZMF F;JOF JT B QSPEVDU PG F;JOFT -JNJUFE BOE JT EJTUSJCVUFE WJB F NBJM BOE PUIFS POMJOF TPVSDFT TVDI BT GBDFCPPL 5P TVC TDSJCF '3&& MPH PO UP XXX F[JOFTMJNJUFE DPN UPEBZ PS FNBJM UP TVCTDSJQUJPO!F[JOFMJNJUFE DPN
&BDI UJNF ZPV SFBE :PVS 4UZMF F;JOF ZPV BSF TVQQPSUJOH UIF mHIU BHBJOTU HMPCBM XBSNJOH BOE BMTP B NPWF UPXBSET FDP GSJFOEMZ QSPEVDUT
Read Your Style today...