5 minute read
TEP Program Celebrates ‘Successful Six’ Entrepreneurs
By: Damita Roberts
After nearly four months of virtual training, mentorship and camaraderie, six aspiring business owners – Preston Dillard, Michelle Freytag, Tommy German, Jr., Norman Harris, Sarah Mabry, and Quincy Moore – celebrated their graduation from the 2021 Turnaround Entrepreneurship Program (TEP), held Sept. 1 at Hilton University of Houston.
Part of Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Turnaround Houston initiative, TEP aims to assist Houstonians touched by the criminal justice system start their own businesses and increase their credit scores for better access to capital. The program, established in 2019, was put on hold in 2020 due to COVID-19. This year, TEP returned in a virtual format thanks to partners and sponsors including Capital One Bank, Cadence Bank, the City of Houston Health Department and the Mayor’s Office of Complete Communities.
OUT IN THE COMMUNITY: TEP graduates attend community event in Third Ward. Pictured from left: Preston Dillard, former City of Houston Councilwoman Jalonda Jones, Mayor Sylvester Turner, Quincy Moore, and Kenny Hill.
Through a video message delivered at graduation, Mayor Turner expressed his pride in the graduates and acknowledged their contributions to the community.
“I am truly proud of all of you, as I have been proud of the Turnaround Entrepreneurship Program since it first started,” he said. “Entrepreneurs like you are the heart and soul of our local economy. Your businesses will provide essential services to our neighborhoods, they will create more jobs, and they will increase community wealth.”
The program’s curriculum focused on components of a business plan: business foundations; legal structure; products and services; market analysis; strategy and organizational management; financial planning and projections; and implementation.
With each session, the cohort elevated their knowledge of business foundations and how operational principles affect all aspects of their business plans. They also developed their own business ideas and created business plans on the Live Plan platform.
Participants also developed planning strategies and branding concepts, and improved their technical skills using planning applications such as Canvas, and online platforms such as Microsoft Office and Microsoft Teams.
TEP also covered communication, writing, presentation, and networking, as well as financial counseling from The BridgePath. These counseling sessions provided individual consultations and custom credit rebuilding plans.
Upon graduation, participants received certificates of completion and a curated business kit to help their business operations, which included a laptop, business supplies and a stipend to help with the formation costs of their businesses with the Texas Secretary of State.
COACHING ENTREPRENEURS: TEP graduate Norman Harris visits with Candace Joseph of the Joseph Consulting Firm to receive specialized coaching and brand development.
Learn More About the TEP Program's Successful Six
Preston Dillard
Effective Revisions is a program designed to improve outcomes for individuals with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders through the provision of appropriate evidence-based services. This includes addressing the individual’s criminogenic needs, and is based on a reentry plan that relies on a risk and needs assessment that reflects the risk of recidivism for that individual.
Norman Harris
Promise Land Resources offers a Reentry Masterclass to returning citizens, equipping them with self-empowerment tools to successfully reenter society while building and maintaining stability and being compliant with the terms and conditions of supervised release. The Masterclass focuses on four keys areas: job readiness, social and life skills, victim empathy and civic engagement.
Sarah Mabry
Convict Confections offers delicious latenight dessert and coffee options based on recipes from Sarah’s grandmother. Located in front of Pearl Bar on Washington Ave, as well as at various farmers markets and citywide events, Convict Confections is the solution to Houston’s late-night dessert experience.
Michelle Freytag
Concierge Legal Solutions (“CLS”) is a paralegal firm that provides legal processing and notary services. CLS envisions gaining a minimum of 10 steady clients in the first fiscal year, exceeding client expectations, and being among the top five paralegal firms in the Houston Metro area within five years of establishment.
Tommy German, Jr.
Chosen Aquatics is a pressure and power washing company with diagnostic expertise to solve large problems from residential driveways to multi-unit apartment complexes. With a small environmental footprint, Chosen Aquatics has the knowledge, technical expertise, work ethic and desire to leave clients satisfied every time
Quincy Moore
Moore’s LawnCare & Outside Services provides ideal landscape design as well as material installation and lawn maintenance. The combination of these services allows landscaping in the client’s home or business to maintain its lush and vibrancy. With Moore’s LawnCare & Outside Services team, there will be less hassle, less confusion, and “Moore” results.
TEP begins each spring and is set to welcome its third cohort in 2022. For more information, go to www.houstontx. gov/turnaround.
