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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 2005)
September28.2005_____________ Minority & Small Business W eek______________________ Pagc89 Parenthood Becomes Career Opportunity Business comes after courses, certification by N icole H tx tP E R T he P ortland O bserver Jessie Green decided soon af ter her daughter Wendy celebrated her first birthday that it was time to leave her job as an account manager and become a full time m other. U n fo rtu n ately , m ost families cannot survive off of a single income. So she used this opportunity to not only spend time with her child but to open a daycare. Baby Hugs Daycare just cel ebrated its one-year anniversary. Putting Jessie’s goal into fruition was harder than she thought. It took Green two months to make Baby Hugs a full-fledged busi ness. She had to be certified in CPR, food handling and take classes on child abuse and early child development. W hen caring for children, Green feels like there is a very thin line between customer and fam ily. Baby Hugs is based on the Christian values she learned as a family member of Daniels Me morial Church. She strives to treat all children like they are her own with the amount of affection and attention she gives her own daugh ter. Most of the children that attend Baby Hugs have been there since Green opened. On the business side, it was a challenge in the beginning for Green to find activities to enter tain children and to keep their attention. When Green first de cided to start a day care she chatted with other people that had in home day care. Having a day care in a building has it's own set of criteria that is very different than in home care. Green also has three sisters in laws that also have / love my children, the kids keep me young, and they are hilarious. No corporate job could ever give me this. - Jessie Green, Baby Hugs Daycare owner in home daycares and acted as mentors. “I’d eventually like to use my home for the sole purpose of an in home day care or to have a center of my own," said Green. Being self-employed definitely has it’s own perks but there is a downside. If Green gets sick, she not only has to lose money for that day but many parents have to find alternative childcare or be forced to stay home. Each morning Green gets up at 5:30 a.m. and the first kid arrives at 6:15 a.m. Most don’t leave until 5 p.m. that evening. Finances and running a busi ness while being a minority and female have been hard issues for Green. She can't afford the costs of hiring a grant writer for grants that she may not get. Business loans are also closed off to her because her business is so new. This Catch 22 has made Green photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver Baby Hugs Daycare owner Jessie Green with some the kids in her charge. continued on page BIO Creating and Building Wealth ‘T he road to wealth begins with you,” says Carla J . Cargle, noted finan cial expert and author of the new book and companion CD-Roms, The Finan cial Truth [2005, Wealth Builders Pub lishing.TX|. Cargle covers all aspects of effective money management, including how to be financially prepared for natural di sasters, how individuals, couples and families can take control of their fiscal health, assess their “financial compat ibility" and develop their own roadmap to economic independence. “This book and interactive program has been created to help African Ameri cans develop a positive, healthy and spiritual relationship with their money,” Cargle says. “Money does not have the power to do or be anything until you attach your spirit to it. It can’t make you wealthy or poor.” Caria Cargle The Financial Truth program consists of three main sections, including one that addresses the soul of money, section two that encompasses an individual's thoughts and relationship with money, plus a third section which examines how one nurtures his or her own personal finan cial needs, while introducing tools help ful to building and accumulating finan cial wealth. All of this accomplished— with the all-important spiritual connec tion to money built-in, which distin guishes this program from all others. A native of Gary, Indiana, Cargle is an alumnus of Hampton University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in finance. She has been a practicing financial advisor for 14 years and is a registered investment advisor. She is the author of Humble. Wise and Wealthy, a spiritually-based personal finance handbook, and she wrote and developed the curriculum for the ac claimed national economic empower ment program, “Know Your Money” for the National Urban League. WALSH Construction Co. OREGON • WASHINGTON • CALIFORNIA Opportuni Quality people make powerful partnerships Kaiser Permanente believes in promoting diversity, not only in our workforce but also in our business relationships. That’s why we partner with a diverse pool of suppliers to obtain quality products and services. These powerful partnerships help us provide the quality care that our members deserve. KAISER PERMANENTE» th r iv e For more information about our Nationa Suppl er Diversity Program, please visit o u rW e b s ite a tw w w .k p .o rg /s u p p lie rd iv e rs ity contact usât 1-877-266-6196. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest A d ve rtise with diversity in Q 1,1 ^JcttthtUÒ QDbscrtTíT Call 503-288-0033 ads@portlandob server.com