When you’re tired, what sustains your work?
1. Making an impactKnowing that my company’s work is making a meaningful and positive impact on people’s lives.
—Marissa Bell, co-founder and CEO at The Seventh Spark Company
2. Remembering your whyFor me, failure is not an option. I started working toward my launch while pregnant. It was really tough and a lot of personal sacrifices were made during that period. So whenever I feel unmotivated, I look at my son. It reminds me why I started my business and that always pushes me through.
—Chiedza Dawn Ziyambe, founder of Miss Chii Lingerie
3. MusicWhen I’m tired, feeling motivated is challenging. What helps me is music, and not just any music but high-energy music. Music helps me refocus, energizes me and gets my productivity back on track. 
—Ranu Coleman, CMO of Azazie and Blush Mark
4. ConnectionConnecting with new people, partners, talent, teams and co-workers fuels me and energizes me to keep going. 
—Stephanie Biegel, chief strategy officer and founder at Key

While approximately 35,000 youth are processed every year at the DJS's intake centers throughout Maryland, only about 2,000 of those youth will eventually be ordered by a court to receive treatment in a facility either in Maryland or in another state. At some point, those 2,000 youth will complete their respective treatment programs and return to their communities.

Recent research has shown that effective and timely re-entry and aftercare programs increase the success rate for youth when they return to the community by providing continued counseling, services and employment training and assistance. These efforts help the youth continue his or her progress and avoid getting in more trouble.

RIDE can help young adults re entering society become self employed at any stage of business.

Returning citizens Inspired to Develop Entrepreneurial ventures (RIDE) in partnership with EDAC at Morgan State University and Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) for Formerly Incarcerated Persons.

This is a federally funded program for minority returning citizens. Especially, for persons re entering society who have been denied employment because of a criminal record. Women are strongly encouraged to apply. 

Students will learn how to be your own boss and receive business and entrepreneurship training with RIDE. 

During the two day virtual course learn fundamental business knowledge in business concept, accounting, finance, marketing, project management, operations, economics and more.

Eligibility

• Must have a criminal record
• Must have interest in starting a business/self employment
• Must have internet/wifi
• Must have smartphone, tablet or computer

Benefits

• Access to Growthwheel - a visual toolbox to make business decisions and take action
• One on one business counseling by our Small Business Specialists
• Access to grant funding for startup costs and operation
• Grow personally and professionally 
• Participate in business plan Pitch competition 
• Completion certificate 
• Enhance your skills - teamwork, problem solving, technology, creative thinking, communication and networking

•  The Power of Broke
• How Empty Pockets, a Tight Budget, and a Hunger for Success Can Become Your Greatest Competitive Advantage
• By: Daymond John, Daniel Paisner

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​When Malla Haridat heard New York City was launching programs to mentor minority business owners, she almost fell out of her chair. "So often we hear promises," she says. "But don't hear results."
Haridat, a business coach, was on a panel of business owners discussing opportunities for Black business owners. She and her fellow panelists described a range of resources available for Black and minority business owners. 
The increased focus on the Black business owners and resources devoted to them has created a "golden age" for entrepreneurs of color, says Kathey Porter, principal and CEO of Porter Brown Associates, a professional training and consulting firm in Alachua, Florida. It began even before the Black Lives Matter movement and protests of 2020, she says.
"If you were thinking about setting out and doing something," she says, "this is the moment." 

The conversation occurred in an Inc. National Small Business Town Hall stream event Thursday, moderated by Teneshia Carr, Inc. contributing editor and founder of Blanc Media. Here are a few highlights of the resources the group talked about. 
Networking Business owners are making new connections in virtual chats--Zoom coffees, Clubhouse rooms, and other remote events, says Haridat, founder of the New Designs for Life Training Company based in Yonkers, New York. Her pro tip: Bring your intro script ready to drop into the virtual event text space. Then, make a point to book time with people you "meet" at the virtual events. 

"That's where I've heard people building relationships they wouldn't have otherwise," she says. Check out LinkedIn virtual events and any networks outside of your "comfort zone," says Porter. It doesn't have to stop at your laptop. When bills come up at the Florida statehouse related to minority and women-owned businesses, Haridat says she plans to be there every year to advocate for them. Click here to  read more or watch the video