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Carmella Williams received $5,000 for having the best business plan
YOUNGSTOWN
Carmella Williams, who participated in the Youngstown Business Incubator’s first Women in Entrepreneurship – WE – launch class, received a graduation gift of $5,000 to bolster her business, Carmella Maria Natural Beauty Products.
Williams, of Hubbard, was chosen to receive the $5,000 at Wednesday’s event at YBI for having the best overall business plan from among 12 budding business women who participated in the nine-week program.
Each of the finalists was given an opportunity to give a brief pitch for her business and how she plans to make it grow and succeed.
Williams says she has products in nine stores and has plans to increase that number to 30.
Carmella Maria products use nontraditional natural and organic ingredients such as flax seed, honey, cocoa and mango butters. She said she will use part of the money to increase her marketing efforts.
The purpose of the WE program is to empower women to achieve their visions and know they can achieve whatever they want to do, said Stephanie Gilchrist, program director.
“We became a village during the nine-week class supporting each other. I’ve seen them grow and blossom,” Gilchrist said.
The women are starting or growing a wide range of businesses.
Danica Hobbs is starting a magazine, Youngstown Sophisticate, which she said “highlights the wonderful culture of the greatest people in the world: Youngstownians.”
Donna Cadwallader, who has 46 years of nursing experience, is starting a medical- coding consulting business to help doctors and other medical entities deal with the newest system of coding instituted by the federal government.
Kim Zeidenstein, an occupational therapist for 35 years, said she didn’t have a name or a logo for her business when the class started nine weeks ago.
Zeidenstein knew what she wanted to do: Help others help themselves and continue to live at home in a safe environment. With the help of her mentor, however, she not only developed a business plan, she came up with a name, LoMo Solutions, which means Living on My Own.
Each of the program participants had a mentor.
Claudia Kovach was mentor for Mary Protheroe, whose business, Culture House Coffee Roasters Thirdwave and Specialty Coffee, not only has the goal of paying its way but also helping the farmers who grow the coffee plants by paying more for the green coffee beans. Protheroe believes that people will pay more for the coffee when they know it is for a good cause.
“A lot of people want to own their own business, and like Mary, have a vision about helping others,” said Kovach, corporate secretary and vice president of City Machine Technologies Inc. in Youngstown.
But, there is also a practical side, she said.
“It is a business, and you do have to make money to pay your bills ... to cover your expenses. It is not a hobby,” Kovach said.
Zeidenstein, who has a master’s degree in health administration, said her mentor helped her tremendously with general business skills such as developing a business plan, doing market research and creating a cash-flow statement.
The Youngstown Business Incubator is planning another Women in Entrepreneurship program in the fall at the Wean Foundation headquarters in Warren, and applications are being accepted, Gilchrist said.