August marks National Black Business Month. While it’s encouraged to support Black-owned businesses all year long, this month is a special time to acknowledge and celebrate your favorite Black entrepreneurs.
While she’s not an entrepreneur per se, you could say Mariah has that entrepreneurial spirit! She came to Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana (New Orleans) ready to experience some economic mobility. She just needed a little support to get there.
Her local Department of Children and Family Services first recommended she contact Goodwill to see what opportunities were available. Mariah shared that she wanted to be economically self-sufficient, and Goodwill put her in various training programs to help her reach that goal.
Initially, Goodwill helped her find what she excelled at and was passionate about so that Mariah could grow in a career she felt good about. Then, she received job readiness training and other support services to ensure that when the right opportunity came around, she was ready to hit the ground running.
Over time, Mariah started to really appreciate the career coaching process itself. She decided she wanted to help others the way that she had been helped at Goodwill. Mariah enrolled in the Career Coach and Navigator Professional Certificate offered in partnership with Goodwill and Coursera.
After completing the course, everyone felt like it made perfect sense for Mariah to stay with the Goodwill family. Now, she’s earning more than she did before as a career navigator assistant and has opportunities to continue advancing her career for years to come.
As someone who now coaches others, there’s one motto that Mariah lives by and encourages others to embrace as well: “Be so great, they can’t ignore you.”
It’s a message we hope resonates with all the Black business owners out there no matter where you’re at in your entrepreneurial journey.
If you or someone you know is interested in advancing their career (or even starting their own business), get in touch with Goodwill’s career centers to see what programs are available to help you along the way.
