Press Release

Sheryl Underwood, Founder of Pack Rat Foundation For Education (PRFFE), is pleased to announce the addition of radio personality and motivational speaker Warren Ballentine to the team as a consultant to the foundation.

Pack Rat Foundation For Education, (a California 501(c)3 organization), founded by philanthropist and Emmy award winning entertainer Sheryl Underwood, raises awareness and funds for all 105 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and is focused on initiatives that support HBCUs.

Erna Foushee, Executive Director of PRFFE says, “It’s a pleasure to welcome someone as dynamic and talented as Warren Ballentine to the PRFFE team. Together, I believe we will make a tremendous impact on HBCUs all across the country.”

According to Underwood, “HBCUs have always provided access to the dream of a college education to underserved students. We all need to do our part to help these schools not only survive, but thrive, because there are young people that need what HBCUs offer, which is an excellent academic education in a culturally relevant environment.”

Ballentine says, “I’m so excited to be working with such a wonderful foundation! The vision of the foundation, and the genuine love we all have for its founder, is the same as mine. I look forward to all the work we will do and to helping and being a bridge to the foundation.” 

Warren Ballentine, a Chicago native, is an attorney, political activist and radio talk show host, who has used his platform as host of “The Warren Ballentine Show” and contributor to Sheryl Underwood Radio to be an advocate and champion for causes that impact African Americans. Ballentine is a thought-leader who has been featured in Ebony, JET magazine, The Atlanta Business Journal and the New York Times.

For more information on Pack Rat Foundation For Education call (818) 386-9485 or email: [email protected].

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About Sheryl Underwood

Sheryl Underwood, an Emmy-award winner for her role as co-host of THE TALK on CBS television, is viewed daily by nearly 3 million daytime viewers. With Sheryl at THE TALK table, the show garnered its first six Emmy nominations and a subsequent win for “Best Daytime Talk Show.” 

Sheryl has over 14 million listeners by the combined reach of the signals strength of 299 Sheryl Underwood Radio affiliates; has over 1 million social media followers and was voted one of the 10 most influential people on social media.

Underwood is CEO of Pack Rat Productions, Inc, a media and entertainment company; Founder and CEO of Pack Rat Foundation For Education, a California 501c3 organization focused on initiatives that support Historically Black Colleges and Universities and she is the 23rd International President of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., a national Greek-letter organization that has a membership of over 100,000 engaged women. 

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Contact:

Rhue Still, Inc.

Blog Post - Stephen Wicks

How engaged are your employees at your company?  Are they vested in your company's success?  Do they feel valued as employees?  Research shows that employees that are given the freedom to be creative are more likely to make decisions that can help your business succeed. 

Employees that are restricted and are forced to follow rules without little change are more likely to upset customers and clients.  I'll give you an example.  Have you ever called a cable company for service?  What was the experience like?  I remember calling the cable companies on many occasions and having all of the employees that I speak with tell me the same company issued line about my complaint.  It was frustrating to speak with people at the company who didn't seem to be able to help me.  I thought, maybe if I can get a manager on the phone that the manager could make a decision that's different from the regular agents.  This is common in customer service.  "May I speak to your manager" is uttered on a daily basis. 

But what if the agents were given a list of things that they could do in order to take care of the customers?  What if you never had ask for the manager.  I think that your customers would be ecstatic that they could get their issue taken care of with the first person that they speak with.

Outstanding customer experiences can only happen if employees are given the freedom to take care of the customer and give extraordinary service.

Company leaders should foster an environment where employees are given opportunities to offer suggestions on how to solve problems or improve your business operations.  This will let them know that you value their opinions.  This will give them better job satisfaction and you will have higher employee engagement.  No one wants to work for tyrants who don't take suggestions.  If you don't give your employees freedom to be creative you can pretty much guarantee that they will be constantly on their phones or computers looking for another job.  Your customers will be able to tell if your employees are happy or not and it will affect how the customer feels about your business.

Do yourself a favor and research different ways in which you can make your employees feel valued.

Here are a few links:

​https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-simple-ways-to-make-your-employees-feel-valued

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/8152-employee-appreciation-tips.html

What are YOUR thoughts?  Do you give your employees freedom to be creative?  Are you an employee who feels restricted at work?  Leave a comment and let's talk about it.

Until tomorrow... Go Be Great!

Stephen Wicks
Founder / CEO
BlackBusinessList.Com
​[email protected]

Blog Post - Stephen Wicks

There is a well known statistic that states that 8 out of 10 businesses that start will eventually fail. 

​Wow.  That's a large number.  There are many reasons why a business may fail but one of the main reasons could be a business owner's lack of planning.

In business there is no way for you to know what may happen from one day to the next.  Perhaps your customers will find other business to fulfill their needs, or maybe a natural disaster will occur and destroy some of your property, records, or client base.  Who knows?  Anything could happen right?  But that's where planning comes into the picture.  You can not only plan for things that you want to go right, you can also plan for when things go wrong.

A proper business plan will also keep a business owner on track with their goals.  Unfortunately, it's very easy to get side-tracked and go into an area of business that was not planned for previously.  Making a pivot in business is fine, but wild, uncontrolled swings in business objectives could cause confusion for you, your employees, and also your customers.  If you don't know where you're going, no one will want to follow you into the unknown.

Even though, it's widely accepted that business owners should have a business plan, there are some "new school" entrepreneurs who say that they start businesses and never have a business plan.  There are some well known success stories of people who just had an idea and hit the ground running without a plan.  I'm sure that may have worked for them, but I don't think that the majority of us should put our resources and livelihood on the line on a whim.  Resources and funding can be hard to come by, especially for minority business owners.  Make sure that if you're gambling on other people's money that you are doing so wisely and cautiously.

As an entrepreneur you should also be aware of your market.  You should know if there are other businesses that are similar to yours.  They may be trying to steal your customers from you. 

Good customers are hard to find and they may feel like they can lure your customers away instead of finding their own.  How will you address sudden new players in the market? 

Remember how badly Blockbuster Video dealt with the threat from Netflix and Redbox?  At one point Blockbuster had over 50,000 U.S. employees and over 9,000 retail locations.  Now, they only have 1 retail location in the United States.  They fell from being one of the largest U.S. businesses to one of the smallest in just 14 short years.  The leadership of Blockbuster Video obviously didn't have a plan in place for observing the competition and keeping up with the needs of their customers.

My advice?  Don't fall victim to poor planning.  Research the internet for business plans and find knowledgeable people in your community that can help you grow your small business the right way.

Remember the old adage, "failing to plan, means planning to fail."

Stephen Wicks
Founder, CEO
BlackBusinessList.Com
[email protected]

Blog Post: Stephen Wicks

Simply Produce, LLC is a family and Black owned produce store located in College Park, GA.  They recently put out a Facebook post asking for the community to come and support their business.  For some reason, it's since been deleted, but we heard the call and . we want to make sure we amplify their request and spread the word.

Many of our majority Black communities are classified as being "food deserts."  This term refers to areas where you find more fast food and junk food options over fresh fruits and vegetables.  Simply Produce seems to be a much needed option for the people of College Park and the south Atlanta area.

Unfortunately, I have not personally ever visited the store, however their online reviews are favorable and the pictures of their establishment represent a business that values being neat, clean, and orderly.  You can visit their Facebook page and see for yourself.

Statistically, many businesses fail after being started within the first year.  That's just a fact.  When you add the additional hurdles and challenges that face minority business owners, those numbers get even worse.

There are many reasons that businesses fail, but at BlackBusinessList.Com we want to make sure that we assist those individuals who were bold and courageous enough to give entrepreneurism a shot.

If you live in the Atlanta area, make sure that you visit Simply Produce and let them know that we care and we appreciate the fact that they are trying to provide a much needed service in our community.

Learn more about them here.

​Simply Produce Facebook Page

Simply Produce
3375 Roosevelt Highway Suite F
College Park, Georgia
Call (404) 941-9185


Stephen Wicks
Founder, CEO
BlackBusinessList.Com
[email protected]