Carlton “Don’t Blink” Haselrig

Soulsis would like to give a big congrats to Carlton Haselrig, who is from my hometown in Johnstown and also a former Pittsburgh Steeler, on his big win on April 19th in the Battle Cage Extreme fight in Atlantic City against Shane Ott. Ott is a big man and I was kinda nervous. But Haselrig won by TKO in the first round. That’s why they call him “Don’t Blink”! Check out the fight flyer here and you can also read more about what Carlton Haselrig is up to since his days of wrestling and football and how this fight will turn his life around. Click here for article in the Post-Gazette

Tribute to Tracy Gaines-Jeffries

We often mention the famous or popular people who pass away, however today, I want to mention someone you may not know. A young lady from Johnstown that I grew up with passed away yesterday (6-14-07). No, she wasn't famous, nor was she tremendously popular, she was just a hard working, intelligent, black female. She went to college, became a Doctor and taught as a professor at a school in NYC. These were great accomplishments period, but especially coming from a small town such as Johnstown and being African-American. She leaves behind her 3 children and a wonderful family (mother, father, brothers and sisters). Tracy will be missed in this world as she did contribute something to it and strived to help people to make it better.

I was proud of Tracy's acccomplishments and proud to have known her. Her sudden death makes me once realize again that life is short and you can't wait to pursue your goals and dreams.

The Soul Pitt is Nominated for a Black Web Award!

Over 500 Finalists, including Pittsburgh's own TheSoulPitt.com, begin the final journey towards Best in Category. Winners will be announced at an invitation only premier gala awards program on October 28, 2006. Voting lasts from August 28 - October 20, 2006. The Soul Pitt needs your help! Submit your ballot for free and vote for TheSoulPitt.com at: http://www.blackwebawards.com/top_categories Click on the drop down box near Best Local / Community Site - East USA and pick TheSoulPitt.com to win!

Satisfied Customers

I've found that being an entrepreneur means that you affect people in different ways. If you do a good job or provide a good service for your clients/customers, they are happy. They walk away feeling satisfied. They feel glad about the fact that they made a good decision in using your services or buying products from you. They tell everyone about how wonderful you are.

But treat a customer bad – and you can forget it most times. They leave feeling cheated, unsatisfied and as though they are not worthy to get your business. They bad mouth you to everyone. (Now I do feel that Blacks are harder on Black business owners than others, but that’s whole different blog!)

Now, it can be hard to please everyone and at times you may forget to call or follow-up with people, you may even sell them a defective product or take longer on a job than expected. You will have an unsatisfied client (or 2) during your time as an entrepreneur, but you have to know how to make it up to that client. Offer them a discount, an apology, a card – something. They may seem like they will just go away, but you never know how much business they are causing you to lose by sharing their experience they had dealing with you to another potential client. But don’t beat yourself up over it, because there are those people who just like to be difficult and so demanding that you can’t possibly please them – no matter what you do. That’s when it’s time to pass them on to someone else. Yes, even if it’s a competitor of yours!

Networking 101

I was very pleased to see many "soulful" faces at the NAWBO networking dinner on Wed March 15th. Networking is crucial to any business owner - Black or White. Joining a networking group that can offer training, mentorship, information and advice to help your business grow is well worth it. I have been a NAWBO member for about 1 year now. NAWBO stands for the National Association of Women Business Owners. I love being in a networking group of multi-racial individuals. It seems to be a more supportive envioronment.

Networking is an essential skill for most business people, but especially for entrepreneurs. The strong association between the entrepreneur as a person and his or her business demands that entrepreneurs get out into the world and create and maintain business relationships.

With all the demands on our time made by our business, professional and personal lives, it is tempting to assign a lower priority to networking as an activity designed to meet new people. After all, we have so many commitments at the office and at home -- to colleagues, family and friends – that it is difficult to set aside extra time to bring even more people into our lives.
This thinking would be wrong, however, on two levels. For one, we are constantly being introduced to new people anyway, every day, with no disruption to our schedules.
Secondly, by not consistently widening our circles of acquaintances and contacts, we may be severely curtailing our chances for advancement and success. It is estimated that the average person knows about 250 people. And each of those people knows, in turn, another 250 or so people.

This means that for each new person you meet, you gain access to a potential pool of 62,500 people separated from you by just two degrees!

If you would like to find out more about NAWBO Pittsburgh chapter, please email me at soulpitt@aol.com

Happy Networking!

My Hut is Burning

Reverend Dr. William H. Curtis is the Senior Pastor of Mt. Ararat Baptist Church. I went to the Saturday Night Live service at Mt. Ararat this past Saturday and I must say I really enjoyed it. He read from Romans 8:28. For those of you that attended and got the Word, we all now know why our Hut is burning. My hut has been burning for a while now and I was steadily trying to put it out! An entreprenuers' life can get crazy at times and connecting with the man above and staying in the Spirit surely helps you stay focused.

Saturday Night Live starts at 7pm on Saturdays of course at Mt. Ararat. You should check it out!

We've Lost Another Great African-American!

Coretta Scott King passed away last night. She was truly a regal soul and strong Black woman. When she joins her husband, the late Martin Luther King, Jr. in heaven I wonder what she will tell him about the state and mentality of Black America. I wonder if she will hide the fact that many of us are taking steps back. The fearless steps that our people in the past took for us. I wonder will she tell him that White on Black crime is nothing compared to the Black on Black crime. I wonder will she tell him that many of us, even though we all have rights to an education, would rather drop out of high school and not even think about college. I wonder will she let him know that we still need another King to come and show our people the way. Maybe they will send someone.

I don't know what's going on, but a lot of our great African-American heros, leaders and trailblazers are being called home lately. I wonder if that means something. I wonder if they are all gathering in heaven shaking their heads at us wondering.