I had lunch yesterday with a fantastic woman. When we first met she told me that she was building a business helping others improve their overall health – but that is only part of her story. This wonderful woman is also a teacher in the public school system for twenty years, specifically working with inner city high school students.

As we talked she told me that she always had more than one job as she needed to supplement her teaching income.

I am appalled that teachers need to suppleme...

My previous six posts http://www.thebusinessofme.com/the-business-of-me-blog.php all talk about the struggles nonprofits have and the challenges they face in the light of the economy and downward spiral of charitable giving and increasingly rare government funding.

I talked a lot about how important it is for nonprofits to be more entrepreneurial if they are to survive. I even posted a “real life” story of a nonprofit in the South Bronx who has lost all its funding and is in dire jeopar...

In yesterday’s post http://www.thebusinessofme.com/the-business-of-me-blog.php I related a conversation I had with a director of a women’s shelter who was thinking of opening a gift shop so her organization could earn money.

Let’s take a look at what it takes to open a physical store:

Location: The store will need to be located where it will get sufficient traffic and attract customers requiring a lease commitment.

Inventory: The store will need to be stocked with inventory. Even if...

According to a report by Mary Kay domestic violence is on the rise for the third straight year (http://www.marykay.com/content/company/2011survey.pdf) and the economy is taking a toll on both shelters and survivors.  The Mary Kay report confirms an earlier report by The National Network to End Domestic Violence. In a post I wrote on March 23rd I talked about the affect the economy is having on the services shelters provide http://www.thebusinessofme.com/the-business-of-me-blog/a-day-in-the-li...

This week my posts have concentrated on the problems corporations and communities face with domestic violence.  I talked about the enormous cost to society this social issue presents. Today I will talk about a solution that will help both communities and the corporations in those communities.

While so many companies are  already  making heroic efforts, there’s so much more that can be done.

I believe  that one solution is  to create  corporate–community partnerships  where both corpora...

Many companies  know that domestic violence  hurts their employees  and their communities. They’re aggressively  reaching out  to their female employees  in need.  A growing group of CEOs  is saying  that it's time  for Corporate America  to confront the issue  head-on  and I agree.

As a matter of fact on March 7th, more than 90  chief executives  met in New York City.

March 7^th  was International Corporate Philanthropy Day. One of the key topics discussed  at “The Board of Boards  CEO...

Each year the National Network to End Domestic Violence conducts a one-day survey of domestic violence services.

This is a snapshot of domestic violence services provided in the United States on just one day. I’d like to share some of the startling results with you.

On September 15, 2010 the survey showed that despite helping over 70,000 people on that day, domestic violence programs were unable to meet over 9,500 requests for services because of a lack of funding, staffing and resources...

A very wise person I know said those words. Fear does kill everything. I know fear killed my spirit for many years. It wasn’t until I made a conscious effort to face fear that was I able to find ways to move past it and begin creating a life for myself. Not an easy task and one that I work on every day.

In “The Business of Me” we begin by addressing the fears women harbor about money and give them tools to deal with their fears.

If we don’t recognize our fears we may not be able t...

Rajaan Bennett had a wonderful future ahead. He was an honor student and a star running back who lead his Georgia high school team to its first undefeated season. He just received notice that he had gotten a full scholarship to Vanderbilt University.  He dreamed of becoming an architect. Now his dreams are over.

Rajaan Bennett is dead. He was shot to death by his mother’s former boyfriend. He died a hero trying to save his mother, his younger sister and his uncle.

You can read about Raja...

Shengyl Rasimon is dead.  She was not an actress, not a pop star, not a model, she was not someone who we read about in the tabloids or see on the red carpet, she was a wife in West Haven Connecticut who was murdered by her husband. “The shooting happened just hours after Ozdemir (her husband) was arrested for the second time in four months on domestic violence charges.”

Shengyl died on January 17, 2010 she was shot by her husband who then turned the gun on himself.

Shengylwas 25 years ol...