HOPE small business coaches do more than lay the foundation of business for new entrepreprenuers. They also serve as a catalyst for confidence and building community for existing ones. Augustus Brown, founder and CEO of JanieMae’s Cosmic Garden, learned this first-hand as a student in a recent cohort. Read his account of his experiences and find your tribe of small business owners today with HOPE’s small business development courses and/or through HOPE’s 1 Million Black Businesses program.

“Operation HOPE found me. I was driving Uber in Sarasota, Florida one Tuesday around 11 am. A lovely gentleman on his way to a funeral needed a ride to the airport in Tampa. I had my artisanal jewelry and mindful gifts business, JanieMae’s Cosmic Garden advertised on my back seat. He asked me how business was going. I told him it could be better. He gave me information that I persistently followed up with until I was assigned a mentor.

I was assigned to Mr. Antonio Lynch. Antonio provided a much-needed shift in my business mind and the way I was navigating life. The class has opened my mind immensely. I was and am doing a lot of things right. The acknowledgment of that by my educator and peers gave me a much-needed ego boost. Solo entrepreneurship had proven to be a little more than a challenge and admittedly left me a little broken. Mr. Lynch proved himself a good coach and encouraged me to pause, reassess, get my head back in the game and attack.

Now, I do business more intentionally than I ever have. There is a noticeable increase in my income and client engagement. This increase in business is gladly directed back to my tutelage. My classmates were also very insightful, encouraging, and enlightening. I’m excited to be featured in my own success story. I tell friends and other entrepreneurs I meet along the way about Operation HOPE’s life-changing program. Black, white, and all the notable shades in between, need help when it comes to scaling a business. I’ve benefited from it and I hope others find it as invaluable as I have.

I thank you for your help.

– Augustus Brown Jr”