LET'S CATCH SOME DREAMS!

I started my own business during the Reagan Administration, a feat unheard of, especially for a young black female. With less than $200 to my name and a recent pink slip from my one and only job, two college classmates and I set out to change the world, at least its young people, by starting a not-for-profit youth center. We named it THE TODAY'S RELATING YOUTHS CENTER, The TRY Center, for short. Bright eyed and busy tailed, we were going to strengthen families as units while creating adult supervised activities to deter their children from ungovernable behavior and adjudication as juvenile delinquents. Less than six months into the project, my two partners split, I think they had grown accustomed to eating on a regular basis, or maybe they didn't really like being their own boss. Nonetheless, I continued on and now The TRY Center is 26-years old and still going strong! Over the years, it developed into quite an organization which at one point had a 2.5 million dollar budget funded by the state and other benefactors.

Over the course of the 26-years I have owned and operated several businesses of my own in addition to helping more than 29 entrepreneurs start, develop and manage their own businesses. Formal education, which I have, is a good thing; however, there is not substitution for experience and practical application, which I also have lots of! I am proud to announce a series of workshops designed to help women, in particular, and all "dream chasers" in general, to become the co-captain of their own destiny (GOD IS MY CAPTAIN, CEO AND CFO IN ALL MY ENTERPRISES!)

The workshops are designed so someone can take the entire series or just the one or ones they are particularly interested in. If you are not sure having your own business is right for you, then you can start with the Dream Chasers' Orientation Workshop, which is designed to help you harness your dreams and decide on the course to take. In addition to obtaining an overview of entrepreneurship and business ownership, you will be thoroughly enlightened and entertained. Boy, the stories I have to tell you about my 26-year journey of self employment is enough to fill a year-long comic relief tour.

So, if you are thinking of making a change, retiring for a life long job or just want something new, different, risky, and exciting, then you should sign up for my Orientation Seminar to get you started. The first orientation seminar will be held on Thursday, April 19, 2007 in Oak Park at the Austin Blvd. Church, 634 N. Austin. It starts at 6:30 with refreshments. The seminar starts promptly at 7 p.m. We will be done around 9:00 leaving 30 to 45 minutes for questions and answers. The fee is only $10.00, so bring your best girl friends and anyone else you know who needs a career or job makeover.

For more information email me at lorettaragsdell@aol.com. I can't wait to see your face in the place.