Get all the buzz for starting a business
Caribbean Life, August 21-27, 2020 29
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Sometimes, a thousand ideas
buzz around in your head.
You‘re creative, and you like
to invent things and come up
with fun ideas. That might
make you famous someday,
and it might make you rich.
And in “Bee Fearless” by Mikaila
Ulmer, you’ll see how that’s
possible now, even though
you’re still a kid.
When she was just four
years old, Mikaila Ulmer was
stung by a bee. A few days
later, it happened again but
with a different bee. She cried,
of course, because it hurt but
her parents encouraged her to
learn why those things happened.
She discovered that
bees are in serious trouble,
and she became fierce about
helping them.
At around that same time,
Ulmer saw a flier for the Acton
Children’s Business Fair that
was being held near her Austin,
Texas home. She told her
mother that she wanted to
be in the fair, and because it
was five months away, she had
plenty of time to decide what
she wanted to sell. Kids in
Austin then were participating
in a city-wide Lemonade
Day to learn about business
and Ulmer saw an opportunity.
She’d sell lemonade… and to
help the bees, she’d sweeten
the lemonade with honey!
At first, she made a lot of
mistakes in her new business,
but that was okay. The thing is
that there’s so much to learn
about running a business but
the two most important things
are that it should be fun and
you should want to make a difference.
After that, there are
three steps to actually starting
your business: identify a problem
that you or someone else
has, do your homework on the
problem and a solution, and
make sure you’re really passionate
about the product.
Then, once you’ve found your
wings and you’re ready to fly,
remember these three words:
Give (because it’s rewarding),
Save (because it’s good for your
Book cover of “Bee Fearless: Dream Like a Kid.”
future), and Spend (to reward
yourself). Finally, work hard,
and you can bee successful,
too.
If you are an adult, you
might be asking yourself why
you would ever want to read
a kids’ book like “Bee Fearless.”
In truth, the reasons are
many.
Being an entrepreneur isn’t
just for grown-ups, and this
book allows you to mindfully
be a mentor to a kid with
ideas. Mentorship is something
that author, entrepreneur, and
Shark Tank dealmaker Mikaila
Ulmer advocates, and she
urges readers to seek wisdom if
they don’t know or understand
something, which is great
advice for any age. For the
adult entrepreneur, this book
could also serve as a business
primer because its kid-friendly
simplicity doesn’t diminish a
reader. And if you’re hoping
your child might follow parental
footsteps into the family
business, there are plenty of
inspirational early lessons
available here.
Be aware that though Ulmer
was just four years old when
she was stung by a bee and
bitten by the entrepreneurial
bug, this book is really best for
10-to-16-year-olds and grownups
who want something different.
Look for “Bee Fearless,”
because missing it might kinda
sting.
“Bee Fearless: Dream
Like a Kid” by Mikaila
Ulmer
c.2020, G.P. Putnam
$17.99 / higher in Canada
240 pages
Mikaila Ulmer, author of “Bee Fearless: Dream Like a Kid.”
Queens College Alumni Assoc. NY to hold Night of Film
By Tangerine Clarke
President of the Queens College
of Guyana Alumni Association,
NY, John Campbell,
has announced Aug. 22, for its
yearly Night of Film screening,
featuring Caribbean short
films, to be shown via Zoom
from 6 pm to 8 pm.
RSVP www.tinyurl.com/
Nightoffilmm2020
Vice President, Luke Haywood,
said the group has partnered
with Romola Lucas,
executive director of The Caribbean
Film Academy (CaFA),
who has curated a selection of
Caribbean/West Indian films
whose actors and filmmakers
have roots in Guyana, Trinidad
and Tobago, and other nations.
“There will be a discussion
after each screening and the
audience can look forward to
a very informative discourse
with the filmmakers and other
industry experts, said Haywood.
Established in 2012, CaFA,
is a NY not-for-profit created
to share Caribbean films and
support Caribbean filmmakers,
in the region and the diaspora.
CaFA’s work provides platforms
for the exhibition, production,
and distribution of Caribbean
stories, worldwide.
The Caribbean Film Academy’s
mission is to create platforms
to support and share the
voices and stories of the Caribbean,
through film.
By Nelson A. King
Haitian native and Queensbased
emcee $ev throws a
unique curveball at the music
industry by not only being a fantastic
upcoming lyricist but also
a Black male nurse.
Inspired by his love for healing
people’s lives with medical
tools, $ev, whose real name is
Evens Pierre, wants to use his
music, in the same manner, to
improve people’s souls with his
stories put on music records.
With “Miss Me” and his other
singles, $ev makes relatability a
factor in music common.
“With every song, he wants
listeners to understand and feel
the moment that is currently
happening,” said Brooklyn-based
Haitian American entertainment
promoter Marie Driven.
“Coming from a well-off lifestyle
in Haiti to being inadequate
when he moved to America,
he has experienced by sides
of the economic token,” added
Driven, managing partner of
PlaybookMG.
Driven said $ev’s latest musical
anthem, “Miss M”, is “heavily
influenced by some of his inspirations,
50 Cent and Lil Wayne,
which shows in the relatable
themes it presents.”
Haitian emcee $ev ‘Miss Me’
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