With a retail space of approximately 1400 square feet, the store boasts a spacious atmosphere with an inviting and stylish ambiance as the premier Greek apparel store in the area. TeeZMe Creations offers a variety of Greek apparel including sorority and fraternity clothing, gifts, and Greek accessories in the latest styles and fashions.

Commemorating the occasion were Capital City African American Chamber of Commerce (CCAACC) President and CEO, Natalie Madeira Cofield and Board Member, Patricia Hayes Workman, Reverend Darryl Horton of Mt. Zion Baptist Church and a host of supporters.

“We are always proud to see our members realize their dreams through dedication and perseverance,” stated Cofield, President & CEO, CCAACC.  “We applaud Vicki’s commitment to the economic growth and development of Austin by finding a home for TeeZme Creations here. We look forward to watching this company grow and become a staple in the Greater Austin region for branded clothing,” she continued.

About TeeZMe Creations LLC

TeeZMe Creations offers its customers, who include fraternities, sororities, collegiate student organizations, senior and junior high school teams/clubs, religious organizations, and businesses, the opportunity to turn a simple sketch or idea into custom printed or embroidered apparel.

For more information about TeeZMe Creations, LLC, please contact Vicki Luellen, teezmecreationsllc@gmail.com.

CCAACC encourages Chamber members to participate in the recently launched ‘Small Business University’ hosted by Dell and Black Enterprise.   The program  launches on Monday, April 30th with “Your Small Business Checklist: What Every Business Needs to Get Started,” the Black Enterprise Small Business University Powered by Dell aims to assist entrepreneurs in three different stages of business development: the aspiring start-up, the part-time entrepreneur, and those with an already established enterprise. The eight-week course will consist of three original tutorials per week featuring a team of rotating business, marketing and technology all-stars including ‘SmallBizLady’ Melinda Emerson, Buzz Marketing Group CEO Tina Wells, Young Entrepreneurs Council founder Scott Gerber, ‘The Money Coach’ and personal finance expert Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, SocialPeople.tv Founder James Andrews, digital lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong, Mel Parker, Dell Vice President and General Manager, Consumer, Small Office and Member Loyalty, North America, and many more. In addition, our experts, along with the award-winning BLACK ENTERPRISE editorial team, will be available across all Black Enterprise social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Google+ and Pinterest to connect directly with participants, answer questions, and provide additional resources.

The week-by-week schedule for the BlackEnterprise.com Small Business University Powered by Dell is as follows:

Monday, April 30           Getting Your Small Business Started

Your small business checklist – what key things every business need to have in place

Establishing your brand

Communicating your message, knowing your vision

Monday, May 7            Financing and Investing 

How to raise capital for your business (loans vs. investments)

Perfecting your elevator pitch

Managing your budget – what to spend, what to save

Monday, May 14          Technology  

Your gadget guide

Setting up your business for success  – how technology can make all the difference

Tools to get you to the next level – from software to hardware

Monday, May 21          Marketing

Social media and what it means to your business

Connecting with your customer organically

How to boost the visibility of your business

Monday, May 28          Team Leadership   

Hiring a good team

How to be a good manager

Knowing when (and how!) to let go

Monday, June 4            Growing Your Small Business

What’s your growth strategy?

Attracting new customers

Rethinking and reinventing your brand

Monday, June 11          Time Management

Finding balance

The part-time entrepreneur

Getting organized

Monday, June 18          The Exit Strategy

How to create an exit strategy

Who to trust with your business

How to ensure the company lives on

For a steady stream of additional information, tools and resources regarding small business success, be sure to visit www.blackenterprise.com and to follow the conversion on Twitter @BlackEnterprise using Hashtag #SmallBizU.    

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The program will feature remarks from Sam Jeffrey | Austin Sourcing Operations Team Manager, 3M Electro & Communications Business.  The event will take place on Wednesday April 25, 2012 from 3:30 to 5:00PM at the CCAACC Offices.    To register for the program please click here.   Please note there is a $5.00 charge for registration.

“Financial planning is one of the most important steps aspiring entrepreneurs must take when establishing a business,” stated Natalie Madeira Cofield, President & CEO for the Capital City African American Chamber of Commerce.   “Properly establishing financial goals and reserves is especially critical during the initial months of business and can significantly aid in an entrepreneur’s ability to obtain conventional financing in the future,” she continued.

The program will feature New York-based Ryan Mack.   A renowned public speaker, Mack has provided keynote presentations to organizations across the country such as Harvard University, Columbia University, Princeton University, NAACP, National Association of Real Estate Brokers, Microsoft Corporation, HSBC, KPMG, Johnson and Johnson, and Deutsche Bank.  He can be regularly viewed on television networks such as GMTV, CNBC, CNN, Thomson Reuters, and BET discussing economic/social issues that impact American citizens.

In addition to his keynote, Ryan will discuss and sign copies of his recent publication, Living in the Village: Build Your Financial Future and Strengthen Your Community.

“Wells Fargo joined the CCAACC to help better connect Austin’s African-American community with resources to support their personal and professional endeavors.  We understand how important savings is to families and entrepreneurs alike and look forward to hosting this educational keynote,” stated TiWanna A. Kenney, Assistant Vice President & Store Manager for the Wells Fargo Bank E. 11th Street Branch.

The program, sponsored by Wells Fargo, the University of Texas at Austin Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, the National Association of Black Accountants and the National Black MBA Association – Austin Chapters, will take place at Wells Fargo’s East 11st Street location, 1000 East 11th street, on Thursday April 26, from 6:30 to 8:30pm.  To register please click here.   Please note $5 fee members, $10 fee non-members

Still others, such as Korey Coleman of Spill.com/Hollywood.com have become burgeoning celebrities largely propelled by video animation, the social media platform Ning and rabid downloads of audio podcasts.

This SXSW panel will explore strategies to leverage social media tools and platforms to increase access, brand and direct connection to consumers for minority emerging artists and will show-case best practices used by artists such as L’il Wayne, and platforms like Spill.com and Blazetrak.com.

Presenters:

• Korey Coleman Hollywood.com, Spill.com
• Mazy Kazerooni Founder Tracksby Inc.
• Natalie Cofield President/CEO Capital City African American Chamber
• Ron Harrison Co-Founder Blazetrak.com

March 10, 2012 at 3:30PM at the Austin Convention Center (SXSW registration required).  For more information please click here.

In preparation for SXSW, CCAACC will be hosting a VIP reception, powered by Dell, for businesses new to the Austin area on March 8, 2012.  If you are interested in attending please text the word “RSVP” to 512.402.6716

Evolution of the African American Chamber of Commerce: MyFoxAUSTIN.com

Austin, Texas

The mission, which focused primarily on the city of Campinas with additional travel to Sao Paulo was held to establish relationships with:

1. Civic and political organizations,
2. Universities
3. Business & Trade Associations
4. Arts and culture

In total, Cofield conducted more than 24 meetings with trade associations, business organizations, universities and elected officials while abroad.

Brazil, the economic powerhouse of Latin America, has approximately two hundred million residents. Brazil is widely regarded as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, surpassing England as the 6th largest economy. In 2013 Brazil will hold the World Cup and in 2015 the country will host the Olympics.
The City of Campinas, where Cofield focused much of her time, is considered the “Silicon Valley” of Brazil and has a strong information technology economy and population that mirrors Austin, Texas, with roughly 1.1 million inhabitants. Further, Campinas is also home to University of Campinas (UNICAMP) which is a large anchor for the city (30,000 + student population) and is among the top three schools in the country.

While abroad Cofield’s trip was highlighted both by UNICAMP, please click here for the article.

Cofield’s visit is the first of an annual trip that will be made by the Chamber to encourage business development, tourism and other advancements.

More than 250 entrepreneurs, business and community leaders joined the CCAACC to celebrate the achievements of African American business and emerging leaders within Central Texas.

CCAACC Presented Awards to the following:

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – CCAACC FOUNDERS

Freddie Dixon | Tommy Wyatt | Ada Anderson | Mildred Sneed | Arthur Sauls
Carol Hadnot | Juanita Ross | Kenny Sneed | Norris Carr | Larry Beck Jr | Bertrand Adams- deceased

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR – P.D. MORRISON – PDME

P.D. Morrison has grown his enterprises through his focus on the fundamentals of business. His accomplishments stem from successful management coupled with strong strategic alliances with other thriving business entities within national and international industries. Founded in 1994, PDME is now a $30+ million a year operation which continues to show solid growth potential.

AUSTINPRENEUR OF THE YEAR – PASCAL NICHOLAS – SALESVU

Pascal Nicolas, CEO, spent 10 years at Dell as an engineering and product marketing innovator prior to founding SalesVu. While working at Dell he acquired an Italian restaurant as an investment and was puzzled by the lack of mobile payment and SaaS Point of Sale software on the market, he decided to build his own cloud POS and mobile payment solution to ease the life of other business owners. Since Pascal left Dell, SalesVu has helped triple sales for his restaurant business and is now helping small and mobile enterprises around the country.

EMERGING LEADER OF THE YEAR – EDWARD KARGBO

Edward (Ed) Kargbo is the President of Greater Austin Transportation Company (GATC) which sells services to Independent Contractor Taxi-Cab drivers and maintains the Yellow Cab brand in Austin, Texas. Ed is a Board of Director with the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, he is the past President of the Austin Young Chamber of Commerce and is a 2012 finalist for the Austin Under 40 Award in the Business and Entrepreneurship category . He’s a partner in two start up companies TKO Swim School and ICG Group, LLC (www.iChooseGolf.com), an online fantasy sports gaming venture.

CORPORATE PARTNER OF THE YEAR – SETON FAMILY HEALTHCARE

As the region’s largest community service organization, Seton contributed more than $419 million to care for the poor and community benefit last year. Seton has been a member of the Capital City African American Chamber of Commerce contributing talent, facilities and resources for more than six years. Seton’s engagement in the Chamber has helped to make signature programs such as the Black Elected Officials program and the Annual Awards program possible. Seton is represented by Ashton Cumberbatch who serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for CCAACC.

DIVERSITY CHAMPION OF THE YEAR – KAREN BOX, SMSDC

Karen Box is the President of the Southwest Minority Supplier Development Council (SMSDC) whose mission is “To create opportunities and an environment for minority business enterprises to grow and to actively add value for corporate members through positive business relationships”. For many years, Karen Box has demonstrated her passion for minority business development and advocacy. As the former Director of Supplier Diversity for the Seton Family of Hospitals and Executive Director of the Capital City African American Chamber of Commerce, both in Austin.

AMBASSADOR OF THE YEAR – CARL SETTLES, E4 YOUTH

Carl Settles Jr. has worked extensively in educational publishing, software development, music, interactive media and advertising as a developer, producer, and consultant for more than 15 years. Mr. Settles’ clients have included Dell, Liz Claiborne, Whole Foods, MPOWER Labs, Motorola, Applied Materials, Xerox, Harcourt Achieve, Walt Disney Records, Fusion Learning Systems, the University of Texas Distance Education Center, Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, EnviroMedia and a host of others. Carl is a financial member of the Capital City African American Chamber of Commerce and has been instrumental in the organization’s recent relationships with GSD&M and SXSW.

TEENPRENEUR OF THE YEAR – XAVIER CLARK

Xavier Clark, of Smithville, Texas, is an ambitious high school senior who exemplifies integrity, leadership, community patriotism and optimism in and outside the classroom. His commitment to excel academically has been evident by his dedication towards his studies taking advance placement courses for which he has a GPA of 4.95 in his graduating class. Furthermore, he was nominated and selected by the American Legion Post to attend American Legion Boys State. During this endeavor he was exposed to the operational aspects of government and elected to serve in the Texas House of Representatives. He will be attending the University of Texas at Austin in the fall.

CCAACC would like to thank our sponsors, for the 2012 Awards:

HEB | HP | The University of Texas at Austin, Division of Diversity and Community Engagement | Frost Bank | GSD&M | Yellow Cab of Austin | PeopleFund | Heliovolt | Omni Hotel Downtown | National Association of Black Accountants | Huston Tillotson University | The Seton Healthcare Family| Yudell Isidore Ng Russell PLLC

For video footage of the awardees please click here.

For photos of the event, please click here.