BEST Publishing

06/18/2024

Suppressed and Sabotaged: The Fight To Vote
https://www.youtube.com/live/wE29v3dtgW4?si=eyWiN_MoanBYgQ5B which includes not only some of my VO work but a cause close to my heart. Voting is something for everyone to consider pertaining to our voting rights and having our voices heard.

Black Voters Matter is thrilled to partner with Brave New Films, an organization committed to increasing power in marginalized, predominantly Black communiti...

02/27/2024

We are looking forward to serving you. We are available by appointment only. Contact us at [email protected] or call 510-408-7561. Thank you.

02/12/2024

If you applied for an SBA PPP Loan you have until March 3 2024 https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/covid-19-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program/ppp-loan-forgiveness #:~:text=Borrowers%20can%20apply%20for%20forgiveness,payments%20to%20their%20PPP%20lender to apply for loan forgiveness before your company is turned over for collections.

To apply visit https://directforgiveness.sba.gov/requests/borrower/login/?next=/. To learn more about the PPP https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/covid-19-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program.

If you need help working through the steps for completing the application process contact your local SBA Resource Partner https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance.

12/25/2023

Hey Everyone let's help Santa Mike Britton bring Christmas Joy to the Kids that he's been working with for years in Jamaica.

Your contributions mean a lot. For more click on the link below. Appreciate the love. Thank you.

Season Greetings to family, friends and acquaintances. Please join me in making this Chris… Michael Britton needs your support for Jamaica Christmas Toy Drive

11/15/2023

PWC Charitable Giving

As this year winds down it's the time for us to determine the pros and cons of life. Also it's the time when charitable giving is at an all time high.

People Who Care Children Association (PWC) has been dedicated to partnering with schools and the community to help preteens and teenagers deal with truancy, mental illness, and build/improve life educational skills to develop, grow and enhance the skills necessary to give back to their communities.

For more information on PWC visit https://www.pwcpittsburg.org/.

If you're interested in donating visit https://www.powr.io/checkout_screen?unique_label=385e5ef4_1608335461.

For those that make purchases with Amazon PWC is a part of the Amazon Smile Charity which is available at no cost to you. Add them on your next purchase https://www.amazon.com/ap/signin?_encoding=UTF8&openid.assoc_handle=amzn_smile&openid.claimed_id=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0%2Fidentifier_select&openid.identity=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0%2Fidentifier_select&openid.mode=checkid_setup&openid.ns=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0&openid.ns.pape=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fextensions%2Fpape%2F1.0&openid.pape.max_auth_age=0&openid.return_to=https%3A%2F%2Fsmile.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fcharity%2Fhomepage.html%3Fie%3DUTF8%26newts%3D1%26ref_%3Dsmi_chpf_redirect%26ref_%3Dsmi_chpf_redirect%26ref_%3Dsmi_ge2_raas_btngs_rl

Do your part and make a difference by giving your charitable contribution today.

10/05/2023

Last week myself along with over fifteen small businesses in partnership with Small Business Majority went to Washington, DC to speak to several elected officials, and members of the Biden-Harris Administration about our concerns and the challenges that we are continually experiencing as a small business owner from predatory lending, healthcare, and access to capital to improving the buying and purchasing program. This year we added:

Extending the Childcare Stabilization Act which expired 9.30.23
Including the Native American businesses when creating programs or citing statistical data for underserved communities.

We also discussed the impact that the government shutdown would have not only on our businesses but our families, communities and economy as a whole from food security, childcare, buying and purchasing contract payments and the supply chain to processing small business loans. Congress must do a better job in running the government instead of threatening a shutdown every year. Maybe Senator Gaetz was on the right path when he asked to not be paid until a real resolution has been achieved.

Can there be a new law created for elected officials and members to have their paychecks withheld for such a time as this? Maybe this would possibly put some fire under those elected officials and members to help to create a more realistic solution in a timely fashion instead of having a government shutdown or stopgap funding every year. Why must the people, especially our children, have to suffer? Do the elected officials and members care about the messages that they're sending especially to the future generations?

A stopgap funding of 45 days is two weeks before Thanksgiving and 84 days before Christmas. With this type of uncertainty families are unable to fully plan and enjoy their lives which will greatly influence and impact not only their livelihood, but their communities and the economy. Why couldn’t the stopgap be funded until January 1, 2024? This strategy could have allowed families the ability to enjoy some quality of life and provide a sense of peace and normalcy during the Holidays but now once again everything will be up in the air.
I am hoping that after mid-November that there will be a full resolution.

Thank you for this opportunity and in allowing us the ability to be a vessel for other small businesses who were unable to be present and speak for themselves. We appreciate the time that the following took to hear and listen to us and we hope for a better outcome this year and in the near future:

09/25/2023

We hear a lot about . Predatory lending impacts so many things and we must be extremely careful when we consider obtaining for home projects like remodeling ot repair and alterations (R&A) even as a . Regardless of your financial needs it is important to .

What is predatory lending? Look at it like a high end checking cashing or a program which is a system designed to during or . You will see an uptick in predatory lending occur when the weakens or circumstanceschange as with the Strikes that have been going on for over four months and counting. Or the looming which last time lasted for approximately 40 days.

Predatory lending creates a number of mishaps for the . A main one is that the collateral put up to secure the finances is now forfeited to the lender because the borrower is unable to repay the loan as agreed. This transaction could also result in ruined credit as well.

What are some signs of predatory lending? According to Bank Rate be careful of words like "guaranteed approval." In this type of agreement look for warning signs like: , , or balloon/accelerated payoffs that may be tacked onto the guaranteed quick funds. Under this type of system the borrower can obtain the funds via loan, or a .

Also see if there is any language pertaining to penalties for because the objective is to make money off of your need to borrow the money otherwise it's no benefit to the lender. Like a wolf in sheep's clothing, what looks like a benefit is actually a curse in disguise because these types of loans have so many ways to trap the borrower.

Just as a homeowner can be impacted by this guaranteed approval, a small diverse business that requires funds to grow their business by moving to a bigger location, hire employees or to purchase equipment should consider these same warnings. Yet the words or terms could be different, or similar when acquiring the funds.

For example, you're sitting in your office thinking about how to obtain the necessary funds then you see a marketing ad in your junk mail about funding or a call from a lending institution. You may see this as an answered prayer but in most cases it isn't.

It's essential to not make a permanent decision based upon a temporary situation especially if you are feeling desperate. Look into financial products with financial institutions that you TRUST beginning with your bank or business credit card company BEFORE you need it. This will help to eliminate the headaches that occur in the predatory lending arena.

But if you must take another route to meet your financial needs, reach out to non-profit organizations that specializes in helping small businesses or homeowners but if you MUST opt for the guaranteed approval funding remember it is important to read the fine print.

09/11/2023

FYI. Passing on this info for those students interested in enrolling in HBCUs. Thanks Wendy Allen-Belleville

Here’s the link to the app.

APPLY TO ANY NUMBER OF THE 65 HBCUs BELOW FOR ONLY $20. INSTRUCTIONS TO COMPLETE YOUR 2023 - 2024 APPLICATION ALABAMA A&M UNIVERSITY ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY ALBANY STATE UNIVERSITY ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY ALLEN UNIVERSITY AMERICAN BAPTIST COLLEGE ARKANSAS BAPTIST COLLEGE BENEDICT COLLEGE BENNETT CO...

09/08/2023

Businesses are most focused on their bottom line but is this ideal for your customer base.....think about it. Here's a comment from a frequent customer that I tend to agree with. Thanks Carol Contos-Cursi

Dear & all other big stores that have self check out -
You are heading towards almost exclusively using self check out now. The lady checking receipts at the exit was stopping everyone. I chose not to participate in that nonsense, I had already
- Filled my cart
- Emptied my cart
- Scanned the items
- Paid
- Bagged my own items (at 10 cents each?)
- Refilled my cart
And so I just skipped the exit line and left. I heard her saying, "Ummm, excuse me" as I kept walking and raised the receipt above my head, leaving the store.
You can either trust me to do self check out, or you can put your cashiers back in place like it used to be.
- I'm not interested in proving that I did your job for you.
- If you want me to be a cashier with no training then it's your problem not mine.
- Keep employing young people, and give them job opportunities.
YOU DON'T PAY ME TO SCAN MY OWN SHOPPING.
YOU DON'T GIVE ME A STAFF DISCOUNT FOR WORKING FOR YOU.
These are jobs needed for the young and old...

Spread the word 🙂

09/07/2023

Enough said. Thank you for this godwink.