"Money Can Generate Wealth or Generate Debt, You Make the Choice"

 

  Harrine Freeman  is the owner of H.E. Freeman Enterprises which provides credit repair services to help clients restore their credit rating and develop good money management skills.  She is the author of "How to Get out of Debt: Get An “A” Credit Rating for Free" that provides steps on how to get out of debt and improve your credit.  She has appeared in Wall Street Journal, Black Enterprise, Essence, Forbes and on NBC and ABC.  

BPM:  What makes you powerful as a person and a writer? I love helping people and that passion has helped me in my business helping my clients overcome their financial challenges which makes happy because everyone once in a while everyone needs a little help sometimes. 

BPM:  Who are your mentors? Where do you find your inspiration?My mentors were my grandparents, they faced insurmountable odds including racism, sexism and civil rights issues and overcame them.  They instilled in me good moral and financial values that I still practice today.  My inspiration comes from my support network of friends and family. 

BPM:  Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers...   My writing offers the following legacy to future readers, you have the power to change your future -  "Money can generate wealth or generate debt, you make the choice. "

BPM:   Introduce us to your book, How to Get Out of Debt.Can you imagine how your life would change if you had good credit? Imagine the relief ? Less stress, not worrying about bill collectors calling you at home or at work, and putting an end to your fights with your partner, spouse or children that are caused by not having any money.

This comprehensive self help book provides step by step details on how to repair your credit, get out of debt, create your own flexible spending plan and maintain your good credit without having to go to a credit counseling agency or file for bankruptcy.

BPM:  Introduce us to the primary message in the book.The primary message in the book is that no matter what financial setback you have experienced you can overcome it.  It may seem that there is no light at the end of the tunnel but there is because I have personally experienced it and overcame my financial struggles.  It will be hard but with determination and patience you will overcome your crisis. 

BPM:  Share with us a few of the life enhancing sections from the book.I bought a car for an ex-boyfriend in my name.  Everything was fine for about 6 months then he stopped paying the car payment and I ended up owing $9,000 for a car I didn't drive.

I learned a valuable lesson from this experience, don't co-sign for anyone especially for someone who has bad credit.  This may be hard to do especially if a relative, spouse or sibling asks for help.  I learned that you cannot control what someone does, and saying sorry if not enough when your credit gets damaged. 

BPM:  What prompted you to create this book, How to Get Out of Debt?I wrote the book because I wanted to prevent people from making the same mistakes I did and prevent people from being victims of the financial industry.  

BPM:  Who did you originally write How to Get Out of Debt: Get an "A" Credit Rating for Free for? Why?I wrote this book for men and women ages 21-50 that have experienced financial challenges due to job loss, health issues, divorce, those who owe money from a previous relationship, college students, or those who have made bad financial decisions.  

BPM:  Now that the book is out, who should read How to Get Out of Debt and why?People should read my book because it is an easy read, there are no large financial terms that you have to get a dictionary to understand.  There are tons of easy to follow tips on how to overcome different financial challenges as well as information on how to create a budget, pay down debt and negotiate with creditors. 

BPM:   What issues in today's society do you address in the book?The book addresses issues such as foreclosure, bankruptcy, student loans, repossession, judgments, divorce, tax liens, collection accounts and laws that protect consumers. 

BPM:  What impact will this book have on the community of readers?The book will help readers who are willing to repair their credit and get out of debt on their own.  For those who hire a professional the book will confirm everything the professional advises them to do and in some instances will help detect the fraudulent companies who suggest advice that may be incorrect or illegal. 

BPM:  What was your primary quest in publishing How to Get Out of Debt?My primary quest in publishing the book was to accomplish the task of actually writing a book.  I never imagined that my book would be received my so many readers. 

BPM:  What do you think makes your book different from others on the same subject?The message I want readers to share with readers is that there is no gimmick to my book.  I state the facts and provide information to help readers who are facing financial challenges. 

BPM:  What message in your book do you want readers to share with others?The message I want to share with readers is don’t give up.  No matter how bad it may seem right now you can overcome your financial situation.     

BPM:  Before we end the interview, define SUCCESS. What part does GRATITUDE play in achieving success, in your opinion?SUCCESS – I define success as overcoming any obstacle and achieving an accomplishment that you did not expect to achieve and had to work hard for.  GRATITUDE – Gratitude is more than just saying please and thank you.  I define gratitude as a way of life, being respectful and humble in your success and in all you do.  

BPM:  How can our readers reach you online?

Harrine Freeman, CEO/Owner, H.E. Freeman Enterprises Personal Finance Expert, Speaker, Freelance Writer, TV Producer

How to Get Out of Debt: Get an "A" Credit Rating for Free

Available for Purchase at http://www.borders.com/

Readers can reach my online on at hfreeman@hefreemanenterprises.com, by visiting my website at http://www.hefreemanenterprises.com/.

The Little Black Book of Success:  Laws of Leadership for Black Womenby Elaine Meryl Brown, Marsha Haygood, and Rhonda Joy McLean


July 2010 Little Black Book is a #1 Bestseller on Amazon in the "Management and Leadership" category!

Complete with a foreword by Essence® editor-in-chief Angela Burt-Murray, this book will help you maximize your leadership potential and exceed all expectations. (ISBN: 9780345518484)

Nearly 40 percent of black women report that they don’t have other black women who can serve as role models, and there have been no books that specifically focus on black women and leadership—until now.  Black women in today’s workforce face unique challenges as they seek to advance their careers.  Performing as well as their colleagues is not enough to win leadership positions; they also need a special brand of strength and confidence to rise above the double burden of racism and sexism and tap into their true leadership potential.  But where can they turn for advice? 

With THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF SUCCESS: Laws of Leadership for Black Women (A One World Hardcover; March 2, 2010)—an engaging and invaluable resource guide for black women at any stage of their professional lives—Elaine Meryl Brown, Marsha Haygood, and Rhonda Joy McLean have pooled almost 100 years of collective wisdom and leadership experience to create the guide they wished they had along their own remarkable career paths.

What these dynamic, successful black female executives show is that the building blocks for success are often right below the surface.  As they point out, “although they’re able to get jobs, many of today’s young black women don’t realize they have the potential to move themselves forward.  Many black women hold leadership roles in their communities, schools, and churches, but aren’t aware that they can transfer skills from those leadership positions to the workplace.  Research indicates that their talents often remain invisible both to the women who possess them and their business managers.  But leadership can be taught.”

With THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF SUCCESS, you will learn how to:

• Use your duality to build strength—turn the lessons learned from the double burden of racism and sexism to your advantage
• Distinguish between “church values” and “business values”—adapt your spiritual values to business ethics without selling your soul
• Consider yourself a VIP—cultivate high self-esteem and self-leadership to maximize your potential
• Stay Positive—use your well-honed tools of affirmation to change the way you think and to develop a leader’s mental attitude
• Control and learn from your emotions—don’t let others get in the way of what you want
• Communicate like a leader—develop critical superb verbal and written communication skills
• Use the “N” word: Networking—and be sure to network outside your comfort zone
• Reach back and bring others along—when given the chance, offer a helping hand


Some leaders are born, but most leaders are made—and THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF SUCCESS will help black women at all professional levels realize their leadership potential, whether their goal is a promotion or a seat at the table in the C-suite.


Chapter One-The Little Black Book of SuccessLaws of Leadership for Black Women

Always Consider Yourself a VIP

Many of you are already active in the workplace or will soon be entering workforces all over the world - in privately held corporations, large foundations, small not-for-profit organizations, advocacy groups, government positions, or other jobs right in your neighborhood - and yet, you may not know a very important secret: There is a leader inside each of you just waiting to come out! All you need to do is develop and hone the skills that will help the leader in you to surface and shine. Leaders are not only born, they can also be created.

Even if you have never held a leadership position and were told that you did not have “leadership potential” as you were growing up, you can learn what it takes to be a leader right now. Like math, science, and languages, leadership can be learned because it requires skill sets that can be taught. And since you are clearly capable of learning, the path to leadership is one you can always pursue. However, along the path to leadership success, you will have to refuse to give in to negative thinking that can hold you back. Too often brilliant and beautiful young women of color sabotage themselves, sometimes without even knowing that they are doing it, so that they never become the leaders they are capable of becoming or achieve the level of leadership success they deserve.

The most critical aspect of leadership is self-esteem, which must flow from the core of your being. In order to become a leader and remain an effective one, you must always consider yourself a Very Important Person (VIP). This doesn’t mean that you should be arrogant or cocky and walk into your job believing that you already know everything you need to know. Instead, it means that you need to feel confident that you are bringing much value to any workplace and that your cultural strengths, values, and work ethic will stand you in good stead as you go about learning how to do your job, and that you will be successful despite any challenges you may face, whether they are small or large.

How you feel about yourself is imperative to moving forward and sustaining your efforts to meet your leadership goals. Feeling that you’re a VIP, reminding yourself that you’re a VIP, dressing like you’re a VIP, and acting like you’re a VIP (within reason, of course) will help to give you the confidence you need to conquer real and imagined obstacles in your workplace. Rest assured that you can overcome any hurdles you may encounter on your way to becoming a leader  - just be prepared and hang on to your hat.

###

Excerpted from The Little Black Book of Success by Elaine Meryl Brown, Marsha Haygood, and Rhonda Joy McLean Copyright © 2010 by Elaine Meryl Brown. Excerpted by permission of One World/Ballantine, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.


Book Reviews for The Little Black Book of Success


"[The Little Black Book of Success] offers invaluable insight for anyone ready to step up and take the reins."
- Essence® Magazine

"[A] great resource to get (or keep) your career on track. Elaine Meryl Brown, Marsha Haygood and Rhonda Joy McLean are mentors in your pocket." - Heart & Soul® Magazine

"Finally: a small but extremely powerful book full of successful business and lifestyle rules written by women of color." - B. Smith, Founder & Chief Creative Officer, B. Smith Enterprises.


The Little Black Book of Success by Elaine Meryl Brown, Marsha Haygood, and Rhonda Joy McLean

Visit the Author's Website:  http://www.littleblackbookofsuccess.com/

Read Excerpt from The Little Black Book of Success http://www.littleblackbookofsuccess.com/book.asp#excerpt


Available at Barnes and Noble - Purchase Your Copy Today!
ISBN-10: 0345518489   |    ISBN-13: 978-0345518484
Genre: Business & Economics - Motivational; Self-Help - Personal Growth

Sistergirl Devotions: Keeping Jesus in the Mix on the Jobby Carol M. Mackey

Encouragement, advice, and real talk from a successful sister

It's not always easy to live your faith during the nine to five. But no matter where you work, that's the mission field in which God has placed you. It doesn't matter if you're a waitress or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company--you're equally important to God. And he wants to use you to build his kingdom.

Sistergirl Devotions  is for you--the working woman who wants to grow spiritually while on the job. Using Scripture, "sistergirl" wisdom, and true stories, each down-to-earth devotional shows how your faith can empower you to have success no matter where you work. With topics such as respect, resourcefulness, image, timeliness, honesty, setbacks, and balancing work, church, and home, each devotion ends with a "Power Move"--practical affirmations that will drive you toward victory.

--

As editor-in-chief of the esteemed Black Expressions Book Club, Carol M. Mackey has her finger on the pulse of African American women and what they’re reading, thinking about and their search for information that speaks to their daily lives and struggles.

In “Sistergirl Devotions”, Mackey addresses the stresses that crop up at the workplace.  With workplace stresses ranging from bad bosses to gossipy coworkers to a lack of passion for what you’re getting paid to do, what’s a Christian woman to do?  Sometimes it can feel like your faith is putting in overtime, too, just to get you through the week.

Mackey can speak to these and other hurdles that working women face through a collection of 90 insightful and inspiring readings.  Using Scripture, conventional wisdom and stories from her own experiences, Mackey teaches how faith provides timeless and trusting answers to these daily struggles.  Each devotion offers a “Power Move,” which will give women actionable tips for applying these principles to their own lives and careers.  Sistergirl Devotions Website: http://carolmackeyonline.com/

Endorsements for Sistergirl Devotions: Keeping Jesus in the Mix on the Job

"Carol Mackey has done a masterful job of incorporating the practicality of God's Word into daily meditations. She does not shrink from the real issues we often struggle with. Carol addresses them boldly, giving clear answers and 'Power Moves' to equip us to have the victory we long to experience in our everyday lives."--Michelle McKinney Hammond, author of The Power of Being a Woman

"Sistergirl Devotions is by far one of the best self-help books I have read in a long time. Carol Mackey masterfully weaves in Scripture, invaluable wisdom, and her own personal experiences. Absolutely brilliant!"--Kimberla Lawson Roby, New York Times bestselling author; author of A Deep Dark Secret and Be Careful What You Pray For

"Sistergirl Devotions delivers inspiring daily nuggets that will warm the soul and motivate every reader to succeed on the job for the Lord."--Stephanie Perry Moore, author of the Payton Skky series and the Beta Gamma Pi series

About Carol M. Mackey
Carol M. Mackey is editor-in-chief of Black Expressions Book Club, twice voted the best book club by the African American Literary Awards. Named among the "50 Most Powerful African Americans in Publishing" by Black Issues Book Review, Carol's career has included work at Newsday, as well as for The New York Times and Essence Communications.

Carol has appeared on the CBS-TV Morning Show and is frequently interviewed by Publishers Weekly on the state of African American publishing. She lives in New York with her husband, and enjoys time with her two grown sons.

 Purchase your copy today:http://www.amazon.com/Sistergirl-Devotions-Keeping-Jesus-Mix/dp/0800733975 

Intimate Conversation with Dawn McCoy

Dawn McCoy, the leadership guru, and is president of Flourish Leadership Group. She a nationally-recognized speaker and author of Leadership Building Blocks: An Insider's Guide to Success. She was among the youngest African-Americans elected to the Sacramento City Unified School Board of
Trustees, one the nation’s top fifty largest school systems. She has been legislative aide and nonprofit executive. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Howard University and master’s degree from Georgetown University.

BPM:  Who are your mentors? Where do you find your inspiration?My grandmother and my aunts are my mentors. They are the ones who have inspired me to write because of their legacy sewing quilts. For years,  I’ve watched them weave together from scrap materials and clothing creative home-spun blankets, quilts, and wall-hangings. From fabric and decorative embellishments, they have created stories that come alive. When I received a quilted square handed down from a great-great aunt, I knew I had obligation to tell a story a story using my creativity. Leadership Building Blocks came to me as a way to both tell my story about life in public office and the local political landscape. In the process, I
shared lessons learned with the intent to help others get in, survive, and manage leadership roles.


BPM:  Introduce us to the primary message in your book.Leadership Building Blocks: An Insider’s Guide to Success outlines seven strategies to help ordinary people become extraordinary leaders and achieve success. These seven strategies include vision, balance, courage, dynamic creativity (relationship building), fortitude, and infinite possibilities (legacy). It is an inspirational account based on leadership lessons Dawn McCoy learned as an elected Sacramento City Unified School board trustee. Readers get step-by-step procedures about leadership including pictorial images, leadership self-assessments, and goal-setting  worksheets.  Purchase at Amazon today!

Leadership Building Blocks includes seven strategies essential to bring about success. These include Vision, Balance, Courage, Dynamic Creativity, Everything Global, Fortitude, and Legacy.

Also  included:
•    vision is forecasting,
•    balance is maintaining focus between personal and professional worlds,
•    courage refers to persevering during difficulties,
•    dynamic creativity describes flexibility,
•    everything global is about really connecting with people,
•    fortitude describes crisis management and communication skills, and finally
•    legacy is about gracefully rounding any leadership journey.


BPM:  What led you to create this book now?It was so interesting while writing Leadership Building Blocks to discover how pivotal my service as an elected school board member REALLY was. After serving 52,000 Sacramento students in a school district ranked as one of the top 50 largest in the nation, I felt compelled to help other current and aspiring leaders in a meaningful way. Even with the high-profile and public school district challenges that I talk about in the book, I wanted to share lessons learned, the inside track per se, about how to manage any leadership journey. Writing Leadership Building Blocks after I did not seek re-election was a cathartic experience. It brought forth this process to help others to courageously face adversity, to build solid relationships, and to maintain their integrity.


BPM:  Who did you write this book for? Why?What’s so unique about Leadership Building Blocks is that it’s a practical resource for everyday people. First, this book is useful for beginners and seasoned veterans alike. This book was written to guide high school and college students who are at the beginning or turning points along their leadership paths. On a practical level, this book is written specifically for nonprofit directors and neighborhood team captains, political leaders and entrepreneurs, and PTA moms and even t-ball dads.


BPM:  What do you think makes your book different from others on the same subject?Leadership Building Blocks is an essential guide for how good people in leadership positions become extraordinary leaders. Too often we hear about leaders making bad decisions. This book is the perfect solution to bring integrity back to leadership. It’s based upon my experiences in political office. It is filled with kernels of wisdom, chapter-by-chapter icons, and self-assessments. What makes Leadership Building Blocks so distinct is that it will inspire you to jump in, take on, or tackle any leadership role.


BPM:  Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.Last fall, I rolled out a new audio CD, Effective Community Engagement: Seven Steps to Make a Real Difference. Included are excerpts from chapter 13 of Leadership Building Blocks and also concrete ways about how to become a better champion for a cause, community group, or faith-based organization. These step-by-step techniques are timeless insights to help people really take action rather than just talk about it.
Right now, I’m excited to be on a national tour for Leadership Building Blocks speaking at conferences and visiting local bookstores and colleges.

This includes lectures and book signings in New York, Baltimore, Richmond, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, San Francisco, Chicago, Kansas City, and Los Angeles.  It’s really an exciting time!


BPM:  How can our readers reach you online?
Readers can reach me on at:
Website:   http://www.flourishleadership.com/
Twitter:     http://twitter.com/dawnmccoy02
YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/dawnmccoy01
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/therealdawnmccoy


Dawn McCoy, President and CEO Flourish Leadership Group, LLCMotivational Speaker, Leadership Consultant, and Author of Leadership
Building Blocks: An Insider's Guide to Success
"Empower Effective Leaders for Today and Tomorrow"


Purchase at Amazon.comhttp://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Building-Blocks-Insiders-Success/dp/0981994490

Purchase at  Barnesandnoble.comhttp://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=leadership+building+blocks