Helping Small Businesses

Princess Jenkins in her Harlem boutique, The Brownstone.

Princess Jenkins learned about fashion in college, but it was Workshop in Business Opportunities (WIBO) that taught her the nuts and bolts of running a business. The course paid off for Jenkins, who today is the owner of The Brownstone, a boutique on Fifth Avenue in Harlem.

Founded in 1966 as a "boot camp for minority entrepreneurs," WIBO teaches participants about sales, marketing, accounting, raising capital, managing staff, and handling legal and ethical issues for small businesses. Classes are offered in low-income neighborhoods around the City and are taught by successful businesspeople. Multiple grants from The Trust over the years have supported the group's work.

"There are things I've learned in the WIBO workshops that I continue to apply to this day," Jenkins said, such as learning how to identify fixed and variable costs, bookkeeping and accounting skills, and the Break Even Analysis. "The Break Even Analysis is essential. I never proceed with any project without first determining whether I'm at least going to break even on it."

Over 10,500 individuals have graduated from WIBO workshops and an estimated half of them are operating successful businesses today.