Minority Business Council seeks to motivate members ahead of holidays – Salisbury Post

SALISBURY — A spokesperson for the Minority Business Council on Tuesday asked attendees a simple question: Are they working to get rich, or do they have a higher purpose?

Co-hosted by the City of Salisbury and the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce, the group held virtual monthly meetings and continues to work toward its goal of “helping minority-owned businesses grow and thrive in our communities.”

Those who answered the call included local business owners, some Livingstone College staff and Salisbury City Council member David Post.

Each session features a guest speaker who shares stories and offers advice to local minority business owners. This month, Gina Esquivel of the Lee Institute and the American Leadership Forum addressed the committee. She is from Costa Rica and has a background in social services. Through her years working in the field, she became motivated to do more for everyone in the community.

“As an entrepreneur understanding, I think the biggest thing for me is that you have to know your stuff. You have to know where you’re coming from, you have to know where you’re going, you have to have a lot of mirrored conversations,” she says. “What are you doing? Why are you doing this? What drove you there?

Esquivel called on group members to think about what inspired them. She also emphasized that their parentage gave them a unique advantage in achieving their goals.

“In the minority corporate world, it’s resilience and grit that goes beyond profit. It’s purposeful. So my question is, ‘Why do you guys do what you do? Are you doing it because you want to get rich? Or did you do it because there was another reason, another thing happened to you?’”

Carl Brown is a culinary instructor at Livingston College, part of Chef Solutions LLC.

He listened to the introduction and took away many applicable points.

“My favorite thing that I have in relation to being in foodservice is sticking to what you know in some ways, and the whole process of getting ready. You waste a lot of time getting things ready, a lot of the time It’s redundant, you don’t really need it. Be yourself, be authentic. I really need to hear this before the holidays,” Brown said.

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