Roaring cheers echoed throughout the Dallas Regional Chamber offices as Session #3 of the Mavs Business Assist (MBA) program wrapped up, marking another round of significant achievements for this year’s community of entrepreneurs.
The momentum continues to build for this cohort under the guidance of partners like ZenBusiness— an all-in-one platform that helps small business owners start, run, and grow their brands— and Coca-Cola, which hosted the latest in-person session where high-level executives shared insights during the small group speed-networking event.
Now, in their fourth month of the all-encompassing business development program, the entrepreneurs have unlocked new levels of success with the support of the Dallas Mavericks.
Hear some of their stories below:
The best ideas are often born from real-life experience. For Cherie Turner, inspiration struck during her entry into motherhood.
Six years ago, Cherie and her husband, Sammy, welcomed their first child, Trea, followed by their daughter, Madi, three years later.
When the time came to return to her full-time career as an occupational therapist, Cherie faced the harsh reality that hospital scrubs were not conducive to her breast-pumping needs.
Each pumping session required her to remove her scrub top entirely, pulling it over her head and exposing her face to hospital germs while also wasting valuable time undressing.
The problem was evident, but the demands of a working mother and her experience with postpartum depression and anxiety delayed her solution from becoming a reality. Now, as a mother to two toddlers, Cherie has exited her breastfeeding journey but is still driven to solve the challenge she experienced for the many working mothers facing similar struggles.
In August 2024, Cherie took what she calls a God-driven vision and launched her product, Mommy Scrubs— a revolutionary solution to the very problem she experienced.
Inspired by her children and a desire to uplift working mothers, she launched her functional, uniform-compliant scrub tops that feature two hidden zippers with securing snaps that give the wearer the ability to accommodate any breast pump.
Her thoughtful patent-pending style accommodates working mothers in any career that requires a scrub top, from hospital workers to veterinarians and spa technicians.
Cherie says the support of the Dallas Mavericks as a participant in the Mavs Business Assist program has provided valuable learning and networking opportunities that will set her business up for success as she changes the world for working mothers.
Kristoddie Woods, a self-proclaimed modern-day Renaissance man, has always been passionate about writing poetry. However, when his talents on the football field advanced him to the collegiate level, poetry was benched.
After a successful tenure playing for the Texas A&M Commerce Lions, the abrupt transition into post-grad life brought unexpected challenges for Kristoddie— as he worked to forge his path, a battle with deep depression continued to hold him back.
But by using poetry as a means of expression, he found a way out of his depression and has been motivated to pay it forward every day since.
With a degree in education, Kristoddie introduced his artistic-expression-based curriculum at Cornerstone Crossroads Academy, a school serving at-risk youth in North Texas. Through poetry, music, art, and dance, he equipped students battling extreme circumstances with new tools for emotional and social expression.
The transformative experience solidified his mission to expand his brand, Black Ceasar Poetry, and share it with the broader community.
Today, Kristoddie’s work extends to the Dallas Independent School District, Paul Quinn College, South Dallas Cultural Center, and beyond. He’s even received two EMMY nominations through creative collaborations with other local professional sports teams like the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers.
But the journey is far from over for Kristoddie as he continues his efforts to scale his brand and establish poetry as a valuable and necessary form of communication and healing.
As part of the Mavs Business Assist program, he feels equipped to take the next steps in scaling his career in poetry with guidance from business industry experts and the support of the unbreakable community that formed within the class of entrepreneurs.
For Charity Johnson, a simple idea blossomed into a thriving business.
One evening, she grabbed a bottle of wine and an assortment of flower stems and combined the two, creating a one-of-a-kind flower arrangement that sat atop the unopened bottle.
As a federal investigator by day, crafting the floral arrangements offered Charity a much-needed creative outlet.
However, it wasn’t until a social media post showcasing her designs went viral— amassing nearly 3 million views— that she realized her concept had real potential. By 2023, The Tipsy Bloom had hosted its first floral workshop.
Today, The Tipsy Bloom hosts mobile private classes and public workshops at the Golden Black Candle Lounge, allowing others to tap into their creativity.
In a short time, Charity’s business has grown exponentially from her early experimentation with a foam block to stabilize the stems, now creating a customized patent-pending flower tray that allows the arrangements to be seamlessly removed and displayed when it’s time to pop the bottle.
And that’s just the beginning of the big ideas Charity has for The Tipsy Bloom.
Her sights are set on a brick-and-mortar storefront for fully realized arrangements, offering customers a unique and upgraded alternative to traditional floral arrangements.
Through her acceptance into this year’s Mavs Business Assist program, she’s formulated a clear path forward with the knowledge she’s gained from the in-person and virtual development sessions.
Learn more about The Tipsy Bloom, Black Ceasar Poetry, Mommy Scrubs, and all the 2024-25 Mavs Business Assist entrepreneurs at Mavs.com/MBA.
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