“HOW I DID IT”

Originally printed in Essence magazine, December 2003.

MONICA HASLIP

Eight years ago, Monica Haslip traded in her corporate marketing gig for a career that combined her formal arts training and a desire to work with children. A native of Alabama, she had studied art as a child and longed to share her talent. She bought an abandoned building on Chicago’s South Side, and after two years of rehabbing and construction, Haslip, 37, opened the Little Black Pearl Workshop and assumed the dual roles of entrepreneur and community worker. At LBPW, inner-city kids learn art and entrepreneurship by designing products that they sell when they complete LBPW’s Arts=Smarts program. “Our organization gives kids positive outlets for their energy. And they’re acquiring business skills they can carry with them all their lives,” Haslip says. A nonprofit tax-exempt entity with 12 full-time staff members serving between 750 and 1,500 kids annually, LBPW receives both public and private funding. Combined with philanthropic support, revenues from its custom-order business and contracts to teach in the Chicago public schools, the organization generates between $600,000 and $800,000 annually.

SURVIVING LEAN TIMES: “Early on I had to sacrifice to see this dream come to reality. When I had no money, the dream-and my faith-kept me going.”

BALANCING ACT: “I live and breathe Little Black Pearl, which takes its toll. I find time to renew so I have more to give.”

FINDING THE RIGHT MIX: “An organization cannot make it without a strong staff. I try to hire people who share a passion for the work we do. If staff members believe in the vision, they’ll do great things.