The authorities of Pittsburgh Community Services, Inc. strive to assist their clients in becoming self-sufficient. Adhering to Community Action mandates of the 1960s they continuously provide programming to eliminate poverty, broaden the safety net for the poor and unemployed, expand educational opportunities, and address the health and financial needs of people.
Gordon Manker, micro business specialist for the group’s Micro Business Institute views the entrepreneurial program as a key entity in assisting PCSI in their quest. “Our goal,” he indicates is fostering the development of sustainable micro-businesses which will stimulate economic development, self-sufficiency, and job creation in poverty-stricken neighborhoods of Pittsburgh.”
Currently Manker is assisting more than 30 participants in the attempt to fulfill their dreams of owning and operating a business. For the next several weeks he will provide and teach aspiring business owners valuable information and skills they need to reach their goal of entrepreneurship.
“There is a lot to starting a business,” he said. “My mission is to provide the participants with basic business development knowledge and ways to capitalize on their inherent talents, skills, and entrepreneurship ability.” A former deli owner and once involved in a multi-level marketing business, Manker knows what it takes to be self-employed.
“I can share my experiences, my ups and downs,” he predicts.
“I find the training interesting, informative and motivating,” described James Young, a MBI participant. The owner of several businesses throughout the years, he explained that he is in the class with the hopes to expand his knowledge base. An artist by trade Young, a Garfield resident, operates Fly I.n.k.k Creations which utilizes his airbrush skills to customize clothing, sneakers and backdrops, Jay I.n.k.k Creations, a Tattoo businesses and Kashi Jewelry. His goal is to incorporate all his businesses under the umbrella of Inkkanomics Society and to one day form a non-profit organization to provide opportunities for artists and to teach and work with youth.
In operation for the past five years, the MBI Program according to PCSI’s executive director Cecelia A. Jenkins is a perfect piece of the puzzle in the organizations formulating Pittsburgh Path to Prosperity Plan. The initiative she explained is aimed at developing and strengthening an integrated system of connectivity between agencies, which operate as service providers to individuals and families. “We are looking forward to strategizing with other social support systems to optimize community resources,” she said.
By working with the West End Works Employment Technology Center, where the current class is being held Gordon said is a step toward what Jenkins means. Located in Elliott, one of the 14 targeted neighborhoods of the Plan, the Center is geared to provide area residents with training and access to services that will directly aid them in finding work, improving their education and advancing their understanding of technology. Housed in the Emanuel United Methodist Church, it is a combined effort of the City of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Partnership, Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Theresa Smith, Neighborhood Learning Alliance, the Pittsburgh Foundation and the US Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
Half way through the six weeks training component of the current MBI training session, other than Young’s art business Gordon identified daycare, early childcare learning, network marketing, entertainment, catering, real estate, greeting cards and a social service entity as the types of businesses participants are looking to establish.
Upon completion of the classroom training the next steps of the program will consist of speakers and workshop presentations, which will assist participants in identifying resources to create good working relationships with financial institutions and government assistance programs, that can aid entrepreneurs with loans and other small business development processes.
“My aim during these first six weeks is to help the participants build a foundation and to familiarize themselves with what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur,” said Manker. He uses the CORE FOUR Business Planning Course developed by the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund, Inc. The course teaches information and skills needed in four fundamental elements of business planning. Based on a business idea, the CORE FOUR Business Planning Course is used to plan a business in real time. The modules consist of planning for business success, planning to meet the needs of the marketplace, planning the business cash flow needs and planning how the business will operate.
Involved with the MBI for almost two years, Manker said in 2013 when he first started with the program at least 74 people were served. “Some of those participants are still receiving assistance from us,” he pointed out, “And some either are or have been assisted through other PCSI programs.” He identified Darryl McAbee the owner of D and M Carpet Care and Donielle Owens the owner of Dream City Trucking and Flagging as two participants that are doing well in their business ventures.
Manker recently retired from a 29 year military career after spending 26 years in the Army National Guard and three years as a Tec Sargent in the US Air force Reserves. He currently is certified as a small business consultant through the Association of Accredited Small Business Consultants. Committed to the PCSI mission of transforming lives through self-sufficiency he says as a small business consultant, he consults with small businesses to increase their operational efficiency and to maximize their profits.
Established under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 as part of a network of Community Action Agencies,
PCSI is the designated CAA for the City of Pittsburgh. Its mission is to address the causes of poverty and to diminish its effects through the development, implementation, sponsorship, and support of programs and activities designed to enable and empower low-income residents of the City of Pittsburgh to make measurable progress on the continuum from impoverishment to self-sufficiency.
PCSI is widely recognized in the community as a collaborative partner who routinely influences public policy decisions and is an advocate for and expert on the issues that affect the lives and wellbeing of impoverished people.
Other programs and services of PCSI include the Department of Workforce Development and Supportive Services, the Emergency Food Assistance Program, the Neighborhood Safety Program, and the Department of Education and Training. They also operate the Environment and Energy Community Outreach Center located at 200 Larimer Avenue.
(PCSI is located at 249 North Craig Street and can be reached by calling 412-904-4700.)
