Veronica Cool
Every business owner has faced an obstacle. Growing pains, not having enough capital, lack of time, or trouble finding good employees are just a few of them. Often, how a business owner responds to those obstacles can determine the business’s success. That’s why Rebecca Teaff, owner of Redstart Creative, believes business owners should turn obstacles into opportunity.
She, along with other female business owners, will discuss the less than perfect aspects of business ownership that have helped propel their businesses to the next level at The Daily Record’s third annual Women’s Leadership Summit at Coppin State University on March 20.
Veronica Cool, founder & CEO, Cool & Associates LLC will moderate the panel that includes Teaff; Dr. Tammira Lucas, executive director, The Warnock Foundation; Natalie Mangrum, CEO, Maryland Teacher Tutors; and Gina Ramsey, president, Pink Dog Digital.
“Businesses are poised for great growth because of an obstacle,” Teaff said. “There are so many challenges to being a business owner. You have to have resilience — if you let every little thing knock you down, you’d be out of business.”
After 10 years in business, Teaff faced her biggest obstacle: her largest client decided to cut ties. That client, alone, contributed to a significant portion of her revenue. She realized then that she had only three ways to react: Do nothing, whine about it, or do something about it. Realizing that the client was outside the core of her business, she decided to double down on her market, catering to organizations that were making a positive change in the world.
Natalie Mangrum, CEO of Maryland Teacher Tutors, started her business three years ago. When she came up with the idea for her business, she was told countless times that it would never work.
“Despite people telling me that hiring certified teachers as tutors was a bad idea, I went with my gut,” she said. “I overcame that obstacle by going against the odds and now I couldn’t be happier that I did.”
While there will always be naysayers, Mangrum said, the key is to follow your instinct. She also said you won’t know the outcome unless you try.
Sometimes the biggest obstacles aren’t other people — it’s yourself. Gina Ramsey found this out after having a dream of creating her own digital agency. Despite this dream, she continuously talked herself out of actually doing it. She’d already worked for a digital agency and made a great salary and had a flexible work environment. Why would she want to leave?
“I was living someone else’s reality. My reality was about helping business owners grow their digital footprint. I wanted to be a part of their business and really impact their bottom line. After some soul-searching and terror, I decided to start my own agency. I was terrified, but I had to be true to myself,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey’s firm, Pink Dog Digital was opened in August of 2018. She believes that living authentically is the key to overcoming obstacles.
As co-founder of Moms as Entrepreneurs, Dr. Tammira Lucas spends her days providing entrepreneurial training, financial education and support to the mom entrepreneur community so that they can start sustainable businesses. But, just as her clients must do, Lucas had to overcome any thoughts of giving up — especially as a woman trying to start her own business.
“Being a woman in business with an innovative idea that wasn’t being done and getting everyone to believe in it was one of my biggest obstacles. No matter how many ‘no’s’ I received, I continue to share my story and my why of creating this social enterprise,” Lucas said.
She also said it’s imperative that women build a solid network that they can lean on during the tough times.
No matter what stage a business owner is in, or the obstacle they face, there are steps that can be taken to make it an opportunity, said Teaff.
“It all boils down to four things — look at what’s working, get advice from other people, make a plan, and day after day get the work done. Be in for the marathon, not the sprint,” said Teaff.
Meet the presenters
Veronica Cool
Founder & CEO, Cool & Associates LLC
She has blended her financial expertise and operational experience with her nonprofit activities to drive engagement and growth. Her expertise includes commercial banking, lending, financial analysis and sales management, working with Wells Fargo and Bank of America, and leading and operating the state-wide Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Veronica has presented internationally in various conferences addressing topics such as Hispanic Engagement, Diverse Segment Marketing, Minority/WBE, Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy, Access to Capital and Women in Business and Leadership. She is a columnist for Huffington Post, The Daily Record and Mundo Latino.
She holds a BS from Kutztown University in Business Administration, and a Master’s of Science in Finance from Loyola University of MD. A native of Dominican Republic, she is the Past Board Chairman of the MD Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and co-chair of Martin O’Malley’s gubernatorial transition steering committee focusing on MBE and Small Business. Cool currently serves on the boards of Open Society Institute, Alliance for Hispanic Commercial Contractors, Life Lens and is a proud member of the Hispanic Leaders Association, Latino Providers Network, Latinas Think Big and SHIFT.
Living northwest of Baltimore, Maryland, she is married to Mr. Cool and is happily overwhelmed by her 17-year-old fashionista black-belt diva and 15-year-old athletic jokester.
Rebecca Teaff
Owner, Redstart Creative
Redstart Creative helps those driving positive change in the world i.e., people who make good things happen tell their stories in both print and digital. Redstart works with clients empowering positive change in the world – those striving for social impact and equity.
Rebecca has a passion for helping change-makers that matches her passion for running a business. Over the past ten years Rebecca has been involved in multiple volunteer roles including – Marketing Chair for the Association of Fundraising Professionals Maryland Chapter and National Association of Women Business Owners – Baltimore Chapter, as well as receiving Maryland’s Top 100 Women Award in 2014 and 2018.
Dr. Tammira Lucas
Executive Director, The Warnock Foundation
Natalie Mangrum
CEO, Maryland Teacher Tutors
Prior to founding MTT, Natalie served as a reading specialist for Baltimore City Schools. While working with small student groups, she recognized the transformational value of one-on-one instruction in helping students reach their academic potential. In fact, it was during this season of teaching that Natalie’s students advanced more than 2.5 grade levels over the course of just one semester!
Intrigued by these significant academic gains, Natalie knew there was life-changing potential in the one-on-one model, but felt that this support was lacking for students in Maryland and beyond.
Determined to work toward a solution, Natalie founded Maryland Teacher Tutors in 2015 and now has more than 35 certified teachers working under her leadership.
Beyond work, Natalie can be found spending time with her husband and two teenage children, kickboxing, and learning all she can from people with more wisdom and life experience.
Gina Ramsey
President, Pink Dog Digital
