Shacole Henderson is a trailblazer and pioneer for both African-Americans and women of Louisville KY. At just 25 years of age she has become Louisville’s youngest Black bakery owner. Coco’s Cakes is located at 501 West Oak Street in Louisville and operates,Tues-Sat, from 7am-6pm. The menu consists of cakes (sheet & specialty), cheesecakes, turnovers, donuts and much more. Although amazing, this feat did not come overnight. Henderson persevered through sacrifice and frustration for over five years to make her dream a reality. A strong family support system and her utilization of a city sponsored small business program, ultimately allowed her to open Coco’s Cakes. Henderson is a graduate of Central High School and is a product of the city’s predominately black West End. Initially she enrolled in college with aspirations of becoming a fashion designer but that quickly changed after she became employed at a local Kroger grocery store.

“I wanted to be a cashier but my friend who was a baker asked me to come to the kitchen to be a cake decorator. I wasn’t going to go because I had never decorated cakes before but my friend said, ‘Girl you can do it…You know how to draw so you’ll be okay plus you get paid more if you are a cake decorator’, so I said okay…Two weeks into it, I fell in love.” – Shacole Henderson

Henderson’s grandfather, Claude Mitchell, is a retired culinary chef so she immediately contacted him to obtain any useful advice about decorating cakes. “I went to my granddaddy and he started showing me how to pipe borders and make roses,” said Henderson. She quickly earned a reputation as the top cake designer at her Kroger location and began posting pictures of her cakes on her Facebook page for fun. Immediately she began receiving requests for her services from her friends but she politely referred them to the Kroger bakery that she was employed at. Henderson’s defining moment came when her father asked her to bake a cake for her mother’s 45th birthday party. Based on the party’s Luau theme, she created an amazing cake equipped with handmade coconut cups, handmade umbrellas, a tiki bar and benches.

“I made the cake and posted it on Facebook and got 100 and something likes on it…I took my next paycheck and brought cake pans and all kinds of other stuff. I went to my granddaddy and told him that people wanted me to make cakes for them and he told me to take whatever jobs I can but not to overwhelm myself.” – Shacole Henderson

Henderson remained employed at Kroger but began baking cakes at home as a source of additional income. Her grandfather assisted by teaching her techniques and educating her about pricing scales. After six months of selling cakes from home she expressed to her grandfather that she wanted to open her own bakery. Unfortunately, income restraints prevented that from becoming a reality until three years later. In 2014, a friend informed her about a Micro Enterprises program sponsored by the city of Louisville, which provides loans for aspiring business owners.

“I called and set up an appointment. I went through eight weeks of business classes. I had to write out a business plan, I went through money management courses in which they showed me how to design my own logo and touched base on a lot of areas of business.” – Shacole Henderson

After completing the program, Henderson was given a $5,000 low interest loan which allowed her to rent a storefront, pay for insurance and licencing fees, and buy a few pieces of necessary equipment to get her business started. Initially the storefront was only used to prepare cakes and not as a full service bakery. Prior to opening day Henderson and her grandfather discussed potential names for the bakery.

“I wanted to name it something real fancy because I was in French class at the time but he [Granddaddy] said, ‘You don’t need anything fancy, just keep it real simple. Everybody knows you as Coco, so just call it Coco’s Cakes.'” – Shacole Henderson

Henderson paid back the $5,000 loan on-time and early so she qualified for a $15,000 low interest loan. With that capital she was able to completely furnish and equip her establishment as a full service bakery. The Grand Opening of Coco’s Cake was on May 23, 2015, and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer was in attendance for the ribbon cutting. Henderson set up booths at the Grand Opening ceremony for local black business owners to display their products and services. Additionally, Coco’s Cakes currently has a designated display counter to showcase business cards and brochures for local business owners. When speaking of the future of Coco’s Cakes.

“We want to eventually open a second location…We plan on staying family based…We are focused on renting out the space for parties in the near future and would like to have an open mic night.” – Shacole Henderson

Visit Coco’s Cakes for all your bakery needs at 501 West Oak Street, Louisville, KY 40203. Or call (502) 836-1707. Follow Cocos Cakes on Facebook and Instagram or access the website at http://www.cocos-cakes.weebly.com/

In an era where camera phones and social media are the norm, one would think that photography studios would be an outdated business model. Not the case for Senegal native, Babacar Sambe, who has revolutionized the photography industry in Louisville Ky. The 33 year-old owns the photography studio, Sambe Photography & Graphics at 4229 Bardstown Rd. suite 219, that not only produces magnificent portraits but creates business cards, fliers, wedding invitations, restaurant menus, banners and much more. His amazing knack for graphic design and obsession with perfection have made him one of the most sought after photographers in the metro Louisville area. Sambe said, “It starts by doing good work and having a good relationship with people.” Sambe migrated to Louisville, from Senegal, [West] Africa in 2000, at just 18 years-old with plans of pursuing higher education. He enrolled at the University of Louisville (UofL) taking General Education classes and based on his love of taking pictures, also began taking photography classes at Jefferson Community and Technical College (JCTC).

“When I moved into photography I was required to take English classes because it was my second language. I didn’t speak English fluently because we [Senegal] are a French speaking country. I purchased English dictionaries to study in addition to my college English classes so that I could learn the language faster.” – Babacar Sambe

JCTC often partners with UofL offering Associate degree programs that are particularly designed to coincide with the University’s Bachelor degree programs. After having a great experience with his first photography class, Sambe enrolled in the Commercial Arts program at JCTC, which concentrates on graphic design, web design and photography. This is where Sambe began earning his reputation as a perfectionist.

“Our teacher used to tell us that if you turn in an assignment and you don’t like it, you can redo it and turn it in again to get a better grade…I was one of those people that wanted an ‘A’ on all assignments so if the teacher gave me a ‘B’ or ‘C’, I wanted to make that an ‘A’…It didn’t matter how many times I had to do the assignment over, I would do it until I perfected it and I’m still like that with my work today. I want to make sure that the client is happy with the product they receive.” – Babacar Sambe

Sambe earned an Associates degree from JCTC in Commercial Arts in 2005, and a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design and Photography from the University of Louisville in 2007. Amazingly, he worked at McDonald’s throughout his entire college career and built up his clientele in photography by taking personal portraits for clients when he wasn’t working and posted them on his Facebook page. Those social media posts led to local nightclub owners booking him to capture the atmosphere in their clubs on popular nights and posting them on his social media page as a form of advertisement since he had so many friends and followers. His work at nightclubs also provided Sambe with the opportunity to photograph Bill Bellamy,Toni Braxton, Mike Epps, Nelly, T.I., and others. Following graduation he felt as though his clientele had grown enough to support owning his own photography studio, so in 2007, he took a risk and made his dream of opening Sambe Photography & Graphics a reality. Within a short time Sambe became so successful that he was forced to expand the size of his original photography studio. Sambe’s work remains in high demand based on its uniqueness, high quality and same day turn-around on portraits. While other photographers are often limited to standard background features, his expertise in graphic design allows him to incorporate any background imaginable into his portraits. Beaches, landmarks, or any other design can be custom placed into the photo as if the person were actually on location. If the customer doesn’t have a particular design in mind, Sambe is creative enough to find the perfect complimenting scene.

“I usually go by what people are wearing and I tweak the image…I like every image I capture to be different.” – Babacar Sambe

This concept also applies to business cards, fliers, banners and invitations. Although every photoshoot is enjoyable, Sambe admits that weddings are his favorite venues to shoot.

“I like doing weddings because I like capturing the excitement and joy of the moment.” – Babacar Sambe

Sambe Photography & Graphics is open 7 days a week but primarily operates on appointments. Don’t miss your opportunity to have your image captured by one of the most gifted and pleasant photographers in the metro Louisville area.

For nearly ten years the Gentlemen of Dream Team Entertainment have brought Louisville some of the hottest parties but there’s a lot more to these party promoters than meets the eye. Behind the glitter and lights lies a closely knit four man crew that embodies the art of entrepreneurship.

That crew consists of Philip Thomas, Richard Ballard, Romeo Cross and Toney Frank. This weekend I had the pleasure of sitting down with 1/4 of the powerful Dream Team crew, Philip Thomas, to get some background information on their success. Although Dream Team Entertainment legally consists of only four gentlemen, the love and support is so enormous that Thomas said, “When people ask who’s in Dream Team, we tell them the city of Louisville.” The most interesting quality about these young men is that party promoting is actually their ‘night job’. Thomas is currently a retail banker and loan officer at Fifth/Third Bank and DJs professionally under the stage name ‘DJ Thru Da Roof’, Ballard and Frank are employed at General Electric and Cross is employed at the Metropolitan Sewer District. The gentlemen also operate a successful lawn care service with a fifth partner, David Moore, called PGA Lawn Care LLC. The ‘Dream’ began nearly ten years ago when Thomas and Ballard were attending Otterbein University in Ohio. The pair returned to Louisville on a break one semester and attended a party thrown by a local party promotion group.

“I never partied for real but Rich was a party animal…I always had a business mind and I just remember seeing 2000 people and I remember paying $20 to get in so it didn’t take a mathematician to figure the numbers out…I said to Rich, ‘we can do this’, and it literally took off from there.” – Philip Thomas

The duo originally named their company ‘Thru Da Roof Entertainment’ and basically catered to the college crowd. Their biggest challenge at the time were finances.

“Rich was working for a company called National Tobacco and I was working for Citi Financial, we were literally coming out of our pockets to throw parties.” – Philip Thomas

As business expanded, Thomas and Ballard partnered with Cross and Frank and renamed the company “Dream Team Entertainment”. The first major act the group would bring to the city was Hurricane Chris of “A Bay Bay” fame. Later the gentlemen of Dream Team would be the first promoters to bring rapper T.I. to the state of Kentucky. The four members of Dream Team all come from Louisville’s impoverished West End so giving back to the community is a high priority for them. Every Christmas Dream Team Entertainment holds a ‘Toy Drive’ in memory of Thomas’ mother who was murdered in 2004. They provide toys and funds to less fortunate families and in some cases pay energy and water bills.

“It’s basically about taking the blessings that we’ve received all year and find a way to give back.” – Philip Thomas

Thomas prides himself on passing the knowledge he’s gained through business experiences on to the next individual.

“One of the biggest issues we face in this community and not just here, is the people that are older than us are scared to give us back that knowledge…I don’t know if they are afraid that somebody is going to get ahead of them, or they want to keep it all for themselves or they just don’t feel like it or whatever the case may be, but it’s tearing up our community because if a lot of these entrepreneurs would come back and show people better ways, there would be less drug dealing, less killing, less shooting and more emphasis on school.” – Philip Thomas

                                                                                                                

You can catch the gentlemen of Dream Team hosting parties every Saturday night at club Legends located at 2523 West Broadway Street, Louisville, KY. Saturday June 13, 2015, the crew will have national recording artist Fabolous at Club LIV (formerly known as O’Malleys) to perform a highly anticipated concert. Tickets are on sale now.

Comedian Rico Lovelace appropriately calls himself ‘The Next Little Big Thang’. The 5’5 comedian may be small in stature but brings a big burst of energy to the stage during his performances.

At 35 years of age, life is on the upswing in comparison to his difficult upbringing. Lovelace was raised in Louisville’s Village West housing projects and by the age of 14, his mother was battling a crack cocaine addiction and his father was in prison. Like many Black males growing up in these conditions, Lovelace was on a collision course with prison or death.

Tragedy struck in a major way for Lovelace at 16 years-old. He was helping a friend who was involved in a fist-fight which ultimately resulted in a man losing his life. Lovelace was charged with manslaughter and sentenced to 24 months in a Juvenile Correctional Facility.

“It was something that took a hard toll on my life as a kid growing up because I didn’t know about God at that age.” – Rico Lovelace

During his two-year incarceration period his conscience began to weigh heavily on him.

“I went through counseling when I was locked up in the Central Youth Development Center because I would wake up in cold sweats.” – Rico Lovelace

He confesses that letters of encouragement from his father were a key factor in helping him cope with these extreme circumstances at such a young age. Despite this incident occurring nearly 20 years ago, Lovelace admits that participating in a man’s death still haunts him to this day.

Fast Forward to 2015, and all the experiences of a once painful life are expressed through his microphone. Like many comedians, Lovelace uses himself as the ‘butt’ of several jokes he tells. Respectfully he doesn’t use his manslaughter conviction in any of his jokes, but the rest of his life is fair game.

Lovelace has been a professional comedian for the past three years but his start was somewhat unconventional.

“I reached out to all my friends on Facebook who told me that I was funny…People always told me I was funny but I never put any effort into trying comedy.” – Rico Lovelace

After receiving the approval from his friends on social media, he attended an ‘Open-Mic’ night at the Comedy Caravan and wowed the crowd. Following that performance he began attending any and all ‘Open-Mic’ sessions that were available in Louisville which resulted in the signing of a partnership deal with Streatway Entertainment.

Throughout his comedy career, Lovelace has performed for crowds in Louisville, Atlanta, Nashville, Cincinnati, Clarksville TN, and Huntsville, AL. Comedy became surreal to him when he opened a show for Reginald Ballard (‘Bruh Man’ from the Martin show) which led to a career changing conversation between the two.Watch Full Movie Online Streaming Online and Download

“When I first started doing comedy, my comedy name was ‘Freakric Lovelace’…Bruh Man told me I’d never be able to get into corporate America with that name, so I decided to start going by my regular name.” – Rico Lovelace

As he strives to reach the top of the comedy world, a sense a family is the one thing that keeps him grounded. Lovelace says his mother has been clean from drugs for 11 years and his father no longer drinks alcohol.

His parent’s lifestyle changes have allowed the family to heal and move forward with their lives. “My parents were at my first show and I was a little emotional”, said Lovelace. He says he has totally forgiven his parents for their misdeeds of the past and only focuses on the future.

“Why complain about what we don’t have in life?…There are people out there that have it much worse.” – Rico Lovelace

Charitable events have become a routine part of Lovelace’s repertoire as well. On Sunday May 24, 2015, he hosted a “Night of Comedy” at the Barasti Bar & Grill in Louisville to help raise funds for the 10th Street Cardinals Boys Football Team. Lovelace was contacted by coach Joe Thomas of the Cardinals and asked if he would donate a few hours of his time for a worthy cause.

Not only did Lovelace host the event for free, he enlisted Streatway Entertainment comic’s “Dino the Comedian”, Justin Tabb, Chris Cognac, and B-Boy, to perform for free as well.

In addition to the comedic acts, poetry and spoken word were performed by Lovelace’s wife, Verlissa Lovelace, who performs under the stage name “God’s Beautiful Creation”.