Sunshine Enterprises 2020 Annual Report

2020 Annual Report
OVER 900
ENTREPRENEURS
SERVED BY 2020

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
JOEL HAMERNICK
Resilience: the capacity to recover
quickly from difficulties; toughness.
Toughness: the state of being strong
enough to withstand adverse conditions or
rough handling.
Reflecting on 2020 is
somewhat surreal. Did that
really just happen to us?
I
think of one of our entrepreneurs that we’ve
shared about often: Tiffany Williams. Her
business, Exquisite Catering, had nearly
100% of her business cancelled on March 13th.
Can you imagine? And it wasn’t just her, it was
virtually all of our catering and ready-to-eat
food based businesses. And all of the fitness
companies. And the wellness companies. And on
and on.
Our focus at Sunshine Enterprises is to identify
and support entrepreneurs working in our most
disinvested communities to start and grow their
businesses. This focus means that our clients
were at a substantial competitive and financial
disadvantage before COVID 19 decimated the
global, national and local economies.
So think about that, you are already at a historic
disadvantage and then you get cancelled,
overnight. How would you handle that?
Angela Duckworth, in her amazing book “Grit”
makes it clear that effort trumps talent. I’ve been
reflecting on the sheer endurance in the face of
adversity that our clients routinely display. It’s
really awe-inspiring. It makes me want to work
harder, to endure. Our clients are a gift to me. . .
and to our city.
SUNSHINE ENTERPRISES
1

Duckworth explains that there is a power that
is manifest in the combination of “passion and
perseverance” that is actually a much better
indication of long term leadership and success
than talent, IQ or being good at taking tests.
We see this against-the-odds passion and
perseverance on a daily basis. Looking back
on the year in review, against what we would
naturally intuit, we’ve seen an increase in
graduates of the Community Business Academy,
an increase in personal credit scores, growth in
business revenues, and importantly, growth in
household income.
How is this possible? Our clients, Tiffany
included, got up, dusted themselves off, and
either pivoted their business model, changed it
all together, or simply started over. Exquisite
Catering grew by nearly 70% during the next 12
months. It’s stunning to watch.
As you glance, browse or carefully read your
way through the following pages don’t miss
sight of this inspiration: These stories are just
a few of now more than 1000 graduates of the
Community Business Academy who are starting
and growing their businesses and doing so in a
way that will add to the beauty, self-sustainability
and overall vitality of their families, communities.
. . and our city.
These are my heroes and sheroes. I hope they
become part of yours as well.
Regards,
Joel Hamernick, Executive Director
2020 ANNUAL REPORT
2

“
Your top dream-team business must-haves: your business
attorney, accountant, and banker... Remember the entrepreneur
journey is marathon, not a sprint—haste makes mistakes!
Garley ‘GiGi Tonye’ Briggs
CEO of GiGi Tonye’ Arts & Fitness
SUNSHINE ENTERPRISES
3

Contents
05 Who We Are
07 Programs
“
09 Timeline
11 Impact and ROI
15 Where/Who We Serve
17 Featured Client
19 Nestor Correa Feature
21 Innovation and Partnerships
23 Growth of Programs
25 Business Outcomes
27 Individual and Family Impact
28 Financials
29 Our Team and Partners
4
2020 ANNUAL REPORT

WHO
We Are
Mission
Sunshine Enterprises’ mission is to
empower high potential entrepreneurs
living in under- resourced neighborhoods
to grow their businesses and build their
communities.
Vision
Sunshine Enterprises’ vision is to create
neighborhood and sector-based business
hubs catalyzing free enterprise in
Chicago’s disinvested communities.
Currently, we serve hundreds of
unique entrepreneurs throughout
the Chicago area in three geographic
business hubs servicing neighborhoods
such as Woodlawn, South Shore, West
Evanston, Humboldt Park, and North
Lawndale. We also offer industry-specific
business training for Construction
Contractors, Artists & Makers, and
Property Management & Real Estate
entrepreneurs.
5

OUR
Approach
We foster economically viable
communities through training,
coaching and connecting high potential
entrepreneurs.
Training
We offer practical business management
training using a rigorous adultparticipatory
learning model.
Coaching
We provide expert coaching in operations,
marketing, access to capital, procurement
and more.
Connecting
We create and foster networks that
lead to social, intellectual and financial
capital such as creating a mentoring
network between industry experts and
entrepreneurs.
6

PROGRAMS
The Community
Business
Academy (CBA)
is a twelve-session (36-hour) course
in basic business planning and
management that includes training
on credit, marketing, negotiations,
cash-flow analysis and other topics
essential to managing a business.
We offer the CBA out of three
geographic hubs—North, South and
West side. We also offer customized
cohorts for: Construction
Contractors; Artists & Makers;
Property Managers & Real Estate;
and Spanish entrepreneurs. All of
our programs have shifted to be
entirely virtual in 2020. More on this
on page 22.
Business
Acceleration
Services (BAS)
provides one-on-one business
coaching and mentoring to develop
and implement the clients’ strategic
action plans.
Additional services include coworking
and rented office space,
industry-related mentoring,
marketplace readiness & access
support, credit counseling,
loan assistance through our
Neighborhood Business
Development Center and
entrepreneurial events featuring
workshops and a pitch competition.
SUNSHINE ENTERPRISES
7

Hands-on business
training and mentoring
8
2020 ANNUAL REPORT

2020 Timeline
• Gig economy is devastated—hundreds
JANUARY + FEBRUARY
• New roles created! Hired
Trenton Blythe into a newly
created role as our Director of
Major Gifts
• Hired Site Monitors to provide
administrative support to the
Community Business Academy
(CBA) classroom experience
MARCH
• COVID-19
spikes strongly in
Chicagoland [and
around the nation]
• Sunshine Enterprises
(SE) overhauls all
APRIL
of SE alumni business-owners lose
customers, experiencing significant
loss in revenue and even shut down
operations entirely
• SE facilitates focus groups to
understand the needs of the small
business community
• New role created! Hired Shawn
Mayberry as our Marketing
and Communications Project
Manager
• $125,000 dollars in emergency
COVID-19 funds raised
programs entirely
online during week
four [of twelve] of our
Spring CBA
MAY
• SE launches Round 1 of first ever Micro-grant
program, distributing grants of up to $1000 to
JUNE
• New roles created! Hired Natalie
Keeton as our Accountant and Lamari
dozens of businesses
Brayboy as our HR Coordinator
• SE increases 1-on-1 business coaching hours by
• NEW Benevolence fund begins-
35% (from 32 hrs/month to 57)
provides individual and family support
of $500 to fifty-seven CBA graduates’
families for costs such as utilities,
insurance, healthcare, and other bills
SUNSHINE ENTERPRISES
9

• Round 2 of Micro-grant applications and distribution
JULY
• New roles created! Hired Jose Torres as CBA Recruitment
Coordinator; Rocio “Chio” Cabrera as an Instructor, Coach
and BAS Project Manager; Claudia Sierra as Program
Evaluation Project Manager
• SE shifts leadership structure in order to facilitate
continued sustainability, diversity, relevance, and
innovation for Sunshine Enterprises moving forward
AUGUST + SEPTEMBER
• New role created!
Hired Wilane Boone
as a Financial Coach
• Launched 8 CBA
cohorts - the most
ever in a semester
• First ever Virtual Shark Tank
• New hire! Hired Michael
Pitch Competition (5 women
Wade as our new CBA
OCTOBER + NOVEMBER
of color win prizes totalling
over $10,000 in value)
• Round 3 of Micro-grant
applications and distribution.
In total, distributed over
$83,000 in grants of up
to $1,000 to seventy-two
entrepreneurs across seven
industries.
DECEMBER
Recruitment Manager
• Fall CBA Graduation — 195
Graduates total in 2020
2020 ANNUAL REPORT
10

IMPACT & ROI
Outcomes in 2020:
49
27.2
Businesses
Started
Jobs
Created (Net FTE)
132 141
Businesses
Expanded
Businesses
Strengthened
62% Increase
in Average Revenue
13% Increase
in Average Household Income
$70k
$70k
$57,363
$65,086
$48,608
$29,673
$0
Intake 2020
$0
Intake 2020
11

Sunshine generates
$5.17
in economic impact
for every
$1
invested in its programs.
12

21
total new staff and contractor
positions hired in 2020!
SUNSHINE ENTERPRISES
13

900+
total entrepreneurs served
by the end of 2020!
14
2021 ANNUAL REPORT

WHERE
We Serve
Our Community Business Academy is
offered out of six different hubs throughout
Chicagoland —three geographic and
three industry-specific. In the last year we
continued our existing geographic hubs
(South, West, North) and industry-specific
offerings and added a Spanish-language CBA.
We serve entrepreneurs in 138 different zip
codes. Though we overhauled our programs
entirely online, our CBA remains rooted in
neighborhoods such as: Woodlawn, South
Shore, North Lawndale, Humboldt Park, and
West Evanston.
15

1 12 23 35 46 57 68 80 91 102
Graduates
16

“
“Entrepreneurs often make mistakes reinventing the wheel.
I always say “ don’t reinvent the wheel. Put rims on it.”
Stephanie Blakley
Beauty Industry Innovator and Leader
SUNSHINE ENTERPRISES
17

WHO
We Serve
We serve talented, rising entrepreneurs
in disinvested communities. Our typical
entrepreneur is an African American
mother of one child with a 2-year college
degree, who is employed less than full
time, earning $32,000 annually.
An extra $15,000 per year can help a
Sunshine Entrepreneur:
94%
• Achieve self sufficiency
• Save for the future
• Educate a child
• Contribute to a healthy local economy
78%
72%
52%
43%
Black and/or
Latino
Low-
Moderate
Income
Women
Two-year
College
Degrees
or Less
Less than
full-time
employment
18

CLIENT STORY
NESTOR
Correa
Q: What is your business?
Nestor: My brother and I have been running an
Ecuadorian restaurant and bar called La Humita
for almost 20 years. Due to the pandemic we
had to temporarily shut down the restaurant
and started a food truck on March 13, 2020. We
re-opened the restaurant in April [2021]. We’re
open Tuesday-Wednesday 5-9 PM; and Thursday
- Sunday 4-9 PM, located at 3466 N Pulaski,
60641.
Q: What is a problem you were facing before you
discovered Sunshine Enterprises?
Nestor: In 2019 we started serving food in a typical
Ecuadorian way with a special volcanic stone
where the clients cook their own meat at the table.
In March of 2020, we had to close down because
we couldn’t serve raw food. Due to the economic
situation, we did not know what decision to make;
then we heard about Sunshine while watching
Telemundo. I started the classes in September the
same month we started the food truck.
Q: How did that problem feel as you were
attempting to resolve it?
Nestor: I felt powerless. After 20 years of creating
a new concept in Chicago and bridges toward
work for others, we were left with nothing. We
are two families, my brother and I employed
full time by our business. I felt the weight of
our two families. They gave us $20,000 PPP to
pay for electricity, gas, etc. so we continued to
pay utilities, but we couldn’t pay the mortgage
immediately after making the down payments. I
didn’t want to call because I didn’t know how to
resolve [our problem].
Q: What was unique about Sunshine?
Nestor: Every class I took [at SE] was something
I needed as I wondered “What can I do in the
restaurant with this problem.” In class I felt
like I was with a family so I was not shy about
asking anything. I have taken different classes
about restaurants for motivation; sadly in 35
years, I have never taken a class like Sunshine’s
19

Nestor Correa receives his CBA graduation certificate
at Mercado del Pueblo in Humboldt Park
Community Business Academy. With the help of
my coaches Debbie and Chio, we came up with
the idea of adding Mexican food to our menu at
La Humita. I also received a $1000 Micro-Grant
from Sunshine for help paying my taxes.
Q: Take us to the moment you realized that the
CBA was working to solve your problem.
Nestor: From the second class onward. I was
somewhat confused in the first class, I didn’t have
internet access anywhere, but Sunshine lent me
a computer and an internet device and then I
was able to tune in easily. We were in class and I
realized that from experience along my business
journey, I mostly knew these things in one way or
another, but I did not know how to apply them. I
never applied this knowledge because I did not
have a guide. Sunshine guided me in how to apply
it for both of my businesses—one just starting and
the other bankrupt.
Q: How do you feel that your problem is (being)
solved?
Nestor: For the moment I feel comfortable. I feel
like continuing to improve myself and creating
bridges to jobs for others. I am assured because
I have Sunshine. I am not alone anymore, I have
someone who can help me.
Q: Any advice you have for entrepreneurs?
Nestor: Never give up, but seek help. Nothing
comes to the door if you don’t knock. Help is
there but it must be sought; we fall hard, but we
get up. We have fallen, but we are getting up a
little easier, because there are many people who
are helping us get up.
2020 ANNUAL REPORT
20

INNOVATION & PARTNERSHIPS
Growth in the midst of
Economic Devastation
Despite the obvious difficulties facing
the communities we serve, team
Sunshine experienced tremendous
support from our institutional partners
leaning in to help us push the mission
forward.
We were able to hire twenty-one staff
and contractor positions in 2020. We
restructured our organizational chart,
including our leadership team and board
recruitment approaches to facilitate a
greater reflection of the community we
serve. In 2019 we promoted three African
American women to roles on our leadership
team as a reflection of this commitment.
(Since then, two have launched other
work and we are currently recruiting their
replacements).
one year.
Ahora en Español
We partnered with the Puerto Rican Cultural
Center to market and launch our first ever
entirely Spanish Community Business
Academy. We hired two instructor-coaches
—Chio Cabrera and Debbie Cortez to lead
these cohorts.
Chio Cabrera
Spanish Instructor
and Coach
We also contracted a woman of color
entrepreneur to lead our strategic planning
process with a DEI lens, set to begin in June
of this year. In the fall we launched eight
Community Business Academy cohorts—the
most in one semester to date—and Sunshine
served a record breaking 195 graduates in
Debbie Cortez
Spanish Instructor
and Coach
21

Pivot to Online
In January of 2020 many of us did not think that it would be realistic to
overhaul all of our programs—specifically designed to be in person—into
an online platform. Our programs team worked tirelessly to: create
online “classrooms”; add Zoom accounts; translate and transcribe
course materials to an online forum; distribute
copyrighted materials physically; identify needs
for wifi-hot spots and Chrome devices that would
support long Zoom calls; innovate the delivery of
our classes; and create new site monitor roles to
increase the quality of delivery and facilitate the best
experience for instructors and students.
Throughout this transition, Laura Lane Taylor,
Sunshine’s Managing Director of Programs
truly directed the whole show and was utterly
instrumental in touching each detail and making
sure there would be success in the pivot to bringing all of our programs
entirely online. She carried motivation through to entire team believing
that if we are serving entrepreneurs and teaching them, among
other things, to bootstrap forward despite limited resources that we
ought to be an example of doing just the same. “Our job is to help
[entrepreneurs] with business acumen to grow their business, and we
were in a crucial moment where we needed to make decisions so that
Sunshine could keep offering the best services possible to our people
who we knew needed us more than ever,” Lane remarked. She shared
the details about just how much work it took behind the scenes—
learning new platforms; integrating online resources; hiring new roles;
reaching out to partners for support in various capacities; and over
communicating at every step.
Laura Lane
Taylor
Managing Director
of Programs
The team observed too many entrepreneurs in a moment of
economic devastation, faced with a hard choice, to concede in a time
where all in-person operations were shut down and revenues were
depleted, or to find a way forward and insist on keeping everything alive
no matter what it takes. Laura knew this and knew that in many ways,
Sunshine had the same decision. She was the first to saddle up and lead
us toward the decision that we were not only going to survive during
the pandemic so that our entrepreneurs could as well, but that we
would keep shining as the sun when it breaks dawn—shining with hope
for everyone in our ecosystem.
22

GROWTH PROGRAMS
Since we started in 2013:
939 49% 265 $3M+
CBA
Graduates
Graduates
in Business
FTE
Jobs Created
Loans
Accessed
Unique Entrepreneurs Served by Year
447
276
278
285
337
177
13
49
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Community Business Academy Graduates
13
43
94
164 152
157
159
195
23

BUSINESS ACCELERATION SERVICES
Business Acceleration Service Clients Served by Year
251
84
182
139
122
177
0
1
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Unique Clients
37
Shark Tank Pitch
Competition
31
Next LEVEL
Exchange
183
Coaching
36
Coworking Space
Coaching (Number of Hours)
766
708
794
452
520
554
105
6
24

BUSINESS OUTCOMES
49 132 141
Businesses
Businesses
Businesses
Started
Expanded
Strengthened
185
11
21 23
44
68
49
23
55
92 90
124 132
33
101 113 141
141
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
49% 46%
In Business
In Planning Stages
Graduate
Business Status
5%
Different Path
Jobs Created (Net FTE)
Owner Net FTE: 27 Employee t FTE: .2
Footnotes:
*Data is based on 309 respondents to our 2020 Annual Survey
** Businesses Expanded - We count a business expansion as any business that increased sales or staff moved to a retail space.
***Businesses Strengthened - We count a business strengthened when it achieves one or more milestone in categories of marketing, initial setup, operations,
HR, professional services and access to capital. These activities include but are not limited to, incorporating, obtaining insurance obtaining financing, launching
a website and securing a contract.
****Net FTE Jobs Created - Net FTE stands for Full Time Equivalent jobs created minus Full Time Equivalent jobs lost.
25

FINANCING OBTAINED
80
clients accessed
$1,523,888
in financing, an average of
$19,049
per loan
41
clients doing business with larger
institutions (school, universities,
non-profit institutions, hospitals,
governments).
21
clients placed products
in retail.
62%
Increase in Average Revenue
$70k
$48,608
$29,673
$0
Intake 2020
Footnote: Based on survey respondents reporting in business at intake
26

INDIVIDUAL
& Family Impact
148
Improved their credit
39
Entered new or better jobs
12
Bought new homes
13%
Increase in Average Household Income
$70k
$65,086
$57,363
$0
Intake 2020
27

FINANCIALS
2020 Actual Income
2021 Budgeted Income
7%
Other Revenue
$97,000
5%
Government
$75,000
18%
5%
Government
Other Revenue
$80,000
17% $272,500
14%
Individuals
$250,000
Individuals
$200,000
47% 24% 31%
Foundations
$685,000
Corporations
$350,000
Foundations
$460,000
32%
Corporations
$464,500
2020 Actual Expenses
2021 Budgeted Expenses
10% 9%
Management
7% 6%
Fundraising
Fundraising
Management
83% 85%
Programs
Programs
28

LEADERSHIP & PARTNERS
Board of Directors
PRESIDENT
Adrian Talbott
University of Chicago, Assistant Dean for Civic Engagement
SECRETARY
Andrew Follett
Literacy Resources, CEO
TREASURER
Stan Barnett
Huntington National Bank, Senior Vice President
TRUSTEES
James Perry Madison
Dearborn Partners, Managing Director
Jonathan Webb
Grace Equity, Partner
Caprice Lindsay
Hyde Park Bank, Assistant VP Business Development Officer
Lamell McMorris
Greenlining Realty USA, Founder/Managing Principal
Robert Stein
Allstate, Communications Strategy
Render Dahiya
Vetnique Labs, President
Keyonn Pope
Reed Smith LLP, Hiring Partner
Team Members
Joel Hamernick, Executive Director
Laura Lane*, Managing Director of Programs
Ryan Pederson, Managing Director of Operations
Jair Pinedo, Managing Director of Development &
Communications
Trenton Blythe, Director of Major Gifts
Robin Simmons, Director of Innovation & Outreach
Quandra Speights*, BAS Director
Loren Williams*, Director of Regional Programs
Andy Combs, Facilities, Finance & HR
Debbie Ferrill, Operations and CBA Project Manager
Shawn Mayberry*, Marketing Project Manager
Claudia Sierra, Program Evaluation Project Manager
Michael Wade, CBA Recruitment Project Manager
Rocio “Chio” Cabrera*, BAS Program and Spanish
Coordinator
Ashley James, CBA and Digital Access Coordinator
Team Members
Jose Torres, CBA Operations and Recruitment Coordinator
Lamari Brayboy, HR Generalist
Natalie Keeton, Accountant
Pam Crenshaw*, IT
Josh McKie, Marketing Intern
Instructors, Coaches and
Site Monitors
Wilane Boone, Financial Coach
Rodney Brown, Access to Capital Coach, ED of NCCDC
Debbie Cortez*, CBA Instructor & Coach
Rocio “Chio” Cabrera*, CBA Instructor & Coach
Noelle Curtis*, CBA Instructor & Coach, NCCDC
Sanina Ellison*, CBA Instructor & Coach
Brandon Evans, CBA Instructor & Coach
Skye Frank, Coach
Carlas Gilbert*, CBA Instructor & Coach
Benjamin Gordon*, CBA Instructor & Coach
Gwen Hill*, CBA Instructor & Coach
Tiffini Holmes*, Instructor & Coach
Shawn Jones, Coach
Yohance Lacour*, Instructor & Coach
Anisha McFarland-Hill*, CBA Instructor & Coach
Walter Mendenhall*, CBA Instructor & Coach
Bruce Montgomery, Coach
Cyndi Stewart, Instructor & Coach, ED of S.O.U.L.
Tameka Jackson, Site Monitor
Cherenia Jones*, Site Monitor
Angela Phillips*, Site Monitor
Gabriela Torres, Site Monitor
Gwendolyn Williams*, Site Monitor
Eric Wright*, Site Monitor
* CBA alumni
** As of December 2020
29

Institutional Partners
Program Partners
30

503 E 61st St, Chicago, IL 60637
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Twitter.com/EnterprisesSun
Linkedin.com/Company/Sunshine-Enterprise-Chicago
Instagram.com/Sunshine_Enterprises
312-868-0040
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