- 2 days ago
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CreativityTranscript
00:00Charity Dean has joined us.
00:03Good morning.
00:04Good morning, good morning, good morning.
00:05What up, though?
00:06What up, though?
00:07So here's what we want to do.
00:09Reintroduce yourself again.
00:11Tell them your official position.
00:12And then introduce your guests.
00:14Yes, okay.
00:15So I am Charity Dean,
00:17President and CEO of the Michigan Black Business Alliance.
00:21And I am here with special guests,
00:23one of our MBBA members, Ms. Tamela Todd.
00:27Ms. Todd, welcome.
00:28Good morning.
00:28Good morning.
00:29Thank you for having me.
00:30Good morning.
00:31You're welcome.
00:31You're welcome to our little crazy little...
00:34What do you do?
00:36I am the owner of Sippery.
00:38Sippery is a book bar in Detroit.
00:41Get it, girl.
00:41Get it, girl.
00:42Get it, girl.
00:42Slow down.
00:43Michigan in trouble.
00:44Slow down.
00:46Slow down.
00:47Hey.
00:47Hey.
00:49You want to slow down?
00:51You come to me too fast.
00:53That's so funny.
00:54So you have a place where people can come
00:57and read books and...
00:59Sip, read, relax, and connect.
01:02Wow.
01:03What do you serve?
01:03Coffees and teas?
01:05No, I sell wine and...
01:07Wow.
01:07We serve wine, mocktails, and cocktails.
01:10Beautiful.
01:11Yes.
01:12I love it.
01:12That's different.
01:13Yes.
01:15Wow.
01:15That is different.
01:16How long have you been in business?
01:18Well, we've been open since August 2025.
01:21Yeah.
01:21And how does it go?
01:23So you just come in with a book.
01:26If you have, you know, in the middle of a book,
01:27you can stop in.
01:28And then we'll serve you.
01:30That's me.
01:31Because you know what people do.
01:34What happens is they like to do that
01:37when they go to a restaurant,
01:39and then the guilt kicks in.
01:41They don't want to hold up the table.
01:43Right, like you're taking them space.
01:43Right.
01:44And if not, then the people who own it
01:47will tell you,
01:48hey, listen, I know you're relaxing here,
01:50but we got to, you know.
01:52And you go, oh, okay.
01:53And then you say, damn,
01:54I wish there was a place I could just go,
01:56just chill out, get a drink,
01:58read my book while I'm not bothering nobody.
02:00And then you don't want to...
02:01So this is me.
02:02I don't want to do the book.
02:04There's a bar I could go to.
02:06But when I want to do the book,
02:09the bar people are coming in.
02:11They're going to talk to you.
02:11Like saying Detroit Bass was on to you.
02:14And you don't want to bring that relaxed atmosphere
02:19to the bar.
02:20Yes.
02:20Right?
02:21Because the bar people come in.
02:22They go like, look at him over there.
02:24Yeah.
02:25That is perfect.
02:26Yes.
02:26Yes.
02:27How did you come up with the idea?
02:29That was my question.
02:30Yes.
02:30Okay, I'm sorry.
02:32You know why?
02:33Because you never got to say, damn it.
02:36Well, I'm an author myself.
02:38I'm a publish author myself.
02:39So I am an avid reader.
02:41I love reading.
02:42And like I said, I am an author.
02:44But I also love wine.
02:46So since wine is one of my favorite drinks,
02:49I might as well put my two favorites together
02:51and create a business.
02:52Excellent.
02:53It is.
02:53Listen.
02:55Most successful businesses are not created in fads.
03:00They're created out of need.
03:03And the person who has the need creates the business.
03:08Such as the guy who, he was on vacation with his wife.
03:12They were on the beach.
03:13She sat on her glasses.
03:16He owned optical companies.
03:18He called the companies.
03:19They said, oh, no, this is going to be like,
03:20this is going to take us a week.
03:22He said, no, I need them tomorrow.
03:23Right.
03:23Yeah.
03:24So thus, we came up with the overnight,
03:27that whole thing about having your glasses back in two days or whatever.
03:30So this is wonderful.
03:34Where are you located again?
03:36You were going to tell me.
03:37Yes.
03:37We're in Corktown on Michigan Avenue in Trumbull.
03:40Okay.
03:40Yes.
03:41And again, it is called?
03:43Sip and Read Book Bar.
03:45How did you connect with Charity Dean?
03:49Yeah.
03:50Look, Michigan Black Business Alliance helped me in a lot of ways.
03:53Well, they have a technical assistance program.
03:58Really?
03:59Yes.
03:59What does that encompass?
04:00So TA is where they help you with, well, for me, I needed an attorney.
04:06So they help you with accounting.
04:08Yeah.
04:09They have attorney services at the time when I was looking,
04:12it was attorney accounting, and I can't think of what else other,
04:15but I knew I needed an attorney.
04:16So I went through the Michigan Black Business Alliance.
04:19First, I became a member.
04:20And then they helped me find an attorney,
04:24which is now my attorney that I have had for the last few years.
04:28Hold on.
04:29Let me write them down.
04:30But I found her through the Michigan Black Business Alliance.
04:34Wow.
04:35I think you came to one of our events.
04:38We met.
04:39So we do events all the time, and we had an event, I think, at Brick's.
04:42Was that the one?
04:43I was a member before, but that event was a members-only event.
04:48So it was like a meet and greet for the members.
04:50Got it.
04:50Yes.
04:51Yes.
04:51Wow.
04:52Yes.
04:53I got another question.
04:56You said you're an author.
04:57Talk about some of the projects you've worked on.
04:59One of your books.
05:00Well, my first book is called Emotions of the Mind.
05:03I write nonfiction.
05:04So I like writing things that's based off of what I've experienced.
05:07Okay.
05:08My second book is Self-Care for Entrepreneurs, because I wrote that one in 2020,
05:13where a lot of entrepreneurs didn't know which way they were pivoting because of the fact of the COVID.
05:19Right.
05:20So I was writing down the different experiences that I was experiencing, and that's where that book originated from.
05:27So, yes, I write nonfiction.
05:31You, as a writer, what were you doing as you were writing or before then?
05:36I worked in health care for 25 years.
05:39Wow.
05:40Yeah.
05:41What did you do?
05:42I'm sorry.
05:42I'm very nervous.
05:43All over.
05:44Everything that needed to be done in the hospital.
05:46Yeah.
05:48From housekeeping on up, but, yeah.
05:50Really?
05:51Mm-hmm.
05:51Wow.
05:51That's amazing.
05:53Okay.
05:53If you're an entrepreneur, you need to get this book.
05:55I'm going to read the dedication.
05:57I dedicated this book to all entrepreneurs as a reminder that your mental and physical health are non-negotiable.
06:05Take care of yourself first.
06:08And this is out of the Self-Care for Entrepreneurs.
06:11How can people get and find this book?
06:14Yeah.
06:14Well, we do carry it in the book bar, the store, and then you also can get it on Amazon.
06:19And the title again?
06:20Self-Care for Entrepreneurs.
06:22Self-Care for Entrepreneurs.
06:24This is awesome.
06:25Yes.
06:25Yes.
06:26Charity, how many people are part of?
06:30The Black Business Alliance?
06:32Yes.
06:32So we've got about 2,000 members across the state of Michigan.
06:35Yeah.
06:36We started right after COVID and really as a response to being able to connect black entrepreneurs to resources.
06:47So the program that Tamla's talking about is BizWiz.
06:52Are you talking about BizWiz?
06:53So our BizWiz program is where we can give you one-on-one assistance.
06:57You say, I need fill in the blank.
06:58I need a lawyer.
06:59I need marketing help.
07:00I need this.
07:01And in some instances, we'll cover the cost of that or at least a portion of the cost of that
07:06for our members.
07:06But you can go get them for you.
07:08Yeah.
07:08We connect them to them.
07:09And guess what?
07:10They're black attorneys.
07:11Yeah.
07:11And they're black accountants.
07:12And they're black folks in marketing.
07:14So we're building an ecosystem of connecting black businesses to black businesses.
07:19That is beautiful.
07:20I love it.
07:20That is beautiful.
07:21You grew this.
07:23It took you how long?
07:24You said since COVID?
07:25We are five years old.
07:26We launched in March of 2021.
07:28Across the country.
07:29Do you have counterparts?
07:32So, yes.
07:33I mean, in some ways, right?
07:35I think we are unique, though, because in other cities or states, you might have chambers of commerce,
07:41and then you might have nonprofit organizations that serve businesses.
07:45We are like both of those combined.
07:48What was happening in Detroit that you saw that wasn't happening?
07:53They had nothing for black businesses to take it, connect to?
07:57They're going to get me in trouble.
07:59So, look, I mean, you know, I used to work in the mayor's office.
08:05Which mayor?
08:06We've had a bunch of them.
08:08Which mayor?
08:09Mayor Duggan.
08:10I worked at his office.
08:11He's so funny.
08:15And the last job I had was the director of civil rights.
08:19But COVID hit, and I became responsible for the city's small business response to the pandemic.
08:24They assigned you that?
08:25That was my job.
08:27Make sure we got placards on the street.
08:29Make sure when the governor issues a new executive order, we put it in plain language so businesses can understand
08:34all of that.
08:36Assigned to Charity Day.
08:38Yeah.
08:39Yeah.
08:40So, again, out of need.
08:44Yes.
08:44Period.
08:45Say it.
08:46And out of need specifically and unapologetically for black entrepreneurs in this beautiful black city.
08:51Yes.
08:52Right?
08:52A need for a voice to not only connect our members to resources, but to advocate with elected officials and
08:59leaders to say, hey, are you thinking about black business when you're passing that law?
09:03Are you thinking about black business when you're, you know, rolling out this thing?
09:06So, you're an advocate as well.
09:08All day.
09:09I'm a fighter first.
09:10I think we know this.
09:11It's the same thing.
09:13I know, right?
09:14I think we know this.
09:15Miss Todd, did you create this wine?
09:18Yes.
09:19I created it.
09:19Get in that microphone.
09:20There you go.
09:21Liberia Rose.
09:22Yes.
09:23Liberia Rose.
09:24It is a Rose blend.
09:26It's fruit for it.
09:27Okay.
09:28Well, you can really pair it with any fruits.
09:31So, it's springtime.
09:33That's the time, really, Rose.
09:34Most people are asking for Rose.
09:37And it's Michigan-made.
09:38Liberia of Rose.
09:40Yes.
09:40And it's Michigan-made.
09:41Yes.
09:44How long have you had this product?
09:46Since we opened.
09:48Really?
09:49Launched when we opened.
09:50You had your own product, huh?
09:51She was ready to go.
09:52She's a boss.
09:53She is.
09:53She's a boss.
09:54You had the two books, too, ready?
09:56Were you open?
09:57Yes.
09:57Damn!
10:00Yeah.
10:02I see an event with you coming up.
10:04Oh, yes.
10:04I see an event.
10:05You know what?
10:06She has an event space.
10:07Why don't you talk about that?
10:08You have an event space.
10:10Talk about what the space looks like.
10:11We've done events there.
10:12Yeah.
10:12Really?
10:13So, I call it the living room from home.
10:15Say that.
10:16Because we have the comfy chairs.
10:18We have the big chair.
10:19You're able to relax.
10:21And it's a meeting space.
10:22It's a gathering space.
10:23We have a lot of book clubs that come in and book the space.
10:26We have community events that come in and book the space.
10:31So, and then we have a lot of curated events that we host every month.
10:34All right.
10:35All right.
10:35Let me stop you right there and ask you to do this for me slowly.
10:39Okay.
10:39Twice.
10:42Give the phone number twice so that people can pop it in their phone.
10:48So, I'm telling you guys now, get your phone ready.
10:51Go to however you want to put it in.
10:52And then also the social media platform that they need to use to also get to you to book
10:58the space.
10:59So, we don't have a phone number.
11:00We have the website that you go to.
11:02You have the social media platform.
11:03Okay.
11:03Yes.
11:04And then I can give you the Instagram page.
11:07Yeah.
11:07Okay.
11:07So, our Instagram page is sip, S-I-P, the letter N, read, book, bar.
11:16So, again, that's sip, the letter N, read, book, bar.
11:20That's our Instagram.
11:21Beautiful.
11:22And then our website is www.sipsipandread.net.
11:30No brothers or sisters for you, huh?
11:32No.
11:32I didn't think so.
11:33You're the only child?
11:34Yes.
11:35Yes.
11:35She's the only child.
11:36You picked that up?
11:36How do you know that?
11:37Yeah.
11:37How did you know that?
11:38Yeah.
11:39I need to know.
11:40That was so crazy.
11:43The energy of doing all of this is much like Angie.
11:48The energy of doing 50 things at one time.
11:52She opened.
11:53She had her own drink.
11:55Her own thing.
11:56The space, the books.
11:58And she thought it all the way through through her imagination.
12:01Because we had to play with her.
12:02We do play, yeah, our imagination.
12:04We have to execute everything that's in our head.
12:06You do, because you've got a lot stored.
12:07We are a lot stored.
12:09So, sip and read, or say, where you can drink and read a book.
12:12Yeah.
12:13Yeah.
12:15And the event space, too.
12:17Yeah.
12:17Listen, Ms. Todd, thank you for coming in today.
12:20Thank you for being creative and thinking out of the box.
12:24Period.
12:24I love it.
12:25We'll see you at 9.30 on Tuesday.
12:28Yes.
12:28Okay.
12:28Tuesday, y'all.
12:30And my mistake.
12:31That's attorney, Charity.
12:33Say that.
12:34Yes.
12:35Attorney.
12:37Yes.
12:37Thank you all for coming in.
12:39Everybody enjoy your day.
12:41That was fascinating.
12:42And so, next Tuesday, too.
12:44Make that, put that in your phone and let your alarm.
12:46They're going to talk business Tuesday at 9.30.
12:48Sip and read.
12:49Sip and read.
12:50Stop.
12:50Sip and read.
12:51Sip and read.
12:52Michigan Avenue in Corktown.
12:54Sip and read.
12:55Sip and read.
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