April Is Special Because...

Happy MWBE Thursday to our Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc. Family, Friends, Clients and Community!

April showers brings May flowers! Spring is in the air!

Kecia Palmer-Cousins, CEO/Co-owner and Kevin Cousins, COO/Co-owner of Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc. hope that everyone is well,

ready to continue blossoming and growing personally, professionally and spiritually in 2025!

We wish good health, wealth and happiness for everyone today and every day!

Today we give special shout outs and congratulations to our youngest son, Kyle Isaiah Cousins. Kyle completed his pledging process and probate this month at Winston-Salem State University and is now a proud member of the Beta Iota Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He was #1 on his line with his 13 line brothers. We are sooooo proud of Kyle and his line brothers

on their achievement! He is now a part of the “Divine Nine”!

Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African-Americans, was founded at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York by seven college men who recognized the need for a strong bond of Brotherhood

among African descendants in this country. Alpha Phi Alpha has long stood at the forefront of the African-American community's fight for civil rights through leaders such as: W.E.B. DuBois, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Edward Brooke, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall. By the way, Kyle dressed up as Thurgood Marshall for Halloween when he was in kindergarten.

April is special for our family for another reason. Many of Kecia’s relatives were born in April including herself (April 30^th), her brother Vaughn (April 27^th)and her “Irish twin” brother Leroy, Jr. (April 17^th). Our brother-in-law Christopher’s birthday is also on April 27^th. We wish all of our family members and friends with birthdays in April, a very, happy birthday!

KECIA thanks everyone for their calls, texts, gifts, cards, gifts that she has received this week for her birthday! She truly appreciates it!

KECIA sends a special, special shoutout and love to her parents, Obie Mae (Bryant) Palmer and Leroy Palmer for giving her the greatest gift of all….life and love!

Even though her mother transitioned in 2021, she lives forever in our hearts!

She speaks with her dad daily which is truly a blessing!

Shout out to our son Kendall and the Howard University Rugby team. Even though they lost in the championship game, they are true champions! We are sooo proud of Kendall and his teammates! We are happy that he had the opportunity to be on the HU football team and the HU Rugby team!

Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc. is proud and honored to provide technical assistance and workforce development training to our MWBE clients, We proudly serve and do all that we can to bring out the excellence and greatness of all of our clients. Our services include helping them prepare and submit their Minority and Women Owned Business Certifications and identify contract opportunities with government agencies and corporations.

Let’s move mountains together! The Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc. team’s got your back! We are your go-to team of experts for Business Coaching, MWBE Consulting, Technical Assistance and Career/Workforce Development Training!

VISUALIZE WHAT YOU WANT! YOU HAVE A GREAT CHANCE OF RECEIVING WHAT YOU WANT AND NEED! BELIEVE WHAT YOU CAN ACHIEVE!

COLLABORATE COMMUNICATE CONNECT

We love helping Minority and Women-owned Businesses navigate corporate and government procurement. We also love helping non-profits and educational institutions provide professional and personal development to their clients and students. www.aerobasoul.com

MWBE THURSDAY – BUILDING WEALTH AND CAPACITY THROUGH MWBE CERTIFICATION and CONTRACTS!

Many minority and women business enterprise entrepreneurs use their local, County and State Agencies to stay current and tap into potential resources and procurement opportunities for their businesses and their communities. Getting MWBE Certified and procuring government contracts can help MWBEs build their businesses!

Grants, loans, networking, attending training classes, workshops and joining chambers of commerce and professional organizations are also parts of MWBEs portfolios to grow their businesses. We encourage MWBEs to become civically and politically engaged in their communities and the communities that they serve!

AERO-BA-SOUL, INC. & THE WESTCHESTER CATALYST (MWBE PROGRAM) - MAY 2025 FREE NYS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WORKSHOPS FOR WESTCHESTER BASED BUSINESSES

2025 SUPPLIER DIVERSITY EXPO – MAY 8, 2025

Join us at the New York Power Authority’s 2025 NYPA’s 2025 Supplier Diversity Expo! It will be held on Thursday May 8, 2025, starting at 8AM at Sleepy Hollow Hotel, 455 South Broadway, Tarrytown, NY 10591.

The theme for this Expo is “Empowering Opportunities for New York Businesses”. This annual event helps MWBEs, SDVOBs, and small businesses realize the power of their potential through their connections and finding opportunities. At this event, you will:

Meet key New York Power Authority and Canals suppliers offering contract opportunities
Pitch your products and services to NYPA and Canals procurement decisionmakers
Attend workshops to enhance your understanding of our processes and key projects

NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK VIRTUAL SUMMIT

Less than two weeks away! Register for the National Small Business Week Virtual Summit

The countdown is on! National Small Business Week kicks off on May 4 with the awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., where the National Small Business Person of the Year will be crowned.

On Tuesday, May 6, and Wednesday, May 7, SBA will also host the free Virtual Summit for aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners. This year’s summit will feature access to critical federal resources, educational workshops, and networking opportunities to help our nation’s entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. Register now!

Made in America Manufacturing Initiative Roadshow rolls on

SBA's Made in America Manufacturing Initiative Roadshow continued this week with Administrator Kelly Loeffler making stops at businesses in Long Island and other locations. The new effort aims to restore manufacturing in America by:

Cutting $100 billion in red tape
Promoting a skilled workforce
Increasing capital access
Supporting fair trade and tax cuts.

Follow Administrator Loeffler on X, Instagram, and Facebook.

Happy National Volunteer Month!

April is National Volunteer Month and we're celebrating by highlighting SBA resource partner SCORE, America's largest network of volunteer business mentors. Mentors can help entrepreneurs avoid common mistakes. Small business owners who receive three or more hours of mentoring report higher revenues and growth.

Find a mentor near you or volunteer to become a business mentor.

Have a great and productive week!

Love,

Kecia and Kevin

Contact Kecia with questions about

starting or growing your business!

At Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc. we build dreams to life with heart and a soul! Like a trusted friend and confidante, our personal project managers tap into their vivid imaginations, hearts and souls to analyze clients projects and engineer solutions through project completion. We are “imagineers”, igniting M/WBEs to refocus on themselves, their businesses and giving back to their communities. Our one-on-one technical assistance sessions and training programs are designed to help entrepreneurs and MWBE’s project manage their lives and get to the heart and soul of their personal and professional development.

We motivate and collaborate with our clients through project completion!

Our services include: