Calette is a 23 year-old Jamaican immigrant living in Flatbush who had the dream of opening her own daycare center. While she had some work experience, she did not have the customer service background she would need to operate her own business.
When she came to CAMBA, Calette was unemployed and her immediate goal was to find a job and get a stable income. Our Job Developer interviewed Calette and found that she was not only bright and communicative but also helpful and outgoing. Based on this assessment, although Calette had no customer service background, the Job Developer concluded that she would do well as a 311 call center operator. 311 jobs are high stress with high turnover, but they offer higher wages and would help Calette to develop needed skills. Calette successfully landed a 311 job and has received consistently good feedback from her supervisor.
She has worked for 6 months, has had ample opportunity to put in overtime and has even received a raise. In the course of her work, she has received numerous phone inquiries from parents who were looking for child care, so Calette redoubled her resolve to set up her family daycare center. To pursue this goal, she turned to CAMBA’s Business Services team. We have been working with her around how to access capital and how to put together a sound business plan. With a stable job and the right support, Calette is well on her way to realizing her dream.