She Means Business: A New AFJ Workshop

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At Avenues for Justice (AFJ), we believe in empowering our Court-Involved and At-Risk Participants by providing court advocacy services, HIRE Up job readiness workshops and wrap-around programming. As the needs of our young people evolve, AFJ prioritizes new gender-specific programming to support them as they navigate adolescence. Twelve percent of our Court-Involved population identify as female, so we have partnered with diverse facilitators to address the unique challenges they face with education, employment and overall mental health wellness. AFJ launched a new workshop series this month which is already making waves: She Means Business!

In 2024, AFJ’s Program & Activities Coordinator, Jessica Bachman, brainstormed with our young women who expressed an interest in learning more about entrepreneurial endeavors. Jessica was so inspired by the conversations that she tapped into her network of facilitators and reached out to Sade Malcolm. She Means Business is an 8-week workshop led by AFJ facilitator, Sade, founder and owner of Simplicity Events. The workshop series introduces our female Participants to the fundamentals of starting a small business, including idea development, design and branding, and business planning. At the end of the series, AFJ Participants will present their final business project to their peers. In addition to teaching the hard skills required of entrepreneurship, Sade focuses on what she believes are the secrets to owning a small business: confidence, authenticity, and valuing your self-worth.  

Sade brings a dynamic combination of lived experience and entrepreneurial success to She Means Business. After studying Criminal Justice and Forensics, she started her career as a Probation Officer (PO) for juveniles. After witnessing the majority of her clients cycle in and out of incarceration, she found it increasingly difficult to be part of a system which she felt was not empowering youth to successfully turn their lives around. In 2019, Sade decided that it was time to pursue her passion as an event planner and Simplicity Events was incorporated a year later. Her journey from criminal justice to entrepreneurship makes her the ideal mentor for AFJ’s young women.

“She Means Business isn’t just learning about business, it’s about learning to ‘stand on business’ and believe in who you are and what you want to become. I want to inspire the Participants at AFJ to follow and pursue their passions.” ~Sade Malcolm  

Participants were surprised to learn that you do not need to have a background in graphic design or an expensive computer program to create branding for a business. During the first session, Sade handed out pens and instructed them to draw a blueprint of what they envisioned for their business.

In the year ahead, we hope to expand She Means Business to include visiting various women-owned small businesses in NYC and pairing our young women with entrepreneurial mentors. If you are a small business owner or are a professional interested in mentoring or providing our young entrepreneurs with internship placements and work experience, please contact Jessica Bachman at jbachman@avenuesforjustice.org!