The Grind

Sulma Arzu-Brown credits her parents for being a hard working and determine couple. She learned how to be about her business and on her grind! A full-time everything; her 9 to 5, the Director of Operations for the New York City Hispanic Chambers of Commerce where she is the connector and person you would correspond with for resources. An author of several books now both in Spanish and English where she goes on book tours and creates successful events around her book topics as well as is a sought out speaker. An investor of the first boutique coffee shop in the Hunts Point area of the Bronx, The Boogie Down Grind. The proud wife to Maurice Brown of nine years and mother to twelve-year-old Suleni and six-year-old Bella-Victoria. This proud thirty-eight-year-old, Garifuna (mixed-race descendants of West African, Central African, Island Carib, and Arawak people) Honduras Afro-Latina, spoke with me over a conference call line for an hour while packing for an event in Albany and prepping for her next meeting.

I started by asking Mrs. Arzu-Brown to tell me about her family and her background. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Arzu, were Honduras college graduates who worked in the banking industry. They migrated to the United States after Mrs. Arzu was passed over for a promotion as a bank manager. Mrs. Arzu is very intelligent, "a genius," says Sulma. Her mom saw these men who were not nearly as qualified as she was interviewing for the position and struck up the courage to speak with her boss about applying. She expressed to him her interest in the position and her background. Her qualification were better suited that most if not all the candidates. He agreed, but told her because she was a Garifuna black woman, he could not give her the job. He knew she had family in the States. He

suggested she go to the U.S. and don't turn back. Her knew she would be very successful once she left Honduras. Sulma's parents made the difficult decision of taking their family to her grandma's house where she and her brother stayed while her parents moved to the U.S. to make a better life for their family in 1985. They came to New York and worked from the bottom to the top. Mr. Arzu worked in a bodega sweeping floors while they had taken classes to speak English and became graduated from Laguardia Community College. Only four years after migrating from Honduras, they had moved their children to the States, her dad, worked for ConEdison and her mom in a Bank. Sulma learned very young about family stability, determination and being goal oriented from her parents. She shared with me that love is the endless blessing marriage can bring. She grew up with that being her example.

This being one of Sulma's core values, she shares that she has mimicked her parents time line. She became a college graduate who married one as well. She worked hard at many places to where she is now on her own career path about the same time her parents started theirs. Sulma and Maurice became homeowners the same age her parents did. They achieved what every parent wants for their child(ren) when they accelerated the timeline and Sulma and Maurice became investors. "The Boogie Down is a positive connotation that is affiliated with the Bronx as opposed to the Bronx Burning," Sulma explains the name for the shop. "Everyone's always happy when they say boogie down." She goes on to say, The Bronx is known as the borough people dump things into and on. "We were always trying to survive, hustle and grind our way to success and it was never easy. So the Grind made sense. All our partners are always on their grind for something better, something successful."

Sulma and Maurice didn't know what they were doing, "But it's all about the grind," she ended. They knew the wanted to contribute something positive to their community. She gave me a term I found very interesting, "brain drain." She describes it as very smart people who can't stay in our communities because the community doesn't offer a nice cafe or restaurants to go to or schools that are not failing for their children. So they leave the same community they grew up in. They have been blessed to find a charter school in their neighborhood for their girls and gave back to that same community the coffee shop. Sulma said she was not going to wait for the big Franchise coffee shop to come into her community and sing it's praise. She was going to make sure we had our own. "If we leave our community, we will leave it better than where we found it." They believe we all should be active contributors. The next thing Sulma said stirred my spirit and engaged my thought process. "We shouldn't be trying to keep up with the Jones. We should know we are the Jones. You got to get on your grind and do it right." The Boogie Down Grind is the only shop offering samples to all patrons. Stores that we grew up with that are still prominent in the community don't do anything as such. So they are offering alternatives to this and leading by example.

Mrs. Arzu-Brown expressed to me this was not the Sulma five years ago. "It took a lot of mind shifting and discipline. She became more health conscious, a healthier eater, and started listening to the right things in the morning, motivational speakers. She was introduced by her mentor to Emanuel James "Jim" Rohn and she learned about Earl Nightingale. Listening to speakers as such is part of her morning ritual. Sulma says she has to listen to something or do something empowering every morning. Two Years ago, Sulma went back to God and incorporating a better relationship with Him and quiet time. The new Sulma was made and developed by God and carefully orchestrated, is how she puts it. I asked her are there a lot of Sulma's out there? She says she hopes to make more of her just by her actions.

When I asked what do you do for a living, Sulma responded, "I'm living." After we laughed she delved into her successful and busy life. New York City Hispanic Chambers of Commerce (NYCHCC) provides resources for small business to become part of their chamber. They provide access to capital through the effect of communication in Business. They connect with the experts through membership to individuals, small businesses, to even the Madison Square Gardens of the world. Macy's, Unilever, and Madison Square Garden are just a few of their members. Sulma believes we all need mentors. You may ask how do you become or get to do business with a company like Unilever, Go to one of their events where you can start building relationships with the higher-ups of said companies. Sulma is responsible for creating seminars, and networking experiences which will connect and build long lasting partnerships.

She is a full-time author as well as an inspirational and motivational speaker. We laughed when Sulma shared the time she realized she was an author. She had written Pelo Malo No Existe! (Bad Hair Doesn't Exist) and was getting ready for her launch. She had hit up her friend at the Bronx Borough President's office and asked for a favor. She wanted her to e-blast her launch invite. She was then contacted by her friend from the Botanical Garden who said to Sulma, "I didn't know you were an author?" Sulma was puzzled and wanted to know what she meant, an author. Once the conversation had concluded she would have one of her first speaking engagements about her book. She never thought it would take off they way it has. Sulma had been featured in NYTime Magazine, Univision’s Despierta America, NBCblk, Huff Post (Black Voices, Latino, Parents, Lifestyle) Telemundo 47 – Primera Edición, Essence.com, Nueva York Noticias 1, ABC’s Here and Now, ABC’s Tiempo, Voices of New York, La Voz Hispana Newspaper, Janel Martinez’ “Ain’t I Latina” blog, La Prensa Honduras, About.com en Español, Black Enterprise Magazine and Latin Trend Magazine. On February 1st, she was the keynote speaker at Stoneybrooke College for their black history program. Sulma was planning book events and speaking engagements more often than she could imagine. "What did JayZ say? I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man!" She needed to incorporate, so she started Sulma LLC.

She is an investor! the Boogie Down Grind is located at 866B Hunts Point Avenue, Bronx, NY 10474. She is also a mom, wife, role model, activist, and friend. She is still learning how to manage it all. Sulma shared an intensely personal moment from a year ago that made her realize that she could do it all and be successful at everything. But needed to make sure she made the shift to making more time for family. "My weekends are for my family." So even if she has a book engagement on the weekend the girls are including in the program. "They love it and they are learning while having fun." She wrote Bad Hair Does Not Exist to empower her girls. Bella was two when one of her caregivers flat ironed her hair. In doing so, she burned a little piece of her ear. Needless to say, they found another caregiver. The next caregiver as Sulma describe was heaven sent. Bella was very happy and content with her. This caregiver would also take the time to comb her daughter's hair. One day, when Sulma went to pick up Bella from the caregiver, Sulma notice it had to be a long day because Bella had pulled her hair apart s that it was toggled. The caregiver told Sulma in spanish that she need to chemically straighten Bella's hair because she has bad hair. Sulma saw Bella's face and the face of the children. It took Sulma back to when she would hear the bad hair and she couldn't stand it. It is She knew this woman cared very deeply for her child and respected Sulma and her family. Sulma then went on to tell me she recalled a word she learned in church, indignant which means a righteous love.

Sulma would answer her from a place of love and not a place of anger. Sulma made sure that what she was about to say to this woman that she had grown to love and respected was respectful, the children around would learn, and Bella would learn from Sulma's example on how to handle a situation like this when she got older. "With all due respect, there is long hair, short hair, curly hair... I just kept feeding hair terminology. Let's work together as equal partners, I and my husband have worked really hard to instill these values in our daughters to make sure they are positive and they feel good about themselves." Sulma offered to bring in a book and she would read it to the kids. Sulma learned that the reason the caregiver used the term bad hair was because that is what she was taught by her father who relates his own hair as such.

Sulma couldn't find a book that expressed exactly what she wanted it to say. She wanted to make sure both her girls understood how to address the situation with anyone else while protecting themselves, friends and each other. God spoke to her and she started writing the response to the caregiver. The book was written in five minutes. After speaking with her friend Isidra Sabio, Sabio wanted the project of illustration for the book. Five minutes and three months later, Sulma and illustrator Isidra Sabio had Pelo Malo No Existe!

"This book should be the first read for any child that is afro-descent, Latin, black, multiculutral. It should be I baby shower gift, a first birthday present, second and third, the first book to learn to read from because self-esteem you will never be able to take away if you start with self-esteem and self-love." It was the first book Sulma's daughter learn to read from this book. She will that the message is being spread when the book sales go up. When the movements in Africa and Brazil use her books as a tool needed for their cause. She knows her girls are empowered because the books are on the coffee table. Sulma teaches that her book is a tool of empowerment to go in line with your message. "This is not a movement it is a way of life." It's a way of defining who you are and being proud of that as well as where you come from. I don't want natural to be associated with a movement. I want natural to be associated with your essence, with loving yourself and how you were born and appreciating it." Her books touch on things girls need be confident, successful, and a love for themselves. "It's everything she needs to have a good head on her shoulders."

My Best Friend Likes Boys More Than Me was written after Sulma watched the fifth-grade girls at her daughter stepping up ceremony. She looked out at their little faces and thought about the different direction these young ladies are about to embark on when it comes to relationships. some will be boy crazy and some will not. "How am I going to talk to my own daughter about boys? I'm going to write a book. Sulma wrote the book in eight minutes. Buy the book and then have a conversation. It will help even fathers who want to help them have the same conversation. France illustrator, Bunch Ketty facebook Sulma. It's Bunch's first U.S. project. The book is a tribute to the memory of Aisha Harris and Helen Cook who have gone home - 9/11/01. Their legacy will go one and educate other girls.

You can order her books from the website - order www.nopelomalo.com.

Books to come:

Ladies & Gentlemen, This Is A Subjective Guide To Dating

My Hair Comes With Me: Shifting The Paradigm Of What Success Looks Like

I Didn't Mean To Be Jealous Of My BFF