Coco’s Chalky Powders

by Kaylen H.

Who is Coco? What is chalky paint? What is Coco’s Chalky Paint? Coco is the name of the founder/owner of Coco’s Chalky Paints, along with many other things. She was the first black woman in the chalk paint industry and the first woman ever in the powder industry. Chalky paint is a type of paint that eliminates steps from repainting or painting furniture. Coco created this product line not only as a way to do what she loves, painting furniture, but also to help her community.

Before she started this business venture, she first started out working as an influencer for another chalk paint company, where she would donate the furniture she painted to single mothers. When the company decided to terminate the program she worked with, she could no longer afford the chalk paint. So she decided to try to make her own. This process was a lot of trial and error, and at times, she felt like giving up but kept going. Until a German guest that was renting out a room in her house, who was in America to teach people how to work with chalk, offered to help her for nothing in return. After that, for 3 months he helped her create the formula that she uses to create her powder. This was the start of what would become Coco’s Chalky Powder, which is the name of the product. She started Coco’s Chalky Paints with only $500 and her powder, and since then she has grown into 4 different countries and over 1000 stores worldwide. Coco, for the most part, built her brand and business by herself, but she still had some help along the way.

Organizations she heavily credits for helping her begin are Youth Opportunities Unlimited, Y.O.U for short, and MAGNET. Y.O.U helped her with resources on how to start and grow her business. MAGNET is a manufacturing company that Coco, just recently in this past year started to work with, that has greatly improved the production of her powder. Both of these organizations' work is focused primarily on the communities in Northeast Ohio. Youth Opportunities Unlimited's primary focus is on career and workforce preparation for teens and young adults, while MAGNET primarily focuses on manufacturing and helping its clients create their products. Though they strive to help people in different ways, both strive to help and uplift those who live and work in Northeast Ohio.

Youth Opportunities Unlimited's overall goal is to put teens and young adults alike “on the path to economic self-sufficiency”, as it says on the home page of their website. This non-profit organization has been on this mission since 1982. They partner with other Ohio and Cleveland-based organizations and entities, for example, Ohio Means Jobs, The Cleveland Foundation, and the County of Cuyahoga. On their website, you will find a variety of different opportunities and programs that were designed to help teens and young adults figure out what they want to do, and once they know what they want to do, they also have advice on how to get started. This organization partners with different companies and businesses to help teens and young adults gain experience in their chosen fields. They offer a summer jobs program (SYEP), an internship program (PEEKE) for teens, Jobs for Ohio Graduates (JOG), and more. All of these programs offer teens experiences and prepares them for life after high school. For young adults, Y.O.U offers a variety of things, from credentials training to job search support. If you look at their website, you can see some of their success stories, and how they have changed the lives of the teens and adults they have worked with.

MAGNET is a manufacturing company that focuses on helping small businesses in Northeast Ohio grow and produce high-quality products. This organization has been around for more than 30 years, and in that time has helped more than 2000 manufacturers grow. They've worked with companies ranging from Vitamix to Coastal Pet Products Inc. MAGNET helps these companies in many ways, from the marketing aspect to the actual operations piece of your business to the design of your product. They are partnered with a variety of different local organizations and colleges to help prepare the next generation for working in manufacturing. They partner with Lakeland Community College, Lorain County Community College, and many other colleges to allow manufacturing students to get hands-on experience and opportunities for work after they graduate. They also offer a variety of different programs that include training and internships, some of which are targeted toward teens.

Youth Opportunities Unlimited and MAGNET are both non-profit organizations that focus on helping young adults and teens prepare to join the workforce, and start their businesses in the Northeast Ohio area. They both partner with Cleveland and Ohio agencies to help the younger generation thrive. Though they do this in different ways, they both have the same goal to improve Northeast Ohio. Youth Opportunities Unlimited focuses a little bit more on helping underserved and underrepresented communities and youth through their work. Y.O.U also has a wider view of opportunities because of all the different connections and partnerships they have. While MAGNET focuses more on helping small and mid-sized businesses grow and improve in the many different aspects of their businesses. MAGNET has a narrower occupation field because it only focuses on one main occupation.

Coco’s Chalky Paints along with its product Coco’s Chalky Powder are examples of small business successes. It's a success not only because of the hard work that Coco put into it but also because of the organizations that were there to support and help Coco as she got started. Youth Opportunities Unlimited and MAGNET are two of the organizations that Coco says helped her company grow into what it is today. For Coco, MAGNET has drastically helped her with the production of her powder, while Y.O.U has provided advice and resources for how to grow her business. Besides these resources, both nonprofit organizations offer a multitude of other programs that if used correctly will help improve and grow your small business.