Lashaun Drew was training her 21-year-old son on how to run and manage the family’s first franchise business during a time when most restaurateurs were closing their doors as the pandemic numbers rose. Drew pinched herself in disbelief when she finally opened her very own HDF Voorhees, dba as The Original Hot Dog Factory in southern New Jersey. As she worked to get established and open for business she reminisced on her young adult years when she had to trade in her college books for diapers and formula.
Forfeiting a full scholarship she made the decision to work full time and raise her child. Refusing to lose two decades later, she decided to turn the obstacles into reasons to not only succeed, but to become an inspiration to others.
Why is the opportunity to create generational wealth important to you?
Creating generational wealth teaches our families that life and [its] possibilities are limitless. It teaches our children that you don’t have to live in a box because there are options. It shows us that we can be successful and use our talents to create this success. More importantly, it gives us an opportunity to show our families that when we put our thoughts into action and do the work that it should result in a playbook that we can [use to] teach others.
At times we think lessons are only taught when someone tells you they are teaching you, but some of the best lessons are taught from experiences. Both of my parents came from backgrounds [Puerto Rico and Antigua repectively] where they didn’t grow up learning about generational wealth. This is not uncommon in the black community and it is important to me that I made this change for my family.
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