Bell Winter 2025 Weekly Journals

Monday                                                                                                         October 28, 2024

Today the servant leaders (men that have graduated from PEP and are waiting for a release date) taught us how to do a market competition differentiator or an “MCD”. They explained that we need to be specific about our location and how to research our market area. Also, how and where our business would be different and what would set us apart from our competition.  They also taught us how to do a “market analysis” in the city we want to start a business. This will help us earn the highest profit margins. After that, a member of the salutations team taught us about filling out “Thank You” cards and “Networking” cards and we talked about the importance of the cards. “Networking” cards help us keep track of all the executives we meet and what we talk about, also we document the advice and feedback they give us during our events. The “Thank You” cards are sent to the executives and volunteers we have met. It means a lot to all of us that they take time out of their busy days to be with us. This program has given us the chance to make something of ourselves and to learn things we might have never gotten the opportunity to do. We are all excited to be in PEP and incredibly grateful for the program and this second chance!

Nathan. A

Tuesday                                                                                                        October 29, 2024

            Today we took a test from our Entrepreneurship book over chapters 3 & 4. Chapter 3 covered “business idea generation” and “initial evaluation,” which are initial business concepts. Chapter 4 covered “external analysis,” which is a broad examination of certain industries. We spent all weekend studying hard for these tests and we did scored well. We had a great start to class today by praying in and then learning key terms such as, “bench marketing,” “exit barrier,” “competitive map” and “fragmented markets.”      We also practiced our pitches without notes so we could pitch without our notes for our “Big Idea Pitch” Event. As a class, we all felt confident about going in front of the executives and pitching our ideas to them. We have been working hard, uplifting one another, working with each other, and holding each other accountable so we are at our absolute best come Friday! We are learning every day how important it is to be a man of integrity. Not only for ourselves, but for our families and friends. We are grateful for our servant leaders and in-prison management for showing us the way when it comes to navigating through this program. Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to better ourselves. Winter 25’ to the moon!

Danis Avalos. (Aka “Dak Prescott)

Wednesday                                                                                                   October 30, 2024

Today in class we pitched, pitched, and pitched some more. We have a big event coming up, which is the “Big Idea Pitch” Event, on the 1^st of November in front of a lot of executives. We have been working together and uplifting each other as a brotherhood throughout these first few weeks of class, which have been challenging, but together we have overcome the challenges and now we are striving together! We are getting better with public speaking and for a lot of us that was something we never did, but it feels so good to overcome that fear.           We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to complete this program, walk across that stage, and make something of ourselves. Our families and friends should be proud. The sense of accomplishment we all feel when we leave the class for the day is a surreal feeling knowing that we are doing something positive for our lives, something that is going to change the world. We are taking advantage of everything that this program has to offer. To have all that this program offers right at the tip of our fingers is something that does not come twice so we are working hard, while holding ourselves accountable, and executing the mission. Thank you, PEP! We are ecstatic for what’s coming!

Gayland B. (aka “Chia Pet”)

Thursday                                                                                                       October 31, 2024

            In PEP we have a topic every day, so today’s topic was Entrepreneurship. We started off the morning with Winter 25’ (the name of this class) turning in our heart checks, which is a written assignment based on how much we desire to be a part of PEP. It was amazing to see all our fellow brothers turning in the finished or unfinished heart checks. The effort is truly what matters. We prayed in to get started. A servant leader asked if we needed any help with anything we could call upon him, or any of the other servant leaders, and they would be glad to assist us. Next, we moved on to the Entrepreneurship discourse. We had a guest come to class and he             opened his speech by saying never, never, never, never, give up. Then he shared experiences about how he got fired from a guy he worked for that wanted to burn every bridge he crossed. He then passed out business cards to us for the company he founded in 1994 called “Cameron Management”. We took a five-minute break, and next Diana spoke and gave a summary of herself and life experiences. She is a teacher at Rice University, and she is the Chief Marketing Officer. She also does cyber security. She spoke about marketing then asked us how we plan to price our businesses. We are grateful for this fresh-start outlook PEP is providing us with!

Anthony B. (aka “Sponge Bob”)

Friday                                                                                                           November 1, 2024

            On Friday November 1st we waited in the classroom and practiced our pitches early in the morning before our “Big Idea Pitch” Event. We have been practicing all week for this event where we will be pitching our businesses to executives who have a lot of knowledge when it comes to starting a business. When we finally made it down to the gym, we motivated each other to do our absolute best and to focus on the task at hand which was executing our pitches. When all the executives showed up it was exciting, and everyone knew it was time for business. Before we started pitching, we did an exercise called the “Ice Breaker,” which allowed us to get to know the executives and people rooting for us a little better. We asked simple questions and saw how similarly we answered the questions while “stepping up to the line,”. We then lined up in rows and waited, filled with excitement, and ready to get up in front of the executives and spill our pitch! After everyone finished their pitches, we each had time to sit with the executives for a one-on-one conversation and talk to them about our businesses and ask them for any advice that would pertain to our businesses. We all got great feedback and had an amazing time! We were able to leave with confidence, and with the knowledge we had never had before, which to all of us is a tremendous way to start off this month. We are ready to see what next month has in store. Winter 25’ on the rise!

Robert B. (aka “McLovin’”)

Expressions

“Rock bottom will teach you lessons that mountain tops never will.”

-Unknown

I am not sure who wrote this, but it rings true to me. Some of us had the pleasure of learning lessons the hard way, and I am one of those people. When you have nothing but yourself to blame, it is your fault when you mess things up. So, when you hit rock bottom, get clean, change your ways, and take that moment to inventory yourself and reevaluate your life, you realize what it is that is causing you so much trouble. The fork in the road for you is your opportunity to change. If you are lucky enough to walk away from these lessons, you will be all the wiser from them. Acknowledge what God is doing in your life and what life is trying to teach you. Be receptive in those hard times because they are the most important lessons in life.

Ernest T. (aka “Chris Stapleton”)