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Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Dr. Alison Vaughn.
International speaker, author, and CEO/founder of Jackets for Jobs, a Detroit-based nonprofit that, for over 26 years, has provided professional attire and career training to more than 40,000 job seekers.
Rushion McDonald leads a deep-dive conversation into her origin story, faith-driven entrepreneurship, struggles, workforce development, women’s empowerment, and the profound human stories behind her mission.
Purpose of the Interview
The interview aims to:
1. Inspire entrepreneurs and community leaders
By showing how faith, persistence, and purpose can build a 26‑year nonprofit that changes lives.
2. Highlight the importance of appearance and confidence in employment
Vaughn explains how professional attire boosts self‑esteem and job‑seeker success.
3. Showcase the impact of Jackets for Jobs and encourage public support
She explains donation needs, especially professional clothing and plus‑size attire.
4. Educate listeners about workforce development and women’s empowerment
She outlines common barriers job seekers face and how proper support transforms families and communities.
Key Takeaways 1. The “Catch‑22” That Sparked Her Mission
Job seekers often lack professional clothing. Without clothing, they can’t get interviews; without interviews, they can’t get jobs. Jackets for Jobs was built to break that cycle.
2. Faith Was the Foundation
Vaughn repeatedly attributes her longevity to divine guidance—leaving a career at United Airlines to follow a vision she didn’t fully understand at the time.
“I stepped out on faith… God gave me the vision.
3. Longevity: 26 Years in a Tough Sector
With most small businesses lasting 5–10 years, surviving 26 years—especially as a nonprofit—is extraordinary.
Over 40,000 job seekers have been served.
4. Self-Education in Entrepreneurship
With limited internet 26 years ago, she learned business through library books, including Grant Writing for Dummies and other “Dummies” titles.
Her story was later featured in the Detroit News and USA Today, and the Dummies publishers even sent her books.
5. Workforce Development Explained
Workforce development means helping unemployed residents gain jobs and stability—critical in Detroit, where unemployment has historically been high.
6. Women’s Empowerment: Changing Mindsets
She noticed many women on government assistance had low confidence or relied on men financially.
She wrote “Ms. Goal Digger, Not Gold Digger” to teach self-sufficiency, financial independence, and professional self-presentation.
7. Appearance = Confidence = Currency
Professional attire changes posture, self-worth, and interview success.
Clients leave “with a pep in their step,” she says.
8. The Emotional Toll and Motivation
She recalls stories of clients who:
- survived sex trafficking,
- were sleeping in cars,
- struggled with multiple children and n
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to my show. I'm Rashon McDonald, a host of
Money Making Conversations Masterclass, where we encourage people to stop
reading other people's success stories and start planning your own. Now,
you don't want to miss an episode, so please take
a moment right now to follow or subscribe to Money
Making Conversations Masterclass. It's free. You can follow me on iHeartRadio, app, Spotify,
(00:20):
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcast. New
Money Making Conversations Masterclass episodes drop daily. I want to
keep you on alert because my guests provide tips on
how you can uplift your community, improve your financial planning, motivation,
or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Now,
let's get this podcast started. My guest is an international speaker,
(00:41):
award winning author, and the founder and CEO of Jackets
for Jobs, a Detroit based nonprofit that has empowered over
forty thousand job seekers with professional attire and career training.
She's widely recognized for a leadership in workforce development, women's empowerment,
and entrepreneurship. Please welcome the Money Making Conversations Masterclass from Detroit.
(01:04):
Alison Vond. How you doing, Allison?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
I am wonderful. How are you. I've been looking forward
to this conversation always.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Well for thank you. You know, I'm a big fan
of the of the Detroit community of a good friend
up there, Terrence Wheeler. He does an annual turkey giveaway
every year. I've been telling them he always invited me.
But that's that cold part of Detroit Thanksgiving week. Woo,
am trouble.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Super cold here? Yes, I know, Terrence, he's a friend
of mine. And it's very cold here. I mean when
the school's closed here, that means it's super cold and the.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Schools have been closed absolutely. Well, let's talk about what
you've been doing for the last twenty six years. An
idea that a lot of people have ideas, but you
followed up on your idea. Tell us about it.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Well, you know what, I stepped out on faith with
my idea. I started Jackets for Jobs twenty six years ago,
and with the thought of helping job seekers. I realized
kind of the catch twenty two if you didn't have
an out fit to go for an interview, you know,
a job interview, you didn't go, but you needed the
job to pay for the interview clothes. And so it's
kind of a catch twenty two and so for twenty
(02:10):
six years, I've been making people look good.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
I'm an image consultant.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
I dress people so they can look professional when they
go for a job interview, not just to get the job,
but to keep the job. So I'm trying to get
our job seekers to look like you or Sean Sharp,
dress really nice so they feel confident when they go
for that job interview.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
And the confidence is very important. You know, growing up
in the inner city, I didn't have the clothes that
I wanted, and I noticed that I didn't want to
go out to events. I didn't want to go to
dances because I didn't feel that I was showing my
best self. Now, this whole idea when you said faith,
you know an idea when you start sharing your ideas,
(02:49):
what were people thinking and how did people assist you? Not?
So it's lasted twenty six years in Detroit, I know well.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
First to be able to say twenty six years, I
think that is such a blessing.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
If you google the average lifespan of a business, it'll
tell you for a small business, the average lifespan is
like five years long span about ten to fifteen. I mean,
you know you're a moneyman. You know, banks won't even
give you a loan unless you've been in business for
about five years, just to see that you're stable.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
So to be able to.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Say that I have lasted twenty six years in the
city of Detroit and clothed over forty thousand job seekers,
that's a testimony in itself. So and I think the
reason that I've been in business so long is because
God gave me the vision. And when God gives you
the vision, he maps everything out for you. Because I
didn't start off doing this. You know, I graduated from
Michigan State about a round trip ticket to visit a
(03:42):
friend in Los Angeles. I never used the return portion
of the ticket. I stayed out in California, started working
for United Airlines, and God said, I have something different
for you to do.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
So I left.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
I went into the office at United and I said,
you know what, I think I'm going to lead the commpany.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
And they said, are you sure? And I said yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
They said, because you know, once you get into the
airline industry, it's like quick saying, it's hard to get out.
You know, you have all the travel benefits, you know,
you're you know, in Hawaii one day and Florida the next,
and they say you sure you want to leave? And
I say yes, God is giving me this vision to
start a business. And I knew nothing about entrepreneurship because
that wasn't my goal, you know. I wanted to be
(04:24):
a news anchor or do politics or something other than
having my own business. And so I stepped out on
faith and left a secure company to run, not even
knowing where my next paycheck was going to come from.
So when I say I stepped out on faith, that's
what I mean.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Before we get deeper into interview, Okay, your business, get
these attired dressing people. You give a website so we
can get people focused on going there and start looking
at what you do and also making a contribution. Talk
to us.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Oh sure, So jack is for jobs. Website is Jackets
four jobs dot org. And so I'll spelled out J
A C K, E, T S F O R J
O b s dot org. And then my personal website
is Alison Vaughn dot com.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
So I have two websites, but they'll take you to both.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Now, when they get there, what's the what what do
you expect it for people? When they come to their website,
what what what the emotional journey and how can they contribute?
Can they donate clothes or ship use jackets or how
does that work?
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Oh, I just love you for saying all this. You're
just awesome.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Yes, they can go to the website, they can see
what we've been doing for the last twenty six years.
They can make a monetary donation as well as a
clothing donation. So we're always in need of clothes. We're
always in need of plus size things. I don't know
what it is about Detroit, but we have a lot
of plus sized women here, so we need a lot
of plus sized clothes. And then we always can use money.
(05:53):
You know, anytime you're in business, especially nonprofit, you're always
looking for funding, and so we always expect and the
City of Detroit is so very accommodating because we're actually
part of the City of Detroit's workforce development and so
we go to the website and support us.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Wow. So as you as you look up, no, let's
let's let's I'm gonna take one of your questions off
for here. You know, letsons learned from moments when funding
was uncertain, Doors were closed or the vision was questioned,
because we all do that. You talked about five verse
five years. It's ugly. Sometimes it's the ten year mark
is like, have I wasted my time? You've been doing
(06:32):
it for twenty six years. The uncertainty, the funding issues. People, girl,
you need to walk away from this. You've done enough.
Talk about that journey, Ali, you know.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
So that's a good question, because the journey for me
since I was not planning on being an entrepreneur and
God gave me this vision. I and so twenty six
years ago, the Internet and Google was not what it is.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
No, it was not, so you actually.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Had to go to the library. So I used to
go to the library every day and I would check
out books on how to be an entrepreneur, grant Writing
for Dummies, anything that dealt with business.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
And so I would get.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
That book and then they have they had a little
disc in the back of the book fundraising for Dummies,
grant Writing for Dummies. And so that's how I got started.
And the Detroit News did an article on me for
my twentieth anniversary, and I talked about how I was
using the book the Dummy series. Well, that story got
picked up by USA Today, and the people at the
(07:32):
Dummy Series read the article and was so happy, and
so they mailed me a shipment of books Gardening for Dummies,
grant Writing for Dummies, all the different Dummy series, And
I thought that was so nice, and so I credit
my success to the Dummy Series books. You know, I'm
not a dummy, but I knew I was smart enough
to go to the library and get those books.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Well, you know, it's about educating yourself. It's about you know,
that's what YouTube is is one of the most popular
self help horses for cooking. Do it yourself. I know,
I go, I google things about applications. I need to
understand myself. But it's about education, not giving up. And
sometimes you don't have a mentor. And I asked that question,
(08:14):
did you have a mentor in this process or was
this learning it all on the job?
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (08:20):
It was on the job training. But you know, my
mother was a very big instrumental help for me.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
My mother.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
I credit my mother for being right by my side,
kind of like in the Bible, like Moses was like, oh,
you know, I can't do it, and God, you know,
had to help send him some help. So the book
series really helped me.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
That was my mentor going to the library help, That
was it. Yes, we know.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
When you talk about Alice and you okay, what is
the long gain here? You know because you start. I know,
I've been blessed to in my life. You have a
vision and after a while, it can change, It can change,
it can change. Like you have two locations. I believe
you say you have seven people at each location. You
(09:03):
have programs that are put in place. When people look
at you, is it pressure to do more? Are you?
Are you just trying to sustain what you do?
Speaker 3 (09:15):
You know, I'm going to go as far as God
leads me. You know, no matter what I do, I
give God credits. So whatever he says or however he leads,
continues to leave this organization, That's what I'll do. I
always say that God is the founder and he's my boss,
and I just work for God. And so when I
have my meetings, I consult with God and then I
take it to my board and I take it to
my employees. So I would love to do you know,
(09:39):
like Michelle Obama and Barack they had a show on
Netflix and it was kind of about jobs and people.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Getting jobs and showing their journey.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
And I would love to do something like that because
there's so much Everyone is a walking book and everyone
has a story. And I have a young lady that
was a victim of sex trafficking and I was wrapping
up her clothes because I really am hands on and
I get involved with the company, not just have my
employees do it. And I was wrapping up her things
and I said, would you like me to keep your
(10:05):
clothes on a hangar? And she says no, I don't
have a closet to put them on. And I say
you don't have a closet, She says no, I just
live in a room. I've been a victim of sex
trafficking and so there's no closet where I am and
so these clothes will really help me. So I have
to put them on it so if you can follow
them and put them in a bag. So I get
so many stories like that, and so I know that
I'm on the right track because so many people need help.
(10:28):
And I used to have a location in Botswana, and
I realized the reason that Jackets for Jobs has been
sustainable is because no matter if you're black, white, rich, poor,
Republican Democrat. Everyone understands the need for a job. Everyone
understands that you need to look professional when you go
for a job interview. Everyone knows that you have to
build up self confidence. So my mission is relevant to
(10:50):
no matter who's I'm talking to.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Now, when you look at the growing in your location,
I would mention this urry Detroit. Now, now are you
are you sharing some of this royalty nation? Why can
somebody go on your website say hey, I'm a size
twelve a large. Can it give me an extra large coat?
Is this our only Detroit based opportunity to update their
(11:17):
ap presentation?
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Yes, I've just been staying in the Detroit area. That's
you know, that's my home base. Born and raised in Detroit.
But I lived, you know, in Los Angeles when I
worked for the United Airlines, and then I lived in
Chicago for.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
A while at the headquarters.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
And it's so interesting that I do this job because
all of my life I wore a uniform.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
It's about all my life, you know.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
I went to a Catholic school, so from first to
twelfth grade I had the little plaid uniform. I went
off to college Michigan State. I wore jeans and a sweatshirt.
Then after that I went to United Airlines. I was
a flight attendant. I wore that uniform and then hiring
flight attendants. So it's so interesting that God kind of
shifted me that I got into clothing and fashion and
an image consultant because growing up that just was my
(12:00):
thing because it's a uniform.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Where you live the life appreciation and you understood how
people react to you when you look a certain way,
when you dress a certain way, and I think that consistency.
That's what you're talking about now, consistency, and you try
and give people the opportunity to have the understand that
value of consistency. When you walk in the room, how
people will react to you. Whether you got the best
suit on or you got an average suit on. People
(12:24):
will look at you differently now and they will have
certain financial expectations when they see you dressed a certain
way or walk in a certain way, because you know, Allison,
when you got the right look, you're gonna walk differently
when you don't have the right look. Correct.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
That is so true, and.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
That's how our clients they come in, they're like, oh,
I don't know if I want to be here. You know,
I'm either embarrassed or I don't think I'm gonna find anything,
or they're not used to shopping and they kind of
slunched over, you know, they're slouchy when they walk out.
Their posture is different. They have a pep in their step.
And that's what I talk about when I say confidence
is currency, because they feel better about themselves and they
(13:00):
can turn that confidence when they go on a job
interview into some money. They're not just going applying for
a job knowing that there's so many other applicants. But
their step and their posture, their smile, their handshake is
a lot firmer, and that's why they're going to get
that job. So we help them not only to get
a job, but to keep a job.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
Money Making Conversations masterclass. No, I need for you to
do me a favor right now to follow or subscribe
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you get your podcasts. Please do me that favor, follow
(13:39):
or subscribe Money Making Conversations. Welcome back to Money Making
Conversations master class with me Rashaun McDonald. Well, I want
to make sure I get to another step of your career.
She is widely recognized from Alis and Vaughn widely recognized
for her leadership and workforce development. Let's talk about what
is exactly is workforce development.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Sure, workforce development is getting people employed. And so in
the city of Detroit, you know, we have a high
unemployment rate, but it's coming down. We just have a
new administration. We have the first female mayor and its
history of the city of Detroit. So I'm excited about
that the new leadership. And so workforce development is all
about working and making sure that people in your community
(14:23):
are working and doing something viable to doing something to
sustain themselves.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Cool. My next question women's empowerment. How is your brand
tied to women's empowerment in the city of Detroit.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
So great questions.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
So I was noticing when the clients were coming in
they had low self esteem. I was talking about confidence
and then I said, you know what, and some of
the girls, you know, most of them were government assistant
back then they said welfare. Now I want to use
a politically correct word to say government assistant. And so
they were just looking for handouts and however they can
get money. And I said, you know what, young ladies,
(15:01):
there's more to this than just generational welfare, more to
this than just getting money from somebody.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
So I wrote a book.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Called Miss gold Digger Ga L Digger because I didn't
want these girls to be gold diggers, because many of
them were gold diggers just getting money how they can.
I said, no, I want you to change your mindset.
And so that's what I'm talking about when I say
women's empowerment and the nice thing about it. I'll even
show you, you know, because if you have something, you
want to promote it right here and you can get
(15:29):
my book on Amazon.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
So it's Miss gold Digger GA L.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Not gold Digger, but gold like aspirations, setting the playout,
lining out your dreams, setting goals, Miss gold Digger. Now
let's slide over there and talk about that book, because
you know, when you sit down there and you're preparing something,
you putting, you doing a play on words as well.
And why did you write the book?
Speaker 2 (15:54):
I wrote the.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Book because it's a CEO's guide to having it all.
It's a CEO's guide to dressing the parts, looking the
part and having a different mindset. And so that's what
I'm trying to do when I talk to these young girls.
Have a different mindset about what you're doing. And right
after I wrote the books, I had the opportunity to
do a book signing at the Essence Festival.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
So you can imagine how.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
I was on cloud nine because Essence is the largest
platform for women's empowerment when people go down to New Orleans,
all those thousands and women that gather down there for
the different seminars and the functions that they have uplifting women.
And to go there and do a book signing for
my book, Miss gold Digger, you can imagine I was
on cloud nine to be able to take part in.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
That well, definitely, because people are not aware of that
most day festival is usually around the July fourth weekend,
and the attendance could be anywhere from five hundred thousand
to six hundred thousand. I've been there many many times.
It's more of an empowerment festival. I know music drives it,
comedy and entertainment drives it, but that empowerment sector is
(17:01):
really powerful and that's where the number really grows there.
Even though it's attached to the super Dome, Mercedes super Dome. Now,
let's talk about you when you talk about entrepreneurship, and
then you talk about you know, everyday employees in people
who work everyday lives forty hour weeks. Let's talk about
how you work with entrepreneurs and then talk about how
(17:24):
you work with people who have a daily eight to
five Monday through Friday job.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Yeah, So entrepreneurship, if you're an entrepreneur, there's no nine
to five, it's twenty four second.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Yes, that's why I separated. As that's why I separated
because people need to understand you can walk out of
that forty hour week, it will be eighty hour weeks.
As soon as you walk out of there, you are
not kidding.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
And so I always want to stress that one because
people come up to me all the time, Oh, I'm
interested in starting a nonprofit.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
So two things.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
If you want to start a nonprofit, be prepared for
twenty four to seven, and be prepared there for a
lot of paperwork because you have to cross your t's
and dot your eyes when you have a nonprofit, because
when people are giving money to you, you have to
have an accountability it's not like just you know, selling,
you know, a set of dishes and you get the
money and then that's it. But you have to account
for all the all the dollars that come to you.
(18:17):
So there's a lot of paperwork if you're interested in
being an entrepreneur, and so it takes time because you
have to build a relationship with people before they give
you money.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
And that's what I learned. They're not so much give.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
They give to the costs, but they're really giving to
you and to see that you're able to sustain, you're
able to manage that money, and so people look at
you different when you have a nonprofit because of the
management that you have to do with the money.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
It's important. Now let's slide over there to the everyday
eight to five person because really as a as the
head of a business, sometimes you're a tire can be
tied to the type of work you do. Okay, if
you you know, if you're a baker, you gonna dress
like a baker. If you're a person out there, a consultant,
you're gonna dress like a consultant. If you're doing an
outdoor labor its duties, you're gonna dress like that, but
(19:02):
a person who's going to an eight to five, they
have to understand where they are in the job hierarchy
and how they should address accordingly. Because some people, you know,
they want to they want to still have It's gonna
be honest. Maybe the nightclub looking clothes to work because
I'm a dressed the way I feel like dressing. So
(19:23):
let's talk about your views on let's talk about women.
I got a daughter, so we can talk about that
and how women should understand dressing makes plays the right
part for the opportunity you try to get.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
That is so true. And you know what I stress
is there's a difference between daywear, day daywear and datewear.
And some of these young ladies are dressing for the date.
They're like, Okay, after work, I'm going to the club,
and I say no, there's a difference between daywear and datewear.
Just because you're going to the club after work does
not mean you wear that to work. You have to
go home and change clothes or do something because you
(20:02):
cannot come with your cleavage hanging out, you can't go
with your pants hanging down, and all of this revealing,
you know, leave something to the imagination when you're on
a date, but when you're on in the daytime at
a job, you represent that company, and so you want
to caution on the side of being more conservative. And
so I definitely stress that that you can because you're
(20:22):
representing a company and you want to look professional. And
so we have a big conversation on that.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Awesome, awesome if you if this for sounds familiar, it's
Alison Bond. She is the CEO and founder of Jackets
for Job. I brought on the show because she going
into a twenty six year quarter century. That's a long time.
That's a big commitment. When you talk about a commitment,
that loan, What does success look like Alison after twenty
(20:50):
five years? Because I teached you about how you started,
you know, probably hanging clothes up in your close and
they had a little U haul. Now you just should
I got two locations. I don't know what you talking about. Now,
what does the sense look like after twenty five years
going into year twenty six in Detroit and Detroit?
Speaker 3 (21:07):
You know, I've had so many successes and which has
been wonderful, But I have to say one of my
favorite success and it actually happened twice for me, and
that was ringing the closing bell on NASDK.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Wow, congratulations.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
I rang the closing bell on nas deck twice. The
first time the market was down, the second time the
market was the up.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
You know, closing bell you know was up.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
So to me, that was a wonderful thing because to
be in touch and tap into the world market. I
just think, you know, thank you Lord for that opportunity.
But to me, a success is seeing someone that's unemployed
and then they call me and tell me that they
have a job. And that's the measure of Those are
the metrics that I use, And that's the measure of success.
When you can help someone get a job and they
(21:48):
can change their whole household. They can change their household
to becoming stable and having income come in and then
changing the whole direction of their household because now there's
money coming in, they're self sufficient. And that's success to
me to helping someone else.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
At this point, let's give out that website again. You
have two of them, so people can reach out find
out more about you and what you're doing in Detroit
saving lives. Over forty thousand of them so far. Forty
thousand of them so far, that's.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Right, that's right.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
So anyone interested you can go to Jackets for Jobs
dot o RG, or you can go to Alison Vaughn
dot com or find me on social media, like on LinkedIn.
I'm not on Instagram as much because I'm so busy working.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
It's so hard social.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Media as it is is. Really, I stopped. I couldn't
do X anymore, I couldn't do exit. I just told
my stuff gotta stop, got to pull up on something.
Can't do it all because you you know, just so
many platforms that benefit the engagement or reaction that you
need for your particular brands. It's all right to be
on one or two. You don't have to be across
the board. I'm on TikTok, I'm on Instagram, I'm on Facebook,
(22:55):
I'm on LinkedIn. It's a lot now. I know you're
very popular on LinkedIn, Dollison. Yeah, how do you use
LinkedIn for your brand?
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Basically?
Speaker 3 (23:05):
I use LinkedIn because I want to be able to
connect with donors and our sponsors and our contributors and foundations.
So I like to stay engaged so they can see
what I'm doing to further the business, and then I
want them to see things about jackets for jobs. So
that's my business platform. But then I have my Facebook platform,
which is a little different. This is what I did
for the weekend. I went to the Lions game. But
(23:26):
then I might post something different when I'm when I'm
on LinkedIn, So it's two different two different personalities, but
the same person.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
Well, let's talk about you've been investing in people, because
you know, you said Rashine, we don't use the word
welfare anymore, so we right there, tells me the level
of people that you're committed to uplifting. Yes, what happens
when we don't invest in people? What happens when we
start stereotyping people, Because that's what you're trying to do
(23:55):
with your your nonprofit is to break stereotype at least
by our parents exactly. So talk about it.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
It's hard.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
It's really hard because the population and people that I
deal with, our government assistant most of them. I do
have some that are doing a you know job, you know,
transformation or they're transferring into a different career, but for
the most part their government assistant clients that I'm dealing with.
So I'm dealing with you know, the quote unquote pookies
and ray rays and shaniquos, you know if you want to.
(24:26):
You're talking about.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Stereotypes those quote unquote that type, and we all know
what that means.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
But I just try to change it, you know, That's
that's my goal, and I've been doing it, you know
pretty well, like you mentioned, twenty.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Six years, forty four over forty.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
Thousand, you know people, so we're doing something right to
get to them, and you know, just send them love.
And see my sister that I didn't have a relationship with,
she died of cancer and she was on welfare and
that's one of the reasons why I started this organization.
And so everyone that comes in, I'm reminded of my
sister and I want to be able to help them
because my sister had three kids. She was a welfare
(25:00):
recipient and different the children had different fathers. And I said,
you know what, I want to be able to help
each lady that comes through. I want to be able
to help each guy that comes through. And so that's
that's my mission. So it is hard to change that stereotype,
but you know, once through at a time is all
that I can do.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Wow, that's outstanding advice. And also sharings are known as
part of your past, you know, because we all live
setbacks and in your business, you looking at them, you
see a setback coming to do it. Like you've already
told us that level of people you work out, how
do you emotionally, Allison, get up going there? Know some
(25:41):
people you can help you trying though you can see
a person go, I'm still going to give one hundred
percent because they need about one hundred percent. How do
you as a leader, as a motivator, a person inspires
who has tremendous faith. Because you've mentioned it several times
during this interview, yes, make it happen every day for you.
(26:01):
Because this is a seven it's a seven day a
week job. You might go in that money through Friday.
Was this a seven day a week job?
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Talk to us it is.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
And you know, that's interesting that you mentioned that it's
a seven day a week because a couple of weeks
ago it was super super cold here in Detroit and
we had a lot of extra clothes in one of
our warehouses and I said, you know what, in the
winter time, you need to layer up. So we're going
to open it up. And Fox two News came and
did a story that jackets for jobs is giving out
clothes so people can layer up. And a young girl
(26:30):
had a baby on her back and she was taking
the bus. And I thought about that girl all weekend,
and it hurt me so bad because I should have
told her, if you can just wait till we're done,
I can give you a ride home, because she had
to get on the bus when it was that day
it was one degree and the wind show factor was
like minus five. And I thought about that young lady
the entire weekend, like gosh, I did not do enough
(26:53):
for her, even though we gave her a bag full
of clothes, I did not do enough for her. And
I think about her all And this just happened a
couple you know, like a week and a half ago,
but it's just really hard emotional. We keep a box
of tisshiel at her desk because we know everyone that
walks through has a story. Somebody walked through that was
sleeping in their car last night. Somebody walked through just
(27:13):
found out that they're pregnant and this is their sixth
child and they barely can take care of the five
that they have. So if everyone has a story, and
so you have to be compassionate. And everyone that I hire,
I tell them, in order to have this job, you
have to have compassion with each person and not judge.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
And that's the thing you cannot judge.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
Wow. She's Alis Vaughn, founder and CEO of Jackets for Jobs,
Detroit based nonprofit and that'sensmpowered over forty thousand jobs seecret
with professional attire and career training. Thank you Alison for
coming on Money Making Conversation Masterclass and sharing your story
and Detroit is blessed to have you, my friend. Thank
(27:52):
you for listening to this episode. No, I need for
you to do me a favor right now to follow
or subscribe to Money Making Conversation. It's free and you
can find it on the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts. Please do me that favor,
follow a subscribe Money Making Conversations. Keep winning
Welcome to my show. I'm Rashon McDonald, a host of
Money Making Conversations Masterclass, where we encourage people to stop
reading other people's success stories and start planning your own. Now,
you don't want to miss an episode, so please take
a moment right now to follow or subscribe to Money
Making Conversations Masterclass. It's free. You can follow me on iHeartRadio, app, Spotify,
(00:20):
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcast. New
Money Making Conversations Masterclass episodes drop daily. I want to
keep you on alert because my guests provide tips on
how you can uplift your community, improve your financial planning, motivation,
or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Now,
let's get this podcast started. My guest is an international speaker,
(00:41):
award winning author, and the founder and CEO of Jackets
for Jobs, a Detroit based nonprofit that has empowered over
forty thousand job seekers with professional attire and career training.
She's widely recognized for a leadership in workforce development, women's empowerment,
and entrepreneurship. Please welcome the Money Making Conversations Masterclass from Detroit.
(01:04):
Alison Vond. How you doing, Allison?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
I am wonderful. How are you. I've been looking forward
to this conversation always.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Well for thank you. You know, I'm a big fan
of the of the Detroit community of a good friend
up there, Terrence Wheeler. He does an annual turkey giveaway
every year. I've been telling them he always invited me.
But that's that cold part of Detroit Thanksgiving week. Woo,
am trouble.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Super cold here? Yes, I know, Terrence, he's a friend
of mine. And it's very cold here. I mean when
the school's closed here, that means it's super cold and the.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Schools have been closed absolutely. Well, let's talk about what
you've been doing for the last twenty six years. An
idea that a lot of people have ideas, but you
followed up on your idea. Tell us about it.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Well, you know what, I stepped out on faith with
my idea. I started Jackets for Jobs twenty six years ago,
and with the thought of helping job seekers. I realized
kind of the catch twenty two if you didn't have
an out fit to go for an interview, you know,
a job interview, you didn't go, but you needed the
job to pay for the interview clothes. And so it's
kind of a catch twenty two and so for twenty
(02:10):
six years, I've been making people look good.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
I'm an image consultant.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
I dress people so they can look professional when they
go for a job interview, not just to get the job,
but to keep the job. So I'm trying to get
our job seekers to look like you or Sean Sharp,
dress really nice so they feel confident when they go
for that job interview.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
And the confidence is very important. You know, growing up
in the inner city, I didn't have the clothes that
I wanted, and I noticed that I didn't want to
go out to events. I didn't want to go to
dances because I didn't feel that I was showing my
best self. Now, this whole idea when you said faith,
you know an idea when you start sharing your ideas,
(02:49):
what were people thinking and how did people assist you? Not?
So it's lasted twenty six years in Detroit, I know well.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
First to be able to say twenty six years, I
think that is such a blessing.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
If you google the average lifespan of a business, it'll
tell you for a small business, the average lifespan is
like five years long span about ten to fifteen. I mean,
you know you're a moneyman. You know, banks won't even
give you a loan unless you've been in business for
about five years, just to see that you're stable.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
So to be able to.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Say that I have lasted twenty six years in the
city of Detroit and clothed over forty thousand job seekers,
that's a testimony in itself. So and I think the
reason that I've been in business so long is because
God gave me the vision. And when God gives you
the vision, he maps everything out for you. Because I
didn't start off doing this. You know, I graduated from
Michigan State about a round trip ticket to visit a
(03:42):
friend in Los Angeles. I never used the return portion
of the ticket. I stayed out in California, started working
for United Airlines, and God said, I have something different
for you to do.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
So I left.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
I went into the office at United and I said,
you know what, I think I'm going to lead the commpany.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
And they said, are you sure? And I said yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
They said, because you know, once you get into the
airline industry, it's like quick saying, it's hard to get out.
You know, you have all the travel benefits, you know,
you're you know, in Hawaii one day and Florida the next,
and they say you sure you want to leave? And
I say yes, God is giving me this vision to
start a business. And I knew nothing about entrepreneurship because
that wasn't my goal, you know. I wanted to be
(04:24):
a news anchor or do politics or something other than
having my own business. And so I stepped out on
faith and left a secure company to run, not even
knowing where my next paycheck was going to come from.
So when I say I stepped out on faith, that's
what I mean.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Before we get deeper into interview, Okay, your business, get
these attired dressing people. You give a website so we
can get people focused on going there and start looking
at what you do and also making a contribution. Talk
to us.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Oh sure, So jack is for jobs. Website is Jackets
four jobs dot org. And so I'll spelled out J
A C K, E, T S F O R J
O b s dot org. And then my personal website
is Alison Vaughn dot com.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
So I have two websites, but they'll take you to both.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Now, when they get there, what's the what what do
you expect it for people? When they come to their website,
what what what the emotional journey and how can they contribute?
Can they donate clothes or ship use jackets or how
does that work?
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Oh, I just love you for saying all this. You're
just awesome.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Yes, they can go to the website, they can see
what we've been doing for the last twenty six years.
They can make a monetary donation as well as a
clothing donation. So we're always in need of clothes. We're
always in need of plus size things. I don't know
what it is about Detroit, but we have a lot
of plus sized women here, so we need a lot
of plus sized clothes. And then we always can use money.
(05:53):
You know, anytime you're in business, especially nonprofit, you're always
looking for funding, and so we always expect and the
City of Detroit is so very accommodating because we're actually
part of the City of Detroit's workforce development and so
we go to the website and support us.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Wow. So as you as you look up, no, let's
let's let's I'm gonna take one of your questions off
for here. You know, letsons learned from moments when funding
was uncertain, Doors were closed or the vision was questioned,
because we all do that. You talked about five verse
five years. It's ugly. Sometimes it's the ten year mark
is like, have I wasted my time? You've been doing
(06:32):
it for twenty six years. The uncertainty, the funding issues. People, girl,
you need to walk away from this. You've done enough.
Talk about that journey, Ali, you know.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
So that's a good question, because the journey for me
since I was not planning on being an entrepreneur and
God gave me this vision. I and so twenty six
years ago, the Internet and Google was not what it is.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
No, it was not, so you actually.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Had to go to the library. So I used to
go to the library every day and I would check
out books on how to be an entrepreneur, grant Writing
for Dummies, anything that dealt with business.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
And so I would get.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
That book and then they have they had a little
disc in the back of the book fundraising for Dummies,
grant Writing for Dummies. And so that's how I got started.
And the Detroit News did an article on me for
my twentieth anniversary, and I talked about how I was
using the book the Dummy series. Well, that story got
picked up by USA Today, and the people at the
(07:32):
Dummy Series read the article and was so happy, and
so they mailed me a shipment of books Gardening for Dummies,
grant Writing for Dummies, all the different Dummy series, And
I thought that was so nice, and so I credit
my success to the Dummy Series books. You know, I'm
not a dummy, but I knew I was smart enough
to go to the library and get those books.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Well, you know, it's about educating yourself. It's about you know,
that's what YouTube is is one of the most popular
self help horses for cooking. Do it yourself. I know,
I go, I google things about applications. I need to
understand myself. But it's about education, not giving up. And
sometimes you don't have a mentor. And I asked that question,
(08:14):
did you have a mentor in this process or was
this learning it all on the job?
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (08:20):
It was on the job training. But you know, my
mother was a very big instrumental help for me.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
My mother.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
I credit my mother for being right by my side,
kind of like in the Bible, like Moses was like, oh,
you know, I can't do it, and God, you know,
had to help send him some help. So the book
series really helped me.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
That was my mentor going to the library help, That
was it. Yes, we know.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
When you talk about Alice and you okay, what is
the long gain here? You know because you start. I know,
I've been blessed to in my life. You have a
vision and after a while, it can change, It can change,
it can change. Like you have two locations. I believe
you say you have seven people at each location. You
(09:03):
have programs that are put in place. When people look
at you, is it pressure to do more? Are you?
Are you just trying to sustain what you do?
Speaker 3 (09:15):
You know, I'm going to go as far as God
leads me. You know, no matter what I do, I
give God credits. So whatever he says or however he leads,
continues to leave this organization, That's what I'll do. I
always say that God is the founder and he's my boss,
and I just work for God. And so when I
have my meetings, I consult with God and then I
take it to my board and I take it to
my employees. So I would love to do you know,
(09:39):
like Michelle Obama and Barack they had a show on
Netflix and it was kind of about jobs and people.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Getting jobs and showing their journey.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
And I would love to do something like that because
there's so much Everyone is a walking book and everyone
has a story. And I have a young lady that
was a victim of sex trafficking and I was wrapping
up her clothes because I really am hands on and
I get involved with the company, not just have my
employees do it. And I was wrapping up her things
and I said, would you like me to keep your
(10:05):
clothes on a hangar? And she says no, I don't
have a closet to put them on. And I say
you don't have a closet, She says no, I just
live in a room. I've been a victim of sex
trafficking and so there's no closet where I am and
so these clothes will really help me. So I have
to put them on it so if you can follow
them and put them in a bag. So I get
so many stories like that, and so I know that
I'm on the right track because so many people need help.
(10:28):
And I used to have a location in Botswana, and
I realized the reason that Jackets for Jobs has been
sustainable is because no matter if you're black, white, rich, poor,
Republican Democrat. Everyone understands the need for a job. Everyone
understands that you need to look professional when you go
for a job interview. Everyone knows that you have to
build up self confidence. So my mission is relevant to
(10:50):
no matter who's I'm talking to.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Now, when you look at the growing in your location,
I would mention this urry Detroit. Now, now are you
are you sharing some of this royalty nation? Why can
somebody go on your website say hey, I'm a size
twelve a large. Can it give me an extra large coat?
Is this our only Detroit based opportunity to update their
(11:17):
ap presentation?
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Yes, I've just been staying in the Detroit area. That's
you know, that's my home base. Born and raised in Detroit.
But I lived, you know, in Los Angeles when I
worked for the United Airlines, and then I lived in
Chicago for.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
A while at the headquarters.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
And it's so interesting that I do this job because
all of my life I wore a uniform.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
It's about all my life, you know.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
I went to a Catholic school, so from first to
twelfth grade I had the little plaid uniform. I went
off to college Michigan State. I wore jeans and a sweatshirt.
Then after that I went to United Airlines. I was
a flight attendant. I wore that uniform and then hiring
flight attendants. So it's so interesting that God kind of
shifted me that I got into clothing and fashion and
an image consultant because growing up that just was my
(12:00):
thing because it's a uniform.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Where you live the life appreciation and you understood how
people react to you when you look a certain way,
when you dress a certain way, and I think that consistency.
That's what you're talking about now, consistency, and you try
and give people the opportunity to have the understand that
value of consistency. When you walk in the room, how
people will react to you. Whether you got the best
suit on or you got an average suit on. People
(12:24):
will look at you differently now and they will have
certain financial expectations when they see you dressed a certain
way or walk in a certain way, because you know, Allison,
when you got the right look, you're gonna walk differently
when you don't have the right look. Correct.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
That is so true, and.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
That's how our clients they come in, they're like, oh,
I don't know if I want to be here. You know,
I'm either embarrassed or I don't think I'm gonna find anything,
or they're not used to shopping and they kind of
slunched over, you know, they're slouchy when they walk out.
Their posture is different. They have a pep in their step.
And that's what I talk about when I say confidence
is currency, because they feel better about themselves and they
(13:00):
can turn that confidence when they go on a job
interview into some money. They're not just going applying for
a job knowing that there's so many other applicants. But
their step and their posture, their smile, their handshake is
a lot firmer, and that's why they're going to get
that job. So we help them not only to get
a job, but to keep a job.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
Money Making Conversations masterclass. No, I need for you to
do me a favor right now to follow or subscribe
to Money Making Conversation. It's free and you can find
it on the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your podcasts. Please do me that favor, follow
(13:39):
or subscribe Money Making Conversations. Welcome back to Money Making
Conversations master class with me Rashaun McDonald. Well, I want
to make sure I get to another step of your career.
She is widely recognized from Alis and Vaughn widely recognized
for her leadership and workforce development. Let's talk about what
is exactly is workforce development.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Sure, workforce development is getting people employed. And so in
the city of Detroit, you know, we have a high
unemployment rate, but it's coming down. We just have a
new administration. We have the first female mayor and its
history of the city of Detroit. So I'm excited about
that the new leadership. And so workforce development is all
about working and making sure that people in your community
(14:23):
are working and doing something viable to doing something to
sustain themselves.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Cool. My next question women's empowerment. How is your brand
tied to women's empowerment in the city of Detroit.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
So great questions.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
So I was noticing when the clients were coming in
they had low self esteem. I was talking about confidence
and then I said, you know what, and some of
the girls, you know, most of them were government assistant
back then they said welfare. Now I want to use
a politically correct word to say government assistant. And so
they were just looking for handouts and however they can
get money. And I said, you know what, young ladies,
(15:01):
there's more to this than just generational welfare, more to
this than just getting money from somebody.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
So I wrote a book.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Called Miss gold Digger Ga L Digger because I didn't
want these girls to be gold diggers, because many of
them were gold diggers just getting money how they can.
I said, no, I want you to change your mindset.
And so that's what I'm talking about when I say
women's empowerment and the nice thing about it. I'll even
show you, you know, because if you have something, you
want to promote it right here and you can get
(15:29):
my book on Amazon.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
So it's Miss gold Digger GA L.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Not gold Digger, but gold like aspirations, setting the playout,
lining out your dreams, setting goals, Miss gold Digger. Now
let's slide over there and talk about that book, because
you know, when you sit down there and you're preparing something,
you putting, you doing a play on words as well.
And why did you write the book?
Speaker 2 (15:54):
I wrote the.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Book because it's a CEO's guide to having it all.
It's a CEO's guide to dressing the parts, looking the
part and having a different mindset. And so that's what
I'm trying to do when I talk to these young girls.
Have a different mindset about what you're doing. And right
after I wrote the books, I had the opportunity to
do a book signing at the Essence Festival.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
So you can imagine how.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
I was on cloud nine because Essence is the largest
platform for women's empowerment when people go down to New Orleans,
all those thousands and women that gather down there for
the different seminars and the functions that they have uplifting women.
And to go there and do a book signing for
my book, Miss gold Digger, you can imagine I was
on cloud nine to be able to take part in.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
That well, definitely, because people are not aware of that
most day festival is usually around the July fourth weekend,
and the attendance could be anywhere from five hundred thousand
to six hundred thousand. I've been there many many times.
It's more of an empowerment festival. I know music drives it,
comedy and entertainment drives it, but that empowerment sector is
(17:01):
really powerful and that's where the number really grows there.
Even though it's attached to the super Dome, Mercedes super Dome. Now,
let's talk about you when you talk about entrepreneurship, and
then you talk about you know, everyday employees in people
who work everyday lives forty hour weeks. Let's talk about
how you work with entrepreneurs and then talk about how
(17:24):
you work with people who have a daily eight to
five Monday through Friday job.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Yeah, So entrepreneurship, if you're an entrepreneur, there's no nine
to five, it's twenty four second.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Yes, that's why I separated. As that's why I separated
because people need to understand you can walk out of
that forty hour week, it will be eighty hour weeks.
As soon as you walk out of there, you are
not kidding.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
And so I always want to stress that one because
people come up to me all the time, Oh, I'm
interested in starting a nonprofit.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
So two things.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
If you want to start a nonprofit, be prepared for
twenty four to seven, and be prepared there for a
lot of paperwork because you have to cross your t's
and dot your eyes when you have a nonprofit, because
when people are giving money to you, you have to
have an accountability it's not like just you know, selling,
you know, a set of dishes and you get the
money and then that's it. But you have to account
for all the all the dollars that come to you.
(18:17):
So there's a lot of paperwork if you're interested in
being an entrepreneur, and so it takes time because you
have to build a relationship with people before they give
you money.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
And that's what I learned. They're not so much give.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
They give to the costs, but they're really giving to
you and to see that you're able to sustain, you're
able to manage that money, and so people look at
you different when you have a nonprofit because of the
management that you have to do with the money.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
It's important. Now let's slide over there to the everyday
eight to five person because really as a as the
head of a business, sometimes you're a tire can be
tied to the type of work you do. Okay, if
you you know, if you're a baker, you gonna dress
like a baker. If you're a person out there, a consultant,
you're gonna dress like a consultant. If you're doing an
outdoor labor its duties, you're gonna dress like that, but
(19:02):
a person who's going to an eight to five, they
have to understand where they are in the job hierarchy
and how they should address accordingly. Because some people, you know,
they want to they want to still have It's gonna
be honest. Maybe the nightclub looking clothes to work because
I'm a dressed the way I feel like dressing. So
(19:23):
let's talk about your views on let's talk about women.
I got a daughter, so we can talk about that
and how women should understand dressing makes plays the right
part for the opportunity you try to get.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
That is so true. And you know what I stress
is there's a difference between daywear, day daywear and datewear.
And some of these young ladies are dressing for the date.
They're like, Okay, after work, I'm going to the club,
and I say no, there's a difference between daywear and datewear.
Just because you're going to the club after work does
not mean you wear that to work. You have to
go home and change clothes or do something because you
(20:02):
cannot come with your cleavage hanging out, you can't go
with your pants hanging down, and all of this revealing,
you know, leave something to the imagination when you're on
a date, but when you're on in the daytime at
a job, you represent that company, and so you want
to caution on the side of being more conservative. And
so I definitely stress that that you can because you're
(20:22):
representing a company and you want to look professional. And
so we have a big conversation on that.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Awesome, awesome if you if this for sounds familiar, it's
Alison Bond. She is the CEO and founder of Jackets
for Job. I brought on the show because she going
into a twenty six year quarter century. That's a long time.
That's a big commitment. When you talk about a commitment,
that loan, What does success look like Alison after twenty
(20:50):
five years? Because I teached you about how you started,
you know, probably hanging clothes up in your close and
they had a little U haul. Now you just should
I got two locations. I don't know what you talking about. Now,
what does the sense look like after twenty five years
going into year twenty six in Detroit and Detroit?
Speaker 3 (21:07):
You know, I've had so many successes and which has
been wonderful, But I have to say one of my
favorite success and it actually happened twice for me, and
that was ringing the closing bell on NASDK.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Wow, congratulations.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
I rang the closing bell on nas deck twice. The
first time the market was down, the second time the
market was the up.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
You know, closing bell you know was up.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
So to me, that was a wonderful thing because to
be in touch and tap into the world market. I
just think, you know, thank you Lord for that opportunity.
But to me, a success is seeing someone that's unemployed
and then they call me and tell me that they
have a job. And that's the measure of Those are
the metrics that I use, And that's the measure of success.
When you can help someone get a job and they
(21:48):
can change their whole household. They can change their household
to becoming stable and having income come in and then
changing the whole direction of their household because now there's
money coming in, they're self sufficient. And that's success to
me to helping someone else.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
At this point, let's give out that website again. You
have two of them, so people can reach out find
out more about you and what you're doing in Detroit
saving lives. Over forty thousand of them so far. Forty
thousand of them so far, that's.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Right, that's right.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
So anyone interested you can go to Jackets for Jobs
dot o RG, or you can go to Alison Vaughn
dot com or find me on social media, like on LinkedIn.
I'm not on Instagram as much because I'm so busy working.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
It's so hard social.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Media as it is is. Really, I stopped. I couldn't
do X anymore, I couldn't do exit. I just told
my stuff gotta stop, got to pull up on something.
Can't do it all because you you know, just so
many platforms that benefit the engagement or reaction that you
need for your particular brands. It's all right to be
on one or two. You don't have to be across
the board. I'm on TikTok, I'm on Instagram, I'm on Facebook,
(22:55):
I'm on LinkedIn. It's a lot now. I know you're
very popular on LinkedIn, Dollison. Yeah, how do you use
LinkedIn for your brand?
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Basically?
Speaker 3 (23:05):
I use LinkedIn because I want to be able to
connect with donors and our sponsors and our contributors and foundations.
So I like to stay engaged so they can see
what I'm doing to further the business, and then I
want them to see things about jackets for jobs. So
that's my business platform. But then I have my Facebook platform,
which is a little different. This is what I did
for the weekend. I went to the Lions game. But
(23:26):
then I might post something different when I'm when I'm
on LinkedIn, So it's two different two different personalities, but
the same person.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
Well, let's talk about you've been investing in people, because
you know, you said Rashine, we don't use the word
welfare anymore, so we right there, tells me the level
of people that you're committed to uplifting. Yes, what happens
when we don't invest in people? What happens when we
start stereotyping people, Because that's what you're trying to do
(23:55):
with your your nonprofit is to break stereotype at least
by our parents exactly. So talk about it.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
It's hard.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
It's really hard because the population and people that I
deal with, our government assistant most of them. I do
have some that are doing a you know job, you know,
transformation or they're transferring into a different career, but for
the most part their government assistant clients that I'm dealing with.
So I'm dealing with you know, the quote unquote pookies
and ray rays and shaniquos, you know if you want to.
(24:26):
You're talking about.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Stereotypes those quote unquote that type, and we all know
what that means.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
But I just try to change it, you know, That's
that's my goal, and I've been doing it, you know
pretty well, like you mentioned, twenty.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Six years, forty four over forty.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
Thousand, you know people, so we're doing something right to
get to them, and you know, just send them love.
And see my sister that I didn't have a relationship with,
she died of cancer and she was on welfare and
that's one of the reasons why I started this organization.
And so everyone that comes in, I'm reminded of my
sister and I want to be able to help them
because my sister had three kids. She was a welfare
(25:00):
recipient and different the children had different fathers. And I said,
you know what, I want to be able to help
each lady that comes through. I want to be able
to help each guy that comes through. And so that's
that's my mission. So it is hard to change that stereotype,
but you know, once through at a time is all
that I can do.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Wow, that's outstanding advice. And also sharings are known as
part of your past, you know, because we all live
setbacks and in your business, you looking at them, you
see a setback coming to do it. Like you've already
told us that level of people you work out, how
do you emotionally, Allison, get up going there? Know some
(25:41):
people you can help you trying though you can see
a person go, I'm still going to give one hundred
percent because they need about one hundred percent. How do
you as a leader, as a motivator, a person inspires
who has tremendous faith. Because you've mentioned it several times
during this interview, yes, make it happen every day for you.
(26:01):
Because this is a seven it's a seven day a
week job. You might go in that money through Friday.
Was this a seven day a week job?
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Talk to us it is.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
And you know, that's interesting that you mentioned that it's
a seven day a week because a couple of weeks
ago it was super super cold here in Detroit and
we had a lot of extra clothes in one of
our warehouses and I said, you know what, in the
winter time, you need to layer up. So we're going
to open it up. And Fox two News came and
did a story that jackets for jobs is giving out
clothes so people can layer up. And a young girl
(26:30):
had a baby on her back and she was taking
the bus. And I thought about that girl all weekend,
and it hurt me so bad because I should have
told her, if you can just wait till we're done,
I can give you a ride home, because she had
to get on the bus when it was that day
it was one degree and the wind show factor was
like minus five. And I thought about that young lady
the entire weekend, like gosh, I did not do enough
(26:53):
for her, even though we gave her a bag full
of clothes, I did not do enough for her. And
I think about her all And this just happened a
couple you know, like a week and a half ago,
but it's just really hard emotional. We keep a box
of tisshiel at her desk because we know everyone that
walks through has a story. Somebody walked through that was
sleeping in their car last night. Somebody walked through just
(27:13):
found out that they're pregnant and this is their sixth
child and they barely can take care of the five
that they have. So if everyone has a story, and
so you have to be compassionate. And everyone that I hire,
I tell them, in order to have this job, you
have to have compassion with each person and not judge.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
And that's the thing you cannot judge.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
Wow. She's Alis Vaughn, founder and CEO of Jackets for Jobs,
Detroit based nonprofit and that'sensmpowered over forty thousand jobs seecret
with professional attire and career training. Thank you Alison for
coming on Money Making Conversation Masterclass and sharing your story
and Detroit is blessed to have you, my friend. Thank
(27:52):
you for listening to this episode. No, I need for
you to do me a favor right now to follow
or subscribe to Money Making Conversation. It's free and you
can find it on the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts. Please do me that favor,
follow a subscribe Money Making Conversations. Keep winning
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