Carmen Scott Dawson was living the good life. He was No. 1 in sales nationally for his Washington, D.C.-based, multi-national communications company, living with his buddies in a $2 million-plus home, and enjoying everything that comes with being young and successful. Then he developed Lyme disease, which went undiagnosed, rendering his hands useless and severely hampering his ability to walk.
Now, almost a decade later, when Dawson talks about what he does, he says proudly: “I’m a disabled entrepreneur.” Back in his hometown of Erie, Dawson is building his own communications and business development firm, AdVanz LLC, and looking to build entrepreneurial resources and networks for minorities, the disabled, immigrants, urban poor, and veterans–populations not always immediately associated with entrepreneurism, but many times among the most well-suited.
AdVanz has served as the state’s director for National Entrepreneurship Week the last three years and also for Global Entrepreneurship Week in 2008. Last week he launched a statewide entrepreneurial mentoring and technical service campaign called UnleashPA, which will run through Feb. 27, the last day of National Entrepreneurship Week. Dawson will be identifying and enlisting 100 mentors to be part of a statewide entrepreneurship leadership team. His Adreamz Institute and Training Center, established through the Cisco Entrepreneurship Institutes, is the first of its kind in North America. Dawson also unveiled his UnleashErie program, with programs at the Booker T. Washington Center and the Urban Erie Development Corporation, among others. He hopes to replicate the program throughout the state, and his supporters include Team PA Foundation CEO Rich Hudic.
Many things that most take for granted are difficult nowadays for Dawson, who battles rheumatoid arthritis but he is always at the ready with materials, a Power Point presentation, and a dream–to help others facing similar odds and give them the tools to succeed.
Keystone Edge: What have the last 10 years been like for you, emotionally and physically?
Carmen Scott Dawson: Extremely humbling, especially when I thought I was going to die. I went from being a No. 1 sales rep to having a home nurse with a catheter in my arm and being on short-term disability. Over the last 10 years I’ve had to take a serious look at life as though it wasn’t going to last much longer and what legacy I was leaving behind. I have very bad arthritis in my elbow and shoulder. I’m trying to get adaptive equipment, like voice-recognition software. Last year I celebrated getting prosthetic shoes and regular cortisone shots.
KE: How did AdVanz start?
CSD: AdVanz has been in business since 2005. We had successes with providing voice, video and data equipment for the Presque Isle Casino but then we moved away from technology products because the margins had been shrinking and we had no control of the integration. We decided that the true money was in educating students and individuals to be able to take on jobs in the technical spaces based on the fact that outside companies were coming in and winning business to implement technology within the northwestern PA corridor because of the shortage of skilled workers.
KE: Where does your entrepreneurial side come from?
CSD: I’m biracial and disabled, but also a serial entrepreneur. In some circles, I call myself an ‘insanetrepreneur.’ I’ve been able to attract a number of people to this ‘Unleash’ concept. I got hellbent on entrepreneur education when I came back to my hometown and discovered there’s a low penetration of minority businesses.
KE: You have so much on your plate. What’s your overall goal with AdVanz?
CSD: Our goal is to create meaningful connections that lead to sustainable developments in the disenfranchised communities, nonprofit sector, innovation sector, K-12 sector, immigrants, and finally the mentally and physically disabled communities. Our goal realistically is to be an education technology and entrepreneurial resources integrator providing 21st-century workforce development pathways to diverse populations. We design programs, processes, and mentoring environments.
KE: What does that mean for local economies?
CSD: We’re trying to create independence from government subsidies–ideally, where they can tap into their passion and create a living-wage job and if things go well they might be able to hire some folks within their network. Everyone deserves a fair shot at high educational attainment, and we’re creating a powerful educational pathway, at their pace and learning level.
KE: Where did AdVanz’s “Unleash” concept come from?
CSD: It’s UnleashTIME (TIME=Technology, Innovation, Mentoring, Education 3.0) and it was personally inspired by and mentored by Dr. Richard Caruso. He and the Uncommon Individual Foundation created a philosophy that a protege should dictate his or her mentoring environments and create pathways to their own success, which is contrary to existing mentor/protege models used in most entrepreneurial training resources. After understanding his methodology I began to use the philosophy in my own personal life and the technology he has created, called Mentorsphere, to organize my pursuits both personally and professionally. The two Richards helped me develop a understanding that true success meant slowing down and getting my health in order
KE: What’s next for you and AdVanz?
CSD: We have several other programs we would love to launch, but raising funding is and has been tough. We are developing a model in partnership with a local economic development agency that will allow the Cisco Entrepreneurship Institute to supplement or enrich existing entrepreneurial technical service provided by the Small Business Development Centers. Future “institutes” are in the process of being developed for rural and urban communities, which we hope to replicate around the nation.
Joe Petrucci is managing editor of Keystone Edge. Send feedback here.
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