WS Chronicle

As an entrepreneur and business owner, Anthony Ingram knows firsthand the ups and downs you can face when trying to pursue the dream of working for yourself. The owner and operator of Superpowers Bail Bonding and Superpowers University, a local apparel company, Ingram, who is a graduate of Winston-Salem State University, said after he got his business up and running, he made it his mission to help other entrepreneurs in the area reach their goal.

“As a small business owner, I saw some of the challenges you can face, so what I wanted to do was take those problems and find solutions,” Ingram said.

Sticking with his mission to help others, last weekend Ingram used his “Superpowers” to help nearly a dozen entrepreneurs gain exposure during the Superpowers Business Expo held at Carl Russell Recreation Center on Saturday, March 23. When discussing the event with The Chronicle, Ingram said, “We want to help everybody grow.

“We want to help business owners network business to business and business to consumer and I just love it. We hope to do this a few times a year and make people say ‘they’re Superpower University people,’” he continued. “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. I figured I would take initiative so I got with a few friends who had the same vision to help me promote it and it just worked.”

Participants and sponsors for the Superpowers Business Expo included: The Candle Nook, “Sleepy-Head” Pillows, Passionate CNA Home Care Services, Lilly Owens Appraisals, Oasis on Fifth, Transamerica Agency Network, Inc.,  The Big 4 Alumni Association, and several others. Published authors DeZyre Williams and Robyn Chavis also participated in the expo.

After helping customers during the expo, Cherita Irving, owner of Oasis on Fifth, said when she heard about the expo, she jumped at the opportunity to connect with other business owners in the area.

“Events like this are beneficial to everyone. The customers get the products they need and the business owners get to network. I’ve already connected with several other businesses here and talked about doing pop-up shops in the near future,” said Irving. “I think it’s important that we network because my customers can become your customer and vice-versa. We don’t support each other the way we should in our community and events like this gives us that opportunity.”

Along with helping local businesses and entrepreneurs gain exposure during the business expo, Ingram and Nechelle Samuel, owner of Passionate CNA Home Care Services, also planted a seed to help the next generation of entrepreneurs with the donation of scholarships. Ingram said he decided to include the scholarships because entrepreneurship and education go hand in hand.

Throughout the school year, Ingram also visits local schools to talk about becoming an entrepreneur and the importance of education.

“In order to become a business owner, you have to be able to read, write and count. That’s why we decided to donate scholarships to deserving students to let them know how important education is,” Ingram said.

For more information on Superpowers University, visit www.superpowersheroic.com or visit Superpowers University on Facebook.