Full-time career, full- time studies and small business owner… whoever said that it can’t be done has not met this enthusiastic young woman.  Our Small Business Spotlight owner of this month, Ibi Opuiyo, is the poster child for what she calls “practical approach success”. While balancing studies at the University of Houston-Victoria Business School, Opuiyo has also recently concluded an award winning Clinical Safety and Effectiveness project at MD Anderson Cancer Center which allowed her department to increase access to patients requiring diagnostic exams. Her passion for process improvement and initiatives promoting safety and efficiency in healthcare, has recently earned her a scholarship from the British Medical Journal to attend the upcoming International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare in Paris. In addition to being room mother for her lovely daughter’s 7th grade class and serving as Outreach Coordinator and website developer for her church’s Young Adult Ministry, Opuiyo has also been strategically managing the development of her small business, CPR Time, which offers CPR training and certification in Fort Bend County.

Her business philosophy is to be practical…balance the risks involved, whether it be time, capital, acquisition of knowledge and skill, or all of the above. Maximize your opportunities to learn and continually evaluate your motives for going into business. You are not only going into business for yourself, but into commerce.  ”My goal with my business is to simply offer great service at the greatest convenience and best value for my customers.”

Website: http://www.cprtime.com

Kim Roxie, World Renowned Beauty Educator/Make-Up Artist.

With a whisk of her magical wand, also known as her make-up brushes, Kim Roxie transforms her clients into a work of art, something like a magician. Birthed in 2004, Kim Roxie, a licensed aesthetician and make-up designer has created an entire cosmetic conglomerate, LAMIK Beauty that features a make-up line, facial care, eyelash enhancement with her own line of custom lashes, and eyebrow sculpting bar.

Holding a Bachelors of Art degree in Public Relations from Clark Atlanta University, her calling into the beauty industry was more of a ministry than a career, she wanted to break the often artificial and plastic stereotypes that often influenced self-esteem issues. For the longest, beauty has been defined by certain looks and if you didn’t look that way, you weren’t considered beautiful explains Kim Roxie. Kim Roxie’s passion for what she does is evident through her explanation: I love enhancing women’s beauty. I love helping to build their self-esteem by making them feel good and giving them more than what they expected in terms of revealing their natural beauty. That is why she has won the hearts of many women going natural.

What separates Ms. Kim Roxie is her devotion for teaching others, recently opening a make-up academy in the Atlanta Georgia area. She travels extensively and has taught many workshops at Beauty Expos across the United States and Canada. Her much anticipated workshops includes: Eco Chic Beauty Revelation: Put your Best Face Forward in Under 10 minutes and Beauty Outside-In.

Kim Roxie has worked with some of the most celebrated people in the entertainment industry, such A-List Celebs Yolanda Adams, Chrisette Michele and the cast of the Real Housewives of Atlanta. Her works has also graced magazines worldwide and award show stages.

Currently the world renowned beauty expert, Kim Roxie, is leading her company through the doors of Macy’s and launching her cosmetic line in-stores and on-line with Macy’s.com.

Visit Website lamik-beauty.com

Blank Canvas Consulting, a boutique consulting firm, specializes in helping you understand, shape, and capitalize on your vision, brand, and network.

Derrick D. Vaughn, owner of Vaughn Arch Design Firm, is an accomplished residential and commercial designer. He graduated from the School of Architecture at Southern University A&M College in the spring of 1999.

His career began as an intern working for one ofHouston’s elite custom home designers and quickly transitioned into educational design for several well established architecture firms.

In 2005, Vaughn’s entrepreneurial vision led him to launch his own company, Vaughn Arch Design Firm.  Now esteemed as a well respected design firm in the Houston area, Vaughn Arch Design Firm offers many services such as custom home design, commercial design, construction management, and estimating. You can find many of his projects in 3^rd ward, the Montrose area and throughout Southwest Houston.

Vaughn is an active member of the National Organization of Minority Architects and A Few Good Men Marketing Management Group. He also dedicates his time to volunteering for youth enrichment and mentorship through local school district programs and his church.

AT EGO FITNESS STUDIOS, we believe that having a healthy ego is a necessary element in reaching your fitness goals. That’s why we take pride in BOOSTING EGOS with our specially crafted fitness classes that cater to men, women and children.

We offer personal training sessions as well as small-group training classes for people of all fitness levels.  We even offer Open-Gym Memberships with perks such as FREE Meal plans, fitness assessments and Powerades.

All classes and training sessions are instructed by CERTIFIED INSTRUCTORS consisting of professional athletes, professional athlete trainers and experienced fitness professionals. To top it off, our lead trainer and Studio Manager is a functioning, healthy, fit DIABETIC who takes pride in guiding other diabetics to a healthier lifestyle!

Our signature class, “BOOST,” is made up of circuit workouts specially suited to target the upper and lower body each day.  You can lose up to 50 lbs in ONLY 4 months with this program and begin seeing results in just ONE WEEK!  We also offer, Kick Boxing, Pilates, Spin, Women-Only & Pole Fitness classes, Nightclub Cardio and Zumba, to give you some variety in your workout!

EGO FITNESS STUDIOS welcomes the whole family to get fit and stay in shape.

Alfred Malone and CeCe Baskett are the owners of Ego Fitness Studios.  Alfred Malone is a professional football player who has played for the Houston Texans, Greenbay Packers and now the UFL team–Las Vegas Locomotives.  Staying in shape has been a career for Malone and with this being the case, he has studied the ins and outs of what it takes and how important it is to be physically fit.  Not just for his career but for his own health.  CeCe has been an athlete since the 5th grade and played sports up until college.  CeCe too understand and recognize the need to stay and shape and maintain my health.  That has been an important factor in CeCe’s career as well.  Being in shape makes you look better.  When you look better you have a healthy ego.  Having a healthy ego makes you think better, perform better and enjoy life.  This is the message we want to send to the community.  In addition, CeCe’s brother, Demetryst Cornish was the biggest inspiration for starting this gym.  He has been a diabetic for over 20 years and has maintained it successfully by working out, eating right and having a positive attitude about life.  Many people struggle with their weight due to diabetes, low self esteem, etc. and we wanted to show them there is a way out.  That’s why we decided to be more of a hands on gym to show people we care about their well being and are here to help.

 Contact EGO Fitness at 713-776-1100 or visit their website http://www.egofitnessstudios.com/site/