HERMITAGE – Laurie Phillips life her lifestyle in accordance to the Martin Luther King Jr. quote, “Faith is taking the initially step even when you don’t see the full staircase.”

She saved the religion as she begun her company back in 1989 when she did not see quite a few other Black women of all ages in a male-dominated subject.

“I would be the only Black woman in the marketplace,” Phillips reported. “But you remain the study course. You proceed to seem for that staircase.”

Phillips is the owner of 2J’s and a Bee in Hermitage. The corporation delivers customized silk screen and other kinds of advertising printing and other products and solutions for anything from T-shirts for large university football teams to festive holiday caps.

Phillips was honored Monday as the Entrepreneur Highlight by the Shenango Valley City League at its Martin Luther King Jr. Working day of Remembrance.

“I have faith. I belief God where by he’s likely to lead me in the enterprise and in the neighborhood,” Phillips claimed.

Through the day of remembrance application, Phillips mentioned she tries to guide by instance.

Born in Sharon and elevated in Wheatland, she graduated from Farrell Superior College in 1988.

She embarked on a variety of employment but observed she had a knack for graphics. A calendar year later on she acquired modest silk screening gear and quickly commenced working out of her property.

Phillips turned an LPN and eventually acquired one more degree to be a registered nurse.

She labored at Sharon Regional Clinical Centre but received caught in the health treatment provider’s downsizing. She also worked as a personal nurse for purchasers.

For a great deal of that time, she was creating up 2J’s and a Bee. The name will come from the initials of her grandchildren.

Phillips moved the rising business enterprise to a storefront on Martin Luther King Boulevard in the vicinity of NLMK Pennsylvania’s Farrell steel plant. A several a long time back, she moved to her existing location on East Point out Road in Hermitage.

Phillips at 1 place experienced a stroke that pressured her to consider what she really required to do.

She claimed she invested a whole lot of time praying.

The…