02/14/1998
IWDM Study Library
Workshop 
Fayetteville NC

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
00:00 Speaker 1: The following workshop by Imam WD Mohammed, Muslim American spokesman was held at the Business Investment Conference on the Collective purchasing in Fayetteville, North Carolina, February the 14th, 1998.
00:14 Imam WD Mohammed: Yes. As-salamu alaykum again. I have so much to say to you now, because of what I've heard from you. I don't know if we have the time, but I'll try to not waste words, as I've already been treasured for not wasting words by my boss. When it comes to salesmanship, salesman skills, he's my boss. He doesn't accept that, and that's Imam Sultan. Yes, Muhammad. He is a natural born salesman. I believe if he wants to sell you that glass up there, he'll sell it.
[laughter]
01:01 IM: And you know it comes with the hotel.
[laughter]
01:09 IM: I'ma try to get to the more important things first. What I see right here in the room right now, today, is the group that I need. So I say I because you got... Responsibility's on me for everything. So the group that I need is right here in this room.
[background conversation]
01:29 IM: And, if you who are serious and you can respect me as a business person, and not as just an Imam. If you can respect me as a businessman and a business person that you can work for, not over, I'm ready to put you on the team. That will be a powerful team for all of America.
[background conversation]
01:51 IM: Yeah. So before you leave, make sure I have your name and contact number for you, what sort of business you're in, and what service you can offer us or what business you're in, and a contact number for you and I will personally contact you. On this level, you shouldn't come through anybody but me.
[background conversation]
02:13 IM: I'll personally contact you and we'll pull a team together to make this vision come true in the United States for all of us. So that's what I'm asking of you. But you have to be very serious and you have to be comfortable with me as your business leader. Yeah. Now, so, where are your degrees? Where was Prophet Mohammed's degrees? But look what he did. Look at the people who supported him. He wasn't formally educated, he was same situation I'm in. In fact he was in a worse situation when it comes to formal education, 'cause I do have a few credit hours from junior college in Chicago.
[laughter]
02:57 IM: Yeah, so. He didn't have any. He didn't have any formal education. Just common sense, good nature, excellent nature, common sense and virtues. Supreme virtues, supreme virtues. And ability. The natural ability. He had the natural ability. So G-d educated him. And this is all... This is in the Quran. G-d educated him. If I told you G-d educated me, you say, "What do you mean?" You don't believe in that. But G-d educated me. G-d has educated me.
[background conversation]
03:31 IM: G-d has guided me to where I should go, and what I should find, what I should look for, and G-d has educated me. G-d has been my leader in seeking knowledge and seeking to know how to use that knowledge. G-d has been my leader and I trust G-d for that. And really, if I would sit in anybody's college, after I talked to them a little bit, between me and the professor, the professor will be looking up to me and not me looking up to him. Now that would happen automatically, because of what G-d has done for this brain of mine. Yeah.
[background conversation]
04:03 IM: So don't underestimate me in the business. I have been businessman that ever since I was a boy. My father insisted that we be businessman. You couldn't live with my father if you weren't businessman. And we were in the house one day, and he said, "Well, what you doing?" We say, "Nothing, Daddy." "Nothing?" He said, "You wanna do nothing and stay here in this house?" So we say, "We did everything. We don't have anything to do." He says, "Whenever you don't have anything to do, go outside and count the leaves on the trees until I can give you something to do."
[laughter]
04:39 IM: Now, that's the man that I grew... My father that I grew up under. So you think I don't have business sense? [laughter] No way. One day we were eating, he said, "What did you do to earn that meal you're eating?" Yeah, we were eating. Enjoying our meal. Somehow, some of you all would holler "Allahu Akbar! Haram! Haram!" But I'd be like Mohammed did it, and it wasn't Haram in his house. It was Halal in his house. It was lawful in his house to stop you right in the middle of your meal. You're enjoying your meal. "And what have you done to earn that meal you're eating? Now tomorrow, if you don't get to work on time and do it in the... You don't get a meal here." That was my father. Okay? Alright.
05:25 IM: So getting back to our business, the CPC. Oh yes, so here's another thing. I was in prison in Sandstone and I was having, seeing the development of the leadership in the native Islam, and I knew we were headed... We were on a collision course. I knew trouble was down the road 'cause it already had set in before I was in prison. So I'm in prison, I'm by myself, I'm thinking, how can I be of better help when I get out. Allah blessed me in that prison to get in a city with good situation. They had me in charge of stationery, passing out stationery. I was over the stationery department, I passed out stations. So I got familiar with the business of stationery and everything, I got familiar with that. And because I was over that department, most of the times, when there was no... Nobody coming to ask... With a requisition for anything into my department, I had free time, so I would read. They provided me with a typewriter there, and I didn't have to know much because you're in prison, you have plenty of time to type, so one finger was good enough.
[laughter]
06:33 IM: But they also had a school. So I said, here's a chance for me to learn how to type, so I went to school. I went to school in prison, learned how to type. And so I'm typing and thinking and writing and typing there in the prison. And my foreman, he was so impressed by me the way I kept everything, dusted off everything, he never could come in, do that, and get dust. No, I took care of it. He said, "I see you're typing," he said, "Just don't let the others see it, be on alert like you are." I said, "Yes, you caught me." I said, "I'm careful." He said. "Continue to be careful, don't let them see you, but it is okay. I'm telling you, it's okay. It's okay for you to do your typing, and your reading, whatever you're doing, it's okay." And he said, "Are you interested in business?" I say, "Yes." He gave me two books on Economics, big volumes. One on what they call macroeconomics, and one on microeconomics. Government and private industry, that's what it was on. I had plenty of time in prison, I read those books through.
07:40 IM: Now, if you haven't read volumes on how the money system works for the government and for the private sector, then you start listening to me a little better, okay? Please. In all of my life, as a studious person, I've been interested in science, and business, science, and business science, and religion. Religion as a language. I want to study the language of religion. I want to understand where this language is coming from, how to interpret this language, how to place this language, where this language is to be placed. So that's how I have been studying, And that is my blessing from Allah, that Allah has given to me. To make me sensitive to these areas of knowledge, and to produce me from Allah Elijah Muhammad, and from the circumstances of the Nation of Islam's people and environment, that produce me from that into the form I am now. That's G-d's work. That's G-d's work. Nobody can make a dreamer out of me, nobody can flatter me and change my way of thinking. You can't do that, G-d has protected me from that.
08:57 IM: I'm as comfortable with the smallest person as I am with the biggest person. I thank G-d, I have no arrogance. I have no arrogance. And I have no greed. I have no greed. I have to watch my charity, not my appetite, because I will give too much to people, you know? So, I have to check that, I have to check my charity, not my appetite. And that's the protection G-d has given me. I owe all of that to Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Now, if you all will accept to be on the business team with me, I'll tell you, we will do marvelous business work in this United States. It'll be so great that we'll have people coming from Africa, different parts of Africa coming to see what we're doing coming to the... They'd be paying tribute to us, coming to visit us, just to see us. Just to see us. And to take back to their home something from us. Something of our knowledge, of our plan, of our skills, of our interest, of our philosophies, ... means philosophy, of our philosophies, they'll be coming to look, "Let's get some of this, these people have a philosophy that is working." And they'll be coming to us for it. Just leave your name. Don't go out of this room.
10:33 S?: No way.
10:34 IM: Until I have your name, contact number, name and a quick just... Two words. Put it in one word that's good enough for me. Put it in one word... If you put it in one word what your contributions will be, put it in one word, I'll understand it. If you wanna put it in two or three words, good. But please try to get it on the back of your card. I don't want letters. Just put it on the back of your card. If you don't have a card, quickly make yourself a card. And I won't overlook you or think you are of no importance because you don't have a card. Because many times you get caught, you don't have a card. And many people don't have cards, period. Because they haven't gotten in a situation that has required that they have a business card. But their resources and everything, that's the strongest demand... In fact, most people with cards, I'm suspicious of them.
[laughter]
11:26 IM: Because the person who has nothing to offer at all, the first thing they want is a card.
[laughter]
11:34 IM: And they will go and get a fancy, attractive business card made up and that's all you're looking at is some paper and some... And what the printer did. That's as far as you can go with that.
[laughter]
11:45 IM: Okay, alright. So, let me go out of the room, let me go out of the room with a way to contact you and if you're ready to do what I'm doing, and that is charging CPC not one penny. I don't charge CPC one penny, for anything. I'm an investor, my money is in there. And believe me, Allah has blessed me to have money to invest. I get invitations to speak around the country, so I'm making extra money, and I have to, if I don't, I just won't be able to pay my bills. I don't have... They say Saddam has 80 Palacious homes. And that means Palaces, 80. And they try and make it look like he lives in it, and they'll say, that's what I saw on TV, on the news. And there his people are starving in all this and he has 80... They didn't tell the whole truth, he has... If he got 80, those are 80 decoys.
12:54 IM: They keep the missiles, the guided missiles that may come from US or Israel, from hitting his home. They hit Gaddafi so, Saddam will make sure that it'll be difficult to hit him, they don't know which one of the lady homes he might be in tonight or tomorrow night, you see. So he's done that as a strategy, not because he wants that many palaces. Yes. So I am forced to do the work that I do. I enjoy it. But I am first, I'm forced to go out and get income from outside 'cause it just doesn't look right. So, Allah blessed me to get enough income from outside engagements and now I'm starting to get a little income from CPC, just a little from CPC, you too. Everybody is there sitting, you'll be soon, you'll be getting your statement, you'll be getting some income from CPC. So with this money, that I am getting, it brings me up to even lighten my burden on the ministry. 'Cause I've been working with the ministry, decreased my salary.
14:11 IM: From, what was it 3510, I think it was, to 2510. For now, for about a year and half, I've kept it right there and I've had some real serious times and I told Rafa ..., so rather than raise my salary, what I did, I got a loan and paid it back. Got a temporary loan advancement and paid it back, you see. But I've been able to do that. That's 2510 a month growth. So what is that? That's about 600 so not quite 700, a week I think. Just under that. Less than that, about around six a month, I can't figure it out right now, I got too many thoughts going through my mind. Yeah. Yeah, and you know that's not gonna take care of two families. So, Allah blessed me with this extra money, you see. Yeah, this extra income I'm getting is very good, In fact I'm getting more sometimes from speaking engagements outside on campuses that I'm getting from the ministry, my salary is from the ministry so really, that's what assures me that I'm gonna have rent paid at least at one of these houses, the lights on and everything, you know. [laughter]
15:29 IM: Yeah so, Inshallah we're gonna pull a team together, I already got few very good people working with me close, but we need a national team, see, we didn't know about you. We need a national team. I see back there, the thing we need right now, I got it right here, in this room. If you you are ready to work with me.
15:49 S?: We're ready.
15:50 IM: If you are ready to work with me...
15:53 S?: Yeah.
15:53 IM: And you know I have no problem working with a boss, I never had a problem, working with somebody over me. Calling them boss. I never had a problem. In fact, if I work for you, you can count on me, being low and honest, and being in good spirits. I don't have any problem calling you the boss. No, no problem whatsoever. And even if you make mistakes, if I think I know more than you, I'm not gonna, I'm still holding you in that high respect. I'll find a way to bring that mistake to you in a way that wouldn't offend you. Yeah, yeah.
16:29 S?: That's right.
16:29 IM: But you also... "Hey, that's just wrong. You say you know that, but that's wrong. I know that's wrong." Nice days that we're having, eh?
16:39 S?: They won't work for you buddy, now.
16:42 IM: [laughter] Yeah, but don't think it's just us. I'm told by people, they're telling me all the time. In fact, they be complaining to me saying, "Where can we find good health, where can we find some good health" People that won't just worry... I say, "I don't know."
[laughter]
17:02 IM: So that's just the market situation. It's just improving, but the '60s, oh it just destroyed. Destroyed the values. People lost their values, they lost respect for everything. Started taking this life and everything for granted you know, that's what we would come through, '60s and '70s and '80s, and now with the '90s going out, we're seeing a sense coming back. Some kind of sense is coming back and they're calling it a moral renewal, moral awakening or moral renewal for us. That's what the business people calling it, high-level, you know, you wanna know how trustworthy I am? I get letters all the time, "You want $10,000? You can get it, just sign this. You want $100,000? Get it, just sign this and send it back to us." Yes, that's what I am getting from lending institutions. Yeah. And I don't know, I'm afraid to say it's driver too, that says a lot about a person.
18:10 IM: Yeah, my driver's license... I got a driver's license, but I also got a citation from Illinois, safe driver. That's what I got. I can show it to you if you'd like to see it, safe driver. That says a lot about a person too, you know. Yeah, because if you're accident prone, in any situation, you can't be trusted in good business.
18:31 S?: That's right.
18:34 IM: Right. Yeah, yeah. And I have a car, never had any repossessed, never been put out of an apartment or a house. I was a businessman on my own for about 2 1/2 to 3 years, never got put out of that business, never had the lights turned off and started with nothing, I had absolutely nothing. I was a welder. I had no extra money, but my wife agreed, she's bringing some extra money, she said, "I will do sewing and I'll sell jewellery." And I was selling jewellery too on the side. She said, "I'll sell this costume jewellery, I'll help you sell it," and I found some jewellery I can order and assemble it, she said, "All this while you're working, I'll assemble the jewellery for you," that's Shirley. She said, "I'll assemble the jewellery for you." So I said, "Well if you do all that, Shirley, I say, I'ma try to open a store."
19:37 IM: So I found... Went hunting, I found me a nice location, not far from where we were staying in apartments. And I got this little store. Opened the store. And you'd be surprised what I've done. I think this important for you to hear. I opened it to sell some Islamic publications and turbans. Turbans were very popular at that time. This was around 1965 I guess. Around there. '65 or so. Yeah, around there, around, around there. Anyway, Turbans were really going and I thought I could, I thought I could make a turban, I'd never done one. But I saw it this is simple. I looked at the turban how it's made. "This is simple. I'ma make me some turbans". So I started making turbans. Made very nice ones. I was selling turbans like mad at that little store to men and women. Men, most men were buying them. So men were wearing turbans back then. They would buy them. So I said, "Well, I'ma try a dashiki". Tried the dashiki it turned out very nice. "I said, "I'ma try a cast hand." Tried it turned out very nice. I'ma try an A-line skirt. Tried it turned out very nice.
20:43 IM: So out here I got racks of clothes my garments I made. Got my little sewing machine back behind the curtain back there, I got my garments on, ah, dang it, so I couldn't afford to buy garments. I had to get this, this... The fabric rarity and make those garments. So I made them got them hanging out there. Lady, right near, I'm in a party area taverns and taverns and party clubs, you know. So this party lady came in, and I couldn't sell her anything on the rack. She said, "You know what I want? My dresses, I like them real short, I wear my... " She said, "I want something like mini... " And right up there, she put it just below her vital organs line.
[laughter]
21:21 IM: That's right, that's what she did, she put her hand right just below her vital organ line, said, "I want a skirt about that long." I'm not saying mini, because I think it was mini mini [laughter] and I made it for her, it was a little loose. She said, "No," she said, "That's too loose," she said, "I'm small, but I'm shapely can't you make it... " I said, "I sure can," so I made it again, and now I'm ashamed I'm very ashamed, I'm swearing that. Not because the skirt, what she's asking for isn't modest. I'm ashamed because my workmanship is bad. [laughter] I didn't have it sitting on to know her shape and everything but it was squeezing this around there where she wanted it. She put that thing on, "I like... " And I had mirrors. She then looked and, "Oh I like". She said, "Can you have it ready for me in... " by she said at 7:00, I think she said. I said, "Well I don't think I can have it ready, I have to finish it. I don't think I'll have it ready at that time." I said, "But I can have it, I know that the party starts about 11:00 until... " I said, "I can have it ready for you about 9:00 or 10:00." she said, "Okay I'ma be back here to pick it up. You want me to pay you now?"
22:29 IM: I said, "No you've already given me some of the... Pay the rest when you come back," she came back and I had just a little bit... That made this pretty nice, and it looked pretty nicely. And look at all for her, it looked very nice. She put it on again, man, I could hardly look at it.
[laughter]
22:47 IM: That woman walked out that place with that thing and she was happy as she could be. Yeah. But believe me the A-line skirts, this is to know a little bit about A-line shirts and they know what I'm talking about. Oh, they were beautiful, they were some of the most beautiful A-line skirts you've ever seen. And they put them on, that's beautiful. They're easy to fit on, unless you got an unusual shape or something. They pretty easy to fit. So that's why I chose to make A-line skirts, very simple and easy for me. So I've gone through all that and never never, have had to close up or say, "Well, I'll pay you when I sell this, I'll pay you... " No, I didn't get in situations like that.
23:31 IM: Successful business people are people who have successful lives. Yeah, and some people appear to be successful in business, but if you go and look at their financial records, you find that they're really living off of money that they don't even have. They got so much debt, they got so many financial problems. So really, if they would sell today, they'd be out of business. I'm not that kind of person, and I don't want that kind of person with us. Yeah. Thank you very much... So any questions or anything? Yes.
24:11 S?: [24:14] can't hear the question.
[background conversation]
24:30 IM: Well, we encourage... I think education should be seen a little different there, by us, than what... The way the world look at it here. But the world look at educations that... The world is beginning to see education the way Muslims see education. I think everybody should be contributing to better education in our public. Not just... We shouldn't leave it to government institutions, public schools, colleges, university, or even private institutions, colleges and universities are still... Still educate our public. Because many of these institutions, they fail many of the people who are living in the poverty. They fail them, they didn't reach them, they were unable to reach them, they were unable to turn them on their appreciation for knowledge and education. They reached them, but there are many out there with great minds, but they have never been reached, and many of those that have reached, they have been given a limited knowledge that was good maybe 50 years or 30 years ago. But that kind of limited former knowledge is not even good today. Not enough. It's not enough today. That's what I mean not good. It's not enough today. So There's a need for special contributions to the learning or education of the public. Some big institutions, they're aware of that, so they disseminate, distribute information.
26:14 IM: Educational literature and pamphlets, etcetera, free of charge, and they made them available to the public, and it takes the ironing to materialize that. You can pick it up in healthcare education, you see? There's even a greater need now than 10 years ago to keep up with what has happened currently in the field of consumer education in that area, consumer education. So it needs to always be current. And I think if organizations are like ours, associations like ours... We should feel it our obligation to help educate the public. All of these organizations that have the public interest, human interests at heart, we have an obligation to help educate the public. So we need to meet... Really we should have... They call it furor. I would just call... I asked for this in one of my subjects, a good while ago, not just for us but for all the African-American people, 'cause we lost that somewhere in the road to equal opportunity, and, I would say, inclusion in the society of America, we lost, we lost that protection we had from an African-American intelligentsia. We used to... The average person just kept what was happening in the newspaper, on the African-American radio station.
27:45 IM: He was able to tell you who the leaders were. That, "This man is doing this in civil rights, this man is doing this in education." "He's a writer, he's a famous writer who writes the column, that helps us, he talks to us. He helps us think, he helps our thinking. He helps direct our thinking, and enrich our thinking." We used to... Benjamin Mays, was a terrific man. Benjamin Mays. But we lost that. Now we don't... Who knows who the leaders are, we don't know. So we need that intelligentsia for our community. But we Muslims, we in charge of our own program, we in charge of our own plans, they are ours. So, how come we don't produce an intelligentsia? So we will know, "This is our brother, leading brother in this particular area of interest, thought or whatever. And, this sister, she's taking care of this," and we have an intelligentsia. CPC could be the circumstances or the situation for us forming this great body of intelligent people serving the interests of the community. Yeah, Inshallah, we'll that.
29:00 IM: Yeah, I hope I...
29:02 S?: [can't hear question] ____ regarding the CPC and a better understanding of household management, saving money...
29:14 IM: Okay, okay, yes, thank you for bringing me back to that. What I want to say to that particular concern, is that yes we do need to better educate the community. The journal, we can use the journal, but I hope we would have more publications coming as we start to realize more funds to work with. Yes. And I think we should also remember that the general public needs that service too. Yes Sir, thank you.
29:49 S?: Whenever you're ready.
29:53 IM: Oh, I thought there was another... I see more hands there. Let's... Mustapha Barton, since he's a brother we know that's been very helpful to the community. Yes.
30:04 S?: I would like to know the capitalization goal for the CPC, the ideal amount of money you would like to have in place for the CPC to begin full operations, and how close are we to achieving that goal. How far do we have to go to achieve that? And, then also, could you discuss the difference between the CPC, and the previous AMCA program.
30:34 IM: Yes, okay. Okay for the first question, we're not waiting till we get to... I thought that once we got near a million dollars, we could be able to begin purchasing volume purchase. I was told by one representative of a country, a Muslim country, that we would have to have like about $180,000 to purchase in volume, from some of their business people. But I know, depends upon what you're interested in, some items you need much more money than that, you need much more than that. But if you got a half a million dollars, you can do a lot of big volume purchasing.
31:22 IM: Yeah. So, we are there. We have purchased shea butter. And I wanna share this with you too, shea butter... We were looking to get the... We announced... We also announced in the paper that we were looking for a source, so we can go directly to the source, instead of having to buy from some middleman over here or something. With the help of our Muslim brothers, one a distributor in Georgia, brother Shareef Shakir, before the group was enlarged to the number they have now, he made contact for us, for I asked him to help us, so he did. He found a contact in Africa, and the price was much too high. But come to find out that we weren't communicating clearly. Language was a little problem. The figure we got now looks good, but we also have another source, and I've received a sample of the shea butter from them too, and both samples look real great.
32:19 IM: And, we are talking now getting... We can buy the shea butter for a cost that would enable us to sell it to the distributor, he's the one who gets it directly from CPC, he's the first, number one, he's the number one person, at no cost, other than the cost to get the product, for us to get the product. And, 40% of the gain, when the product is sold, the net gain... 40% of the gross gain not the net gain, I'm sorry, gross gain. 40% of the gross gain goes to the company, that's to the investors, us. You and me, and all those who are investing. And we can satisfy all that. And I do believe we gonna be able to give the distributor a 5-oz jar, right now we got a 4 oz plus.
33:16 IM: We have a... We have a 5-oz jar Inshallah. See, and that's another thing that I have a sensitivity, but somebody has to have... Somebody has to be at the top. So, you say well why five ounces? I like language and symbolism, and I like easy figuring. I can figure 5 oz a little easier than I can figure 4.8... Zero eight or something like that. 5 oz. Why I gotta fuss with the ounces, so I make it easier for myself, 5 oz. So a 5-oz bottle, there'll be a 5-oz bottle, just a little more than 4 oz and I believe it's pivotal we get this product finished, jarred, labelled everything... For like, maybe as low as $1.25, no higher than like a $1.75.
[background conversation]
34:10 IM: Yeah and company will get its gain, its margin, that it's looking for it, the company will get that 40% gain. And the distributor will get at that price. The distributor... Well that's one thing, we have to impose laws upon ourselves. That's different, very important too. Very important for me to tell you this, that even though you have your independent business, your business should be autonomous. That means your marketing plans, and everything and your promotion plan for promoting the product, all of that's in your hands, in your hands, we're not centralized there to do these things for you. All that's in your hands. But we want to just look, if you were buying a product for any company, wouldn't you buy that product and start planning your sales of that product with respect for what that company has established, for that product? Well, that's all we're asking, just respect what we have established, for the product and don't violate it but keep us looking good and excellent and most importantly, don't hurt us legally. Don't do something that reflects on us bad and then we'll be finding ourselves in court. Defending ourselves, or something, associating with you.
35:23 IM: We don't want that, and that's when I'll give you $100,000 to take them to the shed. No, that's money I've already... That's part of the business, that's part of the business plan. That's money that I have already put aside. No joke! No joke!
[applause]
35:46 IM: Say, "Brother Imam, don't you know that's illegal?" I most certainly do. And it's illegal for you to mess with me too. That's right. Yeah, and I'd say this before the president of the United States. Before the FBI, anybody, I'll say just now... I've been saying it before one of them right now. And believe me, no minority ever got up, until they were willing to die for their interests. You'll never get up until you are willing to die for your interests and when I was younger, I would say, "Sin brothers also." But I'm older now, and even with my value to you, I say, "I'll do it, I'll take care of it. Let me have it, plus they like me, they might be very easy on me when they get me in court." Say, "Well, you didn't kill anything but a worthless skunk anyway so pay this fine and go home."
[laughter]
36:48 IM: Yes. Alright, I could talk all day because there's lots to talk to you about so we... I see one more hand, can we take... Can we take...
37:00 S?: We will get one more in for you.
[background conversation]
37:04 IM: Yeah, the question on the AMCA, I never got around to that. You know why I didn't? 'Cause I don't think it's necessary. That's in the past too, yeah, yeah, this is not AMCA. Yes.
37:20 S?: As-salamu alaykum.
37:20 IM: Alaykumu s-salam.
37:23 S?: Talk about CPC. We, talked about education. My question is to you, as well as to the [can't hear voice]. My interest is in the leadership here, in their ends, programs, plans set up for the school where CPC will be taught to young people, we are at a place where we are now, we also desire, I do, to have my son grow up with the concept of CPC college through you. So I would like to see something like that set up so that young people can focus to the same [can't hear voice].
38:05 IM: Yes, I see, I understand, yes. Well, no, what... What I'm more interested in right now, is our schools getting a budget, a yearly budget, from CPC, and that could easily be done, CPC don't set up not-for-profit businesses too. Not-for-profit businesses and all the money, all the expenses will go to our school, a budget for our school. Yes, So that's how we're gonna help the school and when you have money, you can do all those wonderful things you have in mind. Yeah, and Imam Plemon is right here, and he has a wonderful effort in the education here, marvel effort for us in education there. Effort in high school, in fact I think he could be planning right now, two years in junior college. I think, they have progressed enough to work on right now.
39:11 S?: 2001, yes.
39:11 IM: Oh good, okay, there you go, 2001, they plan to, plan to have a junior college in Atlanta and Inshallah you might realize it sooner when you see this money coming through your school, from CPC. Yeah, and we're not gonna lose anything. CPC will not lose anything. Will not take any money out of our pockets. We just going to use the money that we would lose anyway, or wouldn't get the benefit from. Put that money into the non-for-profit entity so that we have... If we can run the business, we can run the school business. We help the learner on any areas that qualify. We help them go into any business. Stationary, I mentioned stationary. Stationary is a good business. School supplies, a school supply store. All that's good business. We help them go into a business like that, and all the profits will go into schools. Goes into your budget to take care of your schools. And not only that, we're gonna have many products.
40:20 IM: Maybe the school is not able to have a store. We'll store so many products that if you can put in a warehouse nearby, you'll be able to open a store up instantly. You'll just be over there instantly, you're gonna open a store up instantly. You got a store. Full supply store, instantly. And the money, over the salaries... And plus we're making jobs too, right? See that's very important too. To employ people who need to be employed or who qualify for employment and make money for education to run our schools. So all that's in our plan. The plan is big. The plan is very big. Yes, now we come back to... Yes.
41:00 S?: As-salamu alaykum.
41:00 IM: Alaykumu s-salam.
41:01 S?: Just a question. I understand CPC is bitter on... Is the organization focused on brand development?
41:08 IM: On?
41:10 S?: On brand development. For example, you don't see you're dominant in some of those things. To create private labels a lot of business under their label.
41:19 IM: Right.
41:21 S?: Under their brand.
41:23 IM: Right.
41:26 S?: And generally they could contract manufacturing actually. What they do is communicate with different manufacturers to get those manufacturers to produce the thing. So then they put that under their label.
41:36 IM: Yes.
41:37 S?: Will CPC focus on branded items like that? Under a certain brand?
41:43 IM: Yes, we're doing that now. We're doing that now. Yes, so we have a good collection of products that have been sent to us from different areas. From business people in our community. We have a lot of products very similar to shea butter and a lot of them that have shea butter in their content now. So we have a lot of products and I think I understand what you were saying. And we really want to help these small business people by taking a formula that they put together, this product, taking that product and having it produced in volume, and keeping it as much as possible to their own specifications, or their liking. And in terms of the contents, and also the packaging and label and everything, even that. The way you wanna advertise. We wanna respect everything, respect all the serious interests of these small business people. But we wanna give it big volume and give it big distribution. Very big distribution. And we would like to see us grow big without the help of television until we're able to pay that kinda money for television advertising.
43:08 IM: And the way to do that, the way to do that is to have... If we can't have the same name, at least have one symbol, same symbol. Same symbol, just something that stands out on the label. So if people see that, they know that's the same product or comes from the same company, pardon me. It doesn't have to be legal. There's nothing legal. You can't do... I won't say, "Wait, are you taking me to court? Are you taking me to court?" And say, "Who owns this?" It won't be anything like that, but it'll be something that enables us to publish our products so wide that we don't need TV. People say, "Oh, I saw that in Atlanta. Yeah, I know that product. I saw that in Fayetteville." And they'd be in Chicago or New York, but it's been so widely distributed. So when they see that graphic that little graphic there, they go, "Oh, what's that?" Is that similar to what you were talking about?
43:56 S?: Yes, yes.
43:57 IM: Okay, that's exactly what we're concentrating on now. And we have come up with a little symbol that we want on everything that identifies CPC. And you're talking about getting people to respect you, that's hard. I have to wrestle with people. I say, "No." I say, "You don't understand what I'm saying." I said, "Don't try to understand it. Just do it please." We have been wrestling and having a tug of war here for two or three weeks of [can't understand word] and there's people waiting on us to finish something. I said, "Don't try to understand. Just do it. Please just do it." So we got a little emblem. We got a L, a L. A little foot to it like a L and then a L going upward, going upward. And it's like a sail, but the L is down on the base going upwards. I like that. It says that, now that we're down here, it says, "We're shooting for up there." So I like it. So we put this little symbol on there, and I told them I want this symbol on everything. Say, well, I got a memorandum. Let's say, well, I said "Yes." I said, "How do I know this is CPC memorandum? And without reading it. I don't wanna read it." I said, "I wanna look at it from across the room and know that's a CPC memorandum." I said, "Please, put the symbol on that. Put the graphics on that. Little graphic. Put that little graphic."
45:24 IM: So everything that you'll be getting in the future in time is gonna have that little graphic symbol. So you can drop CPC paper among your papers and you'll be easy be able to find it. So when you see that graphic, the little graphic design, you know that's CPC. Even if it was a letter, we write you back, a little note, that little graphic design will be on there. That's our mark. That's our mark. And we want it on a bottle. We want it on the bottle. We want it on every jar. Everything, that little sign, that little graphic symbol. Even though it's small, we want it on every design. So if people see that... If we ever build a house, we gonna put a metal plate saying, "This construction was completed... " That little design there. And we don't need TV. It goes into the subconscious. It goes into the subconscious. People saw that. Only thing that people wanna know, "Is this popular?" That's what the TV sells them. "This is popular." And if it's popular, they relax. "Okay, I can do that. I can trust this, it's popular." So we gonna make... We gonna...

