Podcast appearances and mentions of valerie herskowitz

In this episode, Dr. Hackie Reitman explores the topic of finding employment for the neurodiverse by revisiting clips from some of our brilliant past guests. Featured are: Lynn Miner-Rosen, M.Ed., BCC, CDCS (Board Certified ADHD Coach and Career Coach for College Students and Young Adults. She also has personal experience with learning disabilities as a person with ADHD, and a parent), Michael McManmon, Ed.D. (speaker, writer, artist psychologist, and founder of the College Internship Program [CIP]—a post-secondary program serving students with Asperger’s Syndrome, autism, high functioning autism, ADHD, and other learning differences), Stacey Hoaglund (President of the Autism Society of Florida, the editor of The Autism Notebook Magazine, a tireless advocate who is on every nonprofit board you can think of, and the parent of a son with autism), Valerie Herskowitz (founder of the Chocolate Spectrum, a chocolate shop in South Florida staffed by people on the Autism Spectrum), Michael Bernick (former director of California’s labor department, co-author of “The Autism Job Club,” and board member of AASCEND), and celebrated autism advocate and author Dr. Temple Grandin. FOR MORE ABOUT LYNN MINER ROSEN, VISIT: http://www.coachlynnmr.com/ FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW: http://differentbrains.org/achieving-goals-adhd-lynn-miner-rosen-edb-105/ FOR MORE ABOUT MICHAEL McMANMON AND CIP, VISIT: http://collegeinternshipprogram.org/ AND LOOK FOR HIS BOOKS AT: http://www.jkp.com/ FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW: http://differentbrains.org/college-internship-program-helping-neurodiverse-find-careers-michael-mcmanmon-ed-d-edb-98/ FOR MORE ABOUT STACEY HOAGLUND, VISIT: https://www.facebook.com/stacey.hoaglund AND https://www.facebook.com/TheAutismNotebook/ FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW: http://differentbrains.org/parent-advocates-supporting-kids-autism-spectrum-stacey-hoaglund-edb-78/ FOR MORE ABOUT VALERIE HERSKOWITZ AND THE CHOCOLATE SPECTRUM, VISIT: http://thechocolatespectrum.com/ FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW: http://differentbrains.org/chocolate-spectrum-autism-employment-one-sweet-time-w-valerie-herskowitz-edb-107/ FOR MORE ABOUT MICHAEL BERNICK AND AASCEND, VISIT: http://www.aascend.org/ AND LOOK FOR HIS BOOK AT: http://www.autismjobclub.com/ FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW: http://differentbrains.org/exploring-different-brains-episode-05-michael-bernick/ AND, FOR MORE ABOUT DR. TEMPLE GRANDIN AND HER BOOKS, VISIT: http://www.templegrandin.com/ FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW: http://differentbrains.org/autism-employment-dr-temple-grandin-edb-94/ Follow Different Brains on social media: https://twitter.com/diffbrains https://www.facebook.com/different.brains/ Check out more episodes of Exploring Different Brains! http://differentbrains.org/category/edb/

Welcome to the Autism Advantage podcast! I’m your host, Tom D’Eri. Throughout the first seven episodes of season 2, we chronicled the process of opening a second location of Rising Tide Car Wash, where we employ people with autism. If you tuned in, you heard all about how we planned this location, interviewed and trained our fantastic new employees, how the opening went, and much more. For the final three episodes of this season, we’re changing things up a bit! We want to revisit some of the incredible entrepreneurs who we featured in season 1 to hear about how their journeys have progressed since we last heard from them. In today’s episode, we’re featuring the awesome Valerie Herskowitz, founder of The Chocolate Spectrum Cafe and Academy. If you haven’t already heard her in the fifth episode of season 1, go listen to that now and then come back here! You may remember that Val was inspired to expand her sweet hobby into a business as her son with autism, Blake, was graduating from high school. After expanding their chocolate venture online, they opened a brick-and-mortar cafe just a couple of months before our previous conversation. All of the employees had autism or were otherwise differently abled. Since our last conversation, there has been a huge change in the training side of things. Val explains that she has mostly just gone with the flow with the business, following the opportunities that presented themselves, instead of having a huge long-term master plan. She explains in this conversation that it occurred to her that they should see if the coffee industry could possibly be something that would work for individuals with autism. With the right equipment and support systems, they found that their employees can be very successful in this role. The strongest revenue stream has continued to be online shopping, while retail continues to be weak and disappointing in terms of walk-in traffic. The levels haven’t reached what they expected, which Val attributes to location. In response, Val sends out flyers and came up with the idea of developing a Facebook page just for the retailers in her shopping center. Another strategy for increasing their revenue has been branching out into wholesale. In addition to talking about all of this, Val speaks with great detail (and passion) about her new training program for teens with autism, explaining why it’s so necessary. Tune into this great episode to hear this and much more!   In This Episode: [01:05] - For listeners who didn’t hear our previous conversation, Val explains what The Chocolate Spectrum Cafe and Academy is and what inspired her to start the company. [01:50] - How has the company grown over the last year since our previous conversation? In her answer, Val talks about the company branching into coffee. [06:45] - Val discusses taking the skills that their employees were learning in their coffee training program and put them into an employment situation. [08:30] - How many people are working at the satellites Val has been describing, and what is her vision for them? [11:05] - Tom clarifies: Val is using her primary location as a hub and for training, with satellite operations around it to increase distribution and employ more people. [11:27] - Val talks about how she plans on managing all of this. [14:35] - We back up a bit to hear how “home base,” the Chocolate Spectrum retail store, is doing these days. [18:18] - Tom has a couple of suggestions for ways that Val (and listeners, of course!) can market online. He recommends using Mogl and geofencing. [21:36] - Val shifts into talking specifically about employee growth, and discusses certifications for training and placing people in the community. [24:53] - The biggest thing that Val’s company provides is teaching their employees how to be employed, since they don’t typically have experience in what is involved in the process and what the expectations are. [26:04] - Val has always wanted to work with teens, because she feels like the process of teaching the skills that she has described should be started younger. Tom then elaborates on the need for this kind of training. [27:35] - We learn that Val was able to secure a separate grant for teen training, and will be working with the first group of teens this year. [28:57] - The biggest challenge Val has experienced with the teens she’s worked with so far is having them learn to work together. [31:10] - The last thing Val is developing right now to increase their revenue is a wholesale business, which she describes. [34:12] - How can listeners support Val? In her answer, she talks about a piece of advice that Tom’s dad gave her that she didn’t really believe before. [36:58] - Tom shares his thoughts on why people who have been touched by autism don’t automatically support businesses like The Chocolate Spectrum and Rising Tide Car Wash, instead of bigger businesses. Links and Resources: The Chocolate Spectrum Cafe and Academy The Chocolate Spectrum: shop online Valerie Herksowitz Valerie Herksowitz on LinkedIn Tom D’Eri Rising Tide Car Wash Rising Tide U University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism & Related Disabilities Mogl Geofencing The Loving Push by Temple Grandin Special Treats

In this episode, Dr. Hackie Reitman speaks with Valerie Herskowitz, who has been a speech pathologist and language specialist for 38 years and is the founder of the Chocolate Spectrum, a chocolate shop in Jupiter, Florida that is staffed by people on the Autism Spectrum. Valerie speaks to us about how the Chocolate Spectrum came about, the challenges she and other parents face in finding work for their adult children on the spectrum, and the importance to early exposure to career paths. For more about the Chocolate Spectrum, visit: http://thechocolatespectrum.com/ Or, visit them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheChocolateSpectrum/ Follow Different Brains on social media: https://twitter.com/diffbrains https://www.facebook.com/different.brains/ Check out more episodes of Exploring Different Brains! http://differentbrains.org/category/edb/

Welcome to the Autism Advantage podcast! I’m your host, Tom D’Eri, the COO and co-founder of Rising Tide Car Wash. In case you’re not familiar with what we do, we employ a fantastic team of individuals with autism, allowing us to empower our staff while offering a fantastic experience to customers. We believe that individuals with autism are an incredible untapped resource for many business, and this show is dedicated to proving that employing these people can create real competitive advantages. Valerie Herskowitz is one of my fellow South Florida autism entrepreneurs and the founder of The Chocolate Spectrum Cafe and Academy. So far, the cafe only employs adults with autism or developmental disabilities, and Val has been learning to do just about every aspect of running the business herself. While this is complicated in the early stages, it’s a strength in that she’ll be intimately familiar with every facet of the business. Val had been involved in pastry and chocolates as a hobby, never thinking she would turn it into anything more. After semi-retiring, though, she had the time to expand this sweet hobby into a full business. Coincidentally, this timing worked out just as she was looking into post-high-school resources for her son Blake, who has autism. After Blake graduated from high school, he got more and more involved in the kitchen. Val realized that a hobby of making chocolates wasn’t going to be enough to keep Blake busy, so after getting some great reviews from friends and family, they expanded into an online venture and started selling locally. The business grew organically, until Val saw it as an employment opportunity for individuals with autism and other differently-abled employees. Now, they’ve opened a brick-and-mortar cafe. In this conversation that took place just two months after the cafe opened, Val and I talk about her experience with turning a hobby into a full-time business and social enterprise. The best and biggest piece of advice she can give to listeners considering opening a retail location is to expect the unexpected, but she has many, many other gems of wisdom that anyone working with people with autism or considering opening a business will benefit from hearing. Tune into this episode to hear about topics including how Blake and other employees have reacted to the opening of the retail location, her advice to people who are considering opening a business staffed by people with autism, what financial considerations you should have in mind when opening a business, and why the food business is one of the hardest areas to be in. In This Episode: [00:58] - Val takes us back to the beginning of her entrepreneurial journey, and explains why she started The Chocolate Spectrum. She walks us through the process all the way from the beginning ideas through the opening of their retail location. [05:09] - We hear more about the moment when Val realized that this could be a full-time business, not just a hobby anymore. [07:12] - Tom draws out an important point that Val has made regarding the responsibility business owners have to their employees. [08:40] - The brick-and-mortar location has only been open for two months, and Val’s biggest piece of advice so far is to expect the unexpected. [11:24] - Val explains that even her little shop seems overwhelming, but expects it to become easier as it becomes more familiar. [14:07] - How have Blake and the rest of the team responded to the opening of the new location? Val describes how Blake has reacted, and the sorts of things that she has needed to teach and work on with the other employees. [17:33] - Tom talks about the scripting and training for people with autism for interacting with the public, which is part of Rising Tide Car Wash as well. [19:01] - Val takes a moment to rave about their local community in Florida, which is relatively autism-aware. She then mentions things she adds to the script, such as recommendations to visit the dry cleaners next door who consistently promote the cafe. [22:33] - What advice would Val give someone who’s looking to start a business and employ people with autism? [23:58] - When Tom gives workshops and reaches the part about funding, he needs to point out that there really aren’t very many grants out there for this subject and that grants probably won’t be your primary source of funding. [25:10] - Val didn’t decide to start an autism-focused business and then settle on one that fits that criterion well. Instead, she opened a business in something she was already doing. In hindsight, she might have done things differently. [28:02] - Tom points out that every social enterprise has its own path. [30:20] - Val passes along one other piece of advice that she has found invaluable, which is to find people who know what to do who are willing to help you. [32:04] - How can listeners get involved with The Chocolate Spectrum? She recommends visiting the cafe, but if you don’t live locally, you can shop online too!   Links and Resources: The Chocolate Spectrum Cafe and Academy The Chocolate Spectrum: shop online Valerie Herksowitz Valerie Herksowitz on LinkedIn Tom D’Eri Rising Tide Car Wash Rising Tide U Autism Advantage University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism & Related Disabilities