2024 - Raquel Calhoun

Raquel enrolled at Buffalo State College and dropped out upon becoming pregnant. Returning to her family in Derby, NY for help in raising her child, she worked at T-Mobile at the McKinley Mall and later moved into her own apartment in Lackawanna reshaping her life as a young mother. At the bus stop one day, she saw an ad for BEOC promoting courses and careers in allied health and she enrolled in the Dental Assisting program. Ms. Calhoun worked as a Dental Assistant in general dentistry at the Community Health Center of Buffalo and as an Orthodontist Assistant and Clinical Manager of the Invisalign Unit at Katherine Rand DDS for six years. In this capacity, she was also involved in community outreach activities promoting hygiene practices to children enrolled in the West Seneca school district. Upon accepting a new position as Office Manager for Smile Direct Club in Amherst, NY, she became pregnant with her third child and then the Covid pandemic hit. Raquel was furloughed and with courage and determination, she decided to turn her hobby of baking into a bonafide business.

Feeling the “entrepreneurial itch”, as she calls it, Raquel enrolled in IC Success, a business accelerator program at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus requiring 13 weeks of intensive study and a 1-year mentorship experience, and learned the legal, financial, and marketing aspects of starting and running a business. She was selected to be the commencement speaker and in a (sales) “Pitch Contest” won 3,000 dollars as start-up money. In 2021, confident of her business acumen, Raquel launched Calhoun Custom Creations, specializing in custom cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. Her website currently has over 1,000 “likes” and her business is thriving.

Currently, Raquel is a UB Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership student in the Minority and Women Emerging Entrepreneurs Program sponsored by M&T Bank. This program is enabling Raquel to strengthen her business plan, scale her business and find revenue streams. She anticipates graduating this May 2024. She is also a volunteer consultant at IC Success and is engaged in her third round mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs.

Ms. Calhoun’s husband passed away recently, and she is now the mother of 5 children aged 15 to 2. She says she relies on her professional and business development and her renewed courage and confidence to meet life’s transition again to build her and her children’s lives. 4.24

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