Tiwanna Scott-Williams Shares Her UCI Story

Posted on 06/28/22 in Greater Circle Business Alliance

Tiwanna Scott-Williams, a nurse turned entrepreneur, is the Chef and owner of Pearl Flower Catering and Pearl’s Kitchen. Tiwanna made her transition into the food service industry full time in November 2018 and found the transition came naturally. “I looked at this as an extension of my career. I felt blessed to work in a field again where I’m able to bring comfort to people.” However, as Tiwanna dove full force into her new business, she found the need to grow her financial and business skills. To build those skills, Tiwanna turned to University Circle Inc. and its business programs Financial Essentials and NextStep.

UCI’s Financial Essentials provides the opportunity for small business owners to learn the basics of managing their business finances. Tiwanna stated, “At the time when I did Financial Essentials, it was very necessary. I was a registered nurse by trade and never took a business course in my life. Financial Essentials was that first stop to get my financials in order. Being in the company of other entrepreneurs who were in a similar state of business and having those fundamentals of what was needed…all of a sudden, I found myself knee deep into it. I am very grateful for that [experience].” A few years after completing Financial Essentials, Tiwanna turned to NextStep at UCI to help plan and envision how her businesses could grow.

NextStep is designed for CEOs of small businesses that have survived the start-up phase and are motivated to build their business skills. Tiwanna found just that at UCI. “NextStep happened at the perfect moment because during that program, the challenge was to think bigger and outline a time and plan to get there.” Tiwanna went on to share, “Maybe a month or two [after completing the program] I was approached by the Cavaliers to open a restaurant inside of the arena. That was one of my big vision goals that came from NextStep. I wanted to be in sports arenas…and lo and behold, here is it. Thanks to NextStep, I had a blueprint for how to go about it. I had already talked about this, pitched about it, thought through what I wanted it to look like. Having that preview and plan set me up so when that opportunity came, I knew how to maneuver.”

UCI has also been privileged to partner with Tiwanna and Pearl’s Kitchen at summer events, like YAY! Saturdays. “YAY! happened during the pandemic and that really gave me the opportunity to engage with a lot of my clients and people who support me in ways that they wouldn’t have been able to during covid. It’s an honor for me to be involved in such signature events.”

Now, Tiwanna hopes to continue to use her blueprint developed during her NextStep experience to grow and expand her business further. Ultimately, she wants to continue to bring comfort to the community through food and service. “Food is one of those things…it brings people together.” To learn more about Pearl Flower Catering and Pearl’s Kitchen, click here.