All Articles Tagged "assistance"
Allison Mathis: If Chris Bosh Wouldn’t Have Kept Me From Joining ‘Basketball Wives,” I Wouldn’t Need Food Stamps
I know you all are already shaking your heads, but hear Allison out. As you know, the mother of Miami Heat player Chris Bosh’s 3-year-old daughter has applied for food stamps, saying that since she’s lost her job, they can’t survive on the $2,600/month that he pays in child support. A lot of people were confused about that and suggested Allison just go get another job and in an interview with Gossip Extra, Allison revealed that she actually did have a different job opportunity—as a member of the ‘Basketball Wives’ cast—but Chris blocked her from joining. She told the site:
“I was offered a job on ‘Basketball Wives’ and I filmed a couple episodes and it leaked that I landed the job and Chris of course did not want me to go on it so he sued me to keep me from going on it. I would have made a hell of a lot of money than with other job offers that I’ve had.
“My thing is, if you didn’t want me to speak about you, then maybe you should have reached out to me or my attorney and said, ‘look, it’s OK for her to go on this show because it’s a way for her to provide income for her daughter but don’t mention Chris’s name.’ That would have been a better approach than to just get me completely fired from the show.”
According to Gossip Extra, Allison would have taken in $12,000/week for appearing on the VH1 show which would have definitely kept her out of the assistance line, but it appears Chris had more legal muscle.
In her exclusive interview, Allison also talks about how Chris changed after she got pregnant, and I have to admit it was kind of sad seeing the clip of the happy couple finding out she was pregnant to looking at how things turned out in the end. Allison says Chris hasn’t reached out to her at all offer her and his daughter any type of help since the media reported that she applied for food stamps, saying the most she’s heard is a quote from him saying he was “saddened” by the news. She said instead of being sad he should be glad to help.
“I’m not the only one and I don’t expect people to just to feel sorry for me and have pity on me, but I do think that the father of my child, given that he is able to help his child out, should be willing to.”
Check out the quick two-part interview here. Do you think Chris should have let Allison go on “Basketball Wives” if he wasn’t going to help her financially?
Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.
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7 “Must-Knows” When Requesting Service Quotes
Entrepreneurs need help. It’s a fact. Though the type of assistance needed may vary—accounting, marketing / advertising, payroll, mailing services, legal advice, etc.—there is one thing that is true for all services: you must know (or have a decent idea) of what you need in order for the provider to be effective in helping you.
So, when it comes to contacting a service provider, be sure that you’ve thought through the following questions before making that call or sending out that email:
1. What’s the easiest, most succinct way for me to describe my business and the product / services that I offer?
2. What is the issue that I am dealing with that this provider can help me fix?
3. What is the source for this problem? / Why am I having this problem?
4. When the work is complete, what is the desired outcome? What’s my goal for the work being requested?
5. Is there a specific way that I need or want to have the issue addressed? If so, what are the “must-haves” or guidelines that I’d like the provider to adhere to?
6. What things have I tried before that either didn’t work or that I don’t care to do again? What are the reasons that those tactics didn’t work or why don’t I want to do those things again?
7. What is the budget / price that I can realistically afford to pay to have this project completed as I want and need it to be completed?
It’s common for entrepreneurs to know that they need a specific type of help but not to know exactly what they need. If that’s the case, do not be ashamed to tell the provider. A good service provider will be willing and able to walk you through the process. Together, you’ll be able to work out a feasible solution.
If, on the other hand, you know exactly how you want the provider to solve your problem, say that. However, you should realize that if you’re adamant about what you want and how you want it done, that is what the provider will do. Most providers will advise you if what you’re requesting isn’t the best option for your needs but some will not.
Additionally, at the end of the day, the provider’s goal is to make you, a.k.a their client, happy. So, be sure you’re requesting the right service and that any stipulations you mandate are what you really want and need to solve your problem. Otherwise, you can end up paying for work that you requested that fails to address your original issue, not because of the provider’s inability but your failure to direct them properly.
As always, if you have a marketing question that you would like me to answer, send me an email at AskTanisha@TheLoftyEntrepreneur.com or ask@madamenoire.com.
Tanisha Coffey is a professional writer and marketing consultant based in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. She provides her services through the strategic marketing consulting, professional copywriting and independent author services firm Scribe, Etc.


