Franchise owner helps Haiti
by Lindsey Robbins | Staff Writer

“And remember, if you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.”

That message on Darnell Self’s answering machine reflects his fast-paced life. From managing a legal franchise that is quickly approaching $1 million in annual earnings to deciding how he can best help his Haitian ministry friends after last week’s devastating earthquake, the Upper Marlboro man enjoys life on the edge.

Self, 40, is among the more familiar names of the Pre-Paid Legal Services brand, an Oklahoma company that offers plans for pre-selected legal firms and services, similar to medical insurance plans. A former manager at the Mall at Prince Georges in Hyattsville, Self markets Pre-Paid services to employers and individuals, and trains others to sell the service through his Pre-Paid group, called Team NuVision. The National Black Chamber of Commerce named him its Entrepreneur of the Year in 2004.

“If you had told me that before I turned 40, I would have helped 40 people turn six-figure profits, I would have thought you were crazy,” he said.

Self used some of his money to form the nonprofit Fertile Ground in 2008, along with co-founder Michael Humes and associate Michael Cunningham. The organization, with a budget of more than $20,000, provides school supplies to local children and also offers food and clothing to villages in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Fertile Ground reconnected with its Haitian partners almost a week after the disaster and will be working with them to provide food, water and sanitation supplies, Self said.

Self and Humes are also recruiting people to help with rebuilding efforts in the country through systems engineering company ACET Inc. of Waldorf, an Army contractor. ACET, whose staff includes Self’s sister-in-law, will pay workers for the three to six months they are in Haiti and also cover travel and housing expenses.

“I’ve always been a giver. I’ve always had the heart to give, but not the pocket,” Self said. “In our business, you can’t succeed unless you’re helping others.”

Harland C. Stonecipher, founder and CEO of Pre-Paid, said Self’s greatest business assets are his willingness to show people how to work and his ability to communicate. He said Self has the most sales associates earning $100,000 or more in the entire company.

“It speaks to his desire to help other people be successful,” Stonecipher said. “He has not reached his full potential by any means.”

Team NuVision has more than 50,000 active sales associates and almost 1 million customers, Self said.

Pre-Paid has about 50,000 customers in Maryland, each paying about $16 per month for comprehensive legal services. The company received a complaint from the Federal Trade Commission Nov. 18 regarding misleading representations in one of its programs.

Self earned his bachelor’s in public relations after 7½ years at Bowie State University and the University of Maryland College Park pursuing other majors. His original plan was to be a physician, but he changed his mind early on. Self worked other jobs while at the Mall of Prince Georges for nine years, including a home business, before a co-worker introduced him to Pre-Paid to help with creditor problems and he soon joined the company. By the time he was 32, he said, he had earned his first $1 million.

Having more time to spend with his four children is one of the greatest benefits of managing his franchise, said Self, who runs Team NuVision with wife, Traci. Self was also recently able to provide for his 89-year-old mother, who had been working two jobs.

He travels often, saying he wants to expose his children to the diversity around them. Self also enjoys winter sports, martial arts and ministry work outside his nonprofit.

“Most folks told me I was crazy, that it would never work out, that I wouldn’t make any money,” Self said. “But I’m out here so I can determine my own value and my own worth.”

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