Lifestyle

Ms. Novelty’s steps to business success in the World of Cigars

Published

3 years ago

January 6, 2022

Have you ever thought why certain pleasures of life like casinos, cigars, wine, gambling, and wild parties are reserved for men only? After all, why should men have all the fun while women continue to stay subservient to men?

We are living in the 21^st century. If men and women don’t have equal access to these things in a well-developed country like ours, how can we call ourselves civilized?

That’s when Sandra Mayo, a Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operating Officer (CFO/COO) of one of North Carolina’s top health behavioral firm, comes in.

With plenty of knowledge, experience, and proficiency of business development and marketing, Sandra Mayo has now launched her own Cigar venture, Novelty Cigar Bar and Lounge in North Carolina. It’s not just a bar but a movement in the making.

“I am happy that my dream of launching a business with a social angle has finally come true. But it’s just the beginning; I have lots of well thought out plans regarding it. It was my dream to do something that can initiate a change and become immediately impactful. Novelty Cigar Bar and Lounge will be a step into that direction. As a Cigar enthusiast myself, I have always felt the need for a complete revamp in the Cigar industry. I wish for more and more women entrepreneurs and cigar enthusiasts to come forward and join this movement,” Sandra Mayo states.

Sandra Mayo also goes by Ms. Novelty among her friends and colleagues. She never shies away from trying something new or taking a bold new initiative, which is likely to redefine the gender scenario across the US and to be followed elsewhere in the world as well.

“The element of entrepreneurship was always inside me. I always wanted to experience the joy of being an entrepreneur and doing something big for the culture. Today, I feel Novelty Cigar Bar and Lounge is moving in the right direction. As a Cigar enthusiast and fellow sister of the leaf (sotl), I created this lounge—where all customers irrespective of their gender, religion and ethic culture and social economical background can come and partake in power of the leaf. I want to change this deep-rooted misconception in the minds of the people that cigars are reserved for men only. “How can you deprive an entire gender from enjoying what they enjoy—smoking a good stick?” Sandra Mayo exclaimed.

Smoking is fully legal in the US. But you don’t see many women going to a lounge or bar to smoke. Because women who go there are not perceived right in the American society, which is fully in favor of patriarchal convention and customs.

At Novelty Cigar Bar and Lounge, women can come, sit, and enjoy a wide variety of Cigars, as most of them will be created using the best tobacco leaves without any fear. A lot of things have changed in American society when it comes to women’s emancipation, but still a lot of things need to be settled.

Sandra Mayo is a successful entrepreneur and educator. She often infuses a fresh zeal of enthusiasm among people around her. She believes hard work, effort, and goals are the three ingredients that make a successful story! She is optimistic to the core and wants people to see the silver lining of everything instead of focusing on the negative elements.

In addition, Novelty Cigar Bar and Lounge has massive expansion plans ahead! Novelty wants to hire franchisees across all districts of North Carolina and other American states therefore people across the nation can know about this great initiative.

At the same time silently breaking the glass ceiling, which is rampant in the male-dominated cigar industry. Sandra wants more and more women to join her and support this initiative.

Lifestyle

Derik Fay: The Quiet Architect of Impact-First Entrepreneurship

Published

1 day ago

May 8, 2025

Michelle Langton

In an era where noise often overshadows results, Derik Fay is quietly shaping a different kind of legacy — one built not on showmanship, but on undeniable substance. For more than two decades, Fay has engineered the rise of over 30 companies across industries as diverse as real estate, technology, healthcare, and entertainment. Yet his name rarely leads headlines — not because he hasn’t earned it, but because he never needed it to validate his success.

Growing up in Rhode Island, Fay learned early that the world rarely hands out opportunity; it must be seized, created, and multiplied. While many of his peers pursued traditional paths, he took a risk that would define the rest of his life: at just 22, he founded 3F Management, a venture firm with an entirely different mission — to build companies that would outlast trends, outperform markets, and, most importantly, out-impact their competition.

Instead of obsessing over short-term wins, Fay approached entrepreneurship like a craftsman. Much like Henry Ford, who famously said, “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business,” Fay built companies that weren’t just profitable — they were purposeful. Every venture was designed to create real, sustainable value, both for shareholders and for the communities they served.

Through his relentless focus on structure and leadership, Fay’s ecosystem of businesses now touches thousands of lives daily — from employees finding new opportunities to entrepreneurs gaining the mentorship they never had before. But unlike typical moguls who boast about headcounts, Fay views every job created as a ripple in a larger mission: empowering individuals to write better futures for themselves.

Where others have scaled fast and crashed harder, Fay’s model thrives on foundations few are patient enough to build anymore. His method is slower, smarter, and almost surgical: find what others overlook, fix what others fear, and grow what others abandoned too early. It’s this principle that led him to not just build companies — but to resurrect them, reimagine them, and sometimes even walk away if the mission no longer aligned with the impact he envisioned.

Fay’s philosophy extends far beyond boardrooms. Philanthropy isn’t a checkbox at the end of his success story — it’s embedded into the way he scales. His ventures are built with giving back written into their DNA, from local community initiatives to broader mentorship platforms that help emerging entrepreneurs get their first real shot at success. His life’s work is proof that wealth and generosity are not mutually exclusive — they are, in fact, essential partners.

Today, while newer generations of entrepreneurs hustle for likes and magazine covers, Fay’s name is whispered in rooms where real power moves. His reputation — built quietly but relentlessly — is that of a man who delivers, builds, and elevates without the need for public validation.

In a business world increasingly built on spectacle, Derik Fay reminds us that the most lasting legacies are forged not in the glare of the spotlight, but in the thousands of lives changed quietly along the way.

For more insights into Derik Fay’s ventures and philanthropic efforts, visit www.derikfay.com and follow him on Instagram @derikfay