BE Next: Fearless Young Entrepreneurs Reveal Most Valuable Play

Age is just a number. Yeah right. Take youth, smarts, tenacity, ambition, savvy, and fearlessness (a little bit of swagger doesn’t hurt either) and you’ve got a near-perfect entrepreneur. Of course, in their eyes, it’s just another day at the office.

Call it what you will, young entrepreneurs know how to make money. This group of tenacious businesspeople, age 21—35, represents the cusp of a changing entrepreneurial landscape, which they have the potential to soon dominate. It behooves us to take note because people in this age group are more likely to have started a business right out of school than the baby boomer generations (27% vs 9%). Today, this latest generation relies on themselves and their peers to bring creativity, passion, social consciousness, innovation, and purpose to the masses.

To highlight this, black enterprise brought together a group of young, spirited entrepreneurs, each with a different story yet the same dedicated fervor needed to launch and maintain a business venture. What makes them unique is that they all implemented that all-important game changer into the equation which proved positive– that critical decision or pearl of wisdom that when coupled with their youthful energy and business acumen, propelled them to the next level.

The other commonality among this new breed of entrepreneurs is a bold mind-set that charges them to develop and successfully execute a vision on their own terms and by their own rules. Of course, the angst of entrepreneurship isn’t lost on the youth. The world of business is tough. The economy is worsening. They get that. But rather than fret, they keep at it, growing right along with their enterprise, remaining eagerly involved in the minutiae of it all.

In identifying the young entrepreneurs of today who stand to be the business leaders of tomorrow, BE acknowledges that it’s their time … and that we can all take something from this new energy and new age in an effort to be energetic, be innovative, and BE Next.

Jerome Boykin Jr., Age 26
JB Sweeping / Houma, LA
Type of business: Commercial parking lot detailing and maintenance
Employees: 9
Year Launched: 2006
2008 Revenues: $850,000
Website: www.jbsweeping.com
Game changer: Cultivating relationships and attention to detail

A lot of people who knew me, were like, ‘What is Jerome doing

picking up trash?’ I got a lot of double takes and some even laughed at me. But the light bulb didn’t go off right away for me either, that this was something I should be doing. It wasn’t until they told me the contract was $3,500 a month, that’s when I knew I had to get into this industry and improve it.

We don’t work on a set schedule like others, because it really is when the job is done. That’s when we move on to the next lot. That’s what sets us apart and gets us the contracts. Of course, it’s not [just] about the money. That store manager I got my very first contract with has grown to be a good friend of the family.

I’m always looking for new services to add. We purposely set the bar high for ourselves. So, sleepless nights come with the job. Of course, there are a few people who’ve tried to underbid me, but I have such good relationships with my clients and offer quality work that they’re not even entertaining the idea of taking a chance on them. And I’m all about building and maintaining those relationships, because if you look out for them, they’ll definitely look out for you. Now I take pride in what we do. Of course, I have to hear my dad say every so often, ‘Whoever gave you the idea to start this company was a genius.’”

Swept Away: Boykin planned to attend graduate school at the University of New Orleans in the fall of 2005. But then Hurricane Katrina hit and left the Houma, Louisiana, native with no possessions, no money, and no motivation. Hoping to help, Boykin’s father introduced him to parking lot cleaning. But he wasn’t interested.

Price Check: A month went by before Boykin finally met with the store manager of his local Wal-Mart  (at the urging of his father) to inquire about their current service. Boykin walked away with the contract and a charge to do a better job. And within two months, Boykin solidified his business and, with his father’s help, purchased his first industrial sweeper truck for $70,000. Now he has three.

The Night Shift: From 9 p.m. to often as late as 6 a.m., seven days a week, Boykin makes sure his employees “take care of every inch of the lots. Some of my contracts don’t specify it, but we do it anyway.”

Open Late Nights: “I haven’t spent a dime on advertising. My company grew from word of mouth, store managers telling other store managers [about us] or someone just passing by one of my parking lots who can’t believe that it’s that clean, calling the store to find out who their sweeper service is.”

Cleaning Up: Besides being responsible for 15 Wal-Mart stores, JB Sweeping has lucrative contracts with several other retailers including: Lowe’s, Target, and Sam’s Club.

Sirena C. Moore, Age 27
Elohim Cleaning Contractors / Bristol, PA
Type of business: Industrial and commercial construction site cleaning
Employees: 53
Year Launched: 2002
2008 Revenues: $2 million
Website: www.elohimcleaningcontractors.com
Game changer: Operating debt-free

In the early days we had no money. Our office was my brother’s old bedroom. We used my father’s old pickup truck–we called it the ‘Sanford and Son’ truck.

We bought a $200 computer. The desk was an old fellowship hall table with a hutch from another desk on top of it. Everything was makeshift. But we made do.

We opened up our bank account with $200 and we each had to bring $50 to each meeting to contribute. We paid the first person that we hired with my father’s unemployment check. What we had to do the first three years of business was introduce each of us–myself, my dad, and my brother–to the payroll one at a time. I worked during the day to make ends meet and my brother also kept a job. I added myself last.

Had we gotten the lines and loans when we first got started, we would have been borrowing to get new equipment, to get new trucks, to perhaps get other office space. And looking at the state of the economy right now, not owing anyone is probably the best position any business could be in. However, you do have to structure your growth and work smarter when you’re debt-free. We don’t do business with everyone for that reason. And I think that if we had the credit lines to pull from, we wouldn’t be so conscious. Will we have to incur debt? Yes, eventually. It has absolutely worked for these years, but of course to grow even more we would have to. But now we’re operating in such a fashion that the debt will be a bonus. And it will be used properly.”

All in the Family:

Moore may be the owner but she relies on the advice of her father and assistance from her 25-year-old brother, Theodore Jr. “My dad, who’s worked in construction for over 25 years said, ‘Sirena, I can do the service, so if you can figure out the business side, we have a business.”

From the Ground Up: “The same time the market was crashing, we hired eight new full-time people. I thought the economic crisis was a curse, but it’s a blessing because we don’t owe anyone anything.”

She Works Hard for the Money: “Getting our certification in the 8(a) Business Development Program was quite grueling. But it’s a certification you should get, because it introduced us to the government marketplace, which is consistent money, consistent contracts.”

Julius Erving III Age 34
Erving Carter Entertainment L.L.C. (formerly Julius Erving Group)/Atlanta, GA
Type of business: Entertainment management
Employees: 5
Year Launched: 2008
2008 Revenues: $1.5 million (JEG)
Game changer: Knowing when to sell

We were definitely a little hesitant at first, because the offer came to us after only 18 months in business. Is the timing right? Is this the right company? We had a phenomenal offer on the table, but more than the money, we wanted to be in a position to be successful.

The due diligence process took about six months and was a pain. They want to know everything. But it helped us understand our business a little bit more–like where we spend money, how we make money, what our future projections were. It brought structure to the business. And when it was all said and done, the money enabled me to fund projects I was always interested in.

My core business that I handle the day-to-day of is the entertainment company. The best part of it all is getting to see things develop from the very early stages. Every day there’s a different challenge, there’s a different opportunity. So hopefully within the next 18 months, we’ll be doing this all over again. The end-game is always the sell.”

TKO: Erving and his partner, Troy Carter, sold their Philadelphia-based entertainment management company, Erving Wonder, to Sanctuary Records (now a defunct subsidiary of Universal Music Group) in 2004 for a reported $12 million. Erving took his share of the sale and launched JEG, another entertainment management company; opened Absoloot Boxing Gym in Atlanta with R&B singer Mario; and partnered with three friends to develop two sneaker collections (Jhung Yuro and Ceasar Lunix). The shoe lines and gym’s combined 2008 revenues were $3.5 million.

Double Team: Realizing there’s strength in numbers, Erving teamed up with Carter again late last year, merging their respective companies to form Erving Carter. Erving brought with him JEG’s client list, which includes Mario, R&B songstress Angie Stone, and hit producer Rodney Jerkins.

If the Shoe Fits: “One thing that people respect about my father [NBA legend Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving] is that he wasn’t just an athlete but also an entrepreneur. So, in terms of business savvy, there’s definitely a lot to live up to. But if anything, his pro-ball career put more pressure on my basketball game, which is decent at best.”

Brandon & Lorielle Broussard Ages 32 & 27
Baracka Wear Inc. / Los Angeles, CA
Type of business: Apparel and accessories
Employees: 4
Year Launched: 2002
2008 Revenues: $600,000
Website: www.barackawear.com
Game changer: Repositioning your products and/or services

Change is good: In August 2007, the brother-and-sister team quit their day jobs (Brandon was a writer and Lorielle, a stylist) to promote one message: ‘Barack the Vote.’ More than 35,000 shirts have been sold to date.

The Agenda: After the election, Baracka Wear launched YOTOWN, a line of nonpolitical shirts that feature a personalized map of “your” city (i.e. New York, Los Angeles). And slated for fall 2009 is a denim line they’re designing themselves. Qreative Jeanius, the fashion company and line, will use high-end raw and salvaged denim.

Transition to (more) power: To generate interest, all ‘Barack the Vote’ shirts purchased leading up to the election were mailed with material promoting the new products.

Party like a rock star: Rapper Will.i.am, actor Hill Harper, and legendary entertainer Cher are some celebrities who rocked the signature shirt. And a portion of the sales (more than $17,000) was donated to President-elect Obama’s election campaign. Post-election paraphernalia such as ‘Yes We Did!’ and ‘Baracked the Vote’ are available, but they continue to sell ‘Barack the Vote.’

Community Organizers: Their e-newsletter reaches about 30,000 people.  “We have a following of people who want to know what’s next for us,” says Brandon. “Grassroots play a part too in what we’re doing.”    be

–Additional reporting by Letita M. Aaron, Tamara E. Holmes

This story originally appeared in the January 2009 issue of Black Enterprise magazine.