Category Archives: Entrepreneurs

The HBCUpreneur Corner – Delaware State University’s Chris Stevens & Stevens Communications & Consulting

Posted on April 16, 2013 by | 1 comment

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Name: Chris Stevens

Alma Mater: Delaware State University, Class of 2007

Business Name & Description: Stevens Communications & Consulting (stevenscommcons.com), a multi-media business specializing in assistance with writing/editing, social media management and consulting for small businesses, as well as producing an internet radio show/podcast, “All Subjects Everything.” We also have advertising space open on the show, which is $10 per week or $40 per month for anyone who wants to advertise their business/organization/event on our show.

What year did you found your company? 2012

What was the most exciting and/or fearful moment during your HBCUpreneur career? Actually just getting started. It’s been an ongoing process these first 9 months as I’ve had to re-assess everything I thought I knew about the media industry and most important of all, myself. A social introvert starting a business that thrives on interpersonal communication has been a harrowing experience, but a necessary step.

What made you want to start your own company? I worked as a sports reporter for community newspapers for 5 years and I didn’t like the direction the business was going in as well as I wanted to do my own thing and not have to answer to anyone but myself and my clients/customers. So I took the things I knew best (social media, writing, editing) and decided to strike out on my own.

Who was the most influential person/people for you during your time in college? Two professors for different reasons. Dr. Yohuru Williams, who is now at Fairfield University, and DeWayne Wickham, a syndicated columnist with USA Today, who was a scholar-in-residence at DSU for a while. Dr. Williams gave me the courage and confidence to be a student of life, just to keep learning and incorporate what you’ve learned into whatever you’re doing in life while Professor Wickham showed me how vital networking is and I’m still putting those lessons about “who you know” into practice.

How do you handle complex problems? For me, asking questions is vital. You never want to have misunderstanding or miscommunication with a client or customer, so you always ask questions to make sure you have everything tailored to their needs and if you fall short, keep trying until you get it right. My first client, I did some serious re-writing for and it was a fun and challenging experience that let me know that this wasn’t going to be easy, but it would be rewarding.

What is something you wish you had known prior to starting your company? Never a good idea to start cold. If you’re starting a business, be sure to save some money and be in a position to weather some rough times. I left my job thinking I could apply my knowledge and start off well. I’ve had some lean periods because of that, but I wouldn’t change the journey because I get to share that experience now and hopefully someone else will learn from the mistakes I’ve made.

What do you believe HBCUs can do to spur more innovation and entrepreneurship while their students are in school either as undergraduate or graduate students? Certainly one way is to show them the perils of traditional employment. You can see it everyday – people who give their all to improve someone else’s bottom line can find themselves jobless at the drop of a hat. Depending on someone else signing your check to live life is so overrated. Also, HBCUs can draw on their own history as self-starters and self-reliant institutions to foster that spirit of entrepreneurship, that it’s “in the blood,” so to speak.

How do you deal with rejection? I hate rejection in ALL facets of my life, but surprisingly, business rejection is much easier to take because I know it’s not personal. It bothers me, but the key is to keep trying. The no’s are plentiful, but the one or two acceptances you get are your chance to make an impression and set yourself up for something bigger. The key is to keep plugging away. If you believe in your vision and what you’re offering, sooner or later, people will see that and will be willing to help and take a chance on you and your business.

When you have down time how do you like to spend it? I’m always reading, I just finished up “The Warmth of Other Suns” by Isabel Wilkerson which is a phenomenal book about the Great Migration of Blacks from the South to the Midwest, East and West Coasts. I love music also, I blog about music on my personal website (chrisstevenssite.com) from time to time and I love discussing/arguing sports with just about anyone.

What was your most memorable HBCU memory? It’s hard to pinpoint just one because I’ve had so many, so I’ll just say the experience of being a part of the HBCU experience. My own good times at Del State, visiting other HBCUs while working for the Hornet newspaper, it was a special time for me and I’m proud to be a part of HBCU tradition and I will stand for Black Colleges until I can’t stand up anymore. And even then I’ll be shouting for them from my bed or wheelchair.

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In leaving is there any advice you have for budding HBCUpreneurs? A few things to note: Have a vision, be confident in that vision and go for it. You never want to spend the rest of your life wondering “Woulda, coulda, shoulda.” My mother always tells me “nothing beats a failure but a try,” so go for it. If there’s an idea that you have that you think people can benefit from and that you can execute for them, float it out there, prepare yourself for the road ahead and make it happen.

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The HBCUpreneur Corner – Morgan State’s Jarrett Carter, Sr. & Carter Media Enterprises

Posted on April 2, 2013 by | 2 comments

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Name: Jarrett Carter Sr.

Alma Mater: Morgan State University, Class of 2003

Business Name & Description: Carter Media Enterprises, a new media development and consulting company with focus on coverage of African-American news and lifestyle.

What year did you found your company? 2008

What was the most exciting and/or fearful moment during your HBCUpreneur career? One of the most exciting highlights of my career thus far was the chance to give the keynote address to Hampton University’s Greer-Dawson-Wilson Student Leadership program. To take a stage at one of the nation’s most prestigious HBCUs headed by perhaps the greatest black college president in history, and to speak to students who will soon become esteemed leaders in a wide range of fields is something I will never forget. And I will be forever grateful to Hampton University for such a honor.

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What made you want to start your own company? Understanding that media was changing in a way that would give more black people a chance to have media leverage and credibility, I thought that I would bring a unique perspective to some underrepresented elements of our culture, and so I started a series of blogs focusing on HBCU news and issues, black images in mass media, and hip-hop culture from an artistic perspective. (StereotypeSquad.com and RapReservoir.com, respectively.)

Who was the most influential person/people for you during your time in college? Morgan gave me so many great role models. Among my professors was Frank Dexter Brown, the creator of YSB Magazine, Dr. Ruthe Sheffey, one of the world’s leading experts on William Shakespeare and Zora Neale Hurston, Dr. Michael Bayton, a brilliant scholar and professor of American literature, and Dr. Burney Hollis, my Dean Emeritus of the MSU College of Liberal Arts who to this day remains a source of humor, insight and inspiration as a Morgan Man. All of these people taught me, but also inspired me to think as a creator and observer, and not just as a student.

How do you handle complex problems? I talk to my wife constantly. She really is my best friend, my harshest critic, and the love of my life. Between her perspective and mine, we are frequently able to hash out solutions for difficult problems. I’m also blessed to have great mentors and friends, whom I can depend on to talk critical issues in my life, or even to have discourse on cultural problems and issues. Many times, the discourse is a good way to exercise the brain in such a way that complex personal problems often reveal simple answers.

What is something you wish you had known prior to starting your company? I wish I had established a larger network of media industry contacts and officials at schools. Hampton President William Harvey once told me that the key to running a college is to run it as a business with educational objectives. I set out to tell stories and to improve perceptions about HBCUs, but if I could do it over again, I would have managed my company to operate as a media brand with outreach objectives from Day One.

What do you believe HBCUs and colleges of the African Diaspora can do to spur more innovation and entrepreneurship with their students and the local community? – I think that if colleges and universities mandated for the major courses to examine ownership and business building, our students would have a different outlook on what it means to be a professional, a community member and philanthropist. They would approach work from what they could own one day, and not what company is most prestigious to work for. In turn, I think our alumni and supporters would buy into this concept enough to support by giving money and expertise.

How do you deal with rejection? When I first got started, not well. I would buy into the stereotype that black people were hesitant to support their own. But three years in, I understand that when you don’t have a lot of resources, and you are a great idea with low-level executions, our people are much more likely to invest in a personality and vision than they are an actual product. Paul Quinn President Michael Sorrell once told me that there’s no such thing as ‘no,’ only ‘not yet.’ I have found this to be true at a professional and personal level, if you invest a lot of time analyzing your vision and personality, and working to make those things come to the front of every approach you make in business or in life.

When you have down time how do you like to spend it? I’m a very simple guy, so I love being with my wife and two sons. Watching sports, playing video games, and reading are the ways I get away to think about new ideas, or to just take my mind off of overwhelming topics, requests or development strategies. I’ve learned that you have to incorporate time off to let your mind, body and spirit recover from fully investing in your calling. If you don’t, you can’t appreciate the work that you’re called to do, or the fact that you are called to do it.

What was your most memorable HBCU memory? Strangely enough, graduating from a PWI with my master’s in communication management. The five years it took me to finish that degree – a year and a half to do course requirements and three years to assemble a non-racist, supportive thesis committee, were the toughest times I ever encountered. Finishing the program made me realize several things – one, how much tougher it must have been for our forbearers to seek and endure integration in the throes of civil rights. Two, how spoiled I was by the HBCU experience of having faculty push and support you beyond the classroom. Three, how much harder I need to work for HBCUs to get fair representation in the media, so that they won’t have to endure potential scenarios of isolation, racism or discrimination at a PWI as they work towards college degrees.

In leaving is there any advice you have for budding HBCUpreneurs? – College is a professional development and networking haven. You are there to learn about an industry, and to find your place within it. If you aren’t a business major, take some business courses for electives, and learn all that you can through volunteering and internship about how to do a job and manage a product. Before you leave, make sure that you have incorporated an LLC, and even if you don’t know what product or service you can offer, create a business idea that can evolve into a business plan. In a down economoy, it is the person with the most creativity, the most innovation, and the one who finds a need to fill that will become wealthy, and will be able to give back to our people to build more entrepreneurship in our communities.

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The HBCUpreneur Corner – FSU & A&T’s Keysha Best & Elect Elegance

Posted on March 5, 2013 by | Leave a comment

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Name: Ms. Keysha Best

Attended: Fayetteville State University; North Carolina A&T State University

Business Name & Description: Elect Elegance the Boutique, Women’s clothing, shoes & accessories

What year did you found your company? 2011

What was the most exciting and/or fearful moment during your HBCUpreneur career? The most exciting day was the day I got my first ‘like’ on the facebook business page. To know someone was interested enough in what I was about to offer them was humbling. Can’t say I’ve experienced fear yet. Even when I fail to meet a certain goal, I’m excited about the lesson that was gained in it.

What made you want to start your own company? Having been perceived as “fashionable” for so long, I was ready to offer women style and looks at affordable prices and hope that I could encourage them to become more confident and proud of whom they were.

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Who was the most influential person/people for you during your time in college? Having graduated HS at 16, my college experience was not the most memorable in a positive way. I did however, meet my husband while in school and he has influenced me tremendously since then.

How do you handle complex problems? Every problem that’s presented to me I look at it as if my entire company is riding on it. If it’s one customer or one vendor, I handle it with compassion because I never know how those individuals may show up again in the future. Other issues I try not to stress about. Being a fairly new company and not having any professional training in retail, every lesson is self-taught. I don’t want to be too hard on myself because I’ll lose sight of my end goal(s).

What is something you wish you had known prior to starting your company? I wish I would’ve known that there were a million other female (and some male) entrepreneurs trying to do the same thing. Finding that out now makes me try harder to set myself apart from the others. We may all have the same products to offer but I want to give my customers more than just a piece of jewelry or clothing.

What do you believe HBCUs can do to spur more innovation and entrepreneurship while their students are in school either as undergraduate or graduate students? I honestly don’t believe an institution can assist in this area. It’s a mindset. Some people feel the need that they HAVE to work for someone else, not realizing that they’re working for an entrepreneur. Perhaps if students were actually persuaded to take courses in things that they are naturally gifted and talented in, they would see that they are here for another purpose. But again, that’s way past a standard any University can set.

How do you deal with rejection? I haven’t physically experienced it yet. What I could call rejection is perhaps someone not liking my pages but I would write that off as them either not knowing about it or feeling my products aren’t what they need at present.

When you have down time, how do you like to spend it? When I’m not spending time with my family, I’m shopping for exclusive items. I don’t have much down time.

In leaving is there any advice you have for budding HBCUpreneurs? Things may go wrong, and they may happen more often than you wish but you only fail when you quit. Take every setback as a lesson and learn from it.

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Gaines & Johnson: A Different World Of A Lesson In HBCUpreneurship & Leadership

Posted on February 22, 2013 by | 1 comment

By William A. Foster, IV

A man must eat a peck of salt with his friend before he knows him. – Miguel de Cervantes

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Recently Lou Meyers, the man who played Vernon Gaines on A Different World, passed away. As such it made me take some time and reflect on his character from the show. Awhile back I wrote that the characters Dwayne Wayne and Ron Johnson missed a golden opportunity to build a technology company together and instead Ron and Mr. Gaines would open what would be the “typical” show of African American ownership – a club. However, upon reflection even I must admit I missed a golden lesson about something even I experienced while I attended multiple HBCUs and something I believe to be very unique to HBCU culture.

Relationships matter. There is something amazing about the relationship at HBCUs with the students and groundskeepers, janitors, secretaries, cafeteria workers, and others who quietly make the college or university run also commonly referred to as staff. They are as integral and as invested often times in our students’ success as anyone. These unsung heroes provide the little things to HBCU students through their matriculation and was embodied by Mr. Gaines’ character on A Different World. Mr. Gaines was constantly providing words of encouragement and priceless wisdom to all that came through The Pit’s doors. He showed by example hard work and leadership to students who worked under his apprenticeship. They learned lessons from him that no classroom or schoolbook could teach. Oft times providing some of those lessons to faculty as well.

In the case of Ron and Mr. Gaines even I missed something vitally important. Mr. Gaines gave much of his life savings to obtain the club with Ron. It was a huge risk for him personally but what an amazing moment. We so often talk about how we lack access to resources especially financial ones and other expertise but it is often because we are not thinking outside of the box. Many times the resources are right under our nose. Ron and Mr. Gaines partnership was a match made in heaven. Ron was the consummate promoter, a risk taker, and full of youthful arrogance while Mr. Gaines was the steady hand of experience and wisdom along with being an operations guru making sure any ship under his care was going to be run efficiently and on time. Working at an HBCU he also could run anything on a tight budget squeezing every ounce of value out of every dollar. Ron came from a family that probably could have allowed him to bankroll it by himself but odds are he would have failed going alone. His weaknesses were Mr. Gaines strengths and vice versa. But it was years of relationship building between Mr. Gaines watching Ron mature from an immature freshman with promise to a driven young man that allowed their partnership to form in the first place. You see the “ivory” walls that exist between students and staff that exist at many colleges just do not exist at HBCUs and nor should they. Many of our students have parents and family who work in these type of jobs so they have a respect for the work that is tirelessly being done. It allows a wholistic development and humility for our students to be taught by everyone on the campus because everyone has something to offer to our students.

What eventually would come of the Gaines & Johnson partnership? That one club turned into a major food & events management and development company eventually going public on the Ghana Stock Exchange. They would continue to open clubs and eventually find their way into opening casinos, hotels, and restaurants using Hillman architecture, business, engineering, and hospitality graduates. The food & events management division would have the culture of The Pit. Run on a tight ship and on time. Its reputation throughout the industry would be unheralded. They would eventually secure contracts with multiple professional sports organizations and would be lead company managing the Super Bowl. Their development company would ultimately land a development deal in Tokyo, Japan for a major hotel and restaurant with the assistance of fellow alum and Senior Vice President Dwayne Wayne at Kenishewa who uses his influence to secure them favor.

This is the beauty you see on HBCU campuses. That our students and staff most often come from communities and families that allow them to relate to each other and see in each other the reminder of today and promise of tomorrow. Dr. Carter G. Woodson said in Miseducation of the Negro, African Americans would come from a family whose mother had been a maid washing clothing, they would go off to colleges and instead of them coming back and starting a chain of cleaners would rather become highbrow and go off to work in some company as still nothing more than fancy labor with a nice title. Missing an opportunity to truly build on the knowledge of the generation before and create ownership for the family and community. Most often because we were taught that only the “educated” have value instead of understanding that value is in the knowledge whatever it maybe and whomever it maybe coming from.

It is the unique relationship that often times HBCU staff see in the students the optimism for their own families. Something tangible which is why more than any other college or university I have visited during graduation, it is at HBCUs I most often see staff there and afterwards in pictures with students or students going to say those last goodbyes to the cafeteria worker who made sure they ate during finals. Or in the case of Mr. Gaines and Ron building on the expertise and knowledge of both even if it came via different sources. You see in that way on HBCU campuses there are opportunities everywhere and with everyone. There are lessons to be gained and leadership to be viewed from everywhere and everyone. There is much to be gained from the Mr. Gaines’ of HBCU campuses and as such their knowledge, value, and leadership must be respected and valued as much as any on our campuses. Lou Meyers you will be missed but the immortality of Mr. Gaines and all that his character embodied will live on.

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The HBCUpreneur Corner – North Carolina A&T’s Asaad Thorne & Urban Argyle, LLC

Posted on February 12, 2013 by | Leave a comment

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Name: Mr. Asaad Thorne

Alma Mater: North Carolina A&T State University

Business Name & Description: Urban Argyle, LLC. We use clothing as a innovative means to create socially conscious statements.

What year did you found your company? January of 2009

What was the most exciting and/or fearful moment during your HBCUpreneur career? The most exciting moments were my first time launching a blog and online store. Oh, and also seeing something I created on national television. The most fearful moments come ironically when I get closer to my goals. It’s scary sometimes when you’re about to get something you’ve been working for.

What made you want to start your own company? I wanted to start my own company because I wanted to create and develop something that was at one time just completely an idea. The fact that something as small as a thought can undoubtedly become a reality (no matter what) is crazy to me. To me, entrepreneurship is truly the strongest way to create anything there is you’d like to create.

Who was the most influential person/people for you during your time in college? The most influential people to me was a close friend who was also SGA President at the time who consistently broke barriers. Terrence J is a huge inspiration to me because our backgrounds are similar with high school, college, and NCA&T SGA. Lastly would be my two very close friends Adrianne Stevens (pictured below) and Alexandria Pierce. During a hard time they let me live with them and monopolize their laptops to actually create my business. They believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself and were the reason I could start a business eventhough I was a homeless student with no internet. They were murdered two years ago but I always make it a point when I feel tired or lazy to honor the faith they had in me.

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How do you handle complex problems? The worst thing you can do is shut down. I start with reminding myself that this situation is going to be here whether I choose to deal with it now or later. Then if it’s really bad I consider the worst way it could potentially turn out and accept it. Then, I think of the best potential way it could turn out and make it my reality. Then it’s just a matter of breaking it down to simpler parts until it starts to make sense.

What is something you wish you had known prior to starting your company? I wish that I’d known that there is no secret formula to running a business. Every “best” business practice can be challenged and proven to be a “worst” business practice. I spent a lot of time looking for the “secret” to entrepreneurship but it’s nothing more than staying committed to a purpose until it’s sought through. There is no way possible to know exactly the twists, turns, and opportunities that come your way so it’s best to make a couple broad, short-term goals and many, many, many small and basic short term goals as you go along.

What do you believe HBCUs can do to spur more innovation and entrepreneurship while their students are in school either as undergraduate or graduate students? I believe that internships with alumni who are entrepreneurs would be genius. In the fashion industry, there are many unpaid interns who pay their dues as a means of respect to grow. If HBCUs could mirror this concept, alumni would have access to more resources in support and undergrads would get experience so both would grow. Experience is the only way to grow in entrepreneurship because it is more competitive than any other field.

How do you deal with rejection? I find another way. One of the first things you have to understand is that business is not a game and it’s not personal. It’s business. If you haven’t been rejected then you haven’t done anything. In fact entrepreneurship is all about finding a “way around the no’s”.

When you have down time how do you like to spend it? Trying to shut my brain down. It’s hard not to think or work on things sometimes but you also don’t want to burn out. It all depends on working styles. Sometimes I lock myself away for a little while, maybe a weekend and just work. But if I do I make sure to take a few days off after. Life would be great if I could spread my productivity a little more evenly but I haven’t mastered that yet.

What was your most memorable HBCU memory? I organized a commemorative march using clothing to fund raise for the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro, NC. Hundreds of people came and there was news coverage. That’s when I realized any idea is possible.

In leaving is there any advice you have for budding HBCUpreneurs? The best piece of advice I’ve been given by one of my mentors is to “Grow slowly”. Sometimes we want to do a million different things because we see the long term goal we want but growing extremely fast is almost always followed with falling completely fast. It takes time, dedication, and commitment to start to see lasting results. Think of it a seed planted. No matter if I water it 5 times a day or 50 times a day there’s still some growth that has to happen completely independent of my influence.

But most importantly, enjoy the small victories. Celebrate everything, it keeps the motivation going. Be able to say “Made a million dollars today!” with the same level of excitement as saying “Responded to an email! Woo!”

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Visit Urban Argyle’s flagship Proud Product at http://www.proudproduct.com or head straight to their store at http://proudhbcuproduct.bigcartel.com/  to see the latest offerings.

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