I experienced major technical difficulties while completing this assignment. I did not realize my computer stopped recording after 13 minutes but I was able to get the key points. I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Dewayne Johnson. His father was also an entrepreneur and taught him a few things while growing up. While his father and Mr. Johnson’s brothers still run their furniture business, Mr. Johnson decided to branch off on his own. He started a tow truck business while he resided in New York. That was a one man company which he worked after his shift at a sanitation company. He later moved to North Carolina for a slower paced life, where he met his wife, Kimberly Boykin-Johnson. She is also his business partner and the mother of his twins. While still working another sanitation job, he opened his own dry cleaners.
With the first business being just himself, the dry cleaners was a different experience for Mr. Johnson. He hired about five employees to run handle the store, while he still worked a full time job. The only issue here was that employees were showing up late, and not putting forth the necessary work in his absence. From this experience he learned to be more hands on when running a business to make it successful. The final push for Mr. Johnson to become a full time entrepreneur came when his car broke down. He scheduled for work at 2am so when he told his manager the situation, he was warned that if he did not make it to work there was no need to ever come back. Forced to make it there, his wife drove him there with his one month old twins. He was then determined to retire after nineteen years and find another way to bring in the income.
As an avid customer of Pelican’s Snoballs, he became curious about buying in to the franchise. Pelican’s Snoballs is known for their bright pink and blue buildings, which makes it easy to spot them; however, their tasty treats (made of the perfect balance of shaved ice and juice) keep customers coming back. They are a newer franchise that was started in North Carolina and inspired by New Orleans. Pelican’s Snoballs has been operating for 15 years and has grown to over 160 locations in 14 states.
Mr. Johnson has owned a total of five locations and has sold three. He prides himself on providing quality snoballs with extra juice but most importantly, exceptional customer service. This is what he personally feels sets his locations apart and makes his family successful. Learning from his mistakes with the dry cleaning business, Mr. Johnson put his all into growing each location by being very hands on. Once the locations are up to par, he is then able to step back and allow his employees to do more while remaining under his supervision. That is usually when he starts to look for the next location or business venture. His wife wanted to introduce her hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina to this wonderful treat so they opened three locations there. After finding success in these locations, the Johnsons decided that it was time to sell them due to the driving back and forth.
With Pelican’s Snoballs being a newer franchise, it is easier for Mr. Johnson to select where he would like to open a new location. He stated that after reviewing the success of his locations, he is then able to decide when to open a new location through prayer and with the help of his wife. His broker also helps, especially when looking for a vacant building. Their newest business venture is becoming franchise owners of a bakery, which will be opening by the end of November 2018. He was also a customer of Burney’s Sweets and More, which started in a small town in North Carolina. He plans to combine this with his newest Pelican’s Snoballs location and later has plans of opening a restaurant.
He takes pride in having his own businesses and doing this full time because it allows him to have the work-life balance he wished to have. He also hopes to leave these to his children one day. His greatest reward is seeing his family happy. His advice to young entrepreneurs is to keep striving for success, even when it does not look or feel the best. He reflected on the days spent sleeping on his cousin’s floor, when he first moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. This fueled him and gave him the perseverance needed to build all that he has built.
