Markeshia Ricks Photo
Ricky Evans didn’t set out to run a BBQ food truck. He was climbing the ladder in Corporate America, and he wasn’t passionate about what he was doing.
“I realized that’s not for me,” he said.
His passion was smoked meats — beef brisket, ribs, chopped chicken and pulled pork to be exact. So the Cleveland, Ohio, native (pictured above) quit his job 19 months ago, and purchased a food truck known to many in New Haven as Ricky D’s Rib Shack.
Last week Evans finished a nine-week city program called Passion to Profit that helps entrepreneurs with everything from drafting a business plan and market analysis to basic bookkeeping and marketing. He’s hoping that the course will help him with his bigger goals of opening a storefront in New Haven, and working with the city to hold a food truck festival and maybe one day hosting a BBQ pitmasters competition.
“Things are going pretty good,” he said.
The city’s Small Business Service Center collaborated with the Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC) to bring the program to New Haven for current and would-be small and minority business owners. Jackie James (at left in photo), director of the Small Business Service Center, said that there is a tremendous need for similar resources. She estimated that more than 200 people have contacted the service center looking for help since she took the helm in July.
“We’d like to do this two to three times a year,” she said of the class. “But we’ll have to figure out the funding.”
The Passion to Profit course typically cost about $300 per person, but the WBDC provided it free of charge. James said about 40 people applied; the first class could accommodate 26 of them. James, a staff of one, is looking to convince the city to invest more resources in helping grow local businesses like the one Jennifer Morgan wants to start. Twenty-three participants ended up finishing the course.
Morgan (pictured) like Evans loves to cook. Her specialty is a crisp made in four flavors from locally sourced ingredients: parmesan rosemary, olive oil sea salt, toasted organic coconut and apple pie. Morgan started making them for friends who ultimately urged her to sell them. Last summer she worked with a farmer’s market to provide a sample tasting, which got her to thinking that starting her own business could work. Morgan is now the proud owner of Jenny’s Artisan Crisps. She said taking the Passion to Profit course helped her learn about what it means to have a “scalable business model” and how to market her product using social media, which has only increased her confidence. “I really learned a lot,” she said.
Budding entrepreneur Tracey Massey (pictured) said her passion is for fashion. She has always liked being well dressed and accessorized. When she quit her job about a year ago with no plan, she decided it was time to make that passion pay. She started Gods and Goddesses Boutique right in her living room, with items that other people had admired, and sometimes worked the business at yard sales. Through Passion to Profit, Massey said, she learned the difference between making money to make ends meet, and making profit. “I didn’t make a profit before,” she said. “Now I know that I can have a storefront, or I can sell through a Website.”
Matthew Nemerson, the city’s economic development administrator, said the days are gone of there being a few key employers where many people work for years and then retire and collect a pension. Small-business sustainability and job creation are a major part of the present and future of the city’s economy.
“We have to look at how we can help you create a job for yourself and then help you grow to five jobs, then 10,” Nemerson told the class of graduates at a ceremony at 200 Orange St. last Monday night. “The mayor is behind you. We want to be your partners and help you expand.”
The full list of graduates follows:
• Janice Murray
• Jennifer Morgan
• Marcia Smith
• Ricky Evans
• Lottie Brown
• Hila-Hali Testman
• Pamela Spann
• Stacee McCall
• Jayuan Carter
• Janie McCarter
• Barbara Lafond
• Jennifer Morgan
• Gamaliel Moses
• Verlessie Shoulders
• Marcia Smith
• Tracey Foskey
• Joseph Roach
• Amoy Kong-Brown
• Tywanna Johnson
• Tracey Massey
• Francette Carson
• Doreen Abubakar
• Louisa Moore — Edwards
I´d love to see a version of the Grove hook up with one of these business training companies and open in one of the neighborhoods. Lots of people starting small businesses, store owners, construction companies, etc. that would benefit a lot from a shared office space. Lots of one-person companies that would benefit from having technology for billing, accounting, etc but can´t afford it on their own.