“African Americans need to be looking into entrepreneurship,” said Halbert Sullivan, executive director of the much-acclaimed Father’s Support Center.
“They way I look at it, you should be trying to open a business while you are also working, so your day job money pays for your house note, your car note, the essentials.”
Interestingly, Sullivan was not passing these words of wisdom on to the fathers at his center who are looking to play a larger role in the lives of their children. This was the weekend, when he becomes a small business owner at the Big Top Flea Market, located at Highway 367 and Chambers Road.
“Sales to me is probably one of the best businesses that there is,” Sullivan said.
“When you walk out of the door, just about everything that you see was sold, except for the air. The trees, the concrete, the grass, they were all bought and sold.”
Sullivan, who has been in the business for nearly four decades, is quick to correct those who think that flea marker entrepreneurs are not “real” business owners, based on sales alone.
“As I got older, I started thinking about how I was going to make my retirement really count. I started out selling earrings. You could buy one earring for 50 cents, and then resell it for $1.50 at the beauty shop,” Sullivan said.
“I was making about $1,000 to $1,500 a week just selling costume jewelry. I am still doing about $3,000 a week with this business here. It behooves a man to try until he gets his niche.”
BJ, of BJ’s Everlasting Oils, agreed that the flea market can provide substantial earning potential.
“I sell oils, because it’s a disposable product. If you keep good product, and keep good customer service, then you will keep good money coming in. I can literally sell hundreds of bottles of oil each weekend,” BJ said.
“It’s very lucrative. I have been doing this for about six years now, and I make a good living doing this.”
Flea markets, for many, have come to be associated with illegitimate trade in designer knock-offs and pirated CDs and DVDs. Those that focus on these aspects of the industry often miss out on the its positive side. Flea markets give African Americans the opportunity to own and operate their own businesses.
One example of the market serving as a “business incubator” of sorts can be seen in T-Boyz Custom Sounds.
The owners of the business, Tony Beard and Garland Taylor, originally had a sound shop on Goodfellow, but moved to the flea market after the building they rented was sold and the new owners substantially increased their rent. The flea market allows them to maintain the client base they have established over the last decade while they look for a new location.
For Essie Alexander, owner of Essie’s Unique Boutique, the true value of the flea market comes from the sense of being part of the community. “I do it just because I love to do it. I also make a little bit of extra money,” Alexander said.
“If you really like it, you will get up and go and laugh and talk and enjoy. You meet a many person that you probably would not know.”
Dana McReynolds, the owner of Grab-A-Bite, the market’s eatery, has earned enough money at the market to open a second business, Ground Zero Catering and Banquet Center.
She said she uses her booth as an opportunity to spend time with her children and to teach them valuable life lessons.
“As long as my children are over 11 years of age, they get $4,000 each from a grant that is provided for children that help with the family business,” she said.
“Not only am I able to cook and work with people, but I also am giving my sons real-world business experience.”
