Head of the class: the best and brightest entrepreneurs are growing despite sluggish times - Seventh Annual Small Business Awards

Black Enterprise, May, 2002 by Sonja D. Brown

Horsford & Poteat Realty Corp,
TYPE OF BUSINESS
Housing development
OWNERS Edward Poteat (pictured),
Robert and Aliyah Horsford
LOCATION New York, NY

Harlem native Edward Poteat always wanted to find a way to give back to his community. In 1995, Poteat, 29, aligned himself with Robert Horsford, 30, and his sister Aliyah, 31, to start Horsford & Poteat Realty (H&P), a full-service real estate firm that develops, markets, and manages affordable housing in Harlem. Once they became full-time entrepreneurs, Poteat, a Yale graduate, took over as director of development and real estate.

Between 1998 and 2001, the firm, which grossed $1.5 million last year, renovated more than 400 units of affordable housing. It plans to develop another 250 units in 2002.

KIDPRENEURS

Recognizing entrepreneurs under the age of 18 who serve as role models and are committed to advancing the rich tradition of black business achievement. The nominees are:

Kid's Help
TYPE OF BUSINESS Landscaping
PRESIDENT Derryk C. Whitner
LOCATION Vallejo, CA

Derryk Whitner went into business so that he could get extra money to support his hobby of playing video games. He bought the book Fast Cash for Kids, and leafing through the pages planted the seeds for Kid's Help Lawn Care & Accessories.

In 1996, at the age of 12, Whitner started the company with no capital, just the home computer he used to create flyers that he posted on his neighbors' doors. His first job was painting a fence. He earned $150.

Today, Whitner, 17, provides services for 30 customers in two counties. He also sells accessories such as birdhouses, bird feeders, wind chimes, and metal garden decor. In 2001, his efforts came into full bloom, grossing $4,000 in revenues.

Jams-N-Yams
TYPE OF BUSINESS Catering
PRESIDENT Camilla White
LOCATION Flosmoor, IL

Camilla White whips up profits as quickly as she bakes pies. As CEO of Jams-N-Yams, the 15-year-old makes more than 40 different varieties of pies, which she, in turn, sells to local restaurants and other clientele. And this is just one of three enterprises she owns. Her other companies are Packables, a service that supplies fresh cut vegetables to pet stores, and Camilla's Crafts, which creates and delivers a variety of gift items, including greeting cards that she designs.

White started Jams-N-Yams in 1995 at the tender age of 8. She persuaded a cook in one of her parents' hotels to show her how to cook sweet potato pies. She refined the recipe and took her pies to a local beauty shop to get her first orders. After a taste of that initial success, White financed Jams-N-Yams from the money she earned from modeling and from appearances she made on television programs.

She has since dramatically increased her clientele. In fact, Jams-N-Yams grossed $9,000 in 2001.

White's efforts have earned her kudos throughout her home state, In 2000, the Small Business Administration presented her with the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Illinois district, and she received the Illinois Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Her long-term goal is to own a chain of bakeries that will rank among the BE 100s.