Young entrepreneurs of B.R.

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By Rachael Lundy

Having a dream to follow is all the motivation some need when it comes to reaching multitudes of success, and Baton Rouge, without doubt, has a market for young entrepreneurs doing just that. These young, business-minded individuals, mentioned throughout this article, did not allow age to hinder them when deciding to take on business ventures that scare even the well-experienced.

The Tiger District Owner, Jared Loftus, 27, realized his natural ability to operate a business while in college, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was what he was supposed to do for a living.

“I got into this business by selling bootleg shirts while I was in college,” said Loftus. “After doing it for a while, I realized I unknowingly had a business on my hands.”

Loftus interviewed with several companies his senior year in college, but he then decided that he would open up his own business at the age of 22, in order to pursue his own company interests.

“I finally decided to bite the bullet and just do it,” said Loftus. “I figured the worst thing that could happen is that it would fail, and I would have to get a real job to pay back the loans.”

Loftus was willing to do whatever it took to excel in this business venture, but he explains that nothing can fully prepare someone for this type of undertaking, except the actual undertaking itself.

“Obviously, you want to put a lot of consideration into the concept and do the appropriate amount of research on it, but nothing can really prepare you for being your own boss until you just are your own boss,” said Loftus.

Loftus learned that being his own boss is a very time consuming task, but he feels that both his social and business lives simply blend together, feeding off of each other.

“I feel like I have a pretty balanced life between work and play, but it’s not a switch you can turn on and off,” said Loftus. “I get new ideas all the time, whether it’s sitting at my desk or being out with friends.”

Baton Rouge can expect to see much more of Loftus’ business projects.

“Tiger District is just the beginning,” said Loftus.

David Sheely, 25-year-old owner of Shady’s Bar, is like many other recent college graduates in Louisiana who began looking for a job right out of college, but was unable to find one that suited his education.

“My business career started out due to my interest in finance,” said Sheely. “I graduated from LSU with a finance degree and the desire to become an equity trader. I started looking for jobs in the area, but there simply were not jobs available in Baton Rouge that allowed me to actively trade the market. When it became clear that I needed to attend a top 10 MBA program in order to gain the knowledge and experience to become a top trader, I knew I needed to gain some real world business experience.”

At the age of 24, Sheely decided to risk opening his own business establishment, Shady’s Bar.

“Honestly, I kind of just jumped into it head-first,” said Sheely. “I didn’t have any experience in a bar. I had never even bar-tended. Was I prepared to take the risk? Yes, without a doubt. Everyone has a different comfort level when it comes to risk, and it will vary throughout a person’s life. I was at a point in my life where I could risk everything, so I did. I literally put everything on the line, and I am glad I did. I learned more about myself and about business in the week before and after Shady’s opened than I did the entire time I was in school.”

Running this type of business takes much dedication and hard-work, which most individuals realize when undertaking a task such as this.

“I don’t think a second goes by that I am not working towards making my business better,” said Sheely. “You have to have an obsessive personality to succeed in this business. There simply are not enough hours in the day to have time for anything else but work. It has come to define my life.”

Like many driven, young professionals in his field, Sheely has plans to open another bar, but says he will do so outside of Baton Rouge. In addition, Sheely has further business prospects he is working towards, which he hopes to open in the near future.

“If you truly have the desire to succeed, don’t hesitate,” Sheely advises. “Believe in your idea and make it work. Be smart. Be courteous and don’t trust anyone.”

David Fontenot, 27-year-old owner of Fontenot Custom Web Solutions, L.L.C., created his business organization immediately following his graduation from Louisiana State University.

Within this company are several smaller business operations, which he manages on a daily basis. One such operation is his Ecommerce site, CajunCastIron.com, where he markets cast iron and enamel cookware products. In addition to this, Fontenot stays busy building Web sites for other companies, often discovering new vendors in the process. He manages to maintain and grow his corporation while, simultaneously, working full-time as a software developer.

“Finding the time to run a business and work a full-time job can be very challenging,” said Fontenot. “I often work more than 40 hours a week at my full-time job while having to keep up with ever-changing technologies. This does not leave me with much time, so my social life usually ends up suffering in order for me to get everything accomplished. Luckily, I have a really supportive family and friends that keep me motivated and help out when life gets too chaotic.”

Opening up one’s own business can be overwhelming, and those who do so may face unexpected dilemmas.

“I wasn’t fully prepared at first,” said Fontenot. “A lot more went into the day-to-day running of a business than I really understood initially, but eventually I wrapped my mind around it and started seeing some success.

“My first site CajunCastIron.com actually grew so fast in my first year that I had to rely on my family to help out with all of the packing and shipping. I also needed someone to help me manage the site and customer service for me. It was overwhelming holding down my first full-time job while experiencing this kind of growth. At one point I decided to quit my full-time position so that I could work solely for myself.

“It was great being able to have so much freedom, but at the same time it added a lot more pressure to the job. Luckily I managed to get through the highs and lows ok. Eventually, though, I went back to work full-time in order to keep my technical skills sharp and focus on the Web site aspect of my business.”

Once Fontenot gained some concrete experience, he became ready to expand his business endeavors. He is currently in the early stages of creating additional businesses and encourages other young business-oriented individuals to do so as well, but to take caution by fully preparing themselves in order to do so successfully.

Thriving entrepreneurs are rarely seen starting a business at the young age of 16, but the owners of Sorelle’s on Nicholson did just that, eliminating age stereotypes in the business sector.

These ambitious, 21-year-old twin sisters, Nicole and Ashley Russo, opened up their corporation - Sorelle Gamelle - meaning twin sisters in Italian, at the age of 16, and have now expanded to two locations - Houma and Baton Rouge.

“We were inspired to open the store when we were 16,” said Nicole Russo. “We used to have to go to New Orleans to shop for shoes, but we eventually got tired of there being no place in Houma to go shopping for reasonable shoes that young girls could afford.”

This propelled the two young ladies to fill this lacking niche. The determined Russo sisters created a business plan, which they then presented to their parents, who were so excited about the idea that they helped in funding the store.

“I’m not going to lie,” said Ashley Russo, who works daily while also going to college. “It’s tough running two stores.”

Nicole Russo, who also is a full-time student as well as a cheerleader, also stays very busy, but she “wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“If you have an idea, go for it,” Ashley Russo advises other young entrepreneurs. “Be positive and follow your heart. If you really want it bad enough, it will happen.”

These sorelle gamelles have a solid desire for running their business, and are assured that this is what they want to do long-term. Their strong, selling sense will propel them into the next phase of their production goals.

“We do have plans for expanding the business,” said Nicole Russo, “and hope to expand soon.”

Another young business leader in Baton Rouge has turned to both the business and political scenes to reach and maintain his ambitious goals.

As bid management director for Woodrow Wilson Construction Company, 30-year-old M. Scott Wilson carries on his family’s work tradition. Wilson’s grandfather started this company in 1951, and Wilson has been raised working at this firm during the summers, starting as a young child, and has plans to carry on the family business. He accepted a position on the Board of Directors, recently, and hopes to one day be in a position to further expand this firm into other states, already striving to grow the company.

“As bid management director, I coordinate all projects in our bid log,” said Wilson. “When a project comes out for bid I am responsible for setting up a team that’s broken down by division. I make sure that every I is dotted and T is crossed before we submit final bid on a project.”

Wilson enjoys what he does and feels this is an important factor that all business leaders must consider when accepting any job position.

“The most important thing is to love what you do and enjoy the people you surround yourself with,” said Wilson. “If you hate to go to work and can’t stand the people you work with, you will never get excited about the next level or be willing to put the extra effort in.”

Wilson has goals beyond that of Woodrow Wilson Construction Company. This young business leader would like to take on additional responsibilities by gaining experience in the political arena. Although Wilson was not elected to Baton Rouge Metro Council during this past election, he has not let that dampen his ambition in becoming involved in politics at a future point in time.

“I am very willing to pursue another public office,” said Wilson. “I feel public service is a very humbling experience and I encourage anyone who wants to serve the people to do so.”

Wilson has high hopes for Woodrow Wilson Construction Company and plans to strive for the best, making him another one of Baton Rouge’s up-and-coming, young citizens.

Each of these young individuals has become Baton Rouge’s up-and-coming business leaders, and is a great inspiration to those who have similarly motivating, entrepreneurial spirits. They have shown that with much hard work and planning, even those who are very young can meet their career goals, despite their age.

Originally Published: Issue 715 - December 9, 2008

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