tale of the student hustle: the candy man

7/28/2019 Tale of the Student Hustle: The Candy Man

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Tale of the Student Hustle: The Candy Man

Juvoni Beckford

Juvoni.comOriginally Published on my blog: juvoni.com/tale-of-the-student-hustle

Twitter: @juvoni

Contact: [email protected]

Special thanks to Andrew Boryga for the edits to this story.


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Introduction

I was inspired to share my story based on the question, When have you most successfully hacked

some (non-computer) system to your advantage?. After recently graduating from college and look-

ing back; I can now more eloquently detail the events that went on during my high school years.

From 2006-2009 when I was a teenager, the time when I found a way to sell candy within the

school to pay my way through high school.

I could not afford to go to a private high school at the time and the public high schools in the inner

city where I lived were failing. My mother did not want to risk my future in that sort of environment,

so she sent me to a private institution, on the belief that we would find a way through the situation

eventually.

I had some ideas come up after seeing candy being sold on the train. I thought, why not bring the

candy to the people who want it the most.

Kids like candy a lot. I analyzed the students, potential competition, building logistics among other

things and setup a secret candy operation for 3 years to fund my way through High School.


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Entrepreneurship is survival

What really makes someone an Entrepreneur? Is it starting a company? Creating and executing ide-

as? Taking business risks and reaching success or failure..and having to start over? These are just a

few generalizations around the idea of Entrepreneurship. I have seen the hustle and I have felt the

hustle.

Brett McKay, creator of the art of manliness defines hustling as:

Doing whatever you have to do, for however long

as you have to do it, until you reach your goal.

Entrepreneurs hustle. Education is tied into Entrepreneurship in the idea that we can learn some

core skills or other general knowledge enabling us to better understand the world and participate init. Whether or not entrepreneurship can be taught is another topic on its own.

Education is one of the greatest liberating forces, but not everyone can get the same dose of libera-

tion. No one chooses the situations they are born into, we can only make due and adapt. I was not

born into a wealthy family, I was raised by a single mother and lived at borderline poverty levels,

and this was often masked.

My mother always use to say, Just because were poor,doesntmean we have to look poor.She was always big on appearances and perception. One thing she did observe and even I had a

basic understanding of at the age of 15, was the poor state of the public education system. My

younger brother and I always enrolled in private schools because the risk of going to public schools

in my area was too much of a gamble for my mother.

My mother never went to college and worked as a nurses aid in a nursing home. I have watched

my mom struggle and it would rightfully bring about anger in a young childs heart. However, I was

not angered because from a very young age I had a global perspective and saw my situation as but

one of many separate families and individuals fighting a battle. This was the results of the harsh re-

alities of the world and I was not sheltered from it, I could only continue to fight on and take action.

I did not have time to be paralyzed by my emotions and excuses were not an option. As a young

child in a fragile household, you are called upon to grow up very quickly and take on a lot of respon-

sibilities.

I was always described as wise beyond my age when I was younger, but it was just survival.


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It was in my sophomore year that I observed something truly great. Another student had been sell-

ing candy secretly to fellow classmates. This student, who will be referred to as Mr. K, would even-

tually become my rival.

The dominant feeling at this point was both fear and hope. I had a

lot of reasons to be afraid, but I could not let excuses cause this op-

portunity to get away. I learned how to understand my own fears

and I decided I would sell candy in school.

I used some of the remaining cash my mom had given me and went

to my local grocery store and bought $20 worth of candy, which

were 50 cents each at the time, to the look of a confused store

clerk. With a gym string bag full of 40 pieces of candy, I was able tosell them all off to hungry students excited for a moving vending

machine. Within a few weeks I had grown exponentially and this

gave birth to the candy man. I observed the fundamental needs of the students and began to hack

my way through school earning funds to help my mother.

The term hack, is used not solely in the misinterpreted evil computer hacker sense, but in the way

that I broke down how the system and people worked and used the knowledge to circumvent it and

extract value.

Paul Graham, programmer and co-founder of Y Combinator seed capital firm, defines the alternate

use of the word hack in term hack as,

When you do something so clever that you some-

how beat the system.

To pull off this successfully I had to understand the limitations and other challenges. Understandingthe broad spectrum of limitations was a competitive advantage that saved a lot of time and allowed

me to better focus my efforts.

Example of a local grocery deli shop


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Mr. K

My rival, Mr. K, sold a similar assortment of candy. During my

early operational stages, by the end of sophomore year, Mr. Kwas still more popular with the students. Here is a description

of Mr. K with some of my early perceptions on him. He was a

little shorter than me with a larger build. He was friends with a

number of the cool kids and he was also quite good at bas-

ketball. Mr. K was also a good student, who often took a lot of

upper level courses. He did however, fit the foreign merchant

trader profile in some of his appearances. Mr. K also had a certain charisma about him when selling

things and I had a feeling he would either work in sales or work in finance over at Wall St. one day.I did not know his motivations, but I still to this day respect his smarts, business knowledge and en-

trepreneurial spirit.

Mr. K did have and early advantage over me regarding the candy business, he sold canned drinks. I

witnessed the rush of students who went to Mr. K first to get drinks, and then some would maybe

come to me afterwards. Soon he built a strong following and students would go to him for all their

snack and drink needs.

Mr. Ks popularity soon worked against him though, teachers became suspicious of his actions and

on multiple occasions his candy would be confiscated. Each time, he went right back to business

when things quieted down.

It was then that I also realized the importance of needing at least one competitor. If I were to out-

grow my rival Mr. K in popularity, I would need the capacity to support all the new customers. I had

to keep in mind that doing so could potentially bring unwarranted attention that could jeopardize my

operation. I had to scale my operations responsibly.

Photo from Mens Wear House, the salesman nature of

Mr.K


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Understanding the marketplace dynamics and competition is important, but the customers are your

lifeline.

I needed to understand the different characteristics of my cus-

tomers based on where they were situated. The different territo-

ries and conflict areas between competitions included: home-

room, shared classes, shared floors, identical schedules as well

as selection of merchandise.

My main rival, Mr. K, purchased a majority of candy from Costco,

which was a wise decision as he was able to get large quantities

at discounted rates. However, he often limited his product line for candies based on the candy Cost-

co would offer which was usually the generic kind. I made the decision to maintain a good relation-ship with my local grocery store and they were able to import or acquire a lot of unique candies

which gave me a competitive advantage. They even threw in some informal discounts here and

there. I sacrificed profits for the short-term, but acquired long-term advantage because of my

unique candy line that couldnt be easily replicated by my competitors.

There wasnt always good days, sometimes I had a good portion of left over candy, and leftover

chocolate was bad as it would melt. I started loaning candy out on credit based on available supply.

I gained information on the discretionary income of my customers based on purchasing frequency,

quantity and how often they would take out candy loans.

Similar hallway setting.


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Junior & Senior Year: the years of growth and expansion

Near the end of my sophomore year, I was growing steadily and continued to help my mom with

the tuition and bills, but it was not enough. I looked for ways to possibly expand beyond candy and

bring in additional lines of revenue.

I noticed there was a segment of students that just would not buy candy or a portion who just be-

came tired of it. I needed an alternative that would help to differentiate me from my competition,

something that would not take up too much space

and also still had good margins.

This alternative was Pop-Tarts.

Pop-Tarts were easy to carry, cheap, varied in flavors

and it was a good alternative to candy, being that it

is a pastry.

In order to keep the margins high, I mapped out the

local super markets in my area acquiring information

on their sales calendar, which would save me tre-

mendously over time. I would preferably only pur-

chase large sums of Pop Tarts during these sales periods. Imagine a kid, clearing the pop-tart

shelves as if like a store employee removing bad products filling their carts, only to see that kid take

that cart full of Pop-Tarts to the cashier.

The Pop-Tarts were a hit with students and brought in some other key demographics that I didnt

have before. Some bestsellers were frosted strawberry, frosted cookies & cream and frosted hot

fudge sundae.

The turning point

My junior year I was able to get into a number of honors classes. This had a number of benefits: I

had a modified schedule that allowed me to get access to more honors students but I still was able

to have some core classes and reach the main student body to sell. In addition, my lunch schedule

was one of the largest in student population and my Pop-Tarts were a big hit as a lunch alternative

to expensive school food.

Multiple varieties of Pop- Tarts


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The honors teachers were less suspicious of their students selling candy and also allowed them to

eat in class, which allowed me to operate much more freely. The biggest win came from the admin-

istrative office. Due to my financial needs and much improved grades I was able to acquire a partial

scholarship which greatly eased the burden on my mother and me. I could now turn the focus into

investing more in my operations.

I ran my operations smoothly through sophomore and junior year of high school without getting

goods confiscated or stolen. How did I pull this off? Understanding of the concerns of my cus-

tomers and respecting people in general.

There was a lot of mini-crisis management and I followed the motto, the customer is always right

for a majority of my run. I never flaunted my money or bought flashy clothing. I maintained my

humbleness throughout my whole time selling candy and other goods.

Although I refer to them as customers, they are foremost my fellow students and I showed each

and every one of them respect, regardless if they deserved it or not. I served them and it was a

privilege they bestowed to me by allowing me to operate in secrecy with a mutual understanding

that I was doing it for the right reasons. A number of the smaller competitors in the candy business

quit and for the most part it was me and my rival Mr. K. At this point I had surpassed Mr. K in sales

and built strong loyalty among the students.

I looked to expand further. Mr. K as I had mentioned earlier had sold canned drinks. This posed a

lot of limitations because of the weight and size while maintaining stealth. I did want to expand into

drinks. I pondered for a few days and decided on the perfect alternative, Capri Sun.

These drinks could be packed together in my book bag as

the book requirements lessened in junior year going for-

ward and I sold them for 50 cents each. I usually promot-

ed them as two for $1 and often times sold them in combi-

nation with either candy or Pop-Tarts.

During lunch time or gym, there would be a flood of stu-

dents waiting to get their hands on some. Eventually, I be-

gan to carry two string bags on my way to school, one of

which contained just drinks, which I would store in my locker. I also stored extra boxes of pop tarts

in my locker as demand grew.

A bundle of Capri Sun


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I had accidentally stumbled upon a way to increase the sales of my Capri Suns significantly, without

changing the product too much. One day, as I was stocking up late, the box of Capri Suns I had

picked up was way too warm, so I placed it in the freezer early in the a.m. and I took them out be-

fore I left for school without thinking much.

That day as I sold them, one student happened to be pleasantly surprised and proceeded to buy

two more. I was confused at first and thought it was the flavor. When I inquired more, what actual-

ly happened was that the Capri Sun didnt completely freeze, but turned to slushy. The word spread

of my slushy Capri Suns and I sold out by homeroom. I would be prepared the next few days and

weeks ahead with a refreshing Capri Sun that students could get if they purchased early. The prod-

uct line of candy, Pop- Tarts and Capri Sun strengthened my lunch-time stronghold. The school

lunch was expensive for a number of students and my operations was a much needed alternative

and enabled them to afford a cheaper lunch by purchasing 2 Capri suns and a pop tart for just $2

for example and it was filling for some.

A sip of victory

I had reached a point where my operations and prod-

ucts were fully streamlined and I begun to average

out around $15 20 an hour selling candy, Pop-Tarts

and Capri Sun.

I had a new problem now. I had too much free cash

sitting around.

Data was taken all throughout my time selling and I

had key mental notes of the personalities, de-

mographics and most importantly credit worthiness,

from a buildup of mental notes I took on product loans. This was the perfect opportunity to setup

an informal loan shark side gig.

I took calculated risks on loans that I would offer towards students that needed it. A majority of

loans were in small amounts ranging from $1, the most frequent, to $10.

Cafeteria similar to half of the dimensions of my old High School. Not

our actual caf.


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My interest rate was a one-time flat rate on the amount loaned, at 25%. This is of course very high,

but for high school students they didnt mind, and if they were borrowing a dollar in their head a 25

cent cost was not much to them. In fact this helped my fellow students more than me as they had

access to line of credit that of course a bank would not service and their parents may not had at the

time to give them. I also informally give no-interest loans to a number of students which I had be-

lieved to be of significant disadvantage, as I personally could understand what they were goingthrough and I wanted to help them when they were down and not take advantage of their situation.

My rival, Mr. K, stopped selling by senior year and I had continued selling into my senior year but

significantly scaled down my operations halfway through to better enjoy my final moments in high

school. Earlier I had begun to purchase generic candy as Costco to cut down on costs and inflation

begun to spin out of control as this was nearing the time of the 2008 economic crisis. With present

day inflation, it would be very difficult to recreate what I did those 3 years, without buying and sell-

ing in larger volumes from a discounter.

All in all, this was quite a life changing experience. It was survival

and taking advantage of opportunities to the fullest. Ive learned

so much about myself and about respect for others. I refused to

be a victim of society and took matters into my own hands.

The entrepreneurial spirit wasnt an occupation for me it was rela-

tionship building, knowing my value proposition and giving people

what they wanted.

My final inventory.


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I went on to win a number of leadership awards at Fordham and one quote that described a multi-

plier really stock out to me.

A multiplier is someone who uses his or her intelligence to amplify and

bring out the smarts and capability of those around them.

I find strength through helping others and if I cant help them, I drive myself to learn as much as I

can and become wiser so I can be better prepared to help them. Having a growth mindset and a

vast curiosity has helped me to achieve the knowledge necessary without putting unnecessary re-

strictions on myself. I also, try to become keener at finding opportunities, so I can share them with

others.

I worked as an application developer intern for Standard & Poors and AOL during my junior and

senior year of college. Both of these internships were paid and made all the difference for a huge

increase in living standards. Under no circumstances could I have done an unpaid internship.

In school I took the initiative and founded a business and technology club at Fordham called theDigital Business Society, which bridges the gap between technical and non-technical students to col-laborate. There are a lot of opportunities in the next frontier, the Digital Economy.

I hope my story has helped you in some way. I am always open to conversation so feel freeto contact me or share this story with someone. Stay optimistic, with optimism there is progress.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
http://juvoni.com/contact/http://juvoni.com/contact/

tale of the student hustle: the candy man

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