September 26, 2001
{lortlanò I
‘ 0Pb»rrurr I
Page C7
MINORITY
BUSINESS
Z V / X
s p e c ia l e d itio n
Combining Family,
Business and Community
Saluting Minority
Enterprise Development
PCRH
„
fTon C77ie (jofnsnu/iüÿ'
NOW TAKING APPLICATIONS!!
Heading the 45-year old family business is the founder father and CEO Floyd Booker Sr. with hi
sons Michael, the Operations Mgr. and Ronald as President o f Courtesy Janitorial Services. Inc. 0
primary importance among family firm wealth holders is transferring not only their financial wealth,
but also their values surrounding their wealth to subsequent generations.
photo by M ark W ashington /T hf . P ortland O bserv er
by R on
W eber and M arnella
B ingham -M oslf . y
for the P ortland O bserver
In 1956, award winning author
Alice Childress published a book
about the life of a black domestic
worker. Unlike the black domestic
worker in the novel, Floyd and
Mary Julia Booker of Courtesy
Janitorial Services, Inc. would put
a wonderful twist to the words
“domestic work.” Instead of clean
ing one house, this unbeatable
husband-wife team would take on
many cleaning jobs throughout
Portland.
Floyd Booker Sr. desired as a
youth to become an architect. He
possessed dreams of building
empires using brick and mortar as
his primary material—however 45
years later, his dreams became re
ality as the architect of a progres
sive family business. Today, Cour
tesy Janitorial Services, Inc. uses
honesty and hard work as the pri
mary building materials.
In 1943, the City of Portland
needed a large number of workers
for its major shipyard to perform
wartime jobs. However, opportu
nities for African Americans were
limited. Many job announcements
specified "White Only.”
Booker Sr. and his wife Mary
Julia in 1956 started their janitorial
service part-time from the rear end
of the family station wagon.
Childcare was not an option for
them. With their young children at
their heels, they cleaned small of
fices, medical facilities, schools and
other sites. Mrs. Booker managed
housekeeping, while raising 6 chil
dren and working alongside her
husband.
The example they created of
working together for their children
created a family harmony and a
business culture that remains true
in their business today—“work
hard and work together.”
Today Booker Sr. is retired, but
works 2-4 hoursevery day. Twoof
his five sons manage the day-to-
continued
on page C l 1
Opportunities, Barriers Exist
for Minority Retailers
continued
from C6
laundromats that would compete with each
other.”
“The question is almost impossible to an
swer,” consultant Jeana Woolley says. “Is
there a long list of people waiting to move in?
No, but if the opportunity arose people would
come forward. Many of us do business out of
our homes. We rise to the occasion.”
Woolley says, “Right now there’s not a lot
of space available in Northeast." Moreover,
“People want to be someplace that looks
successful, that’s aesthetically pleasing, looks
good from the street, alive, a place people
want to be.” In contrast, some o f the mixed-
use projects on the boulevard “treat their retail
space as an afterthought,” she says.
Gary Brown of the Portland State Univer
sity Business Outreach Program disagrees
with Woolley. He steered Anita Smith to a site
on Northeast Shaver Street on MLK as a site
for her soon-to-open Hannah B ea's Pound
Cake. “There definitely is good, suitable space
available on that street, and it’s affordable
right now. M.L.K. is really coming along. But
it is a highway. Parking is an issue, and it isn’t
as conducive to foot traffic as Alberta or
Hawthorne. You definitely have to be visible
from the street," explained Brown.
Domonic Boswell says that many retailers
“can’t afford the rents on MLK," which he
described as “not available, too small, or not
proper space.” He agrees that many mixed-
use projects were poorly designed. “If the
space isn’t visible, unless you have a product
people are breaking down doors to get, they
won’t come.” However, he calls the Alberta
Simmons building “awesome. They set back
the residential part from the street, and made
the retail prominent.”
Boswell is himself a new retailer. Having
worked for PDC, the Urban League and the
Brownfields Project, he took over the Walnut
Park Blimpie’s franchise when it became avail
able. Why? “I wanted to make some money,"
he says cheerfully. Sometimes I say to myself,
‘I’m having the time of my life, I wish I had
done this years ago’ - but I wasn’t ready
then." He helped prepare himself by taking a
class at PSU’s School of Extended Studies.
I
Even so, he is still learning. “I haven't made
any $1,000 mistakes here, but I’ve made a
few $200 and $300 mistakes.”
For those interviewed, they were virtually
unanimous in saying that training and finan
cial support are essential to small business
success. “You need to understand how to
manage and grow your business, and how to
get access to capital,” Brooks says. “You
need a business strategy, who you’re selling
to and how to reach them. If business was
easy, everyone would be in it It isn t easy.
Together with Brooks, Woolley says, “We
need a more focussed effort to get minority
people into business.” To allow them to
succeed, she says, “It’s about money. We
don’t have the support networks. We can’t
keep going long enough to develop a market,
and have expertise in running a business. You
don’t just need the tools, you need to be
walked though how to use the tools.”
Help is available, from PDC and else
where, to provide both financial support and
advice. However, Boswell says, “There are a
ton of resources out there, but there isn't a
good road map to it.”
Some of this is provided by Brown's PSU
Business Outreach Program. He begins by
sitting down with the business owner to
determine what his or her needs are. The
most common kind of assistance rendered is
“getting financial statements in order, creat
ing a marketing strategy, and creating an
overall business plan, in that order,” he says.
The catch is that the program works only
with people who are already in business.
Boswell says his experience “has made me
a firm believer in franchising. “When you
take over a franchise, your chances of suc
cess are 95 percent," he says. “When you
start your own business, your chances of
failure are 95 percent."
W oolley says, “ I talk to people every day
who are working for som eone else and
would love to have a business o f their own.
They say, ‘I don’t want to be Starbucks, I
just want to have a sm all, thriving busi
ness.’ But it’s not as sim ple as it looks.
Small business people are slaves to their
businesses, and they don t realize it until
they’re there.”
Now available: 1,2, & 3 Bedroom Houses
And Apartments
Income Restrictions Apply.
Maximum Annual Income ranges
from$31,300 for one person
to $59,050 for eight people
Apply Monday-Friday 9:00 AM- 4:00 P.M.
Portland Community
Reinvestment Initiatives
4829 NE MLK Blvd./ Wygant
Portland, Oregon 97211
(503) 288-2923
EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY
Seaside Motel 6 #4062
2369 S. Holladay Drive
Seaside, OR 97138
Office: 503-738-6269 Fax: 503-738-4276
For Reservations Call 1-800-4-MOTEL-6
A Licensee o f Mote! 6 Operating L. P.
N W N atural isn’t just your gas
company, we re also your neighbor.
That helps us understand you and
your nerds a little better. It has for
over 135 years. So whenever you need
us, from a fussy furnace to a softball
game, we re always here at (503) 220-2360
NW N a tu ra l
WWW nw n e tw rah e am
W’< grtu> up b t n