Looking off into the distance with a face full of remembrance, senior accounting major Ryan Mitchell recalls the day Hurricane Katrina destroyed his family's home in New Orleans.
"When it first happened, I was depressed," he said. "Both of my parents lost their jobs and their cars. Our house was filled with water, and everything was damaged." But Mitchell, who was in D.C. when the storm hit, was equally concerned about his parents' finances. Rather than waiting for things to get better, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
"I'm not the type of person to just sit back when there's something I can do about a situation," Mitchell said. "It was something I had to do. I had to make money and help my family."
Mitchell founded R&R Enterprises, a vending business that caters to the Howard community. The idea for his venture was inspired by a trip he made back home after the hurricane.
"Katrina hit in August, and I went home in December. I saw that my parents were really struggling," he said. "I went to a Saints game, saw a man there vending and started thinking.
"When I got back to school, I started researching different machines and prices, and what I would have to do to start [my own vending business]," Michell said.
Mitchell's plan did not fully materialize until he met fellow Howard student and New Orleans native Reginald Joseph. Joseph, whose family was also affected by the hurricane, had previous experience in the vending business.
"I met Reggie and mentioned my idea to him," Michell said. "He told me that he and his dad had a business like that back home."
"Reggie called his dad and he wanted to support us. He sent us our first machines," Mitchell saidd. "We got a popcorn, cotton candy and nacho machine from him." After getting advice from the small business development center on campus, attaining food handler's licenses and buying insurance, R&R enterprises was officially launched in April 2006. But Mitchell still experienced difficulty getting the company off the ground. "The business was officially started in April when the school year was almost over. So things didn't really take off until the next year," he said. "But because of finances, my business partner Reggie was not able to come back to Howard, so I had to get started myself."
"I had to do a lot of free events just to get the word out," Mitchell said.
Success finally came when Mitchell was invited to vend at the Haunted Hilltop in 2006. "Our first big event was the Haunted Hilltop. That really helped to get our name out and started a great relationship with Residence Life. They're still our biggest client," he said. Since then, R&R Enterprises has worked at many events including Homecoming, UGSA's Springfest, ResFest and freshman move-in. Business partner Reginald Joseph returned to Howard this year and has continued with the business.
Although their popularity has steadily grown, Mitchell's greatest accomplishment is the opportunity he has been given to help his family.
"So far, Reggie and I have sent about $10,000 back home to our families," Mitchell said. "The business has done better that I ever thought it would. It's taken stress [away from] me and my parents."
With graduation soon approaching, the fate of R&R Enterprises is now under discussion. "We're in discussion to expand, and we've gotten a lot of offers from investors," Mitchell said. "If all goes well, I'll be moving to New York after graduation to work in investment banking." He added, "But the business took a lot of work, and I don't want to throw it all away now. If possible, I will do both."
Mitchell has also considered passing on the business to younger Howard students. "We are in the process of getting a normal staff," he said. "So one of the ideas we were thinking about is whoever we train, we'll leave the business to them. They could just rent or lease the machines from us."
But no matter what decision R&R Enterprises makes, Mitchell has made a commitment to make philanthropy a priority.
"We do hope to get revenue up to a point where we can give to other families in New Orleans," Mitchell said. "Once we get our own families situated and back on their feet, we will focus our philanthropic efforts on other families." Additional Reporting by Brittany Hutson
