Serial Entrepreneur Candice Price Moves in the Fast Lane
Black Women Business Owners Series Installment V
by Leo Adam Biga
Serial entrepreneur Candice Price is building a serious business portfolio in North Omaha with her innate sales savvy and service-minded ethos.
Price and business partner Ron Devers own Home Team Auto Sales, HT Towing & Repair and Sapphire Grill, a mobile catering trailer. The pair have new businesses in the works. Price is a Florida native whose former employer Union Pacific Railroad transferred her to Omaha in 2009. Since getting laid off in 2015 she’s leveraged herself as a small business player in her adopted hometown. The University of Oklahoma graduate was a UP transportation associate, train dispatcher and marketing-sales manager over an eight-year career. In addition to the businesses she now co-owns, she’s a real estate broker who flips houses, an independent insurance adjuster licensed in six states and a notary. The recent Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce Leadership Omaha graduate strategically serves on several nonprofit boards. Her advocacy for entrepreneurs, particularly Black women trying to establish themselves as business owners, encompasses her role as executive director of GROW Nebraska’s new Women’s Business Center in North Omaha.
Many women she intersects with in her GROW Nebraska work remind her of herself. “They’re like me and my businesses – pretty new, on the cusp, growing, about to be there.” She can commiserate with clients facing challenges, she said, due to “hardships that I’ve gone through,” adding, “I’ve lived some life. I have a story to tell,” said the single mother of two daughters. Her fiancee and the father of her oldest daughter, Sha’lise, suddenly lost his life in 2002. Sha’lise, a recent Omaha North High graduate, now attends North Carolina A&T State University. Candice is also the mother of 5-year-old Jada. All that Price does, she said, is motivated by her desire to give her girls every advantage to living their best lives.
Life goes on. In order to stay balanced juggling the demands of parenting, operating small businesses and filling her advocacy mission, Price relies on a support network. “My friends and my family, they’re everything. My kids keep me active and grounded. I know when to shut things down. I really enjoy traveling. I enjoy going home (Florida). I like to have fun. I love to laugh. My friends and I know how to have a good time, and we do. We work really hard, we play really hard.”
A Higher Purpose
A higher purpose motivates much of what Price does in the community. “I love to learn, I love to teach others. And I just love to be part of something that’s good. Different things make me go I guess in the way I go.” When laid off by UP she was a single mom and newly pregnant. Her hustling and networking took over and she’s since made a series of moves to firmly stake her entrepreneurial claim here. “I started to leave (Omaha), but then I established myself in business and decided to make this my home. I got connected and formed relationships here as far as friends. I’m going to continue to stay here, continue to build.” Auto dealing began as a means to another end before it became one of her primary livelihoods.
“I started doing that little by little while I was with Union Pacific,” she said, “and that was only because I wanted to do real estate. I didn’t have the capital to flip houses, but I knew I had the capital to buy a few cars, get them fixed up, and resold. That’s what I did. That’s what enabled me to do my first (house) flip at the corner of 31st and Pratt and John Creighton Boulevard.” She’s a born “salesperson.” “Even as a young child I would draw pictures and put a price in the corner and my mom would mail the pictures out to family, who would mail me the money. I’ve always had lots of jobs, I’ve always sold whatever there was to sell. Magazines, vacations, lotions, flowers, furniture, CDs. I can sell anything I can understand,” she said. Researching unfamiliar products, industries, even words, is routine for her. “I love learning. I truly believe in lifelong learning. I love reading. I love listening to books. I enjoy learning something new, figuring out something. That’s always been my thing, even as a kid. My parents were always like, ‘Look it up,’ and that’s still me.”
Improving herself is part of a larger mission. “I want to be able to change community. I want to be able to leave a legacy. I want to be able to have an effect on my children’s children’s children. That’s my goal. I want to make sure my children don’t have to say, ‘I started from nothing’ or ‘I didn’t have any help,’ or as we say in the Black community, ‘I had to get it out the mud.’ I don’t think any generation after mine should have to say that. I think Black people should be able to leave an inheritance, and for the majority of us we don’t know what an inheritance is. We haven’t received it, we haven’t left it. So for me doing well means it allows others to do well.
“Love towards Black business, Black ownership, Black communities and legacy wealth is definitely important to myself and to my business partner Ron Devers.”
The two make a good team, she said, because they “balance each other.” “We’re not typically upset at the same time, tired at the same time. When one person doesn’t feel like doing something, the other person has the energy to. When one person has something going on, the other person’s plate is kind of clear and can get it done. We have similar life goals and values. Family is the most important to us before anything else. We also want to get to the same place, so neither one of us quits on the other. That’s what keeps our businesses together running strong.”
Building a Business Portfolio
The pair met when she brought cars in need of repair to his Ron’s Auto Center in 2016. “We ended up talking about some of our goals,” she said, “and they matched up, and so we took off immediately. By that December we were making plans. In January 2017 we were in the city planning office” to open Home Team at 6005 Sorenson Parkway. She’d already become Nebraska’s only African American woman licensed auto dealer. Being alone in that role, she said, means “the community gets to see something different.” She likes the fact she’s representing women in a male-dominated industry. On the other hand, she said, being the only Black female car dealer in the state “means there’s work to be done in a field for us to accomplish many great things in.”
Despite the fact she’s “become a car person” and proven herself an expert of makes, models, options, financing, being a woman in such a boy’s fraternity, she said, is “a disadvantage.” Not that she takes any male chauvinism from vendors or suppliers. “They figure it out pretty quickly,” she said.
She said more than her presence there, new customers are often “surprised and excited that the dealership is Black-owned – it’s something the community appreciates.” She and Devers are committed to rising above used car dealer stereotypes. “We are here to combat the stigma of the buy-here, pay-here dealer,” she said. “Our goal is to help people own their car. We’re not looking to put people in six years of payments. We’re trying to teach people it’s better to buy with cash a depreciable asset like most cars are. We talk with kids about car maintenance and upkeep.”
Home Team Auto Sales awarding their annual college scholarship to an OPS high school senior (4th Annual Scholarship awarded during 2021 Native Omaha Days) Phot credit: Candice Price
The partners’ Sapphire Grill food truck is a classic wag-the-dog story that began with their impulse purchase of a nearly brand new food trailer. Not only were they unsure what to do with it, neither one possessed any prior food industry experience. After letting it sit in storage for a year, their entrepreneurial spirit kicked in. “We decided to see who might want to work in it or to develop it,” said Price. At the same time a prospective operator dropped out, the partners were offered a space at the 2019 College World Series, which they accepted despite the fact, she said, “We didn’t have a menu and we didn’t even know how to turn on any of the items in the food truck.“ To the rescue came a No More Empty Pots training grad who, Price said, “taught us the ropes.”
They completed the menu at 3 am said Price, and their comfort street fare of Philly cheesesteaks, wings, signature Sapphire Skewer (bacon-wrapped grilled pork loin on a stick), and Southwest corn nuggets proved a hit. “People loved it. It was just good fun food. So that was the fare we offered that whole year.” Sapphire performed well at Mandela Fest, Native Omaha Days, the Rhythm Blues and Arts River Fest, and Christmas in the Village. “We started offering some vegetarian options – a black bean quesadilla and black bean nachos. That brought us new business. We made all of the money back we put into the whole business.”
She appreciates what close friends and mentors have done to catalyze her business activities. She credits Kathleen Marrero with giving “me my first start with remodeling-rehabbing a home,” adding, “She’s become like family to me.”
About her friend Maranda Adams, she said, “In everything we’ve ever done she’s been right there to help support in any capacity she could,” including working events.
Price draws inspiration and encouragement from local business coach BC Clark, who impacts many aspiring and emerging entrepreneurs through The Business Connection, the Metro Omaha Women’s Business Center and the Nebraska Enterprise Fund, and from Carmen Tapio, founder-CEO of North End Teleservices and Nebraska Black Women United. Tapio’s arrived at where Price wants to be one day as a major employer who raises up other Black entrepreneurs. Price appreciates it when Black thought leaders like Tapio and Empowerment Network president Willie Barney buy from her and other Black entrepreneurs because it sends a powerful message of supporting Black-owned businesses. She believes folks will spend their dollars with entrepreneurs they see doing the right thing. “If people see you trying, striving, they want to jump in and help. They want to be a part of that.”
As food industry newbies,
she and Devers “ask lots of questions and go to experts” for answers, Price said, “because we’d rather know how to do it right the first time rather than fix errors. We’re thankful for the people around us who haven’t minded giving us a hand or giving us some help.”
With the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020, the momentum Price built around her new businesses hit a roadblock. “My focus just went on family,” she said. She and Devers parked the food truck. “Fortunately, there was no overhead. All we had to pay was storage and insurance. We did end up doing one event – an auto drag race and show – and that’s what saved us. That and a deposit a customer allowed us to keep after she cancelled an event. We didn’t make a lot of money in 2020 but because we filed taxes we were able to qualify for some COVID-19 relief funds.” She said that grant “made up for everything not made in 2020.”
Sapphire Grill is back at it and popular as ever after a two-week run at the 2021 CWS. It wrapped a successful Native Omaha Days gig in August. Outside of events it services, Sapphire now has a regular spot – the lot of the former Wendy’s restaurant at 3706 No. 90th Street. She and Devers purchased the property as the site for a future brick-and-mortar restaurant they’re developing. It will have a completely different cuisine than the food truck. Under the Sapphire brand, the partners also offer a full catering service for business events, weddings, reunions, et cetera. True to her serial entrepreneur modus operandi , she has a new mobile business in the works. She won’t say yet what it is except that it won’t have anything to do with food. COVID forced the temporary shuttering of Home Team Auto Sales in 2020. The business then pivoted to be open by appointment only. It’s now back operating in pre-COVID mode. With the introduction of HT Towing & Repair in June, she and Devers now offer comprehensive auto sales, towing and repair services.
Community Connections
Candice coaching Omaha North High Magnet School Dance. Team photo credit: Candice Price
In response to the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on the Black community, Price launched the Facebook group Omaha Black Business Owners C19 Response and Info. Posts inform visitors about grant and loan opportunities for small business owners. Price’s community networking paid off in an unexpected way when she came to the attention of GROW Nebraska founder-CEO Janell Anderson Ehrke through her mentor, BC Clark. Acting on Clark’s introduction, Ehrke contacted Price and ended up asking her to launch its Women’s Business Center in North Omaha. It opened in May.
“I appreciate them reaching out to me. I didn’t hesitate to accept. For me, it’s literally what I already enjoy doing because really it’s just passing information along. It’s making sure people know what’s available, where there’s access to capital –because that’s the largest hurdle. It’s making sure people know they’re not alone in doing this. It’s giving people options.” She knows well the external and internal barriers entrepreneurs face. “There are so many people who say I didn’t know how to start, I didn’t know who to ask, I didn’t know how to do this or that. So having this avenue and these resources is just phenomenal. Just letting people know the fear that’s stopping them from stepping out on faith is okay – but just do it anyway, do it afraid.”
“Owning a business takes grit, it takes sacrifice, and it takes the support of your family and loved ones. I celebrate you and I appreciate you.”
Black Women United
Price said she is especially mindful that the Black women segment of entrepreneurs is the nation’s “fastest growing, least funded.” Historically, she said, Black women in business were not taken seriously because their enterprises were dismissed as side hustles. But she noted side hustles can be turned into full-time businesses and careers. It’s not only a matter of leaving one’s 9 to 5 job to pursue a dream. In today’s unstable job market, a 9 to 5 can just as easily leave you. In today’s economy, she said, “People want their income to be up to them. It’s creating the vision you’d like to see for yourself.”
Guidance en route to realizing your vision is key. “You must have a mentor,” she said. “You must have someone who’s doing your same business. People are so afraid of that. They feel like it’s competition. But you learn so much by looking at your ‘competition.’ How else do you get to that next level unless you learn what it takes to get there? Otherwise, it’s going to take you longer. “You have to be willing to say, ‘This is what I’m trying to do, can you help me?’ It’s okay if they say no. It may be an opportunity to go on to someone else.”
“I always say, ‘If you’re going to tell me no, tell me no fast, let’s not waste each others’ time.’”
She knows
from personal experience how much is on the line when she counsels clients looking to take the leap. “It’s not just about the dollars and cents of it, it’s about people’s lives…You don’t even know how long they’ve been dreaming this dream. Just to say it and share it sometimes is emotional. I love being in a position to help.”
Candice with GROW Nebraska Women's Business Center Advisory Board members photo credit: Candice Price
Now that Omaha’s her home, Price is determined to see Black hands shape its future. “A lot of ownership in North Omaha is changing,” she said. “I want to make sure as we revitalize the community we maintain the ownership that’s been in the community.” She urges property-business owners to be conscientious about the decisions they make and how they affect the area. “I want to ensure they’re not taking while trying to give.”
A new venture for Price is Diversify the Pie, a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training company she’s started with friends Maranda Adams, a Conagra human resources professional, Candias Jones, a Mutual of Omaha DEI specialist, and Jonnell Devers, a Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital registered nurse and the wife of Price’s business partner, Ron Devers. The four women of color expect to start their work dismantling inclusion barriers and opening avenues for underrepresented individuals in corporate and educational spaces. They then plan to expand into other spaces. “Our tagline,” Price said, “is where we aren’t, we will be,” adding “We provide opportunities to those who have always deserved them.”
Price tries following the example of her mentors in bringing along entrepreneurs with her as she ascends. “The best I ever heard it said is, ‘What are you doing to send an elevator back down?’ That’s speaking specifically to women in business. Press the button, let somebody else come up there with you. That’s what I do and that’s what others have done for me.”
Candice with her immediate family at her alma mater, the University of Oklahoma photo credit: Candice Price
Price and her partners represent the population and experiences they wish to impact. “We understand being highly qualified and unseen.” A PowerPoint they’ve created reads: “Our company represents the ideology of the American pie and the dream we all have to be successful, with the ability to leverage our talents and gifts in a meaningful way to achieve legacy wealth.” Personally, Price is comfortable moving in the fast lane of growing startups and disrupting systems. “I enjoy what I’m doing now and I want to continue to grow with it. I enjoy watching businesses and people develop. My friend BC Clark always says a business can’t scale if a person can’t scale. I’m still learning tons and passing along the knowledge when I get it.”
Price’s mantra says it all: Together, everyone achieves more. “It’s the only way,” she said.