Life has a way of knocking people down – or knocking them to the mat, as I say. No matter what we are doing – whether working for ourselves or someone else – we have the choice of either staying down and letting life win, or getting “up off the mat” and continuing on our journey. I have decided to profile three people who got knocked to the mat and decided to get up and are now doing well in their chosen field.
Simone Bruni was “living the dream” working in the hospitality industry as a corporate meeting planner in New Orleans. She loved being a meeting planner because she got to meet people and was at parties all the time. This all changed on August 29, 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit the city and caused everything to change. Bruni became one of roughly four hundred thousand people who lost their jobs because of the storm so the woman who was living high on life was suddenly without an income. Jobs were scarce and in Bruni‘s words, “It was a situation of blaze your own trail or leave. I wasn’t going to leave.”
As waves of aid workers arrived to assist with cleanup and as she took on the daunting task of rebuilding her home, Bruni saw an opportunity. She realized that the first step in rebuilding was demolition so decided to start a demo company. Armed with her never-quit attitude, skills in marketing, and hot pink business cards and yard signs Bruni started Demo Diva, a demolition company geared towards women. In addition to the business cards and yard signs, part of Bruni’s plan to stand-out in the crowded contractor field, which was dominated by men, was to continue to go bold with her branding by having all her equipment, from trucks to dumpsters, painted hot pink.
Today Demo Diva is a very successful business in the New Orleans area as well as an icon with its hot pink equipment. Simone Bruni is a great example of turning tragedy into success.
Howard Schultz was born in Brooklyn, NY, and spent his childhood in the Bayview Projects – a subsidized housing complex for the poor. His father, “an uneducated, high-school drop-out army veteran,” (Howard’s words), drove a truck for a living and even delivered used nappies around Brooklyn. When Schultz was 7 years old, his dad broke his leg in a fall and couldn’t get workers’ compensation, so the uninsured family had no income. Growing up in a “working poor” family taught Schultz the value of working hard, and of people. Although he earned an athletic scholarship for college because of his football abilities, he decided against playing in college and instead took out student loans and worked various jobs to pay for school.
After graduation, Schultz worked at a ski lodge then landed a job in sales for Xerox, where he got experience cold calling and pitching products. Schultz then took a job at Hammarplast, a housewares business owned by a Swedish company called Perstorp. While with the company, Schultz encountered a Seattle coffee shop called Starbucks. Schultz was impressed that the small chain, with only a few stores in Seattle, successfully sold a product that would appeal to only a small niche of gourmet coffee enthusiasts.
Schultz believed in the product so much that he convinced one of the partners to hire him as director of retail operations and marketing. During his tenure, Schultz attended an international housewares show in Milan, where he encountered several espresso bars that were focused on quality as well as the relationship that people could have with coffee. Convinced that the Milan model would work in the States, Schultz presented the idea to the owners of Starbucks. After the owners rejected his proposals, Schultz left Starbucks to start his own coffee company, iL Giornale. Even after being rejected by 217 investors, Schultz continued with his plan. About two years after leaving Starbucks, Schultz bought the company of six stores and became its CEO. Under Schultz, Starbucks became a public company and has grown to a global brand with over 3,500 stores an annual revenue of over $2.2 billion.
Viola Davis was born on her grandmother’s farm in St. Matthews, SC, and moved to Central Falls, RI, when she was 2 months old. Davis’ father was a horse trainer and her mother was a maid and were unable to provide for the needs of Viola and her five brothers and sisters. Davis describes her childhood as filled with many happy memories and that of abject poverty. Davis has shared how she stole for food and even dug through maggots in garbage bins for it. She also befriended people in the neighborhood who had moms that cooked three meals a day to get food. Davis never knew where her next meal was going to come from. Davis attended Central Falls High School, where as she says, “many children struggle to ‘navigate their way through the darkness’ of poverty and few prospects.” It was at CFHS where Davis began acting. After high school, David attended Rhode Island College where she majored in drama. After college, she attended the Juilliard School of Performing Arts. Soon after, Davis made her Broadway debut and won her first Tony Award.
Davis is credited in more than 40 movies and 30 television shows, including Professor Annalise Keating on ABC’s “How to Get Away with Murder.” She has also produced and has worked on Broadway. Davis has won more than 60 awards and has been nominated for one hundred.
Howard Schultz and Viola Davis are both examples of people who overcame poverty and became successful. My hope is that Bruni, Schultz, and Davis inspire and help us remember that no matter the obstacle, we can pick ourselves up from the mat and do great things.
Raymond, New Hampshire native and former Manchester resident Brian Chicoine is co-founder of UrbanRebel 1636™, a Rhode Island-based art and design way of life start-up. A 1990 graduate of West High School, Brian attended college in the city before moving to Rhode Island to complete his undergraduate degree. Brian’s original plan was to “learn and leave” but fell in love with both his now wife, Jackie, and the state so decided to stay beyond graduation.
After they were married, Brian and Jackie lived in New Hampshire for about five and a half years, during which time their two boys were born. Brian and Jackie then returned to Rhode Island with their two boys and eventually started UrbanRebel 1636™. Brian and Jackie have recently realigned the company’s strategy and are developing an exciting new product line that will be introduced in time for the 2017 re-launch.
Brian has merged his passion for entrepreneurship and innovation with his love of new and bold ideas to bring the reader a fresh perspective on the people and products helping drive the economy. Brian and Jackie live in Providence with their two boys and their cat.
