NY Daily News: A Harlem fire extinguisher business that started in the basement of a restaurant is hiring, training and growing
Putting out a fire requires speed, skill and guts.
You can say the same about starting a small business in New York City during the recession. Harlem entrepreneurs Londel Davis Jr., 40, and Keith Pearson, 47, know how to do both.
Four years ago, Davis and Pearson, who became friends while serving on an army base in Baumholder, Germany, in the 1980s, launched American Fire Control, a company that sells and services fire extinguishers.
They set up their fledgling business in the cellar of Londel’s Restaurant, a Harlem eatery owned by Davis’ father, Londel Davis. They knocked on the doors of local businesses in the neighborhood, carrying around fire extinguishers in a $25 luggage cart.
“We didn’t start on the ground floor, we started in the basement,” Davis said.
Today, the vets have two storefronts on Adam Clayton Powell Blvd., five vans, and 13 employees, five of whom are Harlem residents.
With the Apollo Theater, the New York City Police Department and the New York City Housing Authority as customers, sales will reach between $500,000 and $600,000 this year, more than double what they were in 2010.
Davis credits drive and salesmanship for the company’s staying power. “The key is dedication, determination and drive,” he said. “You don’t have to be a genius.”