Two savvy female entrepreneurs break into lucrative ink cartridge refurbishing business
Domineca Neal, president of One CW LLC, a Cartridge World franchise in the suburb of Lenox, has a theory about those with a true entrepreneurial spirit.
“When I hear people say that they want to go into business but can’t find one to go into, then I know that you don’t really want to go into business,” Neal told the Defender Wednesday. “There is always an opportunity to do some type of business as long as you are willing the put in the work and learn the skills it takes to operate that business.”
Such are words of wisdom from a woman who once worked in corporate America as an accountant, served as a co-owner of a Wendy’s restaurant franchise and who’s now in a partnership with an undergraduate classmate in the booming business of refurbishing and selling printer ink cartridges. Their company is One CW LLC, a Cartridge World franchise.
Neal, 39, and friend Dawn Batts, 40, opened their Cartridge World franchise in July of last year.
“We’re fairly new and have been opened for just about seven months now, and we’re just excited about the business,” Neal said.
Neal, who lives in Chicago, received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich., said she always wanted to be own boss from day one. For her, it didn’t matter the type of business, just as long as she could find the right-fit entry point.
That determination for the right-fit business and a partner on the same page financially and spiritually stuck in Neal’s head after she found herself needing to sell her portion of a Wendy’s franchise in 2004 because her partner didn’t have the same drive and work ethic as her, she said.
“But I knew I wanted to get into another franchise business,” Neal said. “And I would say to any young person wanting to get into business for him or herself, you should look into getting into a franchise. Usually a franchise business is the easiest route to go in getting financing to start up your business. And you have that support base.”
Batts, who resides in Detroit, also received her bachelor’s from Michigan State University, and both women obtained their masters in business administration from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Coming from an investment business background, Batts recently relinquished her co-ownership in a concession company at an Orlando, Fla., airport for similar reasons as Neal, she said.
“It’s so critical that partners have very similar goals as to why you’re getting into it,” Batts told the Defender Wednesday. “I know some people who get into their own business seem to think it gives them the right not to work, or not to work so hard. A business partnership, it’s like a marriage. Both side have to be willing to put the work in and have the same goals in order to ensure that the business is going to be a success. I found that Domineca and I have the same attitude about business.”
Batts made sure that she and Neal kept abreast on what the other one was doing through mutual friends, although they initially didn’t get a chance to talk much to each other. And as fate would have it, both were looking for a new franchise business venture in 2005 when they heard about opportunities within the Cartridge World corporation.
Neal and Batts didn’t have an African American role model to base the business off of when they decided to pursue the franchise.
“There was really no one initially that I really identified at the time that I was evaluating the industry who was Black in this industry,” Neal said. “Since then, I have found some other Blacks in this industry, but it is still mostly (white) men in this business.”
Neither women come from any technical background, but they both believe that business is business. Neal took the initiative to learn the technical aspects of remanufacturing cartridges and learning some basic Internet technology skills. Batts took on the role of filing the company’s human resources and administrative needs.
Batts and Neal’s business has managed to thrive in seven short months through a mixture of diversifying their clientele with African American and white companies, Neal said.
The company has seen a monthly percentage growth average of 40 percent due to the relatively low cost it takes for them to refurbish the cartridges.
An average Cartridge World store does good business if it brings in about $360,000 annually. Neal knows of some stores doing about $800,000 a year.
One CW LLC expects to break even within nine months of their starting date, Neal said as an indicator of how rapidly her and Batts’ business is growing.
The women have accounts with major corporations and small businesses. One of their largest clients is the Chicago marketing office for Black Entertainment Television (BET).
Anthony Buckley, network engineer for the local BET office, 2 Prudential Plaza, told the Defender Wednesday that he’s been highly impressed with Neal and Batts since day one.
“The fact that first and foremost it’s African American sisters doing their thing, and they have helped me in a crisis situation,” Buckley said. “I always have a vast need for cartridges, receiving them and returning them. But because our main headquarters is in Washington, D.C., I sometimes have to wait for them. And that is unacceptable because BET in Chicago is a sales office and my staff always has to be on point.
“We run through ink cartridges pretty quick. During the upfront season (starting in April and May) we may run through three to four cartridges per machine in a month.”
BET has worked with One CW LLC since October of 2006.
“The lesson that I can say honestly that could be delivered to the youth who want to start their own businesses is to stay focused, thrive and be there for their client,” Buckley said to the example Neal and Batts set. “And be there for your client because there has not been one time that I have tried to contact them and they didn’t get back to me in one hour or less. And you always have to be willing to go that extra mile for your client. Like Domineca has said to me, ‘Anthony, if you need it right now I’ll bring it myself.’ She makes me feel like I am her only client, and I know they have way many more clients than us.”
Batts said she and Neal’s goal now is to get the word out to as many businesses as possible about the cost savings - and environmental sound responsibility - of using refurbished ink cartridges.
“Cartridge World is a wonderful opportunity,” Batts said. “The technology has allowed us to operate this type of store at a low cost. Many people don’t realize that they can take an old cartridge and refill it and pay almost half the price than they did for the original.”
by Demetrius Patterson, Defender Staff Writer
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