By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
Maintaining a lasting business takes strategic preparation, commitment to legacy and clear purpose. For Brian Brooks, upholding the original character behind the 144-year-old business, E.E. Ward Moving and Storage, means investing back into the company, its staff and the community.
Brooks, co-owner and president of E.E. Ward Moving and Storage, recently spoke with the AFRO on how he works to ensure that the original intent and passion behind the business is not lost as he continues the company’s legacy.
“We believe in investing back into ourselves,” which includes training newer staff, said Brooks. “We pride ourselves on a high quality of service. One of our taglines is ‘professional movers since 1881.’ There’s a skill, an art to moving things so they don’t break, and a lot of that expertise comes from what we invest back into it.”
E.E. Ward Moving and Storage makes it a priority to invest back into the community–one of the founding principles of the business.
The company is the oldest African-American owned business still in operation in the United States. The roots of the company were laid by John T. Ward, a conductor on the Underground Railroad in Columbus, Ohio.
John T. Ward began the business upon realizing that his family had accumulated the resources and knowledge to adequately transport goods and supplies. It remained family-owned for 120 years until the torch was passed on to Brooks in 2001 by his godfather, Eldon Ward, who had planned to shutter the business.
Under the ownership of Brooks and his wife, Dominique, the business has been revived, expanded and modernized with no end in sight. E.E. Ward now has 45 trucks, 75 employees, four locations and numerous awards.
In recent years, E.E. Ward Moving and Storage has tapped into MoversSuite, a cloud based software for the moving and storage industry. It helps tie everything into one centralized system and features an all-inclusive document management system and several mobile-access components.
They’ve also employed a modern website infrastructure, automated and personalized customer service and accessible financial solutions for customers.
A strategy Brooks’ company has employed to ensure longevity is being prepared for future needs.
“Even though you may not need a loan, you need to be in a position to get one if needed,” said Brooks. “Someone told me a long time ago, the best time to ask for money is when you don’t need it because your approach to it is going to be a lot more strategic. When you’re forced to do it out of desperation, you are not at your best and many times you are being reactionary.”
Offering advice to other Black entrepreneurs striving to build enduring businesses, Brooks encouraged them to stay consistent and show up every day.
“You have to show up for yourself, for your business, for your customers employees,” said Brooks. “It is one of the main principles you have to subscribe to–simple as it sounds.”
Echoing that sentiment, Eudell Watts IV, said his current strategy in business is to maximize impact with available resources, remain consistent and keep showing up.Watts is co-founder of Old Arthur’s Barbeque Products.
Drawing from his journey as an entrepreneur, Watts offered advice for lasting success.
“Don’t be afraid to get your family involved,” he said. “Identify each person’s strengths, and delegate roles and responsibilities that play to those strengths. A lasting legacy is stronger when it’s built together.”