Jackson Jambalaya

The memoir of hall of fame entrepreneur J.L. Holloway illustrates the important role local entrepreneurs have played in job creation across Mississippi.

Nothing to Lose: A Story of Poverty, Resilience, and Gratitude tracks Holloway’s job creation successes and failures from the dirt poor Gransby Community in rural Jefferson Davis County to major companies on the Gulf Coast and in the Jackson metro area. From Mississippi Equipment Rental and Supply in Richland, which he sold, to the conglomerate he formed from HAM Industries, Friede Goldman, and Halter Marine in Jackson County, which took bankruptcy, to Tenax Aerospace in Madison County, which he sold, Holloway created many jobs that continue today under new owners.

So too did Owen Cooper of Yazoo City, D.R. Sanderson of Laurel, Warren A. Hood, Sr. of Jackson, W.A. Taylor, Sr. of Louisville, Sammie Davidson of Meridian, and many more business creators across Mississippi.

As economic development efforts focus so much on attracting out of state businesses for job creation, are we still generating homegrown entrepreneurs to create jobs?

Yes, but the resources committed to entrepreneurship are a smidgen of those committed to recruiting out-of-state businesses.

Over the years, Innovate Mississippi has helped 1,580 plus companies that created 2,900 plus jobs. Entrepreneur and business development centers at Mississippi universities have helped hundreds of startups get off the ground – some very successful. Other programs in communities around the state help small businesses get started and grow. There are also programs that teach entrepreneurship at community colleges and high schools.

Still, major job creation entrepreneurs in Mississippi like Holloway are mostly self-generating. A prime example would be the Duff brothers, James and Thomas, who purchased Southern Tire Mart in 2003. Today their company, Duff Capital Investors, operates 20 plus companies that employ over 15,000 people.

Holloway’s memoir, co-written by Neil White, highlights Holloway’s tenacity and unflagging work ethic as keys to his success. Entrepreneurship guru William Hatcher of Meridian contends those are attributes of successful entrepreneurs that cannot be taught. Rather they are innate tendencies honed by early life experiences.

As part of a Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation grant to promote entrepreneurship at Meridian Community College, Hatcher developed the Make-A-Job Workshop. While teaching fundamentals of small business development, the workshop’s true purpose was to assess participants’ tenacity and work ethic. Those without those attributes were encouraged to stick with Take-A-Job careers.

To see what that means in action, read Nothing to Lose.

“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty,” Proverbs 14:23.

Crawford is a syndicated columnist from Jackson.