ANDERSON — Mario Remson's mother was his inspiration to have his own business, and now that he's accomplished it, his grandmother is supplying the product.
Remson's mother, Crystal Douglass, owned a west side beauty salon until forced to close due to a health issue.
Today, Remson operates 4Ever Memory at the salon's location. "I grew up in that back room right there," he said in an interview last week, pointing to the room that's now his office at 2403 Raible Ave.
The business offers Remembrance Bears made from a deceased loved one's clothing. Judy Hill, Remson's grandmother had been making the bears for family and friends, including her grandson to remember his late father, when Remson decided to start the business, using her talents.
"I knew I always wanted to own a business because I remember seeing my mother run her business," he said. "I always knew that was the route I wanted to go.
Remson had a successful first year, and he has set an impressive goal for the fledgling company.
"We've been doing pretty well. The number of bears sold each month has been increasing, and we've had more walk-ins, website traffic and word-of-mouth customers. Eventually I want to go global with it. I want to become a brand that's very personal to our consumers."
And Anderson will be 4Ever Memory's headquarters.
"We want to be a part of the community This is where I was born. This is where I was raised," he said.
Yet, as a young African-American Anderson entrepreneur, Remson thinks community support for his and other black-owned business could be stronger.
JaCarra McClendon, another under-40 black entrepreneur who in November opened Spoil Me Day Spa, 1601 Arrow Ave., agrees.
As does Cherish McGruder, an Anderson native and self-styled community organizer who's been working for the past couple of months to raise awareness and increase support for black-owned businesses in Anderson by circulating information about those firms, which she plans to update quarterly.
McClendon is a U.S. Army veteran who served a yearlong tour during the war in Iraq. By day, she's an accounting technician at the Defense Finance and Accounting Service in Indianapolis.
But she's an entrepreneur at heart who was always interested in the beauty industry.
After her discharge from the National Guard in 2011, McClendon attended cosmetology school and then studied to become an esthetician.
She decided to open her spa on the west side because there was nothing like it in the area. Her second cousin, Rita Walker, has owned the Studio II salon in the same building on Arrow Avenue for 30 years.
"She's been a great mentor. Over the years she's given me a lot of knowledge," McClendon said. "Once I told her I was ready to do something, she was a support."
McGruder argues that supporting black business regardless of race is vital to enhancing the quality of life within black communities.
And she rejects the idea that shopping at black-owned business is racist.
"It is the small businesses which drive a better economy. This doesn't mean to stop spending with other corporations," McGruder said. "It means that spending within the black community means more money circulates locally and increases spending power."
Moreover, she argues that spending with black-owned businesses will help reduce the ethnic and racial disparities "that keep us divided in various aspects of American life."
McClendon agreed it's important to raise awareness, which might include more advertising and marketing to supplement word-of-mouth referrals. She also said other young entrepreneurs should get together and develop ideas to increase awareness and exposure.
"The more support we have within the community, the more opportunities I think we get to bringing bigger businesses, more businesses if we can show we're capable of doing that," she said.
For Remson, he's discovered that since opening his business last year, "people I didn't think were paying attention were paying attention," peppering him with questions about how he got started.
"I want to be able to make these bears and be able to help people." Remson said. "It got a lot deeper than I expected when people began asking me questions and people are inspired by me."
The experience is very exciting and unexpected, he said.
"It's very rewarding feeling like I'm doing something. I feel excited that I can contribute to the community and be able to help," he said.