We had the good fortune of connecting with Devante Sanders and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Devante, how do you think about risk?
Many of us are far too familiar with the old saying “without risk there is no reward”. While deciding to take the leap of faith into full time self-employment I often times recited encouraging proverbs on risks. Prior to taking my leap of faith I was generally a very risk perverse individual. I enjoyed a calculated career path in accounting that would provide steady annual incremental raises with little to no financial stress. Being a father and husband financial security is very important and accounting provided the safety that we desired. Although we were safe and secure, no risks were being taken to propel our dreams of financial freedom into reality. Muhammad Ali once said “he who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing”. It wasn’t until I decided to leave the safety net of my 9-5 to dedicate myself to entrepreneurship that I began to see that calculated risks pay major dividends. Similar to a mother eagle teaching her young how to defy gravity I began to spread my wings once I was pushed out of the nest. This push would result in major growth for myself and my business. Quitting my full time job as a certified public accountant at Goldman Sachs, in the peak of a pandemic, turned out to be more rewarding that I could’ve imagined. In reflection of the decisions that I have made that have brought me to this moment I can hear that old saying echoing in my head, “without risk there is no reward,” and I am ever so grateful.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

The Barber Plug Supply Co. was founded October 1, 2020 by Myself, Devante Sanders. I am a 26-year-old Dallas Area CPA and Entrepreneur.

With the help of my wife, sister, and dad I was able to scale a small, black-owned family business to a million dollar business in less than a year.

I started the business while still working as a Senior Analyst at Goldman Sachs in Dallas at the start of the pandemic.

The Barber Plug Supply Co. is currently the largest black owned barber supply business and a family-run business in the DFW metroplex.

Last month, the business did over $288,000 in sales and our valuation in November of 2021 was measured a little over $3 million.

The biggest challenge we currently face is scaling the business. Although we have been successful thus far, as you grow customers start to place big business expectations on your growing small business. Almost $290,000 in sales sounds amazing, but the reality of that number is one person packaging 100’s of orders, and another person responding to 100’s of emails, and another person monitoring ads and shipping supplies, and another person strategizing how we can increase that number the next month.

The biggest lesson starting a business has taught me is; don’t look at the scoreboard, just keep scoring.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to shoutout my team, who is also my family: My wife Jasmine Sanders, my sister Denitra Sanders and my dad Demetrius Sanders.

They allow me to focus on parts of the business I enjoy most. My wife handles all things marketing, branding, and digital media for our business. My sister takes care of customer service and returns. My dad assist me with day to day responsibilities, as well as finances.

Website: thebarberplug.com

Instagram: iamthebarberplug

Image Credits
Jasmine Sanders

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