She’s young, talented and at the age of 22 she already owns her own successful business. Autumn Harris, creator of “Flavs by 31”, is a Florida A&M University senior majoring in social work. Harris says despite her major she decided to start her own business doing something she’s passionate about.
“Flavs by 31” offers customers home cooked meals every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. From her menu, customers can choose from a variety of different soul food plates such as the Bad Boy, the Family Reunion and the Michelle Obama. Harris also donates $1 from every order to the “National Juvenile Association for Juvenile Diabetes”.
“I had the idea in my mind awhile ago, and I just went for it. I thought to myself ‘this is what I’m going to do’,” said Harris. In December she began spreading the word about her business though word of mouth and social media sites such as Instagram and Twitter. Now, Harris says she currently sells an estimated 45 plates per weekend.
Kalena Green, a management professor in the School of Business & Industry, says she thinks its excellent for students to apply what they’re passionate about in a way that earns them income and experience. “It’s never too soon to execute a well-developed strategic (business) plan,” said Green, “A colleague of mine has a younger sibling who started an entertainment and promotion business while attending FAMU. He’s doing very well.”
In today’s unsteady economy, more students are choosing to start their own business rather than wait for after graduation employment. For example, Mark Zuckerberg co-founded The Facebook back in 2004 from his dorm room at Harvard University. Now, five years later, Facebook is a million dollar business with over 300 million users.
Unfortunately for some, starting a new business can be tricky. According to the book “The Incredible Shrinking Failure Rate”, research indicates that almost 60% of small businesses fail within five years of start up.
Green says when it comes to starting a new business hard work and capitalization is key. “The primary factor students must consider in any economy is whether or not they’re willing to put in the work,” said Green, “There’s no magic involved in entrepreneurial success.”
Harris isn’t the only student to start her own business in college, and she certainly won’t be the last. “I love to cook for people,” said Harris, “It’s something I see myself doing for the rest of my life.”
To get more information on how to order meals from “Flavs by 31”, check out @Flavsby31 via Instagram.