Young, Gifted And Black -- `Living Large' The Legal Way -- Entrepreneur, 25, Shares Tips On Business With Teen Gangs

CHEHALIS - As he stood before a group of hardcore juvenile lawbreakers, James Ujaama knew he would be tested. He just didn't know when - or how.

Ujaama glanced up from his notes and watched his audience take seats according to gang allegiances. On the right side sat Crips from Tacoma. On the other side sat the Black Gangster Disciples and more Crips from Seattle.

As he looked at these teen-age offenders, serving time for drug dealing, robbery and murder, Ujaama knew the test he faced would be a difficult one: convincing them to choose entrepreneurship over crime.

The 25-year-old former Central Area youth and author hoped to do that by talking to them about his new book, "The Young People's Guide To Starting A Business Without Selling Drugs."

Using earnings from a computer business and other ventures, he published the book in May as a practical business guide for young people to start productive, profit-oriented lives. Included is information on how to write a business plan, and ventures that can be started for less than $1,000. "It's a book that has a message to a much neglected part of the community: young black males, and we're excited about the book and so are other people who shop here," said Joseph Zimbabwe, owner of Blackbird Books, one of several local retailers who are selling the book.

Ujaama was invited to speak, because as a successful, young entrepreneur, he has become a role model for others. But these kids weren't about to take him at face value. They peppered him with questions: Did he belong to a gang? Where did he live?

For Ujaama, making his first speech in front of a hardened group like this, the test had begun.

Instead of ducking their questions, Ujaama related to his own story of how he became an entrepreneur.

By age 14, he started a home-maintenance company with his younger brother that later was incorporated as Thompson and Thompson Inc. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Washington for two years.

By age 22, he bought a small, ailing computer store in the University District. The owners were trying to get rid of the business, but were having trouble selling off their equipment. Ujaama told them he would sell the equipment - at no cost to them - if they would teach him what they knew about assembling computers.

He struck a deal, renamed the store Campus Computers and assembled his own line of IBM compatibles, called Remarkable. Sales averaged $15,000 per month. But as a one-man shop owner, he worked 14-hour days with little time left for friends and family.

Within six months, he sold the store for a $6,000 profit and continued selling computers out of his Eastlake apartment. The days of trading money for happiness were over.

It was while visiting his mother, who lives on 25th Avenue in Seattle's Central Area, that he noticed kids in the neighborhood increasingly wearing gang colors and lured to selling drugs. Gang members, Ujaama knows, are a loyal bunch. They defend their territory or neighborhood passionately. They work hard at selling drugs. They are actually formed like tiny corporations.

"These youths are actually young entrepreneurs looking for positive mentorship and direction," Ujaama said. "Their worst problem is that they have far too many people telling them to get a job when jobs aren't available or paying them enough. They already have talent and skill. It just takes anyone with belief in them to show them the way."

But how?

His inspiration came from Nike's "Just Do It" campaign. Why not create a phrase, with a social twist, and turn it into a business that would also help develop a positive image among teen-agers.

Ujaama's answer: Be Your Own Boss Unlimited, a slogan intended to convey that teen-agers can be in charge of their own lives by rejecting the temptation to join a gang or sell drugs.

Using the profits from his other ventures, especially the computer store, Ujaama initially invested $1,500 in T-shirts, buttons and sweatshirts with the slogan. He sold them and worked through nine other businesses, including Ezell's Fried Chicken where he received another $1,500 for expenses.

On a mentor's advice, he wrote the story of Be Your Own Boss in his new book. He spent $2,000 to publish it and at $12.95 a copy, has sold nearly two-thirds of the first 300 copies. Local retailers that carry the book include Richlen's Super-Mini, Darrell's Auto Emporium, Blackbird Books and Beverly's Records & Tapes.

"It's the beginning of something very positive in the community and maybe even throughout the country," said Lewis Rudd, president and chief executive officer of Ezell's Fried Chicken.

"With the proper support and resources, he will do well," Rudd added. "He's determined to be an entrepreneur and likes sharing his ideas with youth. That says to me it can be done. He's not saying he can do it. He's doing it. Like I tell him all the time, he's an inspiration. He's one of my heroes."

Already, Ujaama is planning for an expanded second edition which, like the first, will have a strong anti-gang and anti-drug theme.

On the cover of his current book is a gold crest with a line through the words drugs and gangs. In the foreword, Ujaama wrote:

"When a person lacks knowledge and vision, that person becomes a soldier in the wrong war, an enemy to others and to themselves, incapable of being independent and incapable of making good decisions.

"Don't ever sell, invest or promote drugs or join a gang. Don't ever pass up knowledge in any shape or form, or go without vision; but do get all the education you can get, cling to your goals and Be Your Own Boss."

This was the message Ujaama carried to the Green Hill classroom.

"You can do anything you want to do," he told them. "Find a product or service to market and sell. Everybody has a need. Figure out their needs. Sell enough of it and you can make money."

Their excitement spilled forth, as some blurted out ideas for businesses, until someone ended it saying, "You make it sound so easy."

It is, he told them. There is no genius involved in selling computers. It's only a matter of staying focused on goals and marketing the product, he said, encouraging them to return to their neighborhoods and build them up.

"Think about building your own rather than working for someone else," he said.

Before leaving the classroom, two students complained there weren't enough of his books to go around. One overly eager student slipped a book under his shirt but a counselor caught him and reclaimed it.

"He got around to the kids well," said Alan Stajduhar, a supervisor at Green Hill. "They were a little apprehensive at first to see if he knew what he was talking about. But they thought he was a good speaker and appreciated what he had to say. They wanted him back."

Maybe his words were enough to convince some of the teen-agers to become legitimate business owners. Time will tell, Ujaama said. Yet in his heart, he said he believed he made a difference.

Approaching the metal gate at the end of a long, winding driveway, Ujaama left the school knowing one thing: That he passed the test.

"I could sell a lot of computers and make a lot money," he said with a grin. "But I wouldn't be as happy as I am right now."