Becoming an entrepreneur
January 31, 2011
Samantha Franco
Students at the University of Florida fuel Gainesville‟s nightlife, but
26-year-old entrepreneur, the self-proclaimed the “Party King,” rules it.
The monarch, Joey Friedman, owns the advertising and marketing
company, Uber Promotions, Inc.
As a UF graduate with two masters in international business and
accounting, a bachelor in accounting and two minors in economics and
criminology, one would think he owed all of his success to his strenuous
schooling. However, Friedman started his company as an ambitious 17-year-
old freshman with a lot of natural ability.
After skipping a grade in high school, Friedman was the youngest of
the students at his first summer B semester at UF. All of the nightclubs
abided by the 18 and up rule, so he was always left out of fun nighttime
plans, Friedman said. Underage and unable to follow the status quo, he spent
his first week stuck in a Lakeside dorm with nothing to do.
Completely flustered and unsatisfied with his antithesis of a college
experience, he refused to sit around and wait for his 18th birthday, which was
nine long months away. So he took the initiative and got creative.
His idea was to start a symbiotic relationship with the bars. He
thought if a bar would benefit from his presence, then they would “make an
exception and bend the rules,” for a 17-year-old to join in on the festivities.
“I needed to find a way to get in, and I didn‟t have a fake ID,”
Friedman said.
He figured that a bar wouldn‟t turn him away if he advertised for them
and brought in 50 to 100 customers.
As a “get-up-and-go kind of guy,” Friedman kept pursuing the
business by meeting possible partygoers people and constantly going out, his
dream form of work. The infant promotion company was never expected to
grow into something that he would do longer than a year. His intentions
were never to make money but to find an effective way to have fun and go
out with friends. Of course, Friedman didn‟t mind the profit that allowed
him to become independent of his parents.
“Looking back at freshman year, if I knew this would happen I
would‟ve been in shock,” Friedman said.
After nine years of owning Uber Promotions, Inc., Friedman values
his self-made entrepreneurship.
“Everyone thinks, „Oh, he‟s a rock star,‟” Friedman said,” They
assume I party all of the time and don‟t work. They don‟t realize how much
work there actually is involved.”
In fact, he said several other companies have tried to duplicate his
work. He said the knock offs fail because they lack proper structure during
the day and have excess partying at night. Friedman attributes his success to
his balance between the fun aspect of the company and the real
responsibility. It‟s a balance learned from experience in the field, he said.
“I don‟t have a lot of plans for the future because they never seem to
go the way you plan them,” Friedman said.
According to Nathan Chauhan, a teacher‟s assistant for
entrepreneurship, ENT3003, people who have an idea or vision and who
want to start their own company don‟t have to wait until they get out of
college.
“Some of the best advice the class gives students is if you want to do
something, the best way to get started is to bite the bullet, and do it,”
Chauhan said, “You don‟t have to wait for an elaborate business plan or
years of work experience.”
All it takes to be a successful entrepreneur is a good idea and full
commitment to making it come alive.
“It‟s hard work, but the payoff is amazing,” Friedman said.
Source List:
Joey Friedman: 954-290-5657
Nathan Chauhan: 850-225-2235