Brandon Scivolette, Owner of Elite Moving Labor
Eighty-five hour work weeks. Two companies to run. High-intensity workouts five days a week. Welcome to the life of south Tampa resident and serial entrepreneur, Brandon Scivolette. He sat down with SouthTampasphere.com recently to discuss his busy schedule, his love for south Tampa and his promise to throw the staff here at ST a party at Hooters.
South Tampasphere: Where in south Tampa do you live?
Brandon Scivolette: The Harbour House at Bayshore and Howard
ST: What do you do for work? About how many hours a week do you work?
BS: I own Elite Moving Labor and CraigslistDelivery.Com. I work 80-85 hours per week.
ST: Did you start any other businesses before you found success with your company, Elite Moving Labor?
BS: Yes, my first company was “Interesting Proposals,” which was designed to be an event coordinator for wedding proposals. In short, the concept was to create, plan and carry out unique wedding proposals. For example, if your girlfriend was a die hard fan of Aerosmith and you wanted to propose not just at the concert, but on stage followed by Aerosmith playing her favorite song. Although the concept had a great following, the capital required was excessive and the target market was very limited.
ST: How was the start-up phase of Elite? Did you immediately find success or was there a time period when you didn’t think it would work?
BS: Elite was never designed to be what it is today. It was originally designed to be a full service express mover from the east to the west coast, which at the time was seeing exponential growth. Because of the overhead, start up costs and licensing required to become a full service moving company, we put it on hold and found success with the labor niche.
Our first summer was extremely busy and prosperous, but we found out in our first winter that there is a “busy season” and without a great residential demand, web presence or commercial contracts we wouldn’t survive. I knew we’d make it to our second year, but from November until April money was extremely tight.
ST: Recently your company moved Hulk Hogan’s ex-wife, Linda Bollea, in the Clearwater area. How did you land that job? Do you have any more upcoming celebrity moves?
BS: Elite landing the Hogan move was a combination of two things: The success of our web presence and that we are the most widely recognized moving labor firm in the United States. We have spent tens of thousands of dollars and thousands of man hours developing our web presence, we currently have 36 domains and are constantly adding features to increase our search engine rankings. We have a Mel Gibson move in the pipeline and our contract calls for up to 25 celebrity moves per year. At this time, however, I am not sure of who they will be.
ST: What are some of the pros and cons of owning a business?
BS: The pros are obvious: Freedom, being the boss and ultimately having control over your own success or failure. There are many cons too, most notably the time commitment. Many people are so used to being “on the clock,” they don’t understand that they may need to work thousands of hours without being paid a cent.. it’s part of being an owner. The stress and financial strain in the early years can be a major hindrance both physically and mentally.
ST: Are there any entrepreneurs you look up to?
BS: Two – Steven Jobs, the founder of Apple and Pixar Studios (now owned by Disney), and David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue. Both have an amazing ability to create a cult like following and they know how to have fun doing it.
ST: Running two businesses must be stressful at times. What kind of exercise program do you follow to stay in shape and keep the stress at bay? Which gym do you exercise at?
BS: I work out at Choice Fitness (formerly Xtreme) in South Tampa. I have found that heading to the gym as soon as my day ends really helps to keep the stress at bay. I currently do a mixture of strength training and cardio, mostly high intensity cardio like boxing.
ST: Where are your favorite places to enjoy the nightlife in Tampa? Favorite restaurant(s) as well? And drink of choice?
BS: I’m of course partial to anything on Howard, although on occasion I do like Hyde Park Cafe and The Rack. MacDintons and Cheap are my two favorites and I drink Michelob Ultra, tequilla shots or Red Bull/vodka.
ST: What is south Tampa missing? What is great about south Tampa?
BS: South Tampa is missing nightlife entertainment that does not require you to eat or drink. If you stroll Howard Avenue or Platt, your only entertainment is restaurants or bars.
ST: If you could plop any business, restaurant or other establishment down right in the center of south Howard Ave, what would it be?
BS: I’ve contemplated this idea before and explored the concept of a miniature golf course on Howard Avenue. Unfortunately, despite the recession, Howard Avenue real estate remains pricey. Because of the large capital commitment to the land (both leasing and buying), a restaurant or bar are the only two options poised for success. I personally would create an open, relaxed enviornment similar to MacDintons with a beach theme.
ST: Do you have plans to start any more businesses in the future?
BS: Quite a few. I’m always looking for ways to offer additional services to our customers. Two projects we are working on include a web based broker program which is basically a spin off of our current nationwide program, and a College Hunks Hauling Junk franchise in Pinellas/Pasco. The credit crunch has limited our ability to borrow as much as we require for the College Hunks start up, but it’s still in the pipeline for future development. In addition to those, my dream business that I plan to start in the next three years is a hotel in Aruba. I’d like to build a resort hotel with the first Margaritaville in Aruba.
ST: In a year, it will be SouthTampasphere.com’s first anniversary. What generous gift will you buy for our staff?
BS: I’ll throw you and your entire staff a wonderful bash at the local Hooters.
Brandon can be reached at brandon@elitemovinglabor.com, and you can book his moving labor services via Elite’s website, www.elitemovinglabor.com.
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