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The HBCU Network: Cool. Where did your sense of entrepreneurism come from?

Mike: As I mentioned, my background is in journalism, so I was fortunate enough to begin my career as an editorial assistant for the Associated Press on Capitol Hill. After being there for a year and a half, I realized I wanted to get out of news writing. There's no creativity at all in news writing, so I decided to get into magazine writing.

That's when I joined African Americans On Wheels (AAOW) (www.onwheelsinc.com). The owner of that magazine, Randi Payton, was a great inspiration to me. Randi came from very little money, and was able to create a million-dollar magazine. He was able to make a way out of no way. When I first joined his company, Randi asked where I saw myself after that position.

Coming from similar backgrounds, I realized I could do what he was doing - create my own magazine, and I told him that's what I wanted to do. I have a natural hustler spirit, and Randi supported and encouraged me, and instilled a lot of fervor in me. I worked right under him. I wrote, handled marketing, created various safety campaigns for different companies - I did it all. Working at AAOW, I was able to travel, and observe how his and other companies work, and see the opportunities, these white companies and journalists are aware of that we are not.

The HBCU Network: As editor-in-chief of YARDstyle, I'm sure it brings back fond memories of your own college days. What was your most memorable experience as student at Morgan State?

Mike: Well, I was always a pretty quiet person, but during my senior year, some friends encouraged me to become president of the English Society. It was a great experience. It helped me to become a lot more sociable. I got involved in a lot of projects, like fundraising. One of our projects involved printing off poems, cutting out lines of the poems and selling them for a penny - "A penny for your thoughts." People loved the idea, and always paid more than a penny.

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The HBCU Network: I read the most recent issue of YARDstyle magazine, and I was really impressed with the glossy layout, content and graphics! This is the first magazine I've heard of, that's geared toward HBCU students. Now, how did you come up with the idea of YARDstyle?

Mike: As I mentioned earlier, I worked for the Associated Press right out of school, and while there, I launched an online magazine on the side, which would become the blueprint for YARDstyle. In the meantime, my friends and I were throwing events on Howard and Morgan's campuses for homecomings and we'd get sponsors for the events.

My friends and I started a marketing company called Direct Impulse (www.directimpulse.com) to officially throw the parties and other events. Then we took all of the money we earned from the events, put it into a prototype for YARDstyle, which was issued in April 2002. I sent out a press kit to several advertisers, college administrators and some students - and everyone was excited. So we went live with the final product in November 2002. Most magazines don't break even until 5 years into the game. We broke even after the first issue, independant of any outside investors.



The HBCU Network: That's quite an accomplishment! How do you get the word out about YARDstyle?

Mike: We get the message out mainly through word of mouth. Because it so involves the reader - the word gets around. Initially, we distributed mainly through the schools' journalism departments. It was slow process getting into the hands of the campuses - many of them were unresponsive. But once they saw the magazine, they liked it. Now we work with the student activities departments - and we have student reps that hand out the magazine on campus. They're our strongest advocates! We also have different student writers for each issue, so of course, they're great supporters of the magazine, as well.

The HBCU Network: How do you select student reps - considering they're such an important source of advocacy for the magazine?

Mike: Well, we treat the role of a student rep like an internship. Marketing students receive academic credit for the work they do. We find out why they want to represent YARDstyle on campus - it helps to make sure we're a good fit.

The HBCU Network: What's your favorite section of YARDstyle.

Mike: Well, I guess I can't say "The sections I write!" :-) I'd have to say, "GRIND", because it highlights students really making it happen - academically, business-wise, politically and more. Most students love the "BLUEPRINT" section, which features tips on what to do after you earn your degree and highlights trailblazing alumni.

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The HBCU Network: What upcoming projects are in the works for YARDstyle?

Mike: We're getting into more promotional activities. We've partnered with the Scion tour, hosting some homecoming events, as well as a "Step For Life" event with the Red Cross.

We're also doing the Community Builders Tour with Timbaland in an effort to clean up our communities which kicks off July 24th in Philly then goes to NY August 21, Baltimore, Atlanta and LA in the fall. We would like HBCU alumni to be involved.



The HBCU Network: What do you want to accomplish with YARDstyle?

Mike: I want to give students the opportunity to get that work experience on all levels of journalism (writing, marketing, photography, modeling, public relations) - any and every aspect of journalism.

That hands-on work experience will help the students get a jump-start on their careers. I was fortunate early on in my career. I knew somebody that knew somebody and ended up working for Associate Press - but I was definitely in the minority. While at Associate Press, the workforce was 3% Black - and I don't know if it's gotten any better.

I also want people to realize how important HBCUs are. Our future starts and ends there. I want to bridge the gaps between the different schools, break down barriers, and work together - we'll get a lot further that way.

I also want - and get YARDstyle into the hands of people outside of our communities, so people become aware of the positive things our students are doing. I want others to be aware of the type of talent and levels of thought that exists at HBCUs.

The HBCU Network: Where do you see YARDstyle 5 years from now?

Mike: Currently, we're on 78 campuses but I see us on every HBCU campus by then. I'd also like to increase the number of issues from 2 to 4 issues per year. Also, I want to have YARDstyle on some majority schools, as where they have Black Student Unions and similar organizations. I'd also like to have YARDstyle distributed to high schools, so the students can find out what's going on at HBCUs. We need to indoctrinate them with thoughts of attending an HBCU early on. And finally, I see us being profitable.

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The HBCU Network: How can our HBCU Network members reach out to you, if they want to get involved?

Mike: To find out more about YARDstyle and the Community Builders Tour, please contact me at: mike@yardstyle.net


The HBCU Network: Thanks so much for taking to time to share your experience with The HBCU Network community!



Check out: http://www.YardStyle.net