Who is Breon Williams?
Breon Wiliams is an outgoing, fun, creative person who loves people, business, and dessert. I love to be creative in everything I do. I have a Masters in Business Advertising Marketing, and that's where I get the creative side of me. I am the owner of Yobre'Z Frozen Dessert Bar here in Jacksonville, NC.
Take us back to how you and your business partner form this opportunistic relationship?
Stacy Welsh was on my Marketing Team at Burberry before I started Yobre'Z. She did a lot of branding with me at different events for the community. I knew at a time I was going to transition by rebranding our company and rebranding ourselves. I brought Stacy on, and I grandfathered her into our company. Giving her that opportunity to be with us and be a part of our team, offering her something different. This was definitely something out of the box for Stacy. Something she has never done, especially in dessert. Managing an actual company with employees at a brick and mortar. She has always been an independent consultant dealing with skincare and health needs, but never a brick and mortar where she needs to have employees and staff, real inventory, major payroll, and having CPAs. So the journey was very much different for her. Other than that, our relationship was built just like that. She started as a customer and came in as the marketing team, and here we are. Honestly, it was a faith move with Stacey because we didn't have a long relationship. I knew Stacy for about seven to eight months when I asked her to be my business partner.
Being recognized as one of the top five ice cream shops in Jacksonville, NC. How do you value yourself being a black man in this entrepreneur lane?
Actually, were top ten in the State of North Carolina's ice cream shops. We are one of the destination stops for NC Tripping, which is our state website for North Carolina. We are considered one of the top ten places to stop in the state of North Carolina. So many freakshakes took us to that level. Having that creative mind and creative aspect of it. Being a black man has been different. We understand racism is a big thing. I have been blessed not to have dealt with it, personally as a black entrepreneur. I have a very diverse group of customers that come here. Sometimes I look across the restaurant, and I see different age groups, and it's shocking.
We have created something that we have tapped into that is very unusual. Normally when you look at a restaurant or any type of business, there is a specific target market. We have targeted every person, every background, and every age group with Yobre'Z I think we just offer something different. We can be creative, but we still have flavors for the kids, mid-aged people, and our older people. You know our older people love butter pecan, and in the south, you got to have butter pecan. Being able to touch and reach that has made me successful today.
For those unaware, can you tell us how your business is socially and environmentally involved in giving back to the community?
Absolutely! Our hashtag here is community first. I'm a firm believer in what you do for others; the good man upstairs will make happen for you. As long as I'm giving back, God will make sure I'm provided and staying successful. It's not about being in the spotlight for me or having recognition. My heart is for the people and has always been. I understand it's the same people who support me, and I should support them. My goal is to be successful and help make the young people who work for me just as successful as I am.
We have done so much. We do the Operational Christmas, Christmas gifts, and we are involved in canned food drives, soup kitchens, help with back-to-school drives, and trunks or treats. We are always doing something for the community. All these events we do for the community are free. We bring other small businesses together to be a representation and be the pioneer for them. To show that it takes small businesses with the same mindset to reach the same goals to make something amazing for our town. We have watched and seen our events go from birth, from crawling, to stumbling, to walking, and now to running. It's been a phenomenal feeling to give back.
You are known to work with multiple organizations statewide. Can you name a few that has stood out to you in developing leadership by influence?
I am a former foster child. So I was raised in foster care, and I have worked with the foster organization. I believe it's called Size. It's a foster care unit where it's all foster kids, and that's my heart for people because I can identify with them. You don't really know what a person is going through unless you've been in their footsteps. Being a part of that organization and being able to speak to other foster kids and say, "Hey, I'm a former foster kid, and you can be just as successful." We can't allow our present situation to determine our future. That's the biggest thing I tell young people is that my heart is for them. My heart is for those I can see the potential. Sometimes people just need to hear that.
Being raised in an abusive home, you don't get to hear it often. You're always getting told the opposite. "You ain't going to be nobody". How and when are you going to outlive it? That's the decision I had to make was to outlive the hurt and abuse—That's what helped me today. There have been times where YoBreeze has not always been what it is today. Sometimes we couldn't make the bill, hello somebody! There were times the lights were close to getting cut off. You have to keep that smile when the lights are on because you can't let them see you're going through it. At the late-night hours when the lights are getting cut off, it's just me and Jesus.
We also work alongside another organization called RED (Remember Everyone Deployed). I'm a former military kid, and Stacy is a former military spouse as well. This organization gives back to veterans and marines. We wear red every Friday and sell the shirts here as well. We are a true partner with them, and we help the organization to build and support military families.
Can you talk to our readers about the value of becoming an influential leader and business consultant like yourself?
The value, that's a tough question. There's a whole lot of value in that, and it speaks volumes. How you carry yourself is one of the biggest values of them all, and your character and integrity of the people and your business. It's about can we trust you and do you have the integrity to lead the people. For me, you have to be set apart, and you're different for a reason. You are called to being a leader for a reason. We cant go with the same crowd, and we cant walk with the same crowd. We have to be the bigger person. We have to know some things don't cause a response. Also, you don't have to prove yourself. Your gift will make room for you. Allow your gift to respond for you, and HE will make your name great. YoBreeze's name became great because we stayed in the back. We didn't ask to be in the spotlight. Sometimes you have to understand it's not always good to be in the spotlight. Being a business owner, I had to learn I'm watched—the value of that I have to keep good character, representation, and character. I carry myself well. There's a lot of core values to the value.
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