In the zone: ‘Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart’

They had a dream and a vision. McCartney Darrell and Tory Darrell established Building Blocks Academy in Hamilton, which has been widely lauded as one of the success stories of the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation.

The school, located at the Salvation Army Citadel on North Street, provides easy access to parents who are dropping their children off.

Don Burgess spoke with co-owner Tory Darrell about the school.

What was your first job?

I was a labourer for one of my uncles and made $320 a week.

What lessons did you learn from working for your uncle?

I watched him go from one job site to another job site and that opened my eyes to entrepreneurship. That made me think about wanting to start my own business. 

What has been the key to your success?

Faith — has been the main thing. We prayed a lot about our business. We kept running into roadblocks everywhere we turned. But through continuous prayer and subsequent conversations with Roxanne Christopher, doors started to open. 

The next thing we know we were able to secure a grant from being in the Economic Empowerment Zone that allowed us to put the hammer to the first nail to Building Blocks Academy. 

From there, our partnership with the BEDC began to flourish. They have so much expertise available. 

When you’re a young business starting out like she and I was, it was very critical to have people who were in the business of helping people establish businesses to be able to turn to for advice.

What’s one such advice?

Well, when to give a discount and when not to give a discount. How to give discounts so that you are able to fulfill your vision of assisting the community without becoming known as the discount programme — trying to find the balance between the two. 

Without that information, things could have gone very differently for us. That’s why whenever I get opportunities to talk about the Economic Empowerment Zone, I take them. 

How did they help with finances?

The network they provided, saved us a ton of money. Because of the expertise they have we were able to speak to lawyers which they have on staff about different legal challenges that came up. 

We didn’t have the money at the time to go and spend $400 or $450 an hour to get advice from one of the local lawyers in town. 

We were able to see one of their lawyers and get a consult on and get advice on legal direction. 

It also saved us from making decisions that may not have worked out in the end. The information and advice was invaluable to us because we worked with them and listened to them.

We’re proud of the partnership we have with them and the workshops that they do are awesome. 

Because we were located in the EEZ, they were also able to help us with a grant.

What kind of sacrifices have you had to make?

One of the first things Roxanne Christopher (Northeast Hamilton EEZ officer) said to my partner and me, was “Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart”. That is a true statement. We’ve had to go without to make sure the business has. 

When it’s successful, you reap the benefits of that, but during those hard times, you start looking at a Government paycheque or doing a 9-to-5 job as a real viable option. 

You have to have that strength of heart to stay with your dreams and stay with your vision. Luckily for me, my business partner had this vision, and I joined into it. 

The vision has benefitted us both. We’ve worked together to get Building Blocks where it is today, but that came with some serious challenges.

Why did you choose your location?

We’re at the Salvation Army Citadel on North Street. I used to work for the Mirrors programme. I saw the space when I was with them and my partner saw it and said “Wow. I’m going to open up a preschool here.” Mirrors declined it so we began communication with them. It’s 3,000 square feet.

What are the benefits of your location?

It’s central. We’re in Hamilton but enough on the outskirts to get a decent rent. 

We have the entire upper floor of the Salvation Army — we have more space than what you would find in many other preschools. We have a good relationingship with Dellwood Middle School so we can use their field. We can use Bernard Park. 

We have a lot of people who are coming into town from North Shore so our drop-off is convenient for a lot of people.

Best and worst thing about owning your own business?

When things are great, things are great. When things are bad, it’s all on you. 

Being able to set you own hours is great. 

If I didn’t want to go in today and wanted to work from 7pm to 2am, that’s my choice. 

I have the flexibility to do that and that’s a great thing about it. 

When things go bad you may not get a paycheque, but when they start to flow again, they’re yours. In the long run, it’s a business my son can decide what he wants to do with it. 

You can’t do that when you work for someone else. Owning your own business is like establishing your own legacy in the community. 

This is something that also gives back to the community.