We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ron Washington a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ron, appreciate you joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.’ – J. K. Rowling

Ajs Icys started off as a means to an end. I was looking for a business that would replace my trucking job. I was away alot and I had just had my daughter. I wanted more home time with my first and only child. At the time I had a vending machine business that did well. But it was challenging to grow and it didn’t pay all the bills. During a call with a client who was interested in buying a location a Facebook marketplace ad came up and she encouraged me to call him. She said that she would sell snow cones at events but Italian ice was a premium product that would sell for higher margins. So I called him. He told me someone was coming the next morning but, he would sell it to whomever came first. I researched the business all night and met him the following morning. I bought the business! A pushcart with a mall contract. Unaware that Covid 19 was right around the corner.

Ron, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

We offer gourmet carnival style treats. We make are treats from scratch and we like to use locally grown ingredients. Our staple product is Italian Ice or Water Ice depending on who’s asking. But we also offer delicious beignets, funnel cakes, churros, eggrolls and chicken tenders. We offer a course on getting into the Italian ice business for yourself. We also are working on a custom pushcart sales/ and rental division. We offer custom built pushcarts to rent and for purchase.
We also offer a coaching program for people who want a more hands-on on approach to the industry.
We offer private catering events and food services for large festivals.
We are proud to work with a variety of different communities around metro Atlanta and abroad. The company has mentored and taught a large quantity of teens,young adults and people with disabilities how to efficiently be an entrepreneur.
It makes me extremely happy to work with the youth and show them something positive that is lucrative.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I bought Ajs from another entrepreneur who had alot on his plate and really didn’t have the time for the business. I originally got the business as a side hustle something to pair with my vending machine company. Little did I know that I would have to dedicate all of my initial time to this project. The business came with a mall contract which was great, but took alot of work because the previous owner was only open during the summer and on weekends. So I had to train the staff on sales and overcoming rejection. We focused primarily on the larger festivals in the beginning but I soon realized that I would have to invest more in the mall aspect. So I rebranded updated outdated displays and machines and prepared for the winter. We struggled. But we started to make better sales. I had to let people go for stealing and some quit. I was down to one employee from four. Then he moved to Las Vegas. And I was left to operate for 2 months by myself. The best thing that could have ever happened. I improved sales because I was the only one working. We started to head in the right direction then Covid hit out of nowhere. The mall showed no sympathy, and demanded the rent even though the mall was closed for 2 and half months. The local city was involved in a felony fraud case for misappropriation of funds intended for local small businesses owners. For the first time in a while, I was uncertain about my future. And I questioned myself if I had made the right decision buying this business. But after a few hours of thinking I made the decision to start a delivery service. Customers would pay and I would leave the icys in a sealed container in there mail box or front door. It worked and showed me a new system to incorporate for the future.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When I first bought Ajs. We had 34 followers. I laughed to myself. This guy clearly wasn’t into social media.
Today were still at a modest amount but 2800 is better than 34 lol. My strategy was showing us working and networking everywhere especially festivals and the mall. In the beginning we partnered up with other small businesses and bought there products. The goal was to focus on making the best ice and sharing a customer base. It worked but eventually we decided to start making our own products. My advice to anyone building a presence online is to be consistent with posting, always be willing to market and network. Be open minded and invest in a solid marketing team for assistance.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Ajsitalianice.com
• Instagram: ajs_icys
• Facebook: Ajsitalianice
• Linkedin: N/a
• Twitter: N/a
• Youtube: Coming soon
• Yelp: Ajsitalianice
• Soundcloud: N/a
• Other: Online course content coming soon

Image Credits

N/a