About Us

Q: “Evo, What Made You Start A Business Within The Hookah Industry?”

• Back in 2012, I noticed that many lounges/clubs had established hookah into their experiences. My social life with peers always had some sort of influence with hookah embedded into it. I couldn’t escape it.  I wasn’t much of a heavy drinker back then because I played collegiate basketball, so I embraced the role as designated driver and had to find an alternative option to have fun socially. This is where I embraced searching for many styles of hookahs and different flavor combinations, offered at many establishments within the tri-state.  As time progressed, I developed a habit of always having a new hookah with me to bring to social gatherings every few months. Eventually I earned the title "Hookah King" from my peers.

Q: “What is your experience within the field?  How did you obtain knowledge of everything within the industry?”

• I would say about 4 years ago, I started assisting multiple small businesses that were catering to private events/parties within the area. People would book us to serve hookah to their clientele, and leverage our presence to enhance their brand. I then noticed that I was constantly buying hookah and accessories from a major company based in the West Coast.  One day I messaged the company in regards to an order I had recently placed at that time.  After an hour of conversation via phone, I pitched him on why I feel I can be a value add to his company, since I was a consistent costumer.  He realized that he hadn’t obtained much traction in the New York area, so we decided to have a partnership to expand his brand amongst the public and shops here in my area.  He became a mentor for me in the business, and I gained a lot of insight on how to run the business, from inventory, price adjustment to fair market value, promotions, shipping, invoicing, etc.

I told him I wanted to eventually branch off on my own, and he was very supportive of my aspirations and leveraging his company in order to gain the confidence and some capital to move closer to my goals.

 Q: “What did you major in college? What do you currently do for your career? Do you think it has some influence into your pursuit of entrepreneurship?

• In college, my major was B.S In Business Administration, with a specialization in management. As many other young adults in college, you are still figuring yourself out, things change as you get older and wiser, so I honestly didn’t know what I wanted to do specifically, but all I knew was that if basketball didn’t work out for me on the next level, I wanted to be in a field where I was able to express my style and always wear a suit.  In regards to my career, I currently am an internal wholesaler for a private company, selling mutual funds & separately managed accounts across the equity, fixed income, and alternative space.  I also sell private equity deals that the firm offers. Prior to this, I was in a financial advisor program for a major wirehouse for 2 years, and before that, I was a stockbroker on Wall Street for almost 2 years.
• Do I think my career and work experience had some influence into my pursuit of entrepreneurship? 100%. When I first came into the field, I had no sales experience, I was cold calling business owners across the globe, in hopes of building an ethical book of business.  My verbiage and the way I naturally spoke had to drastically be improved upon.  Wall Street is a place that can chew you up, on a mental aspect.  My first job was 100% commission based, I was a guppy in a pond full of sharks.  But what I learned from these experiences mainly was how to financially budget myself, customer retention, cold approach of selling, and most importantly, providing customer service at a high level.

Q: What gave you the motivation to take the risk into investing into your entrepreneurship dreams?

• Well, I don’t think it was one major factor that was the bulk of my motivation, but safe to say that I accomplished majority of my short term goals, whether it be eliminating debts, building savings account, strengthening credit, to investments ; that this is just one of many long term goals I wanted to start putting together. Also, I feel comfortable with my character on a mental and emotional level, that I can face the challenges ahead of me.

Q: Any advice for the people out there that have aspirations of starting a small business and elevating it to be a household name?

• “ I still need more advice myself *laughing* ”, but what I would say is, don’t rush into this, it is a long process, with many trial and error sessions, become a sponge, absorb all the useful knowledge you can via internet, social media, networking, etc. Lose the pride, the stubbornness, and be able to take constructive criticism and improve your craft with it.  The only competition you have is yourself, and once you indulge that expression into your day by day practices, the sky is the limit.

Evo B. – Founder / Owner of SmokeHouse Sensei