After many discouragements, challenges in his personal life, and the slow progress of his newly established business, Tony Beaman is proving to other entrepreneurs that the right attitude towards life circumstances matters a lot when trying to survive. The President and CEO of Millennium Franchise Group, LLC, Hacking Solutions, and Medical Clinical Staffing & Equipment shares his unique life and success stories with the hopes of inspiring others to thrive under pressure with grit and determination.
Question: Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Tony Beaman: I began my career as a telecom recruiter then quickly moved up the ranks in sales and operational management with Allegis Group — prior to Steve Biscotti purchasing the Baltimore Ravens. The impact that he, the leaders there and many others I came up in my career with, is still with me to this day. I’ve had the opportunity to work within technical, medical, engineering, and other industries within staffing along the way and have helped VP-Level positions. However, it became clear to me as an African American professional — no matter how accomplished or talented I am — I was not going to be given the opportunity to become a CEO at any other organization. So after completing my MBA in 2013, I started my company.
Question: Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
Tony Beaman: My daughter was born in 2015, and that really changed my life! I lived with my daughter’s mother and her other children while trying to build my business. However, the financial strain became too much for her understandably. To be frank, I lived off her for 2 years, and the business didn’t take-off as soon as I had hoped. So at the beginning of January 2019, she broke up with me and I was asked to leave. A devastating blow at the time. However, as I look back it was a very pivotal moment for me and for the business. In 2019, revenues doubled to over $500,000, and in 2020, the revenues are doubling over last year.
Question: So, how are things going today? How did grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?
Tony Beaman: Today the company is growing with many opportunities in the pipeline. I’m very excited about the future growth of the company. I would be completely dead in the water now had I not had the perseverance, grit, and resilience to continue, especially due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It seems that everything had prepared me as a professional and the company for the pandemic. I’ve had to work from home from the beginning and learn how to grow my company while working from home.
Question: What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Tony Beaman: I am incredibly proud of our ability to compete with large global companies. On several occasions, our #1 customer has had technical staffing needs, and we always compete against Robert Half. We consistently have beaten Robert Half 6 out of 7 times with this client placing the top individuals within the information technology department for the last 2 years. Our tenacity and professional service will stand up against any company in the industry.
Question: None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful toward who helped get you to where you are?
Tony Beaman: Several people have been so instrumental at particular times that made an impact — it is difficult to name one person. My sisters and my oldest brother have given me so much support because of their belief in me — that comes from our parents, and I can still feel their very strong support that I am ever grateful for.
Question: How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Tony Beaman: Throughout my professional life, I have been a mentor to others or have been involved in community organizations or projects.
Connect with Tony Beaman through his Linkedin account.
