Sean Kirk believes that his finance degree from The Robert H. Smith School of Business coupled with his experience in QUEST has given him the background he needs to co-own and operate his own business, a tobacco shop.
The Bamboo eater, which Kirk calls “a college retail party supply store with a tobacco license,” was opened in late May by Kirk and former UMD student Bryan Haddad. The shop has been experiencing a steady increase in business weekly, according to Haddad.
Kirk, 24, was a graduate in 2009 with a degree in finance and government and politics. He works three days a week at UMUC editing educational videos for the college, and the rest at his shop for a total of seven days a week.
His senior year Kirk’s QUEST group partnered with Winchester Homes to create a recycling system for construction workers. The project inspired Kirk to be hard working and communicate with a wide variety of people.
“It was an incredible experience,” Kirk said. “Quest was a really good decision on my part.”
Kirk believes the business classes he took influenced his success. “I used to complain about all the generic classes I had to take but actually I got a good base,” Kirk said. “The constant group projects on a regular basis helped me.”
Kirk and Haddad’s plan is to cater to the needs of the students and community and offer personal service to their customers. They will order products at the request of their customers, such as specific cigar brands and flavors of shisha, Kirk says.
“Service is a huge part of any business in my mind. Essentially our plan is to treat people good and just keep expanding inventory every week, but to stay the course and not go crazy and drain the account,” Kirk said.
Hemal Patel, 20, is a Business Marketing major who says he frequents the shop once a week to buy shisha, lives right down the street, says he values the convenience and charm. “It has a real mom-and-pop feel to it,” Patel said.
The store is located in a strip mall at Hollywood Square shopping center on Rd. Island Avenue. About half of the space is dedicated to inventory, the other half empty and waiting to be filled.
The number one factor in opening the store was a lack of competition, coupled with the fact that the young community is a good demographic, Haddad says. “There’s no smoke shops that carry the same products we do in a 30 mile radius, so it’s obvious that a shop like this can do well in a small college town.”
Starting out took a lot of sacrifice for Kirk. The store began with minimal funds but has begun to profit.
“I kinda chose the life of a bum for the last year and really was a penny pincher,” Kirk said.
Is Kirk happy with how he chose to use his degree?
“I’m very happy with what I’m doing. Ever since I was a little kid I dreamed of opening my own business,” Kirk said, grinning.
“I’d rather not be a nine-to-fiver anyway.”