Anthony Butler Sr. could be called an “entrepreneur for entrepreneurs.”
The Baltimore native came to Jacksonville in 2003 to work as a computer consultant. In 2008, he established E3 Business Group Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to helping entrepreneurs succeed by providing mentoring and resources needed by small business owners.
The business has since grown to about 1,000 members in five chapters in the U.S., including 150 members in North and Central Florida.
“This is the only organization that does everything we do that’s ready to work with anybody,” said Butler. “We help people learn how to think like an entrepreneur.”
Annual membership dues range from $250-$600, depending on the level of services needed, Butler said. They average $350.
In 2011, Butler moved his organization into a 110-year-old building Downtown at 138 E. Duval St.
E3 members can utilize meeting rooms, shared office space and related services, such as copy and fax machines, and Wi-Fi at the “Center for Entrepreneurial Development.”
Butler said the building was abandoned for about 20 years before he moved in. Members have worked together to renovate the building.
E3 hosts on the second Saturday of each month in an empty lot next to the building the “Marketing Our Business” festival that gives members an opportunity to showcase their products and services.
Butler said E3 is not about “networking” in the usual sense, meaning people getting together to socialize and make new contacts. Instead, the focus is on the bottom line.
“We don’t want to work with people who are comfortable (with what they already have). We want to work with people who are aspiring,” he said. “We’re results-oriented. If that’s not what motivates you, then you’re not really an entrepreneur.”
Traci Irven owns Team 1 Service, a residential and commercial cleaning service. She joined E3 three years ago after being in business for nine years.
She said her membership helped change the way she looks at creating new revenue and how to balance personal time with her business.
“For so many years, I didn’t own the business; I was owned by the business,” she said.
Her experience with E3 helped her expand to the Orlando market, adding two employees there to join the seven-member staff in Jacksonville. The move added about 20 percent to the bottom line, she said.
“Anthony showed me the difference between having knowledge and applying knowledge,” said Irven.
Another aspect of membership is encouraging each business to contribute to the community beyond the core business.
Butler said members are more than encouraged –– practically required — to find a way to make a positive difference beyond day-to-day operations.
Irven established “Girls with Goals,” a mentorship program for teens who live in public housing in Jacksonville Beach.
“I want to empower young women to feel great about what they do,” she said.
Meochia Stills also has been an E3 member for about three years. She owns My Times Travel, a travel and cruise consulting business.
“I was new to Jacksonville and didn’t know a lot of people. E3 helped me establish new relationships,” she said.
Stills added a community service element to her travel business by starting “Cruising with Autism,” which seeks sponsors to help provide cruises and resort vacations for people of all ages who have autism. The first cruise is set for September, she said.
For the future, Butler said he plans to increase the E3 membership and to help more small business owners learn how to grow and give back to the community that supports them.
“The past five years have been amazing. We are making a difference in entrepreneurs’ lives,” said Butler.
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