Teaching the Youth the Value of Owning their Own Business

Stanton man offers a business in a bucket
Kevin Jones wants to keep teens off the streets and teach them the value of owning their own business.
The business he wants them to start is their own auto detailing business and says that he can get them their start by purchasing his “Business in a Bucket.” car care products that will help them to see there dreams
Jones credits a man he called Mister Moses who helped him out while he was growing up in New Orleans.
“He took me down to his auto detailing business and showed me what it was about and how I could learn a trade.”
Moses also taught Jones the value of proper bookkeeping and of keeping all his business receipts. It’s a lesson Jones hopes to pass on to other teens with his business, KJE Inc.
Jones, who lives in Stanton with his wife and business partner Marva, says that buy purchasing his kit, which includes everything from the right kind of car wash soap and wax, applicators and the proper kinds of washing and polishing rags, they can start their business the very next day.
Photo of Marva and Kevin Jones by Mark Eades, The Orange County Register.
It all comes in an actual bucket and includes Jones’ book, “The Owner’s Guide to Auto Detailing” for $59.99.
The book includes tips on the right ways to wash and detail cars, and on the ways teens should run their business.
“They need to know how to run a business, including keeping all their receipts,” Jones said.
Jones says teens who buy his kit and start a business will be better off than hanging out on the streets like he was doing in New Orleans.
The kit and more information can be found online at Jones’ website: http://www.businessinabucket.net/

I’d rather have kids detailing cars than selling drugs.”

Stanton's Kevin Jones teaches doing 'Business in a Bucket'

Urges teens to sell detailing, not drugs
The inner-city is often characterized by its harsh truths. These include but aren’t limited to, its claim to poverty-stricken neighborhoods, spurts of violence and civil unrest, academic underachievement woes; and an unemployment rate that’s elevated far beyond “high enough.”
Adding insult to injury, city and state officials across the country seem to have accomplished little to set the wheels of change in proper motion for inner-city residents.
In spite of all those challenges, as the saying goes, “every cloud has a silver lining,” even ones as ominous as those above areas like South Central Los Angeles, Watts and Inglewood.
Kevin Jones, 40, likes to think of himself as that silver lining, when it comes to helping young teens beat the odds. The New Orleans native has created the concept Business in a Bucket, that he believes is among the resources that can provide teens with a quick and easy way to make money, despite America’s stressed economy.
The aptly named item is just what it sounds—a bucket complete with the necessary means to start a business.
“It’s a starter kit by all means,” Jones cautioned. “But it’s more than enough car care product's to get working on a car.”
More specifically, the big blue bucket contains high-quality soap and wax, auto dressing applications, and standard washing and polishing rags—the essential materials needed to professionally detail a car.
Also included is Jones’ handbook, “The Owner’s Guide to Auto Detailing,” which illustrates the approach one should take when washing and detailing cars for profit. The book offers 58 car-maintenance tips in all, and includes this little-known fact in bold print: “Do not use dish soap to wash your car.” (It leaves streaks, notes Jones).
“I could have written a thick old book. But ain’t nobody gonna sit down and read something that long,” Jones teased. “It’s only 35 pages. And it’s detailed quite simply with instructive illustrations.”
The Orange County resident credits his knowledge of automotive care to his childhood mentor “Mr. Moses.”
“I was about 13-years-old, when he found me hanging out on the corner in (New Orleans) Louisiana,” said Jones. “He asked me: are you going to just stand here all day?” After that, I got in his pick up truck, and he took me down to his auto-detailing shop, where I learned the business.”
The two remained close until Hurricane Katrina severed their connection in 2005. Jones had already moved to California (in 1989), gotten married, and embarked on his own auto detailing business some 15 years prior. Immediately after the hurricane hit, Jones called his old friend but could not reach him.
“He [Mr. Moses] was alive then. So, I don’t want to say that he isn’t anymore. He might read this story one day and say ‘Hey, I’m not dead.’ I sure do hope that’s the case.”
Now a resident of Stanton with his wife and business partner Marva, Jones endeavors to impart the knowledge he received from his mentor to a wide range of minority youth. His most recent effort, an auto detailing seminar with participants in a Pomona Urban League youth program, was the start of a partnership he hopes will grow exponentially.

“I’ve been trying to reach the different community centers in Los Angeles with this [business in a bucket],” said Jones. The process has been slow going. But I’m not deterred. My thinking is, I’d rather have kids washing cars  than selling drugs.”  http://www.businessinabucket.net/

Using Car Care Product's to Empowering Young Ones.

LA Urban League youth utilize Business In A Bucket

Kevin Jones’ program teaches youth how to combine labor, business and skills into tools for the future.

By Brian W. Carter, Sentinel Staff Writer

At times like these when jobs are few and idle minds can be dangerous, it’s good to have a program around that will keep kids engaged and busy. Kevin Jones and his wife, Marva, along with KJE, Inc., are giving youth tools for the future through Business in a Bucket (BIAB).

BIAB is a program designed by Jones to help youth form a present and future mindset for business and independence. The program literally is a manual in a bucket entitled “The Owner's Guide to Auto Detailing©.” The manual teaches how to detail a car, inside and out, with step-by-step instructions made easy.

Jones came up with the idea of the BIAB program through personal experiences. “My own story of growing up in New Orleans was filled with many challenges,” Jones stated.

“My father left when I was seven and my mother died in a car accident when I was 13 years of age. My grandmother was left to care for me and my siblings, five of us altogether. Growing up in the projects there were not very many positive role models for me to embrace. There were a few who had a profound impact on who I am today. “

Originally from the ninth ward of New Orleans, LA, Jones got his start thanks to a man by the name of Moses Bonds. “He asked me, ‘What was I going to do with my life,’” said Jones. Jones did not [?] have an answer at the time, so Bonds took it upon himself to teach Jones a trade.

“He taught me auto-detailing—he taught me how to paint, and different jobs,” said Jones. It was in 1989 when Jones came to Los Angeles and met Marva, his future wife. In 1993, Jones struggled to find work, so he put his skills to use in auto-detailing. This, in turn, would serve as a launching pad for his book, “The Owner’s Guide to Auto Detailing.”

Jones and his wife would later partner with Kit Car Care Products, in conjunction with his manual, and form BIAB. In 2001, Jones would establish KJE, Inc., with BIAB as a part of its program for youth.

“The first project we did, we went out to the Los Angeles Urban League and we spoke to a bunch of youth,” said Jones. “They were really excited about that.”

As many youth programs began to be cut, the Urban League asked Jones and BIAB to return. The youth, who utilized the skills from BIAB, were able to apply them in the field and use them.

“We had them get out there and wash the cars, negotiate with the customer and talk with the customer,” said Jones. The kids then used the skills learned to help provide funding for the program for future youth to be a part of BIAB.

BIAB is a program designed to help anyone, male or female, generate immediate income. It’s not a program just about teaching labor skills but also about teaching business skills. The present-day economy has many people looking for ways to make ends meet. The youth population is particularly affected with an often bleak landscape on the horizon.

Jones and BIAB have plans to continue to help youth learn more about business and being self-sufficient. Jones is currently seeking partners in his endeavors to help youth help themselves.

“My ultimate goal is to team up with different organizations and trying to empower the youth,” said Jones. “Eventually I would like to have a facility, where young ones can come and be able to learn business skills and teach them.”

For more information to find out about Business in a Bucket and/or you can help, please contact KJE, Inc. at 714-995-6434,website at http://www.businessinabucket.net/