As the founder of Train With Eric Harris, I have been blessed to have the opportunity to train hundreds of kids. 99.9% of them want to play in the NBA. Unfortunately, the majority of them will never realize that dream. Although the game of basketball has been great to me, I'm a perfect example of that. The purpose of the 'Business Profile' is to show young people that there are other opportunities than just being an athlete. I also want to highlight individuals that are 'successful' in the business world.
Kyle and Cynthia Allman are two of the most ideal parents that someone in my position could ever ask for. When your goal is to develop a young man or woman, you can only do but so much if the role models at home aren’t in place. So as Kyle Allman Jr's. trainer, I thank you guys. I know that teachers, coaches and other role models in Kyle’s life thank you as well. Having both parents at home is a blessing and I commend you guys for that!
With that being said, let’s get to Kyle Allman Sr. I had the pleasure of sitting down with the Black Enterprise executive to talk about what goes on in his day to day business life and the events that led him to this current position. B.E. is the premier business, personal finance, career and investment source for African Americans and has a readership of 4.3 million-Mr. Allman is an integral part of this machine. He’s a role model. I hope that you can be inspired by his walk. He may not know this, but I have already been inspired by him!
TRAINWITHERICHARRIS: Thanks for taking the time out Mr. Allman. You know I always mention how you and Cynthia have done a great job raising Kyle and the fact that having two parents at home is crucial. I applaud the both of you on that!
KYLE ALLMAN: Thank you brother. It takes a village to raise a kid. My mom Bertreann Allman and Cynthia’s dad Lindsay Eason play a big part.
TWEH: They say that behind every great man, there is a great woman.
KA: You are 100% right. Cynthia and I have been married for twelve years. My love and admiration for her is unwavering. She has been and continues to be my supportive fixture in everything I do. In addition, she has been and continues to be an amazing mother to K.J.
TWEH: Beautiful. Where did u grow up?
KA: Grew up in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Vandeveer Projects.
TWEH: Where did you attend high school and college?
KA: I left Brooklyn for a private boarding school in Philadelphia called Girard College when I was in the 4th grade and went all the way thru 12th grade. I would come home on the weekends and be there Monday thru Friday.
TWEH: How did you find out about Girard College?
KA: My aunt Justine Chambers told my mother Bertreann Allman about Girard College. Growing up in the projects you’re concerned for your kids and you worry if they’re going to get in trouble. Aunt Justine went to the University of Pennsylvania. She heard about Girard College. She gave my mom the information, I took the test and was accepted towards the end of 4th grade and I stayed there. Thx Aunt Justine. She’s a retired teacher.
TWEH: I didn’t know you went to school in Philly for most of your childhood. How would you describe Philly?
KA: There’s two sides of it. I would go to my aunt Justine’s house-she lived in southwest Philly. It was an urban inner-city area, but it wasn’t the projects. It was a street with a lot of homes and tenements. That was cool getting acclimated with the Philadelphia area. The school itself wasn’t in the best of neighborhoods. It was in north Philly. We were surrounded by a 10-12 foot wall. Our campus was like a college campus. We had dorms and we had our schools. We had this huge Armory. So what I was able to experience was definitely much better than any of the high schools here.
TWEH: So your experience kind of mirrors the ‘Fresh Prince of Bel Air.’ Even though Will Smith was older than you when he moved to the west coast. You’re the ‘Fresh Prince of Philly.’
KA: I was clearly exposed to a whole different lifestyle. I didn’t lose sight of the inner-city and my friends back home. At Girard, we had to have order and make our bed every morning. You had to wear a suit and uniforms. If you didn’t keep a B average, you lost your going home privileges. So there were things in place that set the tone for the straight and narrow.
TWEH: Any other details about Girard College that you want to add?
KA: Another twist to it is that during my time there, it was a private boarding school for boys. It has since gone co-ed.
TWEH: What were your passions growing up as a young man? Were you into hoops at all?
KA: I got into hoops around 5th grade and took to it pretty well. Baseball was another sport. I started on the freshman basketball team and got moved right up to varsity by the end of the year. I was the varsity team MVP in the 11th grade. So I’m always messing with Kyle when he thinks that he was better than me. Once I excelled in basketball, I dropped baseball. G.C. also offered vocational classes too. I took ‘woodshop’. So from 9th thru 12th grade I was in woodshop. I’ve mad coffee tables, end tables and grandfather clocks.
TWEH: So you’re even nice around the house?
KA: I’m decent. At this stage, I would rather pay somebody because I don’t feel like doing it.
TWEH: When did you realize that hoops would not be a career choice for you? Did that realization hurt?
KA: I was away for my high school and junior high school years, so I was just determined to come back home. I was offered a half scholarship for basketball to Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. It wasn’t that I reached the end of the line; it’s just that by choice-I just wanted to come home. It didn’t matter what school offered me a scholarship in Philly-I wasn’t going to stay there. The plan was to come home, go to college and work and see where it goes from there. I attended Long Island University and there I played on the intramural team. It just became recreational at a certain point.
TWEH: Did you ever think that you would get into the media/advertising industry?
KA: Not at all. After my first year of school I took a break. I realized that I’m going to school, but I don’t really know what I want to do. I landed a job at this publishing company with the city. The name of the newspaper was called the ‘City Records’. I was in their publishing area and did that for about a year and a half. My next job after that was with a publishing company as a circulation assistant-which is the numbers part of the business.
TWEH: When did the Black Enterprise ‘moment’ happen?
KA: In 1996 I saw Black Enterprise Magazine for the first time. I said, I want to work there in a number of years. That’s the goal-to work at B.E. Then in 1999 I interviewed and was given the job. I worked in the circulation department doing the same thing. A few years into that, I started volunteering with the events that we were doing with the magazine. I started to have a love for doing events and sponsorships and things of that nature, but I never thought I could be a salesperson even though people told me I had the personality for it. Six years into working there, the CEO (Earl Graves Jr.) said, “I want you to try something.” I was kind of against it, but he insisted. He said, “I want you to try this new sales position that I’m opening up.” The rest is history and here I am. I run the sales department nine years later.
TWEH: That’s crazy how it all unfolded.
KA: The funny thing is that I actually came to him to tell him I was leaving. I wanted to leave because I just wanted to focus on events and they didn’t have a job offer there. Mr. Graves said, “I don’t want you to leave, you have a great personality and I think you can do sales. Why don’t you try that.” So ignorance is bliss. He saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself and I thank him for that.
TWEH: I love the magazine because of the information it provides. Were you a fan of the magazine before you joined?
KA: Yes. The cool thing is that I’m working somewhere and I love the effect that it has in terms of changing the lives of people. I see folks that are really making a difference and doing some remarkable things.
TWEH: What’s your day to day role/responsibility at B.E.?
KA: My main responsibility is that I have a team of six salespeople. My daily role is to ensure that they are meeting with the clients, finding new clients, growing relationships, and looking at new revenue opportunities with the clients they have. I take on a short list of clients as well. My list is shorter because I’ve gone thru that stage and now it’s about grooming them. There are some main clients that I deal with just because of how important they are and it needs my level of attention.
TWEH: What’s one cool thing about the company that most people won’t know?
KA: There are so many people that think we’re such a large company. For all the things that we do, (two T.V. shows, 7-10 events, two different websites and obviously the magazine) we do all of that with just 50 people. The cool thing is just the dedication and hard work of so few people to do all of the things that we do. People think that we have 200 staff members or something like that.
TWEH: I heard about the golf and tennis event that B.E. puts on every year. What are some of the highlights of that event?
KA: We’ve been doing it for 22 years now. If you think back 22 years ago, that was pretty much the time frame when the golf course and tennis courts were becoming an extension of the board room. It was the game of business. This was pre Tiger Woods and pre Venus and Serena Williams. We actually said that we want to provide a venue for African-American business professionals, executives and business owners to come together and conduct their business in a leisure environment. We had Earl and Tiger Woods when he was young. Serena and Venus when they were in pig tails and corn rows before they became big and it just grew over time. We have upwards of 1,500 people that come that are playing golf and tennis as well as some other activities that we have. There’s a spa component, 3 on 3 basketball, evening hospitality functions, financial workshops, and health workshops. It’s an array of different activities. The genesis of it was really just about providing that leisure environment that you can still conduct business in.
TWEH: What’s your golf handicap?
KA: Sadly enough, I have not been able to get it where it should be. I’m still in the 90’s with my scores, but that’s improvement. The fact that I’m in the 90’s-I’ll take that.
TWEH: How often do you play when you’re really going hard?
KA: Right around spring time I might play on a course 10 to 12 times over the course of the summer.
TWEH: Favorite course?
KA: The St. Regis, in Monarch Beach California. It literally was along the water.
TWEH: Job acquisition right out of college is a major issue for our young men and women. What are some tips that you can give regarding being prepared for an interview, having a proper resume, and looking the part.
KA: The major thing that I think most people don’t take advantage of is ‘internships’. Whether you get paid for it or not, those are very important. Mainly because you develop an understanding of the culture of the business environment. Also, you’re getting a chance to groom yourself and test yourself without being penalized. It’s not like you are hired and on the clock. As an intern, people will test you-but you’re not evaluated in the same sense. This can be a good thing because it allows you to learn that these are things I do well and don’t do well. You get to watch other people to see what they do right and wrong. Internships are very key and I don’t think kids today take advantage of them. They think they should be anointed a job without the grooming aspect. If you do it while you’re in school, then at least you develop yourself without being penalized.
TWEH: Anything else you want to add?
KA: I just want young people to understand that there are a lot of great opportunities out there outside of being an athlete. There are 400 something players in the NBA, but there are way more opportunities within the NBA structure and the game of basketball period. If your dream is to play in the NBA or any professional sport-that’s great. You should also be aware of other options. (agents, coaches, T.V. analysts, reporters/bloggers, trainers, equipment managers, video coordinators, owners, general managers, photographers, web designers, fashion stylists)
TWEH: What is your favorite book? Why?
KA: The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck. It’s a book I had to write a paper on in my business class and it has stuck with me since. The book examined how we need to have the ability to not only meet obstacles, but embrace the challenge and overcome it no matter what the scenario.
TWEH: What’s your usual routine for planning and organizing what needs to be executed from a day to day business standpoint? There is so much that has to be done in the corporate world before you even factor in your personal life. Are you old school with a planner, or is it your phone?
KA: My normal planning is pretty simple. I write down a to do list each day of the things I need to get done, or what I need my team to do. As for planning, I have a calendar on my desk that I write everything on. I also send meeting invites/reminders on my phone.
TWEH: Who would you pay to have a business conversation with? Why?
KA: It would be Ken Chenault, CEO of American Express. His rise is of interest to me.
TWEH: Where do you see yourself in 3 years?
KA: In 3 years I see myself as the #2 person at Black Enterprise and also, I should be a proud dad seeing my son KJ graduate from Cal State University, Fullerton.
TWEH: Thx brother. I appreciate you.
KA: Thanks E, you too.
Kyle Allman is a perfect example of what hard work, dedication, having a vision and taking advantage of an opportunity is all about. He wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth. However, he was blessed with a supportive mom & family who wanted a better situation for him. The road wasn't easy, but he did the work. I truly believe that when you do the work and prepare for an opportunity-the opportunity will come. The man you see today is still working & striving to accomplish more goals. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be # 2 at Black Enterprise! Keep inspiring Kyle!
"Kyle's leadership style in my opinion exemplifies an invested interest in both the company and his employees, having climbed the ranks himself over the years. His approach in problem solving whether client or team matters is always solution driven. Kyle allows employees to express their creativity and is open to ideas for a better team in our dealings with the client without compromising the integrity of the brand and our bottom line."
-Dana Santiago (B.E. Team Member)
(Sales Coordinator Position) $50,000
(Advanced Senior Sales Position) $200,000
You can send any other questions you may have for Kyle Allman to allmank@blackenterprise.com
Check out Black Enterprise @ www.blackenterprise.com
Support Kyle Allman Jr. & the Titans @ www.fullerton.edu
Girard College www.girardcollege.com
St. Regis Golf Course www.monarchbeachgolf.com
www.trainwithericharris.com www.trainwithericharris.blogspot.com
1.855.872.4600
