There’s always something refreshing about hearing stories of Black people making moves in spaces that aren’t traditionally known as Africa-American pursuits, but one father took it a step further and brought his kids in on the business.
William Moxey, 34, better known as Moxey, has possessed an entrepreneurial spirit since he was a 12-year-old, and now as a father of four, he’s doing what he can to instill those same values into his children. Recently, the businessman began attracting attention on social media when he surprised his kids with their own ATM business, QuickBuxNow, with hopes of teaching them the values of financial freedom and money management.
“I started off by doing what every other little kid was doing, selling CDs, and that gradually grew into selling T-shirts, sneakers, and stuff like that, but I was kind of born into the whole entrepreneur-type lifestyle because I was raised by a single mother — she’s been an entrepreneur since I was born,” Moxey told Atlanta Black Star in an interview.
Moxey credits his mother, who currently owns 3 Hair in Motion of NY hair salons in Florida, with piquing his interest in owning his own business — or businesses. “She’s owned her own salon since I was born, and kind of watching her it kind of grew me into wanting my own.”
His first venture into the business world came in the form of eco-friendly affordable wallet company Noso. Moxey turned to KickStarter to help him fund the company, which turns upcycled bike inner tubes into sleek billfolds. Not only did he meet his KickStarter goal, but he also garnered the attention of his local news outlet, which led to over 500 units being sold in five days.
After dipping his toe in, he dived into the entrepreneurial pool, next opening a hookah lounge with his best friend, as well as a nightclub, learning the do’s and don’ts of both industries before landing on the more “family-friendly” environment of an art gallery.
Moxey decided the ATM business was the way to go because of what his kids ultimately could learn from being involved. “The ATM was the best idea for it because it’s passive income, it teaches them financial literacy, and, you know, they can work,” he told Atlanta Black Star. “Not to say doing hard labor is not something I don’t want my kids doing, but they can make money doing what they love.”
Before surprising the kids, he took the time to educate himself on the business, doing his own research and receiving knowledge from a friend that was familiar with the industry. “I have a friend who’s been in the [ATM] business for about 12 years, he has about 30 [ATMs], he seen that I was trying to do them, and he assisted me with learning the ropes in doing the ATMs. I did my homework with him, figured out the do’s and don’ts,” Moxey said.
He continued, “I learned the business with my associate, a good friend of mine, learned the business as far as obtaining the merchants, obtaining the store, opening a bank account, because it’s not as easy as it seems with starting an ATM because you can’t just walk into a bank and say, ‘Hey, I want to open a bank account, I have an ATM company.’ They’re going to deny you. So there’s ways that you have to go about it, so, yes, I covered that base, ordered the first two [ATM machines].”
Since banks are the largest owners of ATM machines, getting into the business and running it as an individual understandably remains a mystery for some. The machine itself can cost up to $5000, according to Moxey, and when you own it you’re responsible for repairs and refilling it with funds. Owning, as opposed to renting, allows for the business owner to increase their profits, which depends on the locations of the ATMs. The businesses where they’re installed benefit as well, with a potential increase in foot traffic, as well as commission for the store owner.
When scouting locations where the machines could be installed, he said to think of businesses that still rely on cash to an extent, like nail salons, hair salons, and barbershops. He also suggested building relationships with business owners in person, since the nature of the business can be sensitive, so establishing trust face-to-face is the best way.
Moxey views his kids as his business partners, so hiding the surprise from them wasn’t easy, but in the end was worth it for the proud father. “Hiding this from them wasn’t as easy, because they’re used to me telling them things,” he noted. He still managed to surprise them with the reveal, however.
When it was time to let the kids know that they were now co-owners of QuickBuxNow, he picked them up from school early and took the boys to get haircuts before taking them to their machines, so that they’d look good for the post-surprise pictures. He then took the kids home, opened the garage where the machines were stored, and let them do the unboxing themselves. Although they’d heard him talk about the business, they had no idea it was for them and were all excited about the new venture (save the 6-year-old, who still “looks at it like a big piggy bank” but will grow to appreciate the gesture in time).
The kids — ages 16, 13, 11, and 6 — spend about five hours a week working on their business, and all have their respective roles to play. The oldest two serve as the “muscle,” loading and unloading, handling installations, drilling the machines to the floor, and activating and programming them. Moxey’s 11-year-old daughter is the numbers girl, overseeing accounts and keeping track of which stores need to be reloaded; and the youngest acts as assistant manager to dad, helping make sure his older siblings are keeping things on track.
“I just think that whatever career path that they choose, they can focus on that 100 percent and not have to worry about any finances,” explained the dedicated dad about his decision to make the investment.
QuickBuxNow currently has ATMs in two locations in Orlando, Florida, the first of which was an act of kismet. “It was one of those things where if we’re going to do something, we’re going to keep it full circle, keep it in the family,” Moxey said of his mother’s hair salon being the first business where they installed an ATM. “We literally started the business with the family, so our first ATM is in a family location. So that was really dope.” The second ATM is located in a barbershop.
“It’s very important to teach our kids financial freedom now,” encouraged Moxey. “Teach them about credit, teach them how important it is. Some other parents may focus on buying their kids Gucci and Louis Vuitton, and jewelry and making it look good for Instagram, which is cool, but at the end of the day, if your kids don’t know about credit, they know about all this high fashion, and now they’re more concerned about getting a credit card to buy expensive stuff that they can’t afford.”
“I tell my kids all the time if you can’t buy it twice, don’t buy it at all,” he added.
In addition to Noso and QuickBuxNow, Moxey’s other businesses include art gallery and event space Loud Gallery, which he co-owns with his best friend and brother-in-law, and house rehabbing/flipping company Dream Rehomes.
Always looking to the future, Moxey is currently working on purchasing land so that he and his family can turn shipping containers into a space for their art gallery, setting up classes to teach other families how to own an ATM business, as well as continuing to grow his other endeavors so that he can secure generational wealth for his family. “Anything I do is for them to have.”
When the family isn’t busy building their empire together, they love spending time creating memories together, traveling and bonding over sports.
