Nimmons To Boesky: Drop Dead

 

There are still those Neanderthals among us who believe that greed and self-interest are the only "businesslike" reasons to start a company. They should meet Willie Cam Nimmons, who became a successful entrepreneur out of pure altruism: she wanted to provide jobs for the unemployed.

Nimmons was a math professor at a college in Denmark, S.C., but her overriding concern was the high level of unemployment in the area. So in 1974, she founded a nonprofit quilting group for the unemployed, welfare mothers, and senior citizens. She soon discovered, however, that customers didn't take her group -- or her prices -- seriously. "Because we were nonprofit, they thought we were just doing it for fun."

To gain credibility, Nimmons decided in 1977 to launch a for-profit company called Infinite Creations Inc., which would hire the same sorts of people to make cloth bags for the likes of K mart. Subsequently, offshore competition forced her to diversify into making pouches and tool bags for the military. Nevertheless, the company thrived, growing fast enough to make the INC. 500 list for two years running. Today, Infinite Creations has 125 employees working in a 32,000-square-foot facility, and last year was profitable with sales of $3.3 million.

Nimmons remains something of an altruist, taking particular pride in her company's work in employee training. She admits, however, that entrepreneurship has changed her. "It's made me really tough and unafraid," she says. "Now I just won't take 'no' as a response: I already have my next step planned."