Meet Carnation France. We first encountered each other around six years ago when my mate David and I moved to Harlem. And I've come to consider him one of the best sales people I've ever met. He's one of many different street vendors that line the wide sidewalks of my street, Lenox Avenue, also known as Malcolm X Boulevard or Sixth Avenue. (Because why have one name when you can have three?)
Carnation and his sidekick, a Jack Russell terrier named Jewel, have a lot of competition in the hood from other hawkers.There's a guy known as Soup Man, who roams all over the area, rolling his various liquid lunchtime fare whereever the spirit moves him. A bit of an elusive guy, who seems wild as the escapee parrot that's always cawing when I zoom down the side of the Hudson River on my bike. There's lot of jewelry for sale, which is one of Carnation's specialties, and some really great hat stands as well.
And then there are the guys who show up in the nail salons, to take advantage of the captive audience as they hustle their bootlegged DVDs, inspirational books and makeup. (One lipstick pedlar's refrain is: "If you're lips ain't poppin', then he ain't stoppin'.")
But Carnation is someone I learn the most from, and here are the reasons why. First of all, he's very distinctive. He always looks meticulous, as he does in this picture, with matching hats and suits that often are three-piece affairs. And his name is hard to forget, because he always wears a fresh carnation on his lapel.
He also has a perfect location -- right in front of the soul food restaurant where the bike tours stop on Sundays, and the local department store that's a personal favorite of mine, Paragon. He also gives out lots and lots of free samples of his scented oils, because he says that helps build habits, so people can't help but buy them.
And those oils have very distinctive names. Just after the last election, he rolled out his Michelle Obama scent. Another one is called Zip Code, because as he explains it, you're going to attract so many men with that scent, you'll have to zip to the next zip. And his latest is The Shit, and it is. Great, great scent. He's going to make some money off that one.
What's amazing about Carnation is hard to guess. This absolute gentleman, this devout Muslim, spent 18 years in jail. He was sentenced to 25, but was released for his immaculate, sunny behavior. His crime? He had a car accident that killed the owner of Katz's deli, down on Houston -- a man whose family had far deeper resources than Carnation could muster.
Carnation tells me that when he went to prison, he decided that God was trying to teach him a lesson and that he'd get out when he'd learned it well. Needless to say, it took a long, long time. But now, when I ask him what the secret to his success is as a business man, his words seem to resonate with his lesson. He says you have to work for your soul, not for the gold. You have to be honest, all the time, and most certainly with your customers. And you have to deliver quality products.
I'm honored that this man has asked me to help him with a book he's written. Together, I hope we can get it published. I'm sure he'd love to meet you. So if you're ever in the hood, around 134th and Lenox, stop by and tell him I sent you. Believe me, he's really got some great Shit.
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