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Giving it that old college try

Students desperate for money create College Guys Gettin' By, offering services spanning from babysitting to yard work to home repairs.

Tribune photo by JAMIE PILARCZYK

Sheldon Towne, left, Colton Weiss and Andres Leal have been friends since elementary school. The college students are home in Tampa for summer break and were looking for summer jobs. When the search wasn’t fruitful, they decided to employ themselves, starting College Guys Gettin’ By, doing the jobs they say most people don’t want to do.

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By JAMIE PILARCZYK

Published: June 29, 2009

SOUTH TAMPA - With the temperature nearing 100 degrees, sweat beads off of Andres Leal's forehead. He dips a sponge back into an orange bucket and continues scrubbing the tires on a Mercury Grand Marquis.

When he can't stand the heat and humidity any longer, he takes the hose and shoots himself in the face. Relief.

But he couldn't be happier. That's because Leal is getting paid.

The DePauw University student returned to his Sunset Park home in May, his freshman year under his belt, ready for a summer job. Along with his friends Sheldon Towne of Swann Estates and Colton Weiss of Clearwater, Leal applied to a dozen or so businesses, from Vinyl Fever to Castellano & Pizzo to Sports Authority. After a month of searching with nothing more than a, "We'll call you if there's an opening," the guys were broke and desperate.

"We were hanging out at Andres' house in his backyard, getting mad because we didn't have a golden idea like College Hunks Hauling Junk," said Towne, who attends the University of Central Florida.

Then, an idea: Rather then waste the summer waiting for CVS to call them back, they decided to employ themselves. College Guys Gettin' By offers services spanning from babysitting to yard work to home repairs.

"We'll do anything that'll pay," said Weiss, a sophomore at Florida State University.
So far they have raked leaves, scrubbed gutters, painted windows, pressure-washed a roof, washed cars, pulled weeds and repaired a deck.

"It's the work nobody wants to do," Leal said, "but we've got to start somewhere."

The young men are not alone in their struggle for work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the unemployment rate for teenagers was 22.7 percent in May, up from 20.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008. Only those actively seeking work are counted as unemployed.

But with lime-green flyers, word of mouth through their families and the "South Tampa moms," and networking among satisfied people who hired them, the part-time laborers have had enough business since June 18 to offset their costs and post a profit of almost $200.

It's not all about lining their pockets, either. They donate 10 percent of their earnings to Anti-Slavery International for the prevention of child slave trafficking in India, Pakistan, Brazil and Thailand. Leal learned about the prevalence of slavery in one of his classes at DePauw.

"How can anyone not feel something in their heart when they hear about that?" Leal said.

As their business grows, they hope to take it back to their universities —where two are members of fraternities — and keep it going year-round.

"It's better being your own boss," Leal said. "Even though the pay probably isn't as great, at least it's a good experience."

Towne is studying marketing and sports management, Leal is working toward corporate law and possibly public service, and Weiss is thinking international law. Their company, they say, and the hard labor has given them inspiration – and perspective.

"I told my mom this is the motivator I need to stay in school," said Weiss after less than a week of business.

"It's tough," Leal said, "but it's worth it."

INFORMATION
To contact College Guys Gettin' By, call (813)-323-1928, (813) 760-9518, or (813) 784-2254. Prices are negotiable, hours flexible and 10 percent of earnings are donated to Anti-Slavery International, www.antislavery.org.

Reporter Jamie Pilarczyk can be reached at (813) 259-7661.

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