Aker El Bey, Blue Crew Painters Paying it Forward in Charlotte, NC

CHARLOTTE, NC—Aker El Bey is the proud owner of Blue Crew Painters, in existence since 2014 in Charlotte, North Carolina. As a teenager growing up a short distance from Detroit, Michigan, Aker El Bey reminisced that as a teen his stepfather used to take him on jobs he had for an auctioneer in Alabama. The auctioneer owned some 300 properties. El Bey and his stepfather had a variety of jobs to do on those properties which ranged from cleaning them out, to repairing roofs, to painting. That was El Bey’s first taste of painting. A few years later, after high school, back in Michigan, he was given another opportunity to be a part of a painting crew. He found that he was very good in the discipline and started to really take the opportunity for a career as a professional painter seriously.
“I started my first paint company in 1998 in Oakland County, Michigan, and over the years, I changed the name of my business a few times. My first business was named MTS Paint Company. I named my first business after my children and my children’s mother. A few years later, I started a business in Michigan called Commercial Painting and Manufacturing. Back then my goal was to create an environmentally safe, (green) non-toxic paint. I partnered with a business that manufactured paints. We combined ideas and came up with a green product we started using where we were hired to do commercial projects.”
During this same time frame, El Bey was working a full time job, while also operating his own business, as many small business owners do, when they begin, just to survive. He credits Detroit Spectrum Painters for sponsoring him through his apprenticeship with the Painters Union in Michigan. “I worked for them throughout my apprenticeship, and I worked for a couple other union painting companies along the way.”
Someone who describes himself as a person who’s always been about educating himself and staying on top of his game in the painting industry in particular, Aker El Bey paid attention when he kept reading articles and hearing news reports about the Queen City, (Charlotte, North Carolina) being a hot, new city to move to, that was plentiful on opportunities for people from all walks of life. “What really got my interest level high for a move to North Carolina back in 2006, was the housing boom taking place, and projections for thousands and thousands of families and singles flocking to the state, to live. A “housing boom” for me, translated, meant there would be lots of work for experienced painters like me, and for people with knowledge for general contracting work.”
Aker El Bey continued, “When I first moved here, let’s just say it was a very humbling experience. Just prior to moving to North Carolina, I had been out on my own, running my own business for about two years after I completed my apprenticeship with the Painters Union. In Michigan I had gotten used to earning $40 an hour, as a full-scale Journeyman painter. My first job in North Carolina was for a Black owned business called Bobby’s Painting and they were only able to pay me $12 an hour. That was a major cut in pay, but I took the job. I knew I wasn’t going to be around there long. It took everything in me to keep working and stay focused. Ultimately, I worked for three painting businesses for a while, after I left Bobby’s, while I reevaluated my business game plan and how I wanted to proceed. Then I was ready to go full throttle and be my own boss.”
“The Blue Crew was started in 2014 in Charlotte, North Carolina. I found an investor, who also taught me about bookkeeping and tracking inventory and things of that nature. He helped me out for six months, no charge. In that first year, with my business advisor/investor in the background sort of guiding me, we earned about $170 thousand dollars that year. I will always be appreciative to Woodrow Chin, for how he helped put the Blue Crew on the map. He gave us our name. He created our web site, and like I said, that first six months or so, he was really invaluable.”
El Bey continued, “The last 12 months have been tough on a lot of businesses, but I have to tell you, for my business, we’ve had a steady flow of work, even with the pandemic. Houses and apartment buildings are still going up. Homeowners in existing properties are wanting to freshen up their homes. To be honest, if I had a larger team of skilled painters, the work is out here, for us. People should know, the painting services we provide are not limited to the Queen City. If you have a house, inside and out, that needs to be painted, a business, a shopping mall, a barn, a factory, or other kinds of property that needs painting, The Blue Crew is available and willing to travel throughout the state, and outside the state to do the job.”
Aker El Bey says the best thing about his decision to move from Michigan to North Carolina is that he met the love of his life Jamile El Bey. They married in 2019 and she became his partner in life and in business. Aker El Bey meets with potential clients and supervises his staff as they do various paint jobs. Mrs. El Bey stays in touch with customers, does all communications, bookkeeping, proposals and social media for Blue Crew.
Together the couple has recently formed a non-profit organization called The Community Participation Revitalization, (CPR). Through the nonprofit, starting this summer of 2021, the El Bey’s will offer free training for teenagers, ages 13-17, who have interest in painting and general contracting work. They will also offer a second arm of training for adults, ages 18-50 who want to learn the same skills. At the end of the day, the El Bey’s say their goal through their non-profit is to train individuals to be able to get jobs with Blue Crew Painters or other professional painting businesses or general contractors.
To learn more about the Blue Crew Painters, to see their work, to book an appointment for a consultation, or to learn about their nonprofit, log onto their Facebook page at: Blue Crew Painters. The web site is: www.bluecrewpainters.com/. The phone number is 704-449-1678.