Business is booming for Everett Johnson, whose New Orleans based panhandling business has been named to this year’s Fortune 1000 by Fortune Magazine. This prestigious list ranks the 1,000 largest American companies based on revenues alone.
Johnson’s business, stationed at the corner of Calliope and Carondelet, was selected for its unbelievable growth in such a short amount of time. Records show Johnson’s profits increased 5,143,500% since starting up in late 2013.
“This is a great honor for me,” Everett Johnson said. “One year ago I never would have imagined I could make so much money just by putting my hands out.”
Limited by the amount of begging he could do himself, Johnson knew he needed to bring on help if he wanted his business to grow. Ten employees joined him this past year, whereas Everett now delegates most of the work to his assistants so he can focus on further developing his business.
“At first I got a dog and the money increased dramatically,” said Everett. “But there are only so many hours in a day so I began creating shifts for my employees so there was always someone on the corner 24/7.”
As Johnson develops his business and revels in his growing national recognition, he is setting his sights on expansion.
“Ultimately, my goal is to be the McDonald’s of panhandling and have a presence at every stop sign and stop light. There’s an opportunity on every corner.”