Student-owned Business Easy Chameleon Cleans Up Carrollton

Myles Williams

Owning a business takes demanding work, commitment and dedication. Luckily for Isaac Dukes II he has all of those qualities to run his own business. Easy Chameleon is a name that’s easy to remember.

UWG junior Isaac Dukes II is a business major and is ahead of the game by creating his own business while still in school. It shows that you can start up anything, even while still learning about it.

“I created my business because my dad told me to get a job and I couldn’t really get hired anywhere,” said Dukes. “My dad told me that I have a truck and that I could go pick up some mattresses for some money and that’s how I got started.”

Dukes has spent the majority of his life in Carrollton. Being here has helped him make an ample amount of connections from within his own community and he’s even expanded upon them by meeting business professors at UWG as well.

In 2021, Dukes officially established his business Easy Chameleon which deals with light demolition and junk and debris removal. If people need a house cleaned out or garbage removed, Easy Chameleon will do the job.

Owning your own business means you’re responsible for your hours, scheduling and obtaining business clientele.

“My busy months for business would be from March until September, while my slow months for business would fall into the winter season,” said Dukes. “I work Monday through Friday during the busy months. During that time, I’ll try and take off on the weekends. Over the winter it’s really uncontrollable because sometimes I could only work two days out of the week, which will make me sometimes work on the weekends.

“I try to schedule my week out in advance, so that everything is planned out,” continued Dukes. “I start jobs at 9 a.m. and will end them no later than 7 p.m. If it’s a bigger job or a full house clean out and it does run later than 7 p.m., I’ll bring flood lights so we can see at night and then will leave later at around 11 p.m.”

Business owners have goals that they want to accomplish as the year progresses. 

“My goal is to have generational wealth and to have a well known business,” said Dukes. “I started from scratch, and I’ve done bust my butt for all of this.”

Being in charge of a business isn’t always as fun as it seems. Dukes learned to do the behind-the-scenes work along with the heavy lifting.

“It’s rocky being a business owner because nobody cares about your business but you,” said Dukes. “When you first start out you have no secretary and accountant. You’re doing all these things yourself, nobody is going to put in the blood, sweat and tears to keep the business running. Once you’re an owner of a business you’re going to care about the business like it’s your own child and you’re going to want the best for your child no matter what.”

Dukes aims to make $200,000 or more with Easy Chameleon so he can pay for employees, expenses and any damages to the trucks. He also wants to buy an extra truck and dumpster. 

Dukes has a lot of goals to accomplish during 2023, but with his determination and mindset he can succeed no matter what.