When private school bills became too much for the Holland family, instead of pulling their kids out of the school and enrolling them in a cheaper school, they held a family meeting and let their boys Adam and Jonathan come up with a solution.

Their idea? A shaved ice business.

That was four years ago and now the family business, AJ’s Hawaiian Iceez, is racking up the awards. Most recently Adam and Jonathan were named the 2011 Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs of the Year – and for good reason.

From the Washington Post:

“You have to make the sacrifice in order to reap the reward,” Adam said last week, talking on the phone while on his way to a football practice. “The people out playing ball aren’t making the money or getting the experience I am getting.”

Four-year-old AJ’s started slowly but grossed $30,000 in 2009 and $40,000 last year. Every weekend from April through October (and on Fridays in the summer), the Hollands hook up their custom-made trailer or portable ice machines and head to county fairs, art festivals, music jams and any other event at which people are gathered during hot weather. They do 40 to 50 events a year. {Full story}

Stories like this make us proud on so many levels. Families putting education first, teens flexing their entrepreneurial muscle, families pitching in to make a business work – we say “Bravo!” to the Hollands!

For more information on AJ’s Hawaiian Iceez, visit their website at  https://ajsiceez.com/, and visit their Facebook Page here. Tell ’em BMWK sent you!