IU alumnus opens first Bloomington T-Mobile store

IU alumnus Shannon Hogan was on his hands and knees waxing the floor of his new store Friday. The store, GlobalTalk Wireless LLC, is the latest business venture for Hogan, who began his entrepreneurial career before he graduated in 2001. Hogan didn’t know exactly what he would be doing after college, but he was sure of one thing.\n“I can’t work for another person,” Hogan said. “I think too fast.”\nHogan said his entrepreneurial aspirations took him from Chicago to Michigan before he returned to Bloomington and became the town’s first authorized T-mobile dealer. He entered the wireless business selling Helio wireless carrier devices and services from a kiosk in College Mall.\nHe now sells devices and services for both Helio and T-mobile from his own store, located at 2624 E. 10th St.\nHogan’s first business was a clothing line called Sxcels. Shortly after the creation of Sxcels, Hogan said he was able to “weasel” his way into R & B singer R. Kelly’s crew. Hogan said he worked with R. Kelly for two years, and during that time, R. Kelly began funding the production of Sxcels clothes. Things were going well for Hogan and his clothing line until about the time R. Kelly released his album “Trapped in the Closet.” R. Kelly’s priorities changed and he stopped funding Sxcels, Hogan said.\n“After that, I was history,” Hogan said.\nAfter dissolving Sxcels, Hogan said he began working for a Chicago-based consulting firm. His new job required him to travel throughout the Midwest. During a trip to Michigan, he met a woman who said she had made a significant amount of money selling body jewelry at a kiosk in a mall.\nTired of traveling, Hogan began selling body jewelry at College Mall in Bloomington from a kiosk. He then opened a second kiosk at Mall St. Matthews in Louisville, Ky. That kiosk was near an AT&T store.\n“I saw all the traffic at the AT&T store,” Hogan said. “I heard about Helio at about the same time and decided I wanted a cell phone company.”\nHogan switched gears and began selling Helio devices and services in the College Mall. He chose Helio because it is a Korean company, and IU has brought a Korean market to Bloomington. Helio allows its customers to text message Korea for free.\nHogan was looking to leave College Mall because of high rent prices when he found a location next to a Korean restaurant called Mama’s Restaurant.\n“Everything just kind of fell into place,” Hogan said.\nThe success of GlobalTalk Wireless, or any other new business, will depend on the value-added services the business offers, said Johannes Denekamp, senior lecturer of management and entrepreneurship at IU.\n“What is the value of going to his store over the competition?” Denekamp said.\nHogan said the value of his store is that it’s the only one in Bloomington. The nearest T-mobile and Helio stores are in Indianapolis, Hogan said. Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club carry some T-mobile devices, but they do not offer SIM cards and cannot accept T-mobile bill payments, Hogan said.\nGlobalTalk Wireless is one of several businesses - such as Butcher’s Block and Fortune Cookies, - started by IU graduates that have opened in Bloomington recently, Denekamp said. The energy of business owners who are recent IU graduates is often their greatest asset, Denekamp said.\n“They have much more hustle and understanding of student need and lifestyle, and students can identify with that,” Denekamp said.