Jesse Wilson, ‘12 works hard, is proud of his Onondaga Community College degree and his incredibly successful business, and is comfortable bragging about it. That’s why at age 25 he bought himself a sleek 2001 Ferrari and put custom "OCC GRAD" license plates on it. “I’m a big proponent of the school, the program, and community colleges in general. They are such a better idea. So many people go to more expensive schools and have so much student debt it takes them longer to start their own business.”
Wilson’s love of business began when he was a young boy growing up in Camillus. At age 7 or 8 he started “Jesse’s Movie Theater” at his parents home. He would invite friends over and charge them a quarter each to watch a movie.
For his 11th birthday he decided he wanted a bass guitar but couldn’t afford one on his own. So he made a deal with his parents. They paid half and he paid half. Then he started playing in bands and looking for more business opportunities.
When a store named Mediaplay in Shoppingtown Mall had a going out of business sale, he bought more guitars at a huge discount. He played them for awhile, then sold them for a sizeable profit.
By the time he was 15 he had nearly a dozen bass guitars. He sold them and bought a Porsche even though he wasn’t old enough to drive. He kept the car for a year, sold it for more than he paid, and used the money to buy four guitars and start an online guitar business.
Around that same time, as a freshman at West Genesee High School, Wilson began taking night classes at OCC. His goal was to graduate high school as quickly as possible, become a full-time college student, and open his own business. His hard work paid off when he graduated from high school a year early, then earned his Business Administration degree at OCC in 2012 at age 18.
Two years later he opened “Ish Guitars” in downtown Syracuse's Armory Square. The business name was a tribute to his grandfather who used to call Jesse “Ish Kabibble” after the 1940s era comedian.
Having a physical location had its benefits. Guitarists from high profile bands would stop in once a year when they were playing in the Syracuse area. But the bricks and mortar location also had drawbacks. “We were putting 80% of our time and effort into our storefront which was making us about 20% of our revenue, but we were putting 20% of our effort into our online business which was about 80% of our sales. It didn’t make any sense.”
Wilson spoke with some mentors who advised him to try making his business appointment only. He decided on February 1, 2020, Ish Guitars would be appointment only a couple of days a week. Then Covid hit and in-person business became totally appointment only.
In the months preceding Covid, Wilson had been scouting the city of Buffalo for both employees and a location for a new store. Those plans were shelved when the pandemic took over. However, Wilson had also been looking for a larger place in Syracuse and found exactly what he was looking for at 1929 Teall Avenue.
The building was a disaster when he bought it in April of 2020 but Wilson saw its potential. There were cables hanging out of the ceiling, worn out carpeting, and residue from the previous owners who were heavy smokers. For six months he worked on his guitar business every day from 10am to 5pm, then worked on building renovations until 10 or 11 at night along with his parents and some of his employees. They redid all of the electrical and HVAC, tore up carpeting, took down drop ceilings, and exposed huge windows that had been covered up.
The new Ish Guitars is everything Wilson hoped it would be. Bright lights illuminate shiny new guitars, but his showroom inventory is much less than what it was at Armory Square. "We had 280 guitars in that store. We wanted to make this store feel more museum-like and less chaotic." He actually has a larger inventory now but most of it is in the back room. A cloud-based app runs the entire inventory system so they can easily locate the guitar someone wants which meets their exact specifications. Their inventory is also available for viewing on the Ish Guitars website where each instrument is highlighted in numerous, detailed photos and a listing of all important specifications. "The inventory is the advertisement. We get something that is so cool that people show their friends, tell their buddies, post it. We sell a lot of guitars that you can't get other places."
Ish Guitars is on pace to sell 1,000 guitars this year and they'll be shipping product worldwide. "We have regular customers in the UK. There's one guy who has bought three or four guitars from us that are each worth over $10,000. One of my regular customers is a very large movie director. There are some really really cool people who are customers of ours."
People who visit the Teall Avenue showroom will find an entire wall dedicated to Paul Reed Smith guitars, of which Wilson is among the nation's top ten dealers. He's pictured in front of that wall at the bottom of this story. The area where he is seated is a dedicated space for musical performances and the making of YouTube videos There are also two sound proof rooms where customers can play guitars for sale, and a repair shop where his highly-skilled employees do amazing work. All of his employees are talented musicians who take their craft very seriously.
Wilson hopes to get back into buying and selling cars as his guitar business grows. It's been 20 years since he started Jesse's Movie Theater. He's proud of what he accomplished and the place where he earned his Business Administration degree. “I think everyone should go to a two-year school and get their degree so they have something. If you decide you want more you can go get your four-year degree. When I was in high school I would hear people say, ‘Why go to OCC?’ I say, ‘Why not go to OCC!”
