US man with criminal past now owns 5 businesses, earns over $1 million annually

A man from the United States who struggled to find employment due to a criminal record has reinvented his life as a successful entrepreneur.

For Dawon Matthews, choosing business ownership was always a “no brainer.” According to a report by CNBC, his journey began after he was charged with a felony at the age of nineteen and found corporate doors repeatedly closed.

“Once they see a felony behind a person they do not even care about what credentials you got. You are just not accepted in that society,” Matthews says.

Today, the 32-year old owns five businesses, including his thriving Houston food truck Goodies Soul Kitchen.

Born in Philadelphia, Matthews says he had a “rough start” before his family moved to the borough of Norristown. “Growing up, I did not have any mentors or anyone I wanted to be like. I just had a bunch of people that I did not want to be like,” he recalls.

Although he excelled in high school, legal trouble in college changed the course of his life. He was charged with aggravated assault during his freshman year and served six months in jail. While on probation, he was charged with a DUI. “That just led to me going down a hole of just going in and out of the system,” he says.

Even after earning an associate's degree from Manor College and a business degree from La Salle University, more than two hundred job applications brought no success. “I could not get a job with my college degree,” he says, prompting him to create his own opportunities.

As per a report by CNBC, Matthews launched Wonderful Cleaning in 2017 with his childhood friend Darnell Hinton. Low start up costs and the absence of background checks made the industry accessible. “As long as you can get some bleach and some hot water and some spray bottles and some rags, you can turn this thing into a business,” he says.

Within two years, the company earned about twelve thousand dollars a month. Matthews then expanded into R&R Junk Removal in 2020, which made more than one hundred thousand dollars in its first year.

He reinvested profits into real estate, eventually owning 16 properties that earned about $11,000 in monthly profit.

Matthews moved to Houston in January 2024 and launched Goodies Soul Kitchen later that year with a forty thousand dollar loan. Despite having almost no food experience, he managed growth through consistency and customer service. “The money is in the service and the quality and the systems that you produce,” he says.

In 2024, Goodies generated more than one million dollars in gross revenue according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. The truck now serves hundreds of customers each week and continues to grow.

Following Goodies' success, Matthews launched a second food truck, Birds and Buns, in March 2025. He plans to focus on hospitality and gradually sell his other ventures. Beyond his business ambitions, he is committed to employing former felons and recovering addicts. “Here, you are not judged by a paper,” he says.

Matthews' guiding philosophy remains clear. “Being poor is hard. Being rich is hard. Being happy is hard. Being sad is hard. So it is the reality of just choosing your hard.”

He is now preparing to expand Goodies into a permanent restaurant with a sports bar. Looking ahead, it is “Goodies to the moon,” he says.

Source: HindustanTimes
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