RYAN BEACHER
Ryan Beacher
Bridging the Gap A Gainesville entrepreneur works to empower others to leave a legacy for their children to build on Story By:
C. M. Schmidlkofer
Ryan Beacher grew up in two worlds – one of prosperity and privilege and one of far more modest means with little opportunity. Raised in New Orleans, Beacher’s parents afforded him every opportunity including education at crème de la crème private middle and high schools where he excelled academically and
SO I HAD THIS UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO BE IN THESE DIFFERENT WORLDS. IT WAS A BLESSING THAT HAS SHAPED A LOT OF MY PERSPECTIVE AND WHO I AM. - Ryan Beacher 76
SYNERGY MAGAZINE
enjoyed extracurricular activities with sports, choir, and playing music. After his school day ended, he spent time with his grandparents who lived in a very different world, where the neighborhood kids struggled with gangs and violence. He realized the only difference between himself and his friends in his grandparent’s neighborhood were the opportunities afforded by his parents and the foundation they provided for him to succeed. “So I had this unique opportunity to be in these different worlds. It was a blessing that has shaped a lot of my perspective and who I am.” He noticed those from his grandparent’s neighborhood who managed to achieve a certain level of success lost it due to investments that only provided temporary comfort before fading away, leaving noth-
ing for their children to build upon. On top of that, they were burdened with debt left from prior generations. “So in a culture that was moving forward, we had families who were going backwards, and kids not only not being able to begin at the starting line, but rather beginning far behind it. “My ultimate hope is that Black families will be able to see tangible progress in steps they’ve taken where our kids will be able to have a genuine inheritance and continue building upon what we’ve created, so that their kids will never have to ask or look for a job but instead be the ones to create them.” To help families take the first step into becoming homeowners, Ryan joined with Team Dynamo at Keller Wil-
liams Realty so he can walk them through this process. As a Realtor, Beacher said Keller Williams Realty has values aligned with his own. Fighting for his vision has been challenging at times, but he manages it by relying on mentors for help and continuing to invest in himself, which he considers important in being a leader. Overall, 2020 was challenging in a number of ways, but also a catalyst for growth. “Many people thought I was crazy to even start a business in 2020 for obvious reasons. Being able to adapt when many were quitting actually provided an opportunity. What we saw was that people didn’t really stop patronizing businesses, they just changed the way in which they did so.”
