Will Bradham, owner of Bradham Enterprises, which has businesses located in Cleveland, Oxford, and Starkville, could be considered a serial entrepreneur, but it is in his blood. Bradham’s father was an entrepreneur, owning an automotive and parts supply store. Some of Bradham’s earliest memories are working alongside his dad.
“It might have been dusting the shelves and sweeping the floors,” shared Bradham. “But I was there working and watching my dad do work. And so I always wanted to do that. And it didn’t always work like that.”
Bradham, like many, left college and entered corporate America, but he got burnt out and realized it was time to step out on his own.
“I’m not going to say I don’t like other people telling me what to do, but I hate other people telling me what to do,” laughed Bradham. “I like to make the final decisions.”
Since then, Bradham has had a dozen or more different business ventures.
“Some I’ve sold and gotten out of,” shared Bradham. “Some I’ve been bought out of, and I’ve had a couple of failures. But if you don’t swing the bat, you can’t hit the ball.”
The baseball reference stems from his lifelong love of the game and collecting one-of-a-kind baseball cards. This passion has led Bradham to his latest adventure, where he hopes to come full circle and share the experience alongside his children.
Recently, Bradham Enterprises has added Bradham Memorabilia and Trading Cards to its portfolio.
“Living in Oxford with my children, I have office space available where my other companies are housed, and I wanted to be able to use it for something more,” shared Bradham. “This time I wanted to start something I really enjoy and get my children involved as well.”
Bradham’s son Wilkes, 15, and daughter Anna Reese, 12, are into sports, and as a family they have been searching for trading cards for years.
“Years ago, we got back into it after we found some Michael Jordan rookie cards in my old personal collection,” shared Bradham. “We enjoy opening packs together and looking at the values of things. And the stuff’s nuts right now.”
Bradham Memorabilia and Trading Cards is not Bradham’s first rodeo in the business world, but it is his first time in the retail market. Located on University Ave in the same shopping center as Walk-Ons, the store will offer a wide range of sealed and singles sports cards, excluding Pokémon, alongside signed memorabilia.
“The shop will be clean, stocked, and friendly,” shared Bradham. It will be a place you can come and enjoy the hobby most of us enjoyed as kids and pass it on to the next generation of sports enthusiasts.”
Working alongside his children isn’t the only benefit of Bradham’s latest Mississippi-based business venture. Bradham has pledged that the new business will give back $50,000 over the next five years to Children’s of Mississippi. Bradham Enterprises has been donating to Mississippi’s only children’s hospital for years, and this business will be no different.
“It’s such a great facility,” shared Bradham. “We get to go tour the facility and see what Bradham Enterprises has helped fund, and it is so neat to see the impact that it makes and has on people of Mississippi who have their children there. “
The $50,000 pledge made by Bradham will go specifically to increase Children of Mississippi’s child psychiatric services to include an in-hospital adolescent mental health facility.
