Meet Cory Baker

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cory Baker.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
The Hoop It Up 3×3 Tour, was an event my friends and I grew up playing in. The event use to shut down the downtown streets of Winston-Salem with thousands of people in attendance. The same players we competed against during school ball or AAU was at “Hoop It Up”. It was endorsed by the NBA and the place to be back in the 90s. Contest winners use to win free Grant Hill shoes. I won the free throw competition and somehow got two free pairs.

Prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, I was consistently thinking to myself about the event and wondering why it no longer came around. So, in early 2019, I emailed their corporate office, asking what it would take to bring the event back to Winston-Salem. It just so happens Kevin Garnett had recently purchased Hoop It Up 3×3, and they were in a revamping stage. That information was perfect news for my team and me. By February 2020, local Winston-Salem McDonald’s had agreed to be the events title sponsor. We hit the ground running. We shot the television commercial, that was set to start airing during March Madness that year. The energy and momentum surrounding our event were through the roof. The event was scheduled for August 13, 2020. Around March the pandemic hit home for us, and places started closing down. We announced the postponement in June, you know no one really knew what was going on so we had hope for a few months during the first round of shutdowns.

2021 rolls around, and everything is still in limbo. We did not really entertain hosting the event that year until close to June. Hoop It Up 3×3 and I decided to host a free event, in August 2021. The first 40 teams were free. A week before the event, Winston-Salem issued a mask mandate, and we were devastated. We thought about moving it to nearby counties that had no mask mandate, but we decided not to. We postponed the event yet again because we did not want to have to require players to wear a mask while playing.

As the local event organizer, I personally needed a break from thinking about the event. I paused everything Hoop It Up 3×3 until 2022. By the start of 2022, the overall climate of the world was getting somewhat back to normal, so I picked up where I left off with event planning. The businesses who had agreed to be event sponsors were still committed, Academy Sports and Outdoors expressed their interest shortly after the start of the year, and we secured three more sponsors before August 13, 2022.

It was hard finding the energy to promote, market, and advertise at first after two postponements, but the first team signed up for our event in March, 5 months before the date, exciting everyone again. We carried out a five-month promotional campaign, yielding over 150 participants, 300 plus in total attendance, and a great day of 3-on-3 basketball in Winston-Salem on August 13, 2022. We brought out local artists, food trucks, and local vendors as well, to make this a well-rounded event.

My staff and I are in discussions already about making the 3-on-3 event bigger and better next year, after all the positive feedback from everyone and great reviews from our corporate partners.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road was not smooth, but it was full of learning moments. At the end of the day, the pandemic was a gift and a curse.

The postponements allowed me to continue my Sports Management degree at the United States Sports Academy, which directly carried over to my event operations. Honestly, I don’t think the event would have been as successful in 2020, as we were able to make it by 2022.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
In 2020, I resigned from the Winston-Salem Forsyth County School System after 10 years, to go full-time with Baker Business LLC. our family business. I have continued to be the Head JV Boys basketball coach, at North Forsyth High School.

My father and I manage Wayne and Cory Floor Care. We specialize in VCT stripping and waxing, hardwood restorations, carpet cleaning, and more. We also manage a crew that cleans 5 commercial properties. Our business has grown rapidly over the last two years.

No matter the size of the job, we treat everyone like a priority, and they really latch on to the father and son duo.

Pops is retired, so I try not to work with him too much, but his expertise is hard to replace.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
1, Use your resources. I say it all the time.
2. Diversify your portfolio and communicate often.
3. Ask questions.
4. Go outside your comfort zone.
5. Be knowledgeable and professional in your approaches.
6. Bring something to the table.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bakerbiz.online
• Instagram: @winston.salem.hoop.it.up.3×3
• Facebook: HoopItUp Winston Salem
• Twitter: @Hoopitup3x3_336

Image Credits
Whitney Lea Photography, Shawn Thompson, and Tyquan Bitting