Even while he was still a student at Eastern, Luke Freeman, founder and president of Wizard Creations, knew something about the business industry.

“When I was at Eastern, I printed T-shirts for fraternities and sororities and would sell them,” Freeman said.

Having this experience led to Freeman’s business being featured on CNBC’s television show “Billion Dollar Buyer” on Tuesday, Jan. 17.

“Billion Dollar Buyer” is a series focused around an investor who meets with entrepreneurs to potentially invest in their business.

During the episode, Freeman was able to show some of his business ideas.

“The night of the show we had a watch party of over 500 people. Some of the biggest businesses, media outlets and politicians from south Florida were there,” he said. “It was absolutely amazing.”

The next day, Wizard Creations, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla. company that specializes in brand merchandising and corporate marketing, had their biggest sales day of all time.

“Our store was packed, people were calling, e-mailing and multi-billion dollar companies walked into our office looking for deals,” Freeman said.

Freeman said the skills he learned from majoring in corporate communications at Eastern prepared him for a career in entrepreneurship.

“It was the greatest major because it trained me to be extremely adaptive to every type of communication and dialogue I have,” he said.

Not long after graduating from Eastern in 2004, Freeman took his bachelor’s degree down to south Florida where he entered the corporate business world.

While there, Freeman started working on his own business on the side. Around 2009, he started working on his business full-time.

“I always knew I was going to own my own business, just because I knew the industry so well,” Freeman said.

Freeman said there were many 16-hour days for him and his wife, Mara.

“I’ve built my business from the ground up,” Freeman said.

Miami Dolphins, Miami Heat, Florida Panthers, Habitat for Humanity, the Make-a-Wish and Barry University are some of the organizations that Wizard Creations does business with.

Freeman said he is able to train others, go to trade shows and be a market leader in the industry.

“I’m now working on the business instead of in it,” Freeman said.

Freeman said now that his business is successful, he can give back his time, money and energy.

“If you don’t take risks, you can’t grow. If you’re not growing, you’re dying. Every year Wizard Creations has grown. Every year I’ve taken a new risk,” he said.

Loren Dickson can be reached at 581-2812 or ladickson@eiu.edu.