Carter is the president and CEO of Priority Pay, a payroll service firm he founded in 2004 in Hoboken that now has locations nationwide. While payroll industry giants such as ADP — for whom Carter used to work — focus on larger corporations, he believed smaller businesses could also use his services.
“Our bread-and-butter, our niche, is mom-and-pop shops,” he said. “Most of the bigger (payroll services) focus on Fortune 500 companies — it wasn’t even until recently that they started catering to smaller businesses.”
His idea was a success — and though not even 30 years old, he is already a millionaire. “I had just decided to take a risk, to start this company,” he said. “I used my experience from (the other payroll corporations I worked
for), and took it from there.”
A Linden native, Carter was always drawn to a career in finance, though initially, his heart was set on working Wall Street.
“My plan, when I was in college, was always to be in the financial field,” he said, adding that his interests also stemmed from a childhood indulgence. “When I was growing up, I loved watching movies with (characters working on Wall Street) — and I’m that aggressive guy.”
No matter what financial career path he followed, however, Carter was destined for success, drawing from his determined attitude and a lifetime of experience as a hard worker.
Rising above
During his youth, Carter was not surrounded by opportunities. After moving out of his own home at 15 years of age, he lived with friends while working various jobs and finishing his high school career.
“Growing up, my childhood wasn’t really good,” he said simply. “My motivation (to do something with my life) came from me, from not wanting to turn out like people around me.”
When he graduated from Linden High School, he joined the Army Reserve for a three-month boot camp assignment in Fort Jackson, S.C., before enrolling in Kansas State University. There, he majored in finance and eventually received his MBA, completing his education in 2002.
Though his formative years were rife with misfortune, Carter didn’t see his hardships as a reason enough to settle in life.
“I could have turned out a lot of different ways, and nobody would have cared — nothing was handed to me,” he said,
adding that, while it does not define him, he does not wish to forget his past. “I moved to Clark to remind myself of where I came from, to show me what I actually accomplished.”
Now, with his ambitious eyes cast toward the future and his wife and two children by his side, Carter hopes to not only
surprise those who knew him in the past but, more important, to surpass what he himself thinks is possible.
“When I started this company, it wasn’t to get to where I’m at now, because I knew I could do this — this is just the beginning,” he said. “I’m curious to see what I’m able to do after this. I want to do something that I didn’t think I’d be able to do.”