Managing funny business.

Name: Eric C. Rhone

Age: 35

Occupation: Entertainment manager/producer

Location: St Louis

Job description: Manages and consults on the comers of entertainers, athletes, and writers

The answer stood in front of Eric C. Rhone's face for seven years. He knew his friend had talent and skill and, above all, was funny. It was all a matter of risk: Do you give up what you know for a dream, and a Hollywood dream at that?

For Rhone, the answer was yes. And seven years after quitting his corporate job, Rhone is president and CEO of Visions Management Group Inc., formerly Black Swan Enterprises, a multimillion-dollar firm that manages the career of one very successful comedian, Cedric the Entertainer.

"It's a 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week, 365-days-a-year job," says Rhone, a St. Louis native. "[But] everything has come together."

But it took Rhone and Cedric some time to decide whether entering the world of Hollywood was a good idea. The two met while attending Southeast Missouri State in 1983. Cedric did some stand-up comedy at local clubs with Rhone as his manager, but neither thought it would go anywhere.

Rhone then completed his business administration and management degree at Lindenwood University and took a job with Monsanto Corp., a local chemical and pharmaceutical company, in 1987. Cedric also entered the real world, working for State Farm Insurance Co.

The two worked up until 1994, with Cedric continuing his local comedy act, until both decided to take a risk. Cedric quit his job and became a full-time stand-up comic while Rhone resigned from Monsanto and created a management company with Cedric as his sole client. "We decided to go for it," Rhone says. "It all comes down to your decision and what is in your heart. So we did our thing."

Training: This career requires less formal education than real, hands-on experience and knowledge of the entertainment business. Rhone started Black Swan out of his St. Louis home with $65, just enough to file the necessary paperwork and become legal. But the two didn't have to wait long before an opportunity appeared. With the success of shows like Home Box Office's Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam and Black Entertainment Television's Comic View, Cedric "The Entertainer" was entering a charged market.

Cedric became a success within a year, landing the host's job for the 1994-95 season of Comic View. Soon after, Rhone helped Cedric negotiate the role of Coach Jackie Robinson on the WB Network's The Steve Harvey Show. "That was a great experience," Rhone says. "I didn't want to blow Cedric up overnight. Every year has been bigger for us."

Salary: A New York talent director, the employee equivalent of Rhone's entrepreneurial gig, can make an average of between $42,600 and $70,300 a year in total cash compensation (base salary, signing bonuses, etc.). Last year was huge for the duo as Cedric starred with Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, and Bernie Mac in The Original Kings of Comedy, a Spike Lee documentary that highlighted the successful comedy tour of the same name.

This year will be even bigger for both. Rhone expanded Black Swan to Vision Management in January, with offices in Los Angeles and St. Louis, and is also planning to co-produce Preachin' Ain't Easy with the comedian, which is slated to be the next vehicle for the Kings of Comedy. Before that, Cedric will host The Cedric "The Entertainer" Comedy Revue, a 25-city tour of young comedians sponsored by Anheuser-Busch, and he recently starred with LL Cool J, Vivica A. Fox, and Loretta Devine in the film Kingdom Come. "This is very, very exciting," says Rhone of the future. "Our approach has been to take it slow and learn from our environment. Have a long run, a nice, slow burn."