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Tag: entrepreneur

Surrender the Gift

I thought about titling this “something borrowed.” God gives us gifts to steward, and our job is to multiply those gifts. 

The danger of talents is that they tend to lift us up. Let’s face it; we love people’s gifts. Most of us have a favorite something, whether it be an author, actor, actress, sports figure, speaker, or entrepreneur–you name it. 

Now, we can’t help who lifts us up and exalts us, but we can submit the gift to the Gift Giver. This is hard to do and it’s continual. 

I remember when God gave me the idea for Unapologetic Urban Gear; I was so excited. Soon after, I had this unction to kill it. I said to myself, “This makes no sense.”

I began to learn that the seed has to die first and then it produces. This was weird to hear for me, but I got it and did it. A year later, God did some amazing things for years to come. I feel that I am personally here again with the brand. It’s not mine; it’s His, and I have to surrender the gift to the Gift Giver. 

Highlight Reel

Deep down, our greatest desire is to be loved, and being known doesn’t hurt either. The cherry on top would be to have money and to be happy, day in and day out. 

If you look on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, you would think a high percentage of the world are happy and on top. 

If you were to tap in now, you would see an entrepreneur telling you the secrecy of success. But the truth is, there is no secrecy. They are selling highlight reels. 

You, dear reader, have a chance to not only be real but display it. Every day is not good but we can say that and lean on hope and find joy in God and the things that we do. Our job is not to be perfect but consistent in our efforts as our hands give all we have to unto the glory of God. 

#GodBlessTheEntrepreneur

Trust God Trust the Process Pt. 1

I created this design as I was approaching a new season in my life. I had no idea what the season entailed but I noticed a shift. 

I am a pretty seasoned entrepreneur but I felt like things were beginning to slip. I honestly felt like money was leaving my hands as fast as it came in. 

As I looked at everything, I slowly realized that I wasn’t doing anything differently yet sales were  drying up. I began to wonder if this was God’s  doing and if it was, then how was I supposed to respond?

Little did I know that this was just the beginning.  As I sat in my office at The Compound, my heart said, “Trust God. Trust the Process.”

#GodBlessTheEntrepreneur

Grace

The Lord saved me from my sins about 12 years ago. I will never forget the events leading up to it, and the actual day He captured me. I was always in proximity of shootings, and eventually, my car was shot up with me and my son in it, and then weeks later, my wife put me out of the house. It just seemed like near-death experiences kept following me. 
 
I was about 10 blunts in, one night, when I found myself on the floor, reading the Bible, and crying out to God. You really become a new person when He changes you. Things don’t look the same and you have no desire to do the same things. Music was my biggest struggle and I loved it so much. But I needed good music that was not glorifying the sins that I had just been saved from. I needed more!
 
I came across Christian artists, Emanuel Lambert, better known as Da Truth, and Flame. Their music impacted me and changed my life forever. I never imagined the Lord would allow me to have a publication, ten years later. If I never do anything else, the fact that I had the honor to put those two dudes on a cover, is more than enough.

Seasons

We expect the seasons to change. We know that when the tree shows new leaves and the flowers bloom that spring is approaching. we understand by nature that this is a natural order of life. So why is it that it’s hard to understand that our personal life has its own seasons.

It’s easy for us to adapt to the good seasons when money is flowing and their nothing is going wrong. However, the boring and challenging seasons makes us very uncomfortable: I have personally wasted a lot of these seasons but when you see them come around again and again, you begin to realize that you keep missing something.

I want to encourage you to slow down in these seasons and take advantage of them. Wealth is built in these seasons, new character is built in these seasons, perserance and faith is also built in these seasons.

#Godblesstheentrepreneur

Yet

I absolutely love the word yet. Yet gives hope, yet tells me it’s possible. You have to be able to see it before it manifest. Imagination is important because if you can imagine it, it’s in your grasp.

I look at my goals and I know that if God gives me the grace to live, they will happen. Here is my thinking. Their are business’ I haven’t created yet . Their is real estate development I haven’t purchased yet. Their is design deals I haven’t made yet. Their are books I have written and published yet .

Keep your dreams in front of you and move towards them in faith. Plan and execute.

#Godblesstheentrepreneur

Mindset is Key

There were times that I took road trips to an event, having twenty dollars on my bank card and no where to stay. I would swipe my card for a dollar to fill up the tank, to get me there because I knew I had a few days to get that money in the account before the balance came out. I cannot lie, doing this made me feel in a way, like a failure. I had to remind myself of the things God put in my heart and stay faithful to the vision.  

The truth was that I had enough money to pay the vendor fee for the event and to print the tees. I knew if I could just get there; that we had a great product and people would love them. As the owner, I felt I had to be the one talking to them, so I could explain the meaning behind each tee. I believed that if I could get it to the people who I came in contact with, they would help get it to the rest of the world. 

My faith and mindset was and is big and my actions showed it. You have to have the will power to push past your circumstances no matter what it looks like. There will be times that you have to risk it all to see the vision come to past. 

#GodBlessTheEntrepreneur

Balance in business

Sometimes people don’t like to talk about Balance in Business, but it is important. First, I would say do what you do; because you love it. The fact that you love it, will sustain you during difficult times.

 For instance, I love touring. It’s fun and exciting. I get to meet new people, establish new connections, explore new cities, and grow the brand. Overall, it’s a privilege and an honor to travel.

The other side of touring is that, it’s nonstop, it tears the body down, being away from family, and it’s challenging to maintain a healthy diet. For example, a tour day go like this: travel through the night, get to the city, check into hotel, go to venue, set up, work all day, break down, eat, hotel and back on the road again to the next city.Fun, but difficult. There are two sides to every element in Business. 

My life before entrepreneurship

Before I became an entrepreneur, I was in restaurant management for 20 years. I had a meager salary of about 60,000; more if I received any bonuses. Yet, my restaurant made close to a million a year. The fact that I was running a million dollar restaurant should have showed me my potential. But I had doubts.

I believe it was due to not graduating from high school. Eventually, I did obtain my GED (General Education Diploma). I think I was plagued by believing, I could never own my own business. Because I lacked education; which made me feel that I was unqualified.  

 Then, I stumbled onto two amazing words . . . “Specialized Knowledge”.  Basically, you can concentrate your focus on exactly what you are trying to do and be an expert at it.

This is what entrepreneurship is to me. It’s becoming an expert in your field, putting the time and dedication in, owning your own time, doubling sales until you can afford employees and then more locations (expansion) if you desire. . . .

 pWhoever reads this, don’t let anything deter you. All Glory to God.

#GodBlessTheEntrepreneur

Legacy

Arie (my granddaughter) allowed me to look beyond myself. It wasn’t until she was born, that I started thinking about my Legacy. My focus was always on building something unique, but not necessarily past my life time. 

I had real goals and ambitions before her, but now they are more centered. My wife and I had kids quite early, thus when I started my entrepreneurial journey, my kids were pretty much grown. 

One of my favorite Entrepreneurs is Sam Walton. I loved his grind and commitment to his vision, he was all a about customer service. In my opinion, his kids almost destroyed his legacy because of their lack of customer service. I think that’s partly due to them not being apart of the day to day grind. 

Arie is 4 years old right now. and I want her to see everything that goes on, I want her to grow up in it and appreciate the hard work that comes with entrepreneurship. And having her to see and witness the sacrifice it takes, the failures and how to push pass them, in order to succeed. 

#GodBlessTheEntrepreneur