TrendSettersInc
Contributor
Hi, the names Ken, I read MJ book and it has blown all the others out the water, Ive read books and listened to 100s if not thousands of others since my young teens (I come from a family that was involved in drugs and that whole lifestyle so I focused my energy on action in a positive direction, read a lot of Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy, Dale Carnegie, T. Harv Eker, Tony Robins, Les Brown, Jordan Belfort Interviews, Allan Pease, I was very thorough in business, system, attitude and body language). Ive been blessed w/ extreme focus and being a socialite helping others be inspired, I am self taught in graphic design, and usually dedicate 14+ hours a day to working on the brand, reading, researching, designing, Quickbooks, speaking w/ my accountant and business mentors and things of that nature).
I started Barbering at the age of 14 because I felt I needed a african american barber in a town where there wasn't many, so I learned for myself and within a year I was cutting a bunch of kids around the neighborhood, by the time I was 19 I was cutting over 80 people a month and approached by barbershops to cut to build their clientele up (by then I realized I was filling a need and was focused on other business plans, all while cutting FREQUENTLY) At 24 I cut in shops in Queens, NY and in Pittsburgh, CA.
Any ways the barbering (along w/ plenty of studying, reading, and having experience in running a restaurant and helping run operations at my cousins Transportation business in MI) gave me the confidence and business savvy to start a company. I started a clothing line and its been since May. Things have been pretty well, sales have been in the thousands (nothing spectacular, but good being most was word of mouth). Now im working on revamping my site (trendsetterselite.com) to optimize SEO, and sharpen product photos (as well as drop the bigcartel) and I've also worked w/ our production to effectively increase margins w/ new types of printing & equipment!
Where I live their wasn't much of a shopping area so many people took to the clothing very quickly, plus w/ my clientele in the barbering (from young kids to much older adults) people seemed to like what we are bringing to the table.
It would be considered "Casual" or "Street Wear". We market the clothing to appeal to the mindset of people, their image, to stay sharp and be TrendSetters, theres much more to it but I dont care to get into detail for this is just supposed to be and introduction.
Anyways, our next step is to really sharpen our "system" or procedure, from design ideas, all the way to production and sales. Then work even more on marketing and tying everything together even better, with even sharper packaging, add-ons and more. Then scale, getting distributors and keeping our website the hub, and eventually getting a Flagship store.
Things are going well right now, and I even have someone talking to our company about distribution in Europe, We've sold mostly around the US and a few out to Germany, we have to open up shipping to the rest of the world next( I know I know VERY important).
Any questions or tips would be greatly appreciated and this is just my first project into the Fastlane (once I make it into a fully fastlane company) I have plenty of others, All my close friends are business owners doing around 6 digit profits a year or more and they all say im like a prodigy since ive been like this since I was VERY young, Ive had weeks were I was doing over a thousand dollars as a teen from my endeavors, and now Id like to do far more than that with my business (best so far is a $1200+ weekend online sales) and eventually w/ less work once everything is running smoothly!
I know im no prodigy but I do know I absorb knowledge very well, Im open to constructive criticism, I come from a humbling and rough background in Brooklyn, NY so I am very aware of the ups and downs, but I focus on WHY things are up and WHY they are down and effectively figure out the variables I can control to keep them UP! I just have a great outlook even when most people would fold, I know its all about your mindset and I know Id rather depend on myself and providing value and fulfilling a need that I and MY company(s) will benefit from not some other company that will benefit and give me the left over crumbs!
I started Barbering at the age of 14 because I felt I needed a african american barber in a town where there wasn't many, so I learned for myself and within a year I was cutting a bunch of kids around the neighborhood, by the time I was 19 I was cutting over 80 people a month and approached by barbershops to cut to build their clientele up (by then I realized I was filling a need and was focused on other business plans, all while cutting FREQUENTLY) At 24 I cut in shops in Queens, NY and in Pittsburgh, CA.
Any ways the barbering (along w/ plenty of studying, reading, and having experience in running a restaurant and helping run operations at my cousins Transportation business in MI) gave me the confidence and business savvy to start a company. I started a clothing line and its been since May. Things have been pretty well, sales have been in the thousands (nothing spectacular, but good being most was word of mouth). Now im working on revamping my site (trendsetterselite.com) to optimize SEO, and sharpen product photos (as well as drop the bigcartel) and I've also worked w/ our production to effectively increase margins w/ new types of printing & equipment!
Where I live their wasn't much of a shopping area so many people took to the clothing very quickly, plus w/ my clientele in the barbering (from young kids to much older adults) people seemed to like what we are bringing to the table.
It would be considered "Casual" or "Street Wear". We market the clothing to appeal to the mindset of people, their image, to stay sharp and be TrendSetters, theres much more to it but I dont care to get into detail for this is just supposed to be and introduction.
Anyways, our next step is to really sharpen our "system" or procedure, from design ideas, all the way to production and sales. Then work even more on marketing and tying everything together even better, with even sharper packaging, add-ons and more. Then scale, getting distributors and keeping our website the hub, and eventually getting a Flagship store.
Things are going well right now, and I even have someone talking to our company about distribution in Europe, We've sold mostly around the US and a few out to Germany, we have to open up shipping to the rest of the world next( I know I know VERY important).
Any questions or tips would be greatly appreciated and this is just my first project into the Fastlane (once I make it into a fully fastlane company) I have plenty of others, All my close friends are business owners doing around 6 digit profits a year or more and they all say im like a prodigy since ive been like this since I was VERY young, Ive had weeks were I was doing over a thousand dollars as a teen from my endeavors, and now Id like to do far more than that with my business (best so far is a $1200+ weekend online sales) and eventually w/ less work once everything is running smoothly!
I know im no prodigy but I do know I absorb knowledge very well, Im open to constructive criticism, I come from a humbling and rough background in Brooklyn, NY so I am very aware of the ups and downs, but I focus on WHY things are up and WHY they are down and effectively figure out the variables I can control to keep them UP! I just have a great outlook even when most people would fold, I know its all about your mindset and I know Id rather depend on myself and providing value and fulfilling a need that I and MY company(s) will benefit from not some other company that will benefit and give me the left over crumbs!
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