The Making of FUBU — An Interview with Daymond John

For those that have just joined us this is a lifestle blog, yes we talk about relationships sex and all that goes with that but it's about lifestyle so you'll never know what you'll find. One thing I've always loved is influential people getting paper and sharing their story. Each one teach one, so if you don't know who Daymond John is he is the founder of FUBU and also can be seen on ABC's Shark Tank every friday. This interview comes from http://www.fourhourworkweek.com

The following is an interview with Daymond John, CEO of the clothing brand FUBU, whom I’ve come to know and respect. If there were one mantra I’d associate with him, it’s “where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Can’t afford billboards? No problem — just pay retail store owners in key areas to let you spraypaint “FUBU” on their overnight roll-down security walls. His drive and improvisation has led him from sewing cloth in his kitchen to #15 on Details magazine’s list of “50 Most Influential Men.”
It would seem he’s just getting started, but I’ll let him tell the story…

TIM: Many entrepreneurs launch their companies in addition to working a full-time job. How did you manage your time when launching FUBU to get the company going? When did you decide to quit the day job and make this a full-time operation?In entrepreneurship, you decide to give up your day job at the point where either (A) the hobby/new business is at least making some form of ends meet, or (B) you feel that you need to dedicate yourself for a certain amount of time to it and give yourself the last hoorah.
What were your initial struggles with launching FUBU and how did you overcome them?
Like most entrepreneurs, the initial struggle was to go past the point of imagination and make it a point of conception, where I was actually putting together a product and producing it. Everyone has an idea, but it’s taking those first steps toward turning that idea into a reality that are always the toughest.
However, once you take those first steps you will be confronted with another obstacle, and I don’t think there’s just one tipping point for a company, but a string of them. For example, once I decided to put my idea on paper, I had to find a local screen printer. Then, I faced the challenge of increasing sales. Since I knew the stores wouldn’t buy it, I put my product in them on consignment. After I got to the level of making more goods on a consistent basis, I had to figure out how to create a sustainable structure for manufacturing the product, so I mortgaged my house, moved sewing machines into my home, and hired seamstresses.
It’s this string of obstacles that separate the people that truly want their company to succeed from everyone else, because so many questions hit you so fast. It’s just a matter of not letting these challenges keep you down and finding solutions no matter what. It can be overwhelming at times but just be prepared for it. The more forward-thinking you are and the better plan of attack you have to grow the company, the easier these questions will be to answer.
What were some of your first big marketing wins to promote FUBU?
The first big break was when we went down to Virginia and met up with Ralph McDaniels, who had a video show like MTV and VH1, and he fell in love with our product. At the time, Ralph was throwing a big weekend event for Teddy Riley, a producer and musician that really shaped Hip-Hop and R&B. He came back to New York and decided to put us on a local video channel for an interview about FUBU. We all knew the FUBU brand was closely associated with music, but this hit created some immediate buzz and showed us the way to market our product unlike any fashion company out there yet.
We then concentrated in getting our product into music videos. We would sit on video sets all day trying to get the artists to wear it. First it started with Brand Nubian in one of their videos, then Ol’ Dirty Bastard wore it in a Mariah Carey video, then Busta Rhymes wore it on one of his videos, and LL Cool J decided to wear FUBU on the “Hey Lover” video with Boyz II Men. Our product was front and center on the biggest and most influential personalities for our core consumers.
One of the most well-known hits we had with LL was during a Gap commercial. He was wearing a pair of Gap jeans and a Gap shirt, but he was somehow able to sport one of our hats during the commercial. Then during his thirty-second freestyle rap, he looks directly into the camera and says, “For Us, By Us, on the low.” No one at Gap nor any of their ad execs thought anything of it. It wasn’t until a month later that someone at the Gap found out, pulled the commercial, and fired a whole bunch of people after they had spent about $30 million running this campaign.

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Wifey Vs. Wife

Wifey Vs. Wife

I don't know about you but I have always hated this term. I always hated it because of what it means and what it doesn't mean.

wife  (wf)
n. pl. wives (wvz)

A woman joined to another person in marriage; a female spouse.

that was from Websters dictionary...

Wifey

not mentioned on webster's dictionary however we have...

Wifey

A REAL Lady, Not your only but your favourite, different from them hood rat chicks. Sexy in everyway possible, when she smiles it's sexy, even when she's mad at you it's sexy.

This is from urban dictionary Wifey - urban dictionary and note there are actually misspellings in the meaning.

So now what's the difference and why do I hate the term Wifey?

It's stated above plain and simple what a wife is. A wife is a female joined by a legal union to a man under god. She is the person that is the glue that holds a family together. I also heard this quote last week and it sums it up perfect. "A wife will say what's needed to be said when her husband can't". Now that is not to say her husband is weak in any way, but it's to say that a wife KNOWS whats best for her man even when he doesn't.

How is that different from a Wifey. Well most women start out as little girls. Those little girls play games like "dress up" and "house" and sometimes even "doctor". Most little girl think about their wedding very early in life.

This is done because every little girl is naturally embedded to care, naturally built to be a mother, naturally embedded to one day fall in love. (To her knight in shinning armor)

No girl plays "fuck buddy" no girl plays "baby mama"

and no girl imagines her night in shinny armor having to move into her place. Now don't get me wrong a "wifey" can be everything listed as above. It's just that the term "wifey" is a term that gives a false sense of security to women because most wifeys never become wives.

For a "wifey" there is no ring. A promise ring is not a ring. A wedding ring is a ring. A promise ring is also a false sense of security. A promise ring is given to shut women up. The difference between a promise ring and a wedding ring is the significance.

Intentions cost nothing but mean everything. When a man buys a ring, the ring doesn't come with a tag that states what it it for. When the man presents said ring to said women he states what it is for. When he gives you a ring and says it's a promise ring it means nothing, when he gives you a ring and asks to spend the rest of your life with him, it means everything.

For a "wifey" there is not ring, there is no church.

There is no pastor, no reception, no stretch limo with the sign just married on the back. There are no wedding bells and daddy doesn't walk a wifey down the isle.

So when the subject or the actual presentation of a ring happens make sure your man buys you the right ring. As I stated before intentions don't coast a thing. When your man presents to you a ring make sure he presents to you last name his heart, soul and the opportunity to spend the rest of his life with you. The size of the ring nor the price of the ring makes a difference. The only difference are the obligations behind ring. Make sure when you get a ring be sure that you get his intentions and his heart as well.

The term wifey should not be acceptable to you. If your man can call you "wifey" he can call you his wife.

3 Simple rules for dating in 2013

As the new year comes upon us (and many single going into the new year) I have made 3 simple easy to follow rules when it comes to dating in 2013…

1. If he/she can not call he/she is not worth the time.

So many of us get caught up in daily life so much we forget the simple rules. Yes this is the information age and while everything from shopping to company meetings are conducted via text it doesn’t mean your love life should. Any potential suitor wherever male or female that wants your attention should at least have the balls enough to CALL and arrange a date. So rule number 1 is NO TEXT ALLOWED (for setting up dates).

2. Leave boyfriends/ girlfriends/ husbands /wives/ secret gay lovers in the past.

At some point in your new relationship or pre-relationship, you know those awkward dates where you haven’t established what exactly you two are, well sometime the conversation may shift to why you are single? or what happened to your EX will come up. A brief “we didn’t work out” or a simple “we found out we weren’t compatible” will suffice. Bottom line is leave the past in the past. Many relationships are ruined by you yourself comparing your ex. to your “next” and no matter how you slice it you don’t win. If your ex was a loser you “next” may come to think your broken and no one wants a broken person for the new year. If the reverse happens, meaning you tell all of these great stories about your ex your “next” will feel they can never stack up.

3. Establish what you are as soon as possible.

This one should be a no brainier ironically it’s not. Too many women think just because you see someone everyday or talk to them every-night that they are in a relationship. Well I have news for you, you’re not IN a relationship until you both can conform your IN a relationship. This one tip saves future couples a lot of time, also many men wonder this question as much as women do but are often to nervous to ask. Bringing this topic to discussion ASAP can eliminate a lot of misunderstandings  However if you are seeing someone that can’t talk about this. You should be seeing someone else. If the person you’re seeing can’t commit to a simple little title early. The chances are slim to none that they will commit to a BIG title later.