We were lucky to catch up with Dean Ellis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dean , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?

Asking friends and family to support your business is a bridge that every entrepreneur will cross at some point during the growth of their business.

Family and friends are not always clients to our businesses although we usually wish that they were. But they do and can play an extremely important role as it relates to support that is not by exchange of the dollar.

Entrepreneurs are always in need of operational , financial and emotional support, as navigating through running a business can be extremely challenging at times, but what I have found to be the most Important support is my circle. ( my family and friends ) They are able to provide the support system needed to help me manage everyday stresses, help to maintain my perspective and improve my overall work -life balance. Which can be hard when work seems to become your entire life lol.

So in the beginning I used to wonder why my family members and friends were not my biggest clients & equated that to equal no support. But I then realized that they provide probably the most necessary form of support by BEING THERE.. financial assistance can also come from friends and family members but sometimes , a repost on a social media post , or the referral of a new client or just an encouraging word, when they know you are not feeling as you present… can be the best support of all..

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hey there, the name is Dean Ellis , but pretty much everyone calls me Ellis. Born and raised in Toronto Canada, but currently resigning in North Carolina where I moved over 9 years ago to expand the ELLIS ESQ brand. One of the best decisions of my life. After initially perusing a career in law it was a series of events that sort of pushed me into full time entrepreneurship.. 1) I am a lot like both of my parents, but my artistic side is definitely all mommy, I spent most of my youth watching and helping her with her side “hustle” although she had a full time job she spent most of her time, baking cakes, decorating and most of all sewing, I picked up quite a bit just by watching, and she spent time every now and then teaching me the craft. That coupled with a horrible experience with a mens custom store in Toronto , who while pulling items for a photo shoot for a magazine I was hired for, Where I was pretty much told that I was not the “right echelon” to become a client and purchase from them. Lastly a written note of moms, found after her passing, speaking of her desires to have a clothing shop, and the reasons why should couldn’t have one… I needed to hear no more.

We service both men and women with well crafted , custom & bespoke garments, with special attention paid to both our clients personal style, comfort levels and simple desires, with unmatched fit, creating the best shape and shiloette possible. We are a one stop shop creating custom , suits, jackets, blazers, outer wear, shirts, shoes and accessories , i.e. bow ties, straight ties, pocket squares and lapel pins.

ELLIS ESQ while servicing all areas of one’s lifestyle , casual and corporate , in the past few years we have become known for our dynamic , stand out wedding attire. With the ability to create the classic tuxedo, we have a special flair for elevating every man and or woman to their best selves.

Our clients will always tell you:

1) Communication is Key, we are not a company to woo you in, make a sale and then go missing , but we encourage an open line of communication for all clients throughout the journey of their custom garment & experience with us.

2.) We are NOT a middle man, along with a team of tailors literally on many different contents , I actually sew, this changes the way garments are seen, details are seen and also how garments are cut I am not concerned with statements such as “thats a nice suit “. Or “ that looks good” but its an eye for detail that separates us from others, what some deem as great we deem OK, with a goal for the best construction and shiloetts s for all clients no matter their size.

3.) I have over 8 years of style experience working with known artists, entertainers, magazines and television shows , helping to create looks to fit the desired looks needed. I bring that to every session with my clients ( I kinda cant help it ) but the moment a client mentions an idea, I have been known to on spot style the entire look in my head and share it with them through sketches images and or simple description. Our clients don’t just walk away with a suit , but a complete style guide and instructions to complete each look from head to toe.

4.) We provided a dynamic concierge service, enabling us to travel to our clients almost any where in the world to provide them first class, in person service in the comfort of their own home and offices.

5.)Lastly ALL will say Ellis is extremely passionate, listening to him speak , is engaging and one will leave feeling they need to ask no questions as he is extremely thorough

These few areas separate ELLIS ESQ from the others.

What are we proud of? Thats a good question.. Ive never really given it thought.. I am known as a work a holic and once we achieve one goal im always looking for what’s next. But if I had to think of something it would be that we have developed a process that allows us to have clients literally anywhere. thats right a more than half of our clients are have never met us in person. So if you have viewed our instagram , website or any other social media pages,.. if you like what you see…. Know that most of them have never seen us in person, and that is not 100% necessary to have hands on by us to create dynamic garments… I am truly proud of that . It extends our reach and allows us to provide superbugs service to those who are not just in our city.

How’d you meet your business partner?

You never know who is watching … I believe this and always have. daddy taught me this and told me to always remember that no matter where I want, even if he couldn’t give me everything, he did give me his name, and told me to care for it with my life. In any event , after my 2nd year in North Carolina I had been invited to Christmas Party, I wasn’t given much information other than that ( I needed to get out of the house and meet ppl there ) Well I walked in, extremely timid in that I knew NO ONE .. and went to a corner of the room , grabbed a drink and spoke to the one person who invited me. Not sure how it happened but I began to talk to more and more ppl and as it came up would mention what I did and in some instances didnt.

The night was great, the host who up until this time had planned an amazing evening for his guests, and by the time I left I had met tones of entrepreneurs, and serious game changers.. Well weeks went by and out of no where I received an email from the host who stated that he got my contacts from the friend who invited me and began to tell me that he noticed how I handled, his crowd, and engaged at his party weeks before. He stated that he was truly impressed and saw something special and that after some time and thought that he wanted to be apart of ELLIS ESQ somehow and began to outline the agreement for financial support along with some business guidance.

It was a life changing moment …

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Learning not to rely on my IT factor was a lesson that I had to learn. Some ppl have a special thing that makes ppl connect to them , or attract others, Ive been one of those ppl all my life.. .and over time had learned how to use this special “ IT FACTOR “ how to get many things … but as ELLIS ESQ grew, it no longer was enough. I need to learn business acumen, taking classes in business management and many other topics from marketing to finances because simply put , being artistic isn’t good enough. We need to be wholistic as entrepreneurs.. Now dont get me wrong I am not saying one needs to master everything or all these areas BUT like my clients need to understand , why we are doing one button , with a low stance over the opposite, business owners need to understand the workings of all areas of their business so they can keep the pulse of the business.

Then with this information, they need to hire masters of those specific areas and let them do what they do. After which they can consider themself to be wholistic , with knowledge an artistic give ANNNND the IT FACTOR. I wanted to walk into rooms and just be Dean Ellis and that was supposed to be good enough but like any good plant…what we have in life is a seed… it needs water, sun experiences etc to grow and in the end should be bigger and better than it began. I learned that growth was necessary and that what I had on its own wasn’t good enough I had to grow. And that in itself was a game changer.

Contact Info:

• Website: EllisEsq.com
• Instagram: EllisEsq
• Facebook: Ellis Esq
• Linkedin: Dean L. G. Ellis
• Twitter: EllisEsq