We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ethan Brisby. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ethan below.
Ethan, appreciate you joining us today. Almost every entrepreneur we know has considered donating a portion of their sales to an organization or cause – how did you make the decision of whether to donate? We’d love to hear the backstory if you’re open to sharing the details.
Absolutely. I have always self-funded the work we do at SHIFT Enterprise Academy through my freelance and real estate work. Anytime I manage a revitalization project, close a brokerage deal, or complete a ghost writing collaboration, I always infuse working capital into the SHIFT vision, so we can hire contractors for managing our operations, provide seed funds for our founders, or any myriad of needs my adopted SHIFT family might face.
During the early years of SHIFT, I remember loading my son and his friends into my old 1999 Grand Prix taking as many youngsters as I could to places like Texas Southern University, Prairie View A&M University, Texas A&M University, the Texas State Capitol and other places where they could be exposed to the possibilities outside of our small Bryan/College Station community. Mindset shifting is an important piece of the work SHIFT does, and I know it takes exposure to make the shift believable. So, I have no problem donating a percentage of my income to SHIFT’s mission. I am also happy to announce 100% of pre-sale orders of my upcoming memoir, “The Roaring 30s: An Ode to Free Thinking Millennials” will go towards building out the long term vision of SHIFT – East Africa.
Notwithstanding, being on the ground in East Africa combined with seeing some of our previous American youth fall through the cracks, I am realizing just how powerful this work is. One of my Morehouse brothers recently told me, “Ethan, you can not be the tree of knowledge by yourself.” That hit home, so I am seeking ways to include more people in the funding and management of the work of SHIFT to lighten my burden and maximize our outcomes, empower more ambitious minds in the process. This may look like a round of fundraising and forming a board of directors.
Ethan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Yeah sure. I am Ethan Brisby, a Bryan, Texas native, international teacher and community builder. I help build both people based communities as well as land and property communities. I have worked primarily as an independent contractor since 2006 when I began freelance writing for Maroon Weekly magazine in College Station, Texas and hosting my radio show, “Word on the Street” on KEOS Community Radio. My academic background is in urban planning (Morehouse College) and real estate development (Texas A&M University).
I chose this path, because as a leader I take a great deal of pride in thinking critically and solving problems in a meaningful way. Overtime, I began realizing my mindset and what I believe to be true about life and its possibilities was different from most of the people in circles I used to find myself within. So, I kept working to create the reality I saw in my mind.
I now have over 15 years of entrepreneurial experiences primarily in business development, writing, and project management. During my time in the various socioeconomic spaces my career development placed me in, I started understanding the difficulties associated with economic mobility when functioning as a peninsula. So then, as someone intellectually gifted with an ability to communicate well both written and verbally, I decided to leverage my comparative advantages by teaching other people with a similar background as mine what I was learning about life. This is how I started SHIFT Enterprise Academy in 2011, first as a college readiness program for teens in Texas. Now in 2023, SHIFT is evolving into an international innovation hub for ambitious minds.
I am very fortunate to have found purpose teaching willing Enterprisers about life and business using my personal research and experiences winning and facing setbacks in life. Through SHIFT – East Africa we have helped launch or expand 30+ unique startups since October 2021 with three programs: Launching into E-Commerce, SHIFT Launch Pad, and now SHIFT Ventures a nine team sector agnostic portfolio of East African startups. We have 90+ total members in our ecosystem, and it is only going to grow as we are now helping bridge the gap between Africans and African Americans by implementing mentorship type relationships and investor opportunities. We also have plans to launch a SHIFT token as a means of payment within our ecosystem. SHIFT Ventures is currently seeking partners for this program.
My latest personal project is “The Roaring 30s,” a highly anticipated memoir written as a modern ode to free thinking and the power of perseverance. I believe the book is captivating as it shares my personal journey of overcoming adversity and ultimately finding success from within. Through my raw and honest storytelling with insightful reflections, I invite the SHIFT generation (people born 1978-1998) and beyond to chase their dreams, no matter the obstacles they face. As of May 2023, pre-sales are ongoing at www.theroaring30s.com and the soft launch is June 19, 2023. We are live streaming the book launch to an international audience from the Uganda National Museum on the American holiday, Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in Texas.
In short, when it comes to who I am and what I do; I am diligently working to see that during my remaining years on earth and even when I am gone to be heard no more that I will simply be known by the fruits of my labor.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Indeed, here’s one story about pivoting: For five years between the age of 32-36 (2014-2018) I was back in my hometown of Bryan, Texas working on the frontlines in community development. I was organizing home buyer education courses, while coaching youth sports, and serving on local boards and committees. I was a channel for the African American community into the local political and economic arena. During this time I experienced the biblical principle, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.”
September 29, 2018, just after my 36th birthday, I was at an all time low in my financial stability, barely able to even house myself and my teenage son. I was very busy, but not effective enough; very active, but not profitable enough. I decided I needed to wave the white flag on this phase of my life. With this in mind, the power of a strong network help me pivot. My Morehouse Brother, Ezekiel Phillips whom I worked with on his book, “Travels of a Renaissance Man” over a period of four years in my early 30s housed me for two months in Los Angeles, California. While I was there, I began questioning myself about the direction of my life; my habits, my giving ways, my plans and goals. These two months served as a sabbatical where I drew closer to God and gained the clarity needed to devise a transformation plan. By March 2019, I’d created a 25 year Legacy Plan that is now helping guide my actions.
With renewed strength, I pivoted into teaching leaving many of my community initiatives alone. I resigned from the City of Bryan Planning & Zoning Commission and became far less active in my quest to educate first time minority home buyers. Instead, I decided to teach young people. I returned to Texas on December 4, 2018, and by January 18, 2019, I started teaching 2nd grade math at a local charter school. This experience exponentially increased my understanding of the term “underserved youth.” With this, I got hooked by the idea of influencing the lives of young ambitious minds.
Second grade was not my target audience, so to speak, so on August 6, 2019, accepted a teaching position in Houston at the high school level. I taught 14, 15, and 16 year olds Professional Communications & Interpersonal Studies at Yes Prep North Forest, a college prep charter school whose mascot is the ‘Legends’ for two years including during the Covid-19 pandemic.
My steps were ordered during this entire ordeal. Moreover, my new identity as a teacher in the nations 3rd largest city took me away from the allure of being a hometown hero. It allowed me to free my mind, body, and spirit in a way I never had before. More importantly returning to the corporate space those two years helped me reestablish myself financially and enabled me to bring some solid grounds to provide for me and my son. My son graduated from YPNF in June 2021 just before I made my first trip to East Africa.
No matter where life leads me, I will always be teaching in some form. Through my experiences in the classroom, I eventually relaunched SHIFT Enterprise Academy in East Africa in October 2021 teaching an online class about personal development and leveraging the internet to launch or expand a business.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
Writing has always been one of my side hustles. I first got the idea to monetize my writing skills at 23 when I was a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. I attended the national conference in Indianapolis, Indiana in August 2006. There I met my fellow Texas A&M alum, Roland Martin. He was on a panel discussing freelance journalism. Listening to him on that summer afternoon a few weeks shy of my 24th birthday inspired me to find ways to earn income without trading eight hours of my time each day.
I began writing as a youngster, I have always been unique and a creative type. As a matter of fact, my writing goes back to the 90s when I was in middle school. I used to take creative writing class and write for the school newspaper. My first paid writing gig was writing blurbs about Texas high school football games on Fridays at my local newspaper, The Bryan/College Station Eagle in 2004-2006. I even completed a certificate in Radio Broadcasting at the American Broadcasting School in Arlington, Texas before hosting my own radio show for three years on KEOS Community Radio in Bryan (2004-2007). I returned to college in 2007 and moved to Atlanta on a ‘quest for knowledge’ in 2008. Even though I have ventured into other arenas, real estate, community development, and teaching, writing has always been my core strength.
Right after Morehouse, I started a blog with the tag line, “reflections of my life, perspective of my culture, and expressions of my love” where I would write about the culture. For a while I would write feature articles about my Morehouse brothers and peers doing amazing work. Some of my earliest freelance articles were features about pioneers in their field: Brandon Frame when he first started A Black Man Can, Chad Mance, now one of the best trial lawyers in American just after he was sworn in as the second African American since reconstruction to become a lawyer in Stephens County, Georgia. Just before he started the Mance Law Firm in Savanah. I wrote some of the early content for Matthew Walukau as he was formalizing his vision for Planting a Seed International. I even wrote the first press release for Earl “Dream Big” Cooper. Earl dreamed really big, and he’s now the co-founder of East Side Golf one of the globe’s emerging brands in golf. Ezekiel and Chad likes to call me the reincarnation of Alex Haley. Haley is best known for being the scribe of the legendary Autobiography of Malcolm X.
I published my first book at the age of 29, while in graduate school at Texas A&M University, “5 Proven Strategies on How to Pay for College.” I was featured in the College of Architecture’s newsletter among other places, and went on a six city speaking tour with this work. The 10th year special edition is actually available in the “I am Black History” package along with the The Roaring 30s, which as you know is a memoir about my life from 29-39 and an ode to the free thinker.
In total, I have ghost written two books and published two of my own. Now, there is a demand for my services as an autobiographical ghost writer among my sphere of friends and associates. In the coming year, writing may just become my primary means of income, if I chose to take that path, because I know there are more amazing stories to be told in the form of the written word.
Writing has always helped me empower myself and others. So this newest project is no different. Except for now, I am telling my own personal story. The “I am Black History” pack is my “Yeezus” documentary. Kanye West fans will appreciate that analogy.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theroaring30s.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ethanbrisby/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrisbyEthan/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanbrisby
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ethanbrisby
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ethanbrisby5451/featured
- Other: www.ethanbrisby.com www.shiftenterpriseacademy.com 2013 Chad Mance article: http://ethanbrisby.blogspot.com/2013/07/history-happens-in-georgia-2nd-black.html 2013 Brandon Frame article: http://ethanbrisby.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-black-man-can-and-so-can-you-snippet.html
Image Credits
Photos Credit: Zebraville & SHIFT Enterprise Academy