We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Adrian Nelson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Adrian, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
The idea of Mishandled Properly originally developed during my process of grieving my late husband that passed away in 2017. Actually, at that time it was just the name. I didn’t know how to use it or what to use it for I just knew that in that moment i felt alone, unloved and unwanted. This particular situations, amongst other things made me feel like i had no control over anything that was happening to me. I felt mishandled. The reason i added “Properly” was because i would always imagine myself crawling my way out of all of these negative and mixed feelings i was feeling. I felt as if there was another side to it. I would watch movies, read books, listen to music etc. and i’d imagine me and my two girls (at that time) being happy but moreso happy internally than just painting the picture of us looking or being happy. The first time i did anything with the name was launch an Image Consultant business which ended up being the wrong thing to do with it at the time. Maybe a few months after i launched and it failed, I began to write, not knowing it would turn out to become a book, but I wrote about things that i felt, things i wanted out of life, things ive overcame and even things i was dealing with at that present time. It wasn’t until that moment, I realized what the name was for and i knew what my purpose was. It excited me that i finally realized after 5 years the meaning of the name because i knew that what i had to offer would be unique and authentic because i wasn’t an image consultant, i was realizing that i was the voice of many other women that dealt with the very same thing if not relatable things and my purpose was to help women overcome internally. I started it off wrong from the very beginning.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Currently I reside in the state of North Carolina with her three children. Mishandled Properly was birthed in the year of 2018 after the death of my husband Ayendai Evans. I experienced a season of loss and grief beyond anything I could ever explain. During a season of recovery I discovered that I was fierce, strong and full of fire and that not even I could hold myself back because of my passion and purpose that burned brighter than my fears. I then decided to launch MP in 2021 with hopes of empowering women through fashion until I realized that my purpose was far more bigger and greater than that. MP’s goal is to empower people from all over the world by motivating ourselves and others to accomplish goals despite our past and present. We will not only motivate ourselves to accomplish goals, but will celebrate our own potential, value our abilities to grow and learn as we travel down the road to success. We assist both men and women through fashion, mentorship, books/book clubs, podcasts etc. We believe that your presence is an exceptional value considering your past, present and future. I just launched my first book Mishandled Properly a few weeks ago. Readers will get a glimpse of the foundation of my brand and my purpose of the brand along with a few true stories that led me launching this brand.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
The most effective strategy I use for growing clientele and my audience is transparency. The goal is to overcome obstacles, heal internally and turning pain into passion and purpose. There is no other way I am able to connect with my audience if i am not honest and transparent with them. Most women needs to know that there is someone else out there that is or did go through certain things they may felt they werent able to speak about or heal and move on from. The goal is to be the person I needed for the past 20 years to someone else. Personally, to my children as well.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
My favorite book is called “Three feet from Gold” by Sharon L. Lechter, Greg S. Reid. I read it at least three times a year. The subtitle to the book is “Turn your obstacles into opportunities” You can see why i pull from that specific book from the subtitle. I encourage everyone to read it at least once!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mishandled-properly.com
- Instagram: _mishandledproperly
- Facebook: Mishandled Properly LLC