We were lucky to catch up with Ashley James recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Ashley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
In order to grow one must heal and overcome what has tried to destroy them. Pain has a way of transforming you exactly into who you’re supposed to be, It’s not until the smoke clears that we realize everything truly happens for a reason. Without Traumatic life events that caused years of Mental/Behavioral problems my clothing brand wouldn’t exist. During my undergrad years at Clark Atlanta University I realized my true passion in life was to help individuals who struggled with mental/behavioral issues identify how to address those issues without causing harm to themselves or their loved ones. There was a point in my life where I had to unload my trauma and save my mental , I turnt my pain into fashion and used symbolic representation as my artistic metaphor to show anyone who is battling mental/behavioral health problems that there are different outlet to express their pain through. Most mental health brands focus on quotes where as I wanted to focus on showing how art works well with Trauma. I believe In leading by example and that’s what inspired me to find a different route of saving myself from my past trauma so I created Billionaire Apparel a positive mindset clothing brand that brings awareness to Mental Health through fashion. The motto for my brand is : It’s A Rich Feeling , the ultimate feeling an individually should apply to ever aspect of their life (Mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually & financially )and that’s how I want each person to feel when they encounter my brand.
Ashley, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Ashley James I go by AJ and I am Your Fashion & Mental health specialist. I graduated from Clark Atlanta University in 2015 with my BA in Criminal Justice. During my undergrad years I focused on becoming a mentor and life coach solely because I was always the “go to” person for my peers, friends, co-workers etc. I never ignored the traumatic things people confined in me about & my main goal was to normalize the conversation around mental/behavioral Health and help people find the proper resources for themselves to get the help they specifically needed because sometimes just venting isn’t enough. My proudest moment thus far has been hosting a mental health cleanse activity at a Self Care Event. I was able to teach individuals how to write down & release the pain that has been hindering them so they could have a fresh start on their journey of life as they evolve. Billionaire Apparel isn’t just a clothing line it’s a movement for anyone who’s trying to conquer and win the battle they are facing with their mental and behavioral health.
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
Networking and marketing has always been two skill sets I focused on in my personal life as well as my career. I have always been able to connect and reach most of celebrities/clientele that I want to partner with or send my merchandise to simply from a conversation or a pitch/spill I come up with. The celebrities I wanted to connect with I simply send them a DM on Instagram and I follow up by sending a message to their manager or someone else I can find that is apart of their development team. The first Celebrities I was able to reach were Rae Sremmurd. I reached out to Jimmie Instagram he responded and stated that he would love to wear my brand and he would post pictures when he received the clothes. I had intentions of seeing both members an outfit but I sold out of Swae Lee size before I was told what size he actually needed. Jimmie ended up giving Swae Lee his outfit and one morning I woke up and checked Instagram and I spotted Swae Lee on my Timeline In Dubai at the mall and other locations throughout the country wearing the “It’s A Rich Feeling” outfit . I was estatic when I seen how he wore and styled the outfit. Business owners and fans who seen him sent me photos also . This moment showed me to always take that leap of faith and trust your intuition because things will always fall into place exactly how it’s supposed to.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
My best source for new clients has been networking with influencers who have large platforms and having them wear my clothes to social events, music videos, TV shows and Movies. I Learned to always make partner with people who are willing to tag and promo the product you give them their social media platforms
Contact Info:
- Website: https://billionaire-apparel-boutique.myshopify.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billionaireapparelboutique/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/billionairedr3ams/
Image Credits
Swae Lee ( @swaelee ) Phr3sh ( @Phr3shh) Dizzle. (official_chucdizzle) JG (@jg_iam) ‘Vizion ( @reallordvizion)