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

Hi BeanieCheech, thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned while working at a prior job?

One thing that pushed me into the entrepreneurship direction was a 9-5. Even though I use a 9-5 to fund my creativity being the foundation of my youth, as any man but more so the Black man your faith is in the palm of someone else’s hand. It was when I realized doing the right thing in a workspace could also cause you to lose your job. It doesn’t really matter if you’re a hard worker. As an employee you will never be paid what you are owed and you will always be overworked. Well, overwork yourself for your own company.

BeanieCheech, 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?

I am an Artist and being a creative I involve all aspects of my creativeness in my business. Whenever one of my creative lanes aren’t moving how I want I put my attention in the creative lane that is and that’s how I found myself creating Vintage Clothing.

The name of my company is “thebeaniesh0p.” We are a Black Veteran-Owned business and although established less than a year ago we are already creating a lane for ourself.

I was doing some online shopping one day when I ran across a Dennis Rodman Tee. I was excited about my purchase until I received my shirt in the mail. I’ve never really been dissatisfied with what I order online but when I received this shirt I thought to myself “I can go harder than this!” This is 7 months later. After being fired from my 9-5 I needed to be able to turn my creativity into a need/want that paid off in the end so I wouldn’t have to solely rely on an employer.

My motivation came from the acknowledgment of the celebrities I was designing. I was traveling between London and Brighton, UK when someone shouted the idea to start designing UK artists. That’s when I received my first recognition, Little Simz. She noticed my design of her and showed me some love. Later on it would be artists like Summer Walker and Jhene Aiko acknowledging work I did of them. This motivated me to keep creating.

One pattern in my life I’ve noticed is I always somehow find my way back to the Arts. Almost like I’m destined to be great through one of my lanes of creativity. I’ll continue to create! I have a deep love for the Arts, it’s a natural talent but there is no easy way out.

Dedicate yourself to a craft. In this life you’ll need some type of creativity to survive. In a world where social media rules you’ll also have to learn to be “hip.” I never knew consistency until Instagram went from a luxury time kill app to being mandatory to your success in todays social age. You need to be seen and people want to know who is behind the business. We want to know what’s in front and behind the business. Everyone wants to be kept in the loop. Either you adapt or fold but you still gone need this money!

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

Everything doesn’t happen in 24 hours. I remember graduating high school, joining the United States Army and moving to Seattle, Wa. Around that time I kept up with people back at home chasing their dreams. Eventually my military contract came to an end and I was back on my creative drive. I noticed a number of people achieve their goals. Whether it was fame, fortune, it seemed to me everyone was getting “lucky” around the same time I just started my race. From the outside looking in it looked like pure “luck” or “chance” then I had to remind myself these people have been grinding 3 or 4 years and are seeing their benefits pay off year 5. Moral is you won’t always have all the details or the full back story but it you stay down, stay consistent it isn’t by chance you will reach your goals. It isn’t by chance you’ll be able to live out your dreams.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

To start any business you need some type of funding (bread). When I was medically discharged from the military ( retired by injuries) it was difficult finding and holding a job. My heart was always with the arts but I still need my feet to be planted. I needed a steady foundation to further grow my art. The secret was saving. One day I sat down and complained to myself saying “I know I’m not lazy but I’m not rich either. I did some simple maths. If I save $400 a week for 16 weeks I would have $6,400. The rest is history.

Contact Info:

• Website: thebeaniesh0p.com
• Instagram: Thebeaniesh0p
• Facebook: Thebeaniesh0p
• Youtube: Beaniecheech

Image Credits
Photographers: Sean @seancoolass Taylor @taylormuscovalley Model: Ari @ari.amiya