We recently connected with Cameron Cox and have shared our conversation below.
Cameron , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.
First, I want to shout out parents because there is not a universal manual for parenting. Second, my parents did not let their own personal traumas affect any part of my life. I have a life led completely by my own decisions. I have always followed my heart and this fostered my love for entrepreneurship. As a student, I saw an opportunity to capitalize on the upcoming summer break and my popularity. I was in Wal-Mart back in the early 90’s looking for toys and found a snow cone machine on sale. My brother and I set up a table in the driveway and talked to our mother about baking cookies. We told everyone at school we were going to be selling snow cones and cookies. This was one of four business ideas we had that summer. We sold everything we could trade for and became more popular in our neighborhood because of it. Also, our mother was an entrepreneur until we became teenagers. She put the battery in my back to pursue my vision in business. My parents uplifted me through my failures in business and are one of my inspirations to continue being a great person.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
What it do!? My parents named me Cameron Cox but everyone calls me Shu or Lord Shu. I am a polymath based in the United States. A polymath is a person of wide-ranging knowledge or learning. I am the founder of ShuLovesRebels. SLR is a fashion house that curate alternative lifestyles to heal. I sell high quality clothing, footwear, music, and books. What separates us from most brands is our focus on sustainability, slow fashion, and waste reduction. Our company works alongside consumers to create custom products through brand collaborations. I also manage and co-host After5ive Da Podcast. We highlight our lifestyle on YouTube @After5ive Da Podcast while interviewing heavy hitters in several industries. I have been managing creative projects since the late 1990’s and mentoring people of all ages in entrepreneurship. I started out making music and then I published a magazine called Hybrid Manual. I was touring for a project called ShuPro LP and created tour merch with the same values I have now. People loved my clothes and recommended I do a clothing brand. I have not released a collection because I was just making merch for my tour. I am inspired by Hip-Hop, Harajuku Street fashion, Ayurveda, minimalism, Afrofuturism, and food which I incorporate into all of my projects. I am inspiring people to live a life from their heart. You can choose to join my community by visiting my website www.shulovesrebels.com and clicking the discord tab.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
I started ShuLovesRebels in April 2021. I was working in corporate as a trainer for one of the fastest growing fast-food chains in the US at that time. I always follow my intuition and it was screaming have a plan of exit. I save money for emergencies and leverage credit. I buy appreciating assets that are very liquid. This means I can sell them and get a profit with ease. I created a decent portfolio in my late 20’s and just let it sit. Also, I freelanced while having a career. So, I had the wisdom necessary to run a business when I decided to leave. ShuLovesRebels was my second company so I applied previous knowledge. Once I left my career, I got a mentor and accountability partner. My mentor helped me with grant writing and pitching to venture capitalist. I took earnings from everything and put them into creative projects and repeat this process for my entire business.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
I created a culture first by expressing myself often. I choose four types of people in a team and I find out where I fit into that team. An initiator, researcher, doer, and supporter. Each of these roles must be enthusiastic about my brand and what I do. Before I started ShuLovesRebels, people loved what I did because of who I was. They created their own cool version of me in their mind. So, I exceeded their expectations of me consistently. This created a cult-like love for my projects, events, and merchandise. People always ask me about my life story and I lead them to my portfolio. My Art is a direct reflection of my life. It is through my love for the global community that I can go anywhere and make it home. I teach what I learn and never gatekeep. Now, I am a source of information and bridge to a network of successful people.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shulovesrebels.com
- Instagram: @lord.shu.x
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shulovesrebelsllc
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lordshux
- Twitter: @lordshux
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@lordshux
- Discography: www.theemg.bandcamp.com