We recently connected with Dominique Smith and have shared our conversation below.
Dominique , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
I started Christian James in 2020. But the vision was given to me in 2019 when I was on Vacation in the DR. My wife (girlfriend at that time) & I just finished having fun doing excursions. We were on our way back to the resort and it was so many beautiful sites. Something hit me like “Are you tired of this mediocre lifestyle? Seeing the world once a year. Working just to pay bills & waiting for tax season to do anything.” I wanted to be able to enjoy life to its fullest. The next question was how do I accomplish that. I’ve never been super talented (My mindset back then). I started reading books & listening motivational speeches. That’s when I found out wealthy people had 1 or all three of these things; Business, stocks, and/or Real Estate! I had to change my mindset first. I started reading books like “As a man thinketh, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Think & Grow Rich, and so many more.” My mind started working overtime for me. I stopped drinking & smoking. I started running. I was praying to the most high. It was body, mind, & soul before it was ever BUSINESS. I felt like I wanted to start a clothing brand but but at that time I felt like EVERYONE had a clothing brand, so I was stumped for awhile. One day, while I was at work on the computer I seen something on Google that said, “Do you want to create your own watch.” And the rest was history!
Dominique , 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 Dominique Smith & I’m the CEO/Founder of Christian James Co. Christian James is a black owned & operated Luxury Watches & Accessories brand. I got into the industry because I wanted something that stood for legacy. One thing that has stood the test of time is watches. I studied time and where it originated from. Some of the great watches companies like Rolex/ etc. There are many disciplines that you have to abide by to run a successful business. Mine were hanging out with my friends/family as much. I would go chill, drink, smoke, and excuse my language but bull sh*t around. When you want to be great you have to get rid of all your distractions. The business is like a baby and you have to treat it like such. I stopped playing the Xbox because it would take away from my baby(The business). Had to give up going to the bar every weekend because that took away from the business. Getting drunk doesn’t help the business. Were these sacrifices fun, No! But they were necessary to give my family a better lifestyle.
Christian James provide watches, hats, beanies, cuban links, stylish glasses, earrings, & more.
One of the things that I’m most proud of was my collaboration with “Shoe City” this year. Shoe City is a popular shoe store in the D.C., Maryland, Virginia(DMV) area. I had a presentation in front of the top executives/ buyers of the company and they liked what they seen from my company and allowed me to utilize my products in there stores.
I want potential clients, followers, etc to know i’m a black man who truly 180 my life & my way of thinking to become something I never thought I could be. My brand is all about positivity and being authentically yourself. We believe in change & reaching back to help others out who may be in the same position or state of thinking that I was once in.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I believe my journey of Christian James is all about resilience. My brand started in the midst of the pandemic. I was advised to wait before starting it because people didn’t have extra money to spend. I didn’t take the advice but I had some negativity behind my business. I never been to school for business or knew how to operate one so a lot of trial & error was committed. Spending money I didn’t have going into debt. None of those things stopped me. I wanted be great so bad. I spent my last to make this business what it was. Some times even had my account in the negatives. But with God I prevailed.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
The most important lesson I had to unlearn was you can’t take your day ones with you! I already knew everyone couldn’t come on this journey but at least the day ones would be here to enjoy this success. But as I found out it doesn’t work this way. Sometimes this can be a lonely road. You have to applaud yourself a lot of times. Cheer on yourself. Pick yourself up. I had a friend from the second grade who tried to take advantage of me & that hurt my heart I wanted us to win together.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ChristianJamesCo.com
- Instagram: ChristianJamesCo
- Facebook: ChristianJames