We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Frank Barberena a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Frank thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

There’s a stat out there that says that 20% of businesses fail in their first year. If 20% doesn’t seem like much, that percentage progressively goes up the longer that a business stays open with 75% of businesses calling it quits before they get into their teens.

But how many businesses never germinate and sprout from the seeds of the mind? How many world and life-changing organizations, goods and services never see the light of day? From a spiritual lens, how many people ascend to heaven without finding and acting on their callings – The very reason that God wired and equipped them to accomplish during their time here on Earth?

For me, that journey from idea to execution happened through a series of doors opening and closing, assessing and leveraging the resources available to me, and being intentional about fitting, balancing and growing the business into my life and not the other way around.

I didn’t grow up around any business owners or entrepreneurs. I grew up seeing people work hard and earn an honest living and valuing intentional time with family, economic stability, and longevity within a company. “Get a degree and a good job with good benefits” — That was the name of the game. And for me, to some degree, it still is.

I got the degree and even though it took a little patience and a lot of God’s grace, I got the good job with good benefits, too. I have a beautiful wife and healthy, beautiful baby boy. Our immediate family lives near us and God-willing will continue to be a part of our lives for years to come. We are part of an incredible community at Elevation Church that cares deeply about us and vice versa. There’s always room for improvement with our health, but we sleep, eat, and exercise as much as new parenthood permits. We get annual physicals and eye exams, and get a cleaning twice a year at the dentist (Although getting my wife there is like pulling teeth, pun intended). God has blessed us with the ability and access to lead healthy, balanced lives.

And… We have a business.

I do not believe in the “hustle and grind” culture we live in today. I do not subscribe to the idea that having the option, you have to drop out of college, move out of your parents’ house, eat ramen and work 80 hours a week with no sleep, but the naps you take on your office couch to make a successful business. If you are blessed enough to meet someone that draws you closer to God and supports you mentally, physically and spiritually, I do not believe that you have to hold off on getting married or starting your life together until you “make it happen”.

Contrary to the culture of virality and overnight success we live in today, building a business that lasts a lifetime is a slow burn, and it requires patience, balance, and in my opinion and experience, none of it would have been possible without seeking a deep relationship with Jesus. We absolutely have a long way to go, but everything we’ve accomplished and the reason anyone even cares enough to hear our story is only because of Him.

Practically, find someone who is further along in the process than you and pick their brain. Your idea may be different, but the logistics to get it off the ground are the same. Since I was an undergrad at UCF at the time, I scheduled a meeting with the Blackstone Launchpad, UCF’s free business incubator to help me understand some of the more technical aspects and best practices about starting the business, including, but not limited to: Identifying and surveying my target market to help craft a logo and marketing plan, build from the knowledge of things that I already loved (In our case, Jesus, nature, outreach, and fashion), and ensuring that our business was registered properly and that we had the licenses necessary to avoid hiccups later.

From there, it consisted of seeking God for creative and operational direction, and obeying when that direction came.

“Unapologetically incorporate Christ, community and conservation into everything you do.”

“Yes, Lord.”

“Stop production on your Spring 2020 collection and go raise money and give it all to the community you say you serve that’s struggling with COVID. Go beyond the 10%, give it all.”

“Yes, Lord.”

And more recently, “I don’t care that you have the next couple of collections laid out, Get off social media, stop everything and focus on your relationship with me, your beautiful wife and brand new baby boy, and the new incredible day job that I blessed you with. I’ll tell you when and how to pick this back up.”

“…. *sigh* Yes, Lord.”

We don’t know when we’ll start posting again or when the next collection will be. Maybe we’ll pick back up with the new year, maybe not. We’re just going to obey and let Him do his thing. In a world that is obsessed with finding answers, we feel an overwhelming sense of peace trusting the One who knows them all.

If you gather nothing else from this, here’s the gist of all of it: Your path from idea to execution to success will be different than that of everyone else, do it right and don’t rush. Work your business into your health, relationships and life and not the other way around. Keep Jesus at the center from start to finish and let Him be the lamp unto your feet.

Frank, 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?

Faithful Nature crafts lifestyle apparel inspired by Jesus and the outdoors. Everything we do focuses on the promotion of Christ, community and conservation. We have a network of nonprofit partners and ministries and commit 10% of our total revenue to support them in their efforts. We spearhead community initiatives that serve those who are hurting. We source our garments to ensure that they prioritize the health of people and planet from start to finish. Most importantly, we are here to share the Good News of Jesus by helping those in need here in Central Florida and around the world.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

We have pulled very little out of pocket and no outside capital for Faithful Nature. God showed us a business model where we can use the resources and knowledge at our disposal to fill custom apparel and design projects for local businesses and individuals and use the profit from those projects to fund our collections.

While paying for everything ourselves makes for slower growth, it allows us to scale responsibly, build demand at our own pace, and give 10% of our revenue away without being accountable to an investor.

We keep up just fine with what we have and we trust that if we need to open ourselves up to outside capital in the future, it will come from somewhere or someone that aligns with us completely on our values and mission.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

PIVOT, PIVOT! Sorry, couldn’t help myself.

A huge moment where we had to switch gears and put our money where our mouths were was in Spring of 2020. The pandemic had just broken out everywhere and here in Central Florida, tens of thousands of theme park, food service, and hospitality employees were left without work overnight. Furthermore, hospitals everywhere were overwhelmed and healthcare employees were working around the clock with little to no rest.

We were getting ready to launch our Spring collection and God told us to switch gears and partner up with local nonproft Conscious Life and meal prep company, Mr.Meal Orlando and rally the community and other local businesses to get delicious hot meals and financial support to local families, healthcare workers and food pantries.

God took a couple of yeses from people who were in over their heads and turned them into $1420 and 284 hot meals for people who needed them. It may not sound like much, but it was huge for us and those we served. We raised more money to give away than we’ve ever brought in selling our garments. While we didn’t make any profit that Spring, we solidified who we were as a brand: People who PIVOT when God says to PIVOT.

Contact Info:

• Website: faithfulnaturecompany.com
• Instagram: faithful.nature

Image Credits
Kimberly Barberena, Dawan Carter Jr, Stephanie Yamilett Rodriguez, Matt Dayton, Berry Taylor Jr, Kallel Hernandez, Yamil El’ Azar