We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jawuan Freeman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jawuan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
If I’m being honest it really stemmed from the word “Notorious” itself. Some years ago I came across the word while looking for a nickname for streaming and while it sounded cool, when I actually looked up the definition it didn’t really have the most positive connotation. But at the end of the day I still liked it so I decided to ignore the negative and just embrace all the good that came with it. Maybe in that exact time it wasn’t necessarily about the message that would be soon to come but it definitely blossomed into something I never expected yet always hoped for. Notorious Lifestyle is a clothing brand that express origanlity and how its ok to be you, hence the motto, “Be you until you cant”. It gives people a sense of community while spreading a positive message amongst people who may not even know they need it. Some people find flaws or “negatives” within themselves but my brand expresses how you don’t need to look towards others for more attainable traits but instead just be you. Its become a direct translation from my feelings surrounding the term itself to now making clothes that act as both a vessel of communication and understanding. My work is also a statement of fashion exemplifying quality culture and clothing. Staying ahead of trends and offering a community for those who push the same message, Notorious Lifestyle will scale significantly within the clothing industry.
My first launch of the brand started in highschool right before Covid. My friend who went to my school Justin, whom has also become an entrepreneur, had a heat pressing machine and I paid him to create my hoodies. He was my first manufacturer and is still one of my most appreciated friends to this day. I had a few customers but when covid hit I did kind of lose motivation towards it but once I got to Howard University it was a whole different story. I already had the plan and the vision but once I got to Howard I was surrounded by so many like minded and motivated people. I got my LLC and EIN confirmed November 2022 and from there I was determined to get my plan in action. I made it a mission to get my legal foundation first to make sure that business would have healthy legs to stand on. I had a design very amateur but I had my friend from home, Caden, help design and bring it to life more. I was widely supported by my peers when I dropped my first design and got 1,000 likes on my first announcement. I was ecstatic and that feeling has never left me and has actually only motivated to go even harder.
As far as the logic as to why I felt this would work – I simply looked from a consumer perspective and always kept the “what would I want as a customer”‘s perspective. If I’m being honest a lot of my pieces are simply clothes I want to wear myself but also make others have that mutual feeling.
We all know that the streetwear market has been a widely exposed and enjoyed market. I simply discovered the fact that there is money for everyone and that as widely as this market is, this is a growing industry, and as long as you can reach the right audience- you’re thriving. So its so much a “tangible” issue that Im solving but an opportunity that I’m recognizing and capitalizing off of.
I like to combine different trends into one piece because its my take on a consumer’s perspective. How many hoodies have we seen with this? What do they usually say? How much do they usually cost? These are only examples of questions I like to think about to recognize the supply and demand in mine, and surrounding areas.
Jawuan, 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’ve always liked the Idea of being my own boss. I first started as a content creator when I was streaming back in 2018 because that was also a means of making money without any manual labor and easily at a young age. I could just play the game and get paid for it? I jumped at this opportunity although I was really allowed to play the game too much and my wifi was pretty bad lol. This is just one of many examples of my early pursuits towards entrepreneurship.
I am currently a Senior Business Management Major at Howard University with a focus on entrepreneurship. Since I came to this school I was a lot more motivated and devoted towards making my first legal steps toward entrepreneurship and I got my LLC established. I learn a lot about the ins and outs of business management and how to understand economic contexts, financial decisions, business grants, etc and its been a huge amount of insight for me.
I currently provide streetwear clothing like hoodies, sweatpants, shirts, shorts, etc with comforting styles and creative designs. What I think sets me apart from other brands is the message/community that my brand has to offer, the popular trends that I combine into each piece, and the price that comes with it.
Currently I am most proud of
1. the amount of people willing to invest in my art/message
2. the connections I’ve made from this entire endeavor
3. of my work ethic being recognized enough to the point where I inspire others too
Theres a lot more than that but that’s the most I can think of right lol.
The main things I want my potential community to know would be that
1.this literally isn’t possible without people like you.
2. let this brand be a conversation starter, an inspiration, a go-to, a community, and a motto
3. Be You Until You Cant.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
One thing that I have had to unlearn, in fact, am still unlearning, would be to be there for myself because no one else will. This has been a thought that has pushed me to great lengths and has truly strengthened my work ethic because I learned to be 1. my biggest motivator, and 2. self efficient. I’ve always strived to be independent so I would never have to worry about owing anyone else or having to get permission from someone else to get what I want. I’ve always had morals that reflect the saying “Work Hard Play Hard” and being the only one standing in the way of my own goals.
This has become something that I have to unlearn because while this mindset has truly strengthened my work ethic and goals, this has also become a hindrance and somewhat draining because as much as we convince ourselves that we can do everything on our own, it can also be counterintuitive to not be willing to accept/ask for help. I do not currently have an established team but I have been starting to ask my friends for help when I can just to take the load off of things. Whether its a big or small task, help can really go a long way both physically and mentally, especially when your business isn’t full-time.
Overall Im not speaking down on independency because it can truly be an asset and take you to different heights as an entrepreneur but also be comfortable in knowing that and still being able to ask for extra support. Be comfortable in your ability to do things right, and your ability to trust your support.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
If I’m being honest the funding of my business began simply as birthday money. I saved up more than I knew I needed just for personal assurance. I made sure I had enough to get my legal paperwork and foundation, then used portions of my money to put towards the product. Ever since then I’ve been applying the snowball method and making sure that my costs don’t exceed my revenue/profit. Making sure to never overspend and making sure I always have cushion money allocated after spending on products and marketing, has been very beneficial to the revenue model of my business. With the snowball technique, I use money that has been leftover each time from sales, I use money out of my own pockets (if need be), and I make sure to never make a move that could potentially kill my business or put it in debt.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
@focusonjosh on IG (the man the myth)
Joshua