We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kamau Tafari El. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kamau below.

Kamau, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Life is about taking risk. Healthy, well thought out and calculated risks are necessary to achieve your goals. Chance meets opportunities when you take risks but chance never meets opportunities if you only sit on your thoughts. My big life changing risk I personally took was to believe in myself and fully immerse myself into being an entrepreneur. I have always been creative since a youth and a very intelligent person. Many say I have a creative and great perspective on life. I wanted to express my way of thinking and creativity through fashion. My early college years I was apart of one of my best friends brand team along with my other closest friends. Picking up lessons from that adventure I knew I could also do what’s needed for my own individual brand. Fast forward some years down the line I finally developed the concepts that I wanted to express to the public. My brand would consist of fashionable apparel but also things that makes a person aware to information. I came up with the idea of calling my brand “Indigenous Apparel”. Now here comes the fun part, I’m working a 9-5 but it’s not fulfilling or meeting my true goals and aspirations. I saved up some money working my hardest job along with working the longest shifts I have ever worked. After saving up enough capital that I was comfortable with, now it was time to take the risk of fully immersing myself into my dreams. I began turning my ideas into reality when I launched my first collection in the winter of 2017. Since then there has been a lot of life lessons that make me appreciate the journey. With being an apparel brand owner and author you get the chance to meet and talk with many different people. Networking is one of the things I enjoy the most about being an entrepreneur. Chance met opportunities when I took the risk of fully being an entrepreneur. This leap of faith has done wonders for my mind, body, spirit, and financial wellness. For anyone who is reading this remember to take calculated risks but you don’t achieve more from not taking any risks at all.

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?

Hi I’m Kamau El! I’m an apparel brand owner and also an author. My apparel brand name is “Indigenous Apparel” and my publishing company is “Allodial Minds Publishing”. My clothing brand specializes in fashionable wear from hoodies, sweaters, hats, laptop bags etc.. but also things that bring awareness to information that most might not be privy to. My works as an author also ties into the information that my brand may visually reflect. My goals are to help my customers/clients be confident in the things they wear from my brand and also be confident in the person they are from the things they learn from my publishing company. I think what sets me apart from others are not only are my concepts appealing but there are things you can learn from the concepts that are hidden from our everyday knowledge. So not only are you wearing something from my brand that’s attractive but you’re also learning something about yourself that raises your awareness. My books go more in depth about the information my clothing brand is expressing. I’m most proud of just seeing my thoughts become a reality with publishing my first book “What is Your Nationality”. The responses from the people who have supported my book are amazing! I’m thankful to be in the position to help others

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson I had to unlearn is to not stretch myself too thin. It’s important to be ambitious and goal driven but there’s also progress in taking the necessary time to recharge. Give yourself the grace to step back and analyze your actions. What are you doing well, what needs more attention for you can be progressive and most importantly what you need to subtract so you can continue to be productive. I learned the hard way of pouring your cup into others too much without being replenished. Your energy can/will become drained that way and now you will not be able to show up as the person you truly are because your battery is low. Give yourself the time that’s needed to recharge so that you can continue doing great works. Also make sure your daily interactions are reciprocal. Reciprocity goes a long way in the relationships we build with others. Remember to balance your giving also with receiving.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

My most effective strategy for growing my clientele is to be my authentic self and to also build genuine connections with my clientele. People are able to open up to you more when they can see and feel that your character is not a facade. They are more inclined to interact with you and want to support you because there’s truth in what you’re displaying. Work on different skills and attributes that help you improve your interactions others. Building genuine connections are important because your clients become your friends or associates. They know the person behind the products or services and are more likely to share with others your works. Genuine connections are great for networking but also for the soul. We want to be able to care and respect the people we are supporting on the daily. Genuinely you will want to help them do better and also feel good about it. Keep in touch with your clientele through either text message, emails, or in person. Be positive in your interactions with them and be open to listening to things in their personal life. Even suggestions they may have for your business. It’s actually fun getting to know your clientele personally and building a genuine friendship

Contact Info:

• Website: Indigenous-apparel.com
• Instagram: @_indigenousapparel
• Facebook: Indigenous Apparel
• Twitter: @Indigenousapp

Image Credits
Caleb Phillips, Koy Moore, Kamau El