We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kenneth Wilson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kenneth, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?
The biggest lesions I learned were not really about the job functions, but the leadership of the companies. I was able to spend time with executives and business owners. I learned about them and how they operate.
The first lesson I learned was that they are people just like me. I used to hold them in high regards, but they are also human. They make mistakes and have flaws. This gave me comfort and confidence that I could one day become a successful business owner just like them.
I also learned that the biggest separation between employees and business owners was the ability to take a risk. While most people have great ideas and the skills to make the ideas become reality, they never take the risk of acting on their ideas. I was never afraid to take a risk, so I knew I had what it took to step out on my own in business.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a native of Silver Spring, MD. I am the founder of Men of Stature. I am also a 7-time bestselling author, and an expert in the field of Community Safety. Everything that I do involves helping others. I am very passionate about improving the lives of others.
I founded Men of Stature officially in 2021 as an organization that provides services for Black Men. We offer virtual and physical safe spaces through our program called The Gentlemen’s Lounge. We also developed Black Men Read, which is a mentoring program that focuses on literacy. We currently operate that program in Baltimore, MD. Along with the mentoring program, we started Black Men Read Week. This occurs during the 2nd week of February every year, to promote literacy in the Black Community. During the week we host reading groups and events in schools around the country. Last year Men of Stature also launched National Black Men Day as a certified holiday. Every September 26th we honor the positive black men in our families and communities. We also utilize the holiday to promote conversations about the issues black men face in this country, in an effort to spark change and reform.
I founded Men of Stature to meet the needs i felt were not being addressed in the black community. As a black man, I rarely found spaces that I could connect with other positive black men. As an author and educator literacy has always been important to me, so it is important for me to find creative ways to connect young people and literacy.
Becoming an author was an opportunity that was presented to me. I had first launched a magazine back in 2015 called BMV Magazine. During that time I was able to land an interview with PK Kersey, to discuss his new book. After that interview PK asked me to be a part of his next book ‘Suited 4 Success Vol 2’ which I did contribute. After the the first book, I was able to meet other authors and contribute in their books. I first decided to write my own in 2021 with Black Men Love, and followed in 2022 with Black Women Love. Every book I have authored or co-authored has become a bestseller.
I have spend 20 years in the field of Community Safety as an instructor and advocate. I became passionate in the field after experiencing a traumatic experience involving performing CPR on another person. I came to realize that many people didn’t know CPR, first aid, and other safety measures and techniques. I became a certified instructor, and have been teaching for 20 years. I also became an advocate for not only promoting safety, but proper teaching and training of instructors in this field. This led me to develop training videos and programs, which are now used all over the world and translated in 9 different languages.
I also host several podcasts including the Positive Isn’t Popular Podcast, and Education is the Key Podcast.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I’ve built my business reputation on honesty, integrity, and reliability. To me, its important that your clients are fully informed. Being honest (and transparent) allows them to make the best decisions possible, even if that means they don’t conduct business with me. That has allowed me build trust and lasting relationships with my clients.
My integrity allows me to go above and beyond for my clients. I take pride in details and doing things that may go outside of the contract, if that means my clients get the best possible experience.
Reliability for me is important. Most of my time is spent in travel, or interacting with others. They need to know I will be with them on time and with no delays or cancellations. They can easily communicate with me as well.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
Word of mouth has always been my best source of new clients. My biggest industry is Community Safety, where I spend most of my time teaching. My high ratings and positive feedback allow people to share their positive experiences in my classes, which turn into new requests for my classes.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kennethrwilson.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrkennethwilson/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrkennethwilson
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrkennethrwilson/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrkennethwilson
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennethRWilson
- Other: Men of Stature website: www.menofstature.org Positive Isn’t Popular Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/positiveisntpopularpodcast Education is the Key Podcast: www.educationisthekeypod.com