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

Lisa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

I would want my legacy to be remembered as an inspiration for young African-Americans to chase any dream(s) that they might have especially African-American women. Being a young black woman jumping into becoming an entrepreneur/model and being successful so far with the opportunities I have had, I want to show and be an influencer that anything is possible. Growing up in Detroit, most people know how rough it can be honestly really anywhere to be for real… I didn’t have it easy but I knew that I didn’t want to be a product of my environment. Everything I accomplished was EARNED, nothing was given to me. I want to let others know that whatever you decide you want to achieve/accomplish just know YOU CAN DO IT. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO GO AFTER YOUR DREAMS AND ASPIRATIONS. This is why I came up with my own new platform “Heavy Flexin Media” for entrepreneurs to promote or be interviewed for their work/projects whether you are an athlete, musician, producer, fashion designer, or etc. I believe that my legacy will go down as an inspiration no matter if i don’t reach a lot of people but even for my own family/friends I will still be able to share my experiences/opportunities with them and they will be able to say I helped them.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m a Cass Tech Alumni, 3X Published Entrepreneur, Saleswoman, Brand Ambassador, Media Reporter, and 5X Published Model. I got my start in the Fashion and Apparel industry during August of 2020 after my layoff from my job during COVID. I always had an eye for fashion but never knew how to get it started. In the pandemic, Cold Piece Boutique was established. My boutique represents amazing confidence to feel like THE COLDEST in any room you step into. Cold Piece Boutique sells dresses, sets, tops/bottoms and anything else you can think of. My company will be expanding into the beauty industry this year. In June of 2021, Heavy Flexin Apparel was created. My men’s apparel company is based off of on how I grew up living in Detroit. This brand represents what it is like to start from scratch and FLEXIN your accomplishments. Everybody FLEX about something they have done in life! On Christmas Day of 2022, my own media/news company “Heavy Flexin Media” was invented. I got a taste of the media industry back in high school, when I earned the opportunity to interview American R&B Singer-Songwriter Mario and I recently earned my certification in Media Relations which was taught by Emmy-Award Winner TV Reporter Jessica Chen. This new media company is here to promote upcoming businesses/entrepreneurs, entertainment, trending news/events and sports! Heavy Flexin symbolizes how determination, consistency, dedication, motivation, the hustle/grind brought YOU this far to be successful! I am most proud of providing employment for myself when I didn’t know where life was going to take me after being laid off, creating three businesses that are now being recognized for my hard work, and being able share my blessings/opportunities with others by starting my own media platform I just created. This is only the beginning and I’m so grateful for this journey.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Everyday is a story of resilience for me from growing up in the environment I was in, the type of career that I’m in now and sometimes just in general everyday is not easy. Growing up in Southwest Detroit, it was a not so great area… living around abandoned homes, drug dealers, drug users, prostitution, my home almost being burned down twice because of people being in feuds with other people in the neighborhood, and etc. A lot of hardships and losses I went through in my everyday life, I know a lot of people that would’ve folded but I stuck with the path of knowing that all of the trials and tribulations I experienced and seen wasn’t going to last forever. Being laid off from my job, I really felt stuck trying to figure out what’s next but one day I sat down and decided that I don’t want to work for nobody else and the rest was history. Being an entrepreneur now, a lot people may think it’s easy sometimes just being on the outside looking in. It’s really not easy some days because your business can be doing great for a week, a month or two.. and then it can just go slow for a couple weeks possibly so you got to have a “Tough.. I’m going to get it by any means necessary to make these moves so I can get this money” mentality. I know for myself I’m going to hustle/grind to get where I need to be and that’s facts. So far with all the setbacks and changes I been through I realized that I overcame a lot each and everyday, accomplished a lot of things I never thought I would ever do, and still progressing and putting on for myself/others around me and it’s still more to come that’s for sure so stay tuned.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media is a major key in promoting your business. I’m still in the beginning stages of promoting my businesses on social platforms, a lot of has happened within these 2-3 years of getting myself, my modeling career, and entrepreneurship out there. I just earned my certification in Digital Marketing so I’m getting a lot better with social media development. I normally do paid advertising on Instagram the most but hashtags works just fine. For example, on my media page “Heavy Flexin Media” I made a post about how a tv show is being renewed for their third season; I used hashtags and one of the actors from the series actually liked my post. Also, using hashtags on my modeling page on Instagram has landed me in multiple published Fashion and Beauty magazines. Networking on media platforms will get you out there, trust me.. it may start slow but stay focused and consistent with your plans. My advice to those who are struggling or starting out on social media no matter how many likes, followers, comments, or shares you get keep posting and promoting because you don’t know who’s out there that sees it and will support you because you can have an inspiration or impact on anyone’s life.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shopcoldpieceboutique.com
• Instagram: @itslisajanay @lisajanaymodeling @heavyflexinmedia @coldpieceboutique @heavyflexinapparel
• Other: www.heavyflexinapparel.com

Image Credits
@q11photography @10eightystudios