We were lucky to catch up with Patricia Watson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Patricia, thanks for joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?
When I started my business, I was a regular shmegular employee. Now don’t get me wrong, there is NOTHING wrong with that. It was VERY challenging to work my 9 to 5 which always turned into 8-8 or longer as well as work on my passion. I kept saying, “Lord I’m tired” and ” Dang, I wish I could just work on my passion”… WELP be careful what you wish for and be SPECIFIC in your prayers, because God sat me ALL THE WAY DOWN. I got hurt really badly at work. So bad that I had to be medically discharged because it was determined that I would never be 100% better and that any wrong move, I could end up more disabled then I am, and this is already permanent . So imagine my fear of the unknown of what could be worse than this! So after going through multiple surgeries and constant physical therapy, I took the extra time I had to work on my business. I revamped it and put things in place so that I would be able to do things even on the days where I am too hurt to physically do something. It made me pay closer attention to make sure that my vending set up was appealing and informative, but not too cluttered so that it would be ADA Compliant and accessible to all. It allowed me time to be in certain spaces and conversations that took place during working business hours, and to advocate to open those spaces up to those who do hold traditional jobs.
Sometimes though, I do miss the comfort and stability of knowing that every 2 weeks, this will be my paycheck. But I know that God don’t make no mistakes and because he spun the block for me, I can do nothing but trust that this is where I am supposed to be and what I am supposed to be doing. Like our FOREVER FIRST LADY Michelle Obama said, I had to learn to be “Comfortably Afraid”.
Patricia, 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?
For those just meeting me- HEYYY COUSINS!!!!!!!!!!!! My name is Trish and I am the SHE-EO and Director of Dopeness at Hood Adjacent Tees, where we are more than a tee shirt company, WE ARE A MOVEMENT. And now that I have introduced myself ,WE ARE FAMILY NOW.
The unique thing about Hood Adjacent Tees is that we allow businesses to purchase smaller quantities of items at no penalty, as a matter of fact,m WE ENCOURAGE IT. There is nothing worse than being a small business and having an AMAZING idea, going out and purchasing all of the promotional items for it in HUGE quantities; only for it to not sell in a timely manner. Not only are you heartbroken because people are not being as receptive to your dopeness the way that you feel they should, but to add insult to injury, you have spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars on materials that are now sitting somewhere taking up space and collecting dust.
So not only do we provide amazing products at phenomenal prices, we don’t worry about getting ahead on someone’s downfall. Some businesses focus customers- any customer. We focus on repeat customers. By maintaining a superior level of customer services, we not only have been able to maintain customers, but attract new ones based on word of mouth alone. And now that we have a Branded Vehicle, that helps as well.
In the not so distant future, we will have a brick and mortar that will serve 2 purposes. It will be a retail store in the front, that will not only carry our line, but the lines of other small businesses; but the back will be used as a co-working space and a space to hold classes built around sustaining, maintaining and improving our community.
So if you are riding along and you see us, don’t forget to say HEYYYY COUSIIN and ask about the special of the week and what specials we have on hand.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
During the pandemic, we had to figure out what to do because a huge portion of our business was through vending events. We revamped and were able to focus more on e-commerce, improving our website and helping others do the same. We also saw the need for affordable cleaning and household supplies, so I combined my love of couponing with my love for helping my community and Hood market place was born. We sell discounted household supplies and offer free contactless delivery. The proceeds from this was able to keep Hood Adjacent Tees afloat during those times. This also gave us a little cushion while waiting on outstanding invoices
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
I started my business on a prayer and $100 from my paycheck. I made a conscious decision to stop dreaming and start investing in myself. I decided that I deserve to pour into myself like I pour into everyone else. so every paycheck, I did just that… and HERE WE ARE TODAY!!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.HOODISH.org
- Instagram: Hoodish.org_
- Facebook: Hood Adjacent Tees
- Twitter: BmoreHoodish
- Other: TikTok BMoreHoodish and www.hoodish.org