We recently connected with Shahid LaMothe and have shared our conversation below.

Shahid, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I want to motivate others because I believe that there are infinite possibilities to the success of myself and everyone else. If you have faith and believe in your ability to achieve your goals then you will become a success. The circumstances of your life does not matter. This is my mission because when I was at the lowest point in my life I found a new level of faith and belief in myself that brought my goals closer to me. 2021 was a pivotal year for me because my whole life was turned upside in a matter of days and events that cost me everything I earned, and landed me in the hospital for 30 days and in jail for 5 months. On August 5th of that year I experienced my first manic episode while I was traveling from New Orleans to Pennsylvania and Minnesota. This episode resulted in me doing things I never thought I would do. I stopped the traffic on the interstate, started doing donuts & figure eights in my car and got into an high speed chase with police that crossed over state lines. At the end of this episode I was taken to a hospital where I was diagnosed with bipolar mania disorder. While I was in the hospital I lost my younger cousin to gun violence, and after I got out of hospital I found out that I had a warrant out for my arrest for the events that took place during my episode. It took me over a year to get my case resolved and learn how to navigate life with the diagnosis I received. Over that year I lost all my savings & belongings, and my businesses got shutdown. I was released from Jail on September 1st, 2022, and since then I’ve been able to relaunch two of businesses, The Graphic Loop and The Trucking Loop, and I am in the process of launching my first clothing line, N.O.B.L.E Clothing Krewe. The story behind my mission is part of my life story. My life has been filled with Infinite Possibilities, and so has everyone else’s. I just want to show others how to turn their life story into a success story by being a success myself. I know that if I can turn my tragedy into my triumph then anyone can do the same for their life.

Shahid, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was introduced to entrepreneurship by my dad, who owned many businesses throughout the course of his life. He instilled the idea of working for myself in me at a early age by showing me the benefits of working hard and getting paid for the effort I put in. From that point on, I was turned off to the idea of working a nine to five job. I didn’t want another person to put a price on how much they think my effort is worth. I knew that I wanted to own a graphic design company after my dad bought me a t-shirt screen printing press, books going over the screen printing process and Adobe Photoshop when I was in the 10th grade. Over the past 13 years I taught myself how to design many types of branding material that will attract the right customers to a business. When I attended Morehouse College, I got the opportunity to create websites, clothing, logos, flyers and business cards for various organizations on campus and businesses in the metro Atlanta area. I also got a chance to intern and eventually become the lead designer for a clothing line based out of London. While working with this clothing line, I was exposed to the processes of building a brand. I then decided to change the name of my company from 1st Class Graphics to The Graphic Loop and changed the focus from only designing branding materials for my clients to helping them build their companies brand and provide coaching to help them achieve their goals. The Graphic Loop offers brand strategy and brand identity services to help attract the ideal customers to a business by giving the owner a blueprint on how to make their brand work them and not the other way around. I want all my clients to succeed, so I teach them to how to build their brand around their business. Even though graphic design was my first passion and the reason I wanted to become an entrepreneur, it is not the only business I own. I learned that wealth is built by having different streams of income, so during COVID I decided to get my CDL and dive into the trucking industry. I honestly didn’t plan to stay in the trucking industry for long when I started driving. I was going to drive until the world opened back up and the economy got stable, but I got hooked once I experienced the trucking lifestyle and how lucrative it was. Trucking gave me the chance to travel the entire country, earn capital for The Graphic Loop, fix my credit and find inner peace. I quickly noticed that driving a truck is very similar to running a business. As a truck driver I used skills like time management, financial management, record keeping, client relations and many other skills that I used in the business world. I decided to open The Trucking Loop which I will use to help entrepreneurs who are at the ground level launch their business. It will give them the ability to raise capital for their business and learn the ins and out of running a business while they get the opportunity to travel the country and service different clients in the freight industry. I got the chance to fulfill one of my dreams of starting a clothing line, while I’ve been on the road. N.O.B.L.E. Clothing Krewe has been a vision of mine since I was in high school. it stands for New Orleans Born Leaders Elevating. I am from New Orleans and the word Krewe means family and is a term used during Mardi Gras season for the social organizations that stages the parades. N.O.B.L.E is more than a clothing line… It’s a family, so the designs encompasses royal values, elevation and self awareness.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

After college I started working at a company where I did door to door sales in Atlanta because of the growth opportunity with the company. There was a weekly quota of $800 that every sales rep had to hit, and if you missed the quota four weeks in a row you would get fired. I was inconsistent at the sales when I first started, so I would hit the quota one week then miss it the next and hit it again the week after. I knew deep down that I was capable of doing the sales and I wanted to stay with the company mainly because of how much it challenged me. I would always find a way not to go weeks on end missing the quota. Until one month I found myself on my fourth week in a row without making $800. On week four I ended Saturday with $0 for week, so I knew I had two options. I could either start looking for another job because I would be fired on Monday, or I could go to work on my one off day and try to hit the quota in one day. I decided to work that Sunday with a different fire burning inside me, and I made well over $800 to hit the quota and save my job. I stayed with the company for three years after that, earned many promotions and eventually earned enough capital to start my own sales office in Kansas City.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

A great way to manage and maintain high morale within a team is by showing your team members you truly care about them. Learn about their values, vision and goals, and do what you can to help them achieve it. In return share your values, vision and goals with them, and let them know where they fit in within your organization. I’ve learned that a strong team will open a lot more doors than you can open alone.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @nolaboy____ @TheGraphicLoop @TruckingLoopLLC @NOBLEClothingKrewe
• Facebook: Shahid LaMothe