We were lucky to catch up with Timothy Jenkins recently and have shared our conversation below.

Timothy, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Success looks different for everyone. However, the formula to reach success is usually the same. It takes an endless amount of hope and hard work, along with a plan of execution and grace for when things don’t go right. First, you have to be willing to work hard and even out work others who may have the same dreams as you. Hard work sounds cliche, but it really means that you have to be willing to work late, get up early, and forego fun sometimes to get things done. you also need a detailed plan. This allows you to lay out what needs to be done, when you can get it done, and how you can get it done. Often times people have visions of what they want to get done but no actual plan to coincide with it. Lastly, you need to give yourself grace for when things don’t go right. Expect delays, denials, and other obstacles that come about. People often get discouraged when things don’t go according to plan and give up. But if you sort of give yourself room to mess up and grow, it greatly increases the odds of reaching success.

Timothy, 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?

Hello everyone! My name is Timothy Jenkins and I graduated from LSU Shreveport in 2014. During that time, I was initiated into my fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha in 2013. I knew at the time that it was one of the better decisions I had made in my life. However, I had no idea what it would end up leading me to. While living in Shreveport LA, I often lamented the fact that there were only one or two small Greek stores in the community for other sororities and fraternities to buy new paraphernalia. Additionally, those Greek stores only had designs and products that seemed old and outdated which doesn’t make for a strong selling point.

When I moved to Dallas TX in 2016, one of the things I looked forward to was what I thought would be a robust market in terms of Greek stores and paraphernalia options. After all, Dallas is home to several huge sororities and fraternities and it grows with every semester of college that passes by. This proved to be an inaccurate assumption when I learned that Dallas only had one Greek store as well and it looked like it was on the verge of closing. I began to wish and hope that someone would take up the mantle of opening up a Greek store and offer updated and more modern designs. At that point, with a wish so specific, I realized that I should be the one to take up that mantle.

As I began to do research into what I would need to start a business and obtain licenses and selling rights, I realized that this dream was not only attainable, but it would’ve been foolish for me not to follow up with it. The planning and organization phase took a few years to really flesh out. However, I was able to officially open an online store in September of 2021 and I’ve been in business ever since. We currently offer t-shirts, hoodies, and crewneck sweatshirts with a desire to start offering accessories and other clothing options very soon.

At this particular point, the thing I am most proud of is the thing that also sets my business apart from others. It’s the commitment to authenticity. I knew when I started this business that there were several other online stores that do what I do. It was a major personal accomplishment for me to be able to open a store and start to make my way into this crowded place. Now that I’m here, I want to make sure that my customers feel that my brand is authentic and real, rather than just another online Greek store trying to make a quick profit.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

This is an interesting question for me because technically I don’t view this business as a side hustle. It takes too much time, effort and energy to be a side hustle. I do currently have a regular 9-5, but I want this business to grow and eventually bring in full-time income. One of the key milestones I hit with this business was hitting the $1,000 gross profit mark. That was a huge accomplishment for me because it proved that this business can be successful as currently constructed with plenty of room for growth as well.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building an audience on social media is tough. The best advice I have for those just starting would be to make sure that posts are consistent and engaging, make sure to participate with people and pages who do follow for follow occasionally, and to make sure that you are authentic in content and presence. Gaining a follower on social media is the equivalent to having someone In real life say, “I don’t know you, but I want consistent updates on your life/business/etc.” In order to create that connection with someone, they need to feel that you are authentic and that they gain some kind of value by following your page/blog/channel.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.divinegreekwear.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divinegreekwear/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothy-jenkins-m-ed-152907223/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/divinegreekwear