A Tale of Three T-Shirt Brands
Three brands at different levels one commonality
On December 22, 2020, I logged into Instagram, and there is a clip of someone vigorously applying what appears to be body butter in preparation to brave the elements. Black doesn’t crack, but it gets ashy. I needed some light-hearted humor, so my eyes stayed fixed on the screen. There are no audible words yet, just the sound of hands rubbing together. When the phone flips right side up, there’s a familiar face, a smartly dressed woman with huge tortoise rim glasses, blonde ceaser with a lime green skully pushed slightly back on the crown of her head, a charcoal hoodie, and a leather pea coat.
Kalilah’s voice is engaging. Her story is phenomenal. Wright was a former guest on the BTW Podcast so, I stayed tuned in with anticipation because she is a BADASS Black Brooklyn entrepreneur and a single mother handling her business. Kalilah inspires messengers all over the world. Wright is the CEO/Founder of Mess In a Bottle, and she puts messages on shirts, and they come packaged in a reusable bottle.
Kalilah takes a few deep sighs before she starts talking. Two minutes elapse, Wright greets her messengers. It seems as if a micro smile is emerging from the corner of her mouth at first blush. Kalilah says, “Hey everybody, hey hey. Oh, Solo, you don’t need to be on her girl cause I feel like I’m about to have a whole mental breakdown.” Wright is one of the few CEOs I follow that gives you behind-the-scenes access and shares positive vibes.
I watched as Wright tried desperately to maintain her composure until the tears rolled down her face and the snot flowed out her nose, then all bets were off. She stopped fighting and shared the “messy middle of entrepreneurship.” Part of Wright’s allure is her transparent authenticity. It was not “the pretty video” she planned, which is part of her magic pixie dust. Kalilah’s actions are not a hack or a strategic plan to gain pity, followers or sales. No, it is the realities of entrepreneurship that you don’t hear about, instead we’re fed stories of ramen noodles eating entrepreneurs building a business in a garage.
My heart went out to Wright, and I felt compelled to do something to lighten her load. Let’s be clear “She from Brooklyn” she is not a damsel in distress in need of rescuing. If I lived in Baltimore, I would have volunteered my services since I don’t, I did the next best thing. I decided to write this piece.
I guess it is my foolish belief that my words can change the world. I believe words matter. I pray a young girl or boy is sitting at the table, eating Khashi and after reading this piece, they decide to be an entrepreneur. If I could save an aspiring entrepreneur, some heartache by examining three t-shirt brands and sharing my insights, then so be it.
On a recent episode of How I Built This with Guy Raz (The Resilience Series), the guests were Bert and John Jacobs, the founders of Life is Good. The Jacobs brothers were riding high off a $100 million year for their New England based apparel brand, Life is Good.
Bert and John have traveled a long way from the days of driving “The Enterprise” cross country. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the brothers to pivot and adopt a new printing model while keeping their team optimistic. The pandemic gave birth to Quarantine Teammates.
Purpose is what sustains you during adversity
Bert and John have 26yrs of experience, and their business thrives during adversity. After the Towers fell 2001 Life is Good saw an increase in sales. Seven years later, during the rescission of 2008 — 2009, optimism fueled a surge in sales. The trend continued after the Boston Marathon bombing. Optimism is their superpower. Bert and John will be the first to tell you that being optimistic does not mean you ignore reality.
Crisis reveals opportunities
The pandemic caused the brothers to go on the offense and tweak their business model. A crisis will reveal the cracks in your business and life, it has a way of squeezing the creativity out of you.
Purpose fuels your passion
What drives Life is Good’s business is the art and the message. It is not about the T-shirt. Bert and John wanted to maintain the companies value system but change their operation. Before the pandemic, the brothers were operating an archaic but common business model. Covid-19 accelerated their migration away from a traditional 12 — 18 months production time to keep in step with consumer demand and moved into direct to market printing.
Direct to market printing is what enables individuals to move into the T-Shirt business. Foolies is a lifestyle T-shirt brand, not a rap group, but Alex “Nemo” Hanse rocks the mic on occasion. When Nemo dropped, “Be strong like Regina. Be fierce like Taraji. write like Shonda. Shine like Lupita. Deliver like Uzo. Speak like viola. Age like Angela. Rule like queen. Walk like Kerry. Lead like Ava.”
If you see something say something
Hanse didn’t anticipate the tee would hit as hard as it did. Hanse said: “I posted the graphic right before work at about eight-thirty in the morning, and around maybe ten-fifteen, my phone started buzzing. So I go to my Facebook page, but this was a weird number, and it kept increasing. What was going on?”
Unbeknownst to Nemo, best-selling author, speaker, and digital marketing strategist Luvvie Ajayi had posted the graphic on her page. Luvvie messaged Nemo and said: “You need to put those names on a shirt.” Those nine words changed the trajectory of Nemo’s business. We all possess the power to make a positive impact in the lives of those we come in contact with on a daily basis. If you see someone putting in work on a regular basis it takes nothing away from you to send positive vibes in their direction. The words you sow into the hearts and minds of other will bear fruit
During a recent Tee Talk Tuesday, Kalilah shared a story of how Luvvie “bigged up” Mess In Bottle in front of Lean Waithe better than she could have talked about her company. Waithe was then spotted at the BET Awards red carpet rocking a Mess Tee that said: “Keep creating dope ass shit until someone notices” and tweeted the image.
A logo is not a brand
Wright sells confidence, she is an authentic storyteller with a crystal clear message, which makes it easy for her messengers to connect her and her brand.
In 2007 I created an acronym for GRIND. It was part of a coaching business curriculum I developed. At the time, I thought it would make for a great T-shirt. But, I did not act on the idea, because I was focused on the coaching business.
Seven years later I posted it as a meme in and my oldest daughter, Chloe pointed out a spelling error, I used relentness instead of relentless. Chloe is subtly but direct. I had the layout out of the text in my mind, and I shared it with a few people, and then I tweaked it and put it out. I wasn’t thrilled with it afterwards.
There was no story about GRIND that connected people with the shirt or me. The biggest takeaway for me was, words on a shirt do not make it a brand and you need to share your story and incorporate it into your brand story.
The power of storytelling
Celinne Da Costa is a certified mindset coach, brand story expert, published writer, and speaker for high-profile entrepreneurs. In a recent Forbes article, she said: “Branding is a key (and often overlooked) component of setting up a business, and powerful storytelling can generate massive results in your life and business. In fact, the most successful companies in the world have profound stories behind them that instill a sense of bigger purpose and meaning into what they do.”
3 things to consider before posting
Da Costa suggests taking the following three things into consideration before posting:
- Share a relatable journey.
- Offer value in every post.
- What are the key takeaways for your audience?
- Don’t just stop drop and post.
- What’s the WIIFM why should your audience tune in?
- What’s the end game? What action do you want them to take?
3. Include a call to action.
3 Tools you need in your branding tool box
Do you remember “punch buggy no punch backs?” It was game we played as kids, where you would get punched in the arm upon first sight of a Volkswagen Beetle.
When I started this piece I was not looking for the punch buggy, which in this case where t-shirt post on the gram or Facebook. I started noticing an alarming number people who were making the same mistake I made six years ago.
Posting images without crafting a compelling story or connecting to a larger purpose, All three of these brands craft a story, create a sense of community, and connect to a higher purpose.
Alignment is the seat of power
We are thinking feeling acting beings, when our words belief and actions align we build trust and develop a reputation as someone with character and integrity.
The alignment of your story, community, and connection to a higher purpose will establish your credibility and contribute to your success.
Thanks for attending my TeeTalk
As I look to roll out merchandise for my podcast, I will apply the learnings from Life is Good, Mess In A Bottle, and the Foolies. I want us to win. That’s part of my interest in these three brands. Each brand is at a different inflection point, hopefully providing a little insight into what to expect will save you some heartache.
Download a FREE Podcast Launch Checklist Be the first in line to receive a copy of Write Outta Hell: “Write Outta Hell!” Is the story of a man who wrote 104 running related raps/short stories over a two years by only using the notes app on his phone and a microphone. In the process he delivered inspirational messages of hope to thousands of people all over the world, discovered his voice and found peace.
