Today, one of my students asked me to print out a Johnny Cupcake. I had no idea what it was. I thought it was a band. Turns out, it's a t-shirt company. I just read his twitter bio and it states "Dropped out of school + started a family run, ltd edition multi-million dollar t-shirt brand w/ no start-up loans, education, investors, advertising + wholesale". Wow. Double wow, when I read his story. It was so inspiring and cool, I wanted a Johnny Cupcake t-shirt right then and there. Even more so, I wanted to visit his store, with vintage bakery equipment as display cases.
I love this shirt, it's cute and with a message.Reading his story, it seemed things came together at the right time and place. Of course nothing is without it's up and downs, and serious choices to be made, but it almost seems he was meant to do what he's doing. I took a closer look at his prices, t-shirts and designs. I love the cohesiveness of it all! The concept of the cupcake company that doesn't sell cupcakes, but sometimes has free cupcakes with purchase. It's a great business model, so much in fact, he has three (YES THREE) stores!
Entrepreneurs can learn something great from his business model. Of course, you'd have to begin with a concept, a nickname (in his case it was Johnny Cupcake), a niche that needs to be filled, then run with it. Be creative, think outside the box and use your skills! Everyone also needs a support system. Johnny Cupcake was lucky, because his support system also happened to be his family. Make sure you trust the right folks. People you work with have to bring something to the table you are unable to do for yourself. No need for lechers, or folks who don't fully believe in the dream.
Being an entrepreneur has it's ups and downs. It's not about the educational background, or who you know, it's about the ganas you show in the things you do. It's about believing in yourself and those around you, taking chances and being able to understand and see the big and small picture. I love being an entrepreneur, it gives me the freedom to follow my dreams, believe in myself and be creative. Like in Ratatouille, where the chef states, "anyone can cook", I believe that anyone can be an entrepreneur (and artist). Do something you love everyday, don't allow daily struggles get you down, and pray, meditate, relax.
Till next week, see above. =-)
If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!
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1 comment:
so inspirational! thanks so much for sharing this great story.
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