Meet Raven Newcomb | Founder of Up On Deck

We had the good fortune of connecting with Raven Newcomb and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Raven, we’d love to start by asking you about lessons learned. Is there a lesson you can share with us?
The primary lesson I have attained from my business is to have patience. It involves having the capacity to deal with or acknowledge challenges, delays, and suffering without being frustrated. Patience works cohesively with persistence, perseverance, and persistence. I have learned a valuable lesson about patience from the onset of my business, where I thought I would achieve numerous milestones in the first year. This was not the case, and I felt like a failure. In many instances, I questioned myself about what I was doing wrong, which led to doubts about my business success. After three years, I have achieved the set milestones. This taught me that success does not happen overnight, making patience an essential element of success. This instance helped me gain direct control over myself. It helped me develop self-possession capabilities to give myself time before responding to an occurrence and not get emotionally hijacked by my emotions. This applies in businesses where an individual faces setbacks and some achievements which take a long period to attain. An individual needs to stay focused and consistent with realizing that hard work pays. Sometimes I am impatient, but I remind myself that God’s timing is the best.

What should our readers know about your business?
The company is known as Up On Deck. It is one of the leading veteran-owned companies that supplies customized flight deck jerseys to Navy sailors. A flight deck jersey is symbolic of professional attire among the US Navy mariners at sea as it aids in the organization in times of chaos during busy flight decks on an aircraft carrier. This objective is attained due to the different colors in the flight deck jersey. Each color characterizes a dissimilar profession title and position on the flight deck. Each color offers everyone different responsibilities, given that the flight jersey is decorated with the sailor’s division and rank. As a V-2 Supply Petty Officer on the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, sailors had difficulty getting flight deck jerseys. I saw this as an opportunity where I could revamp the flight deck jersey by creating differentiable commodities.

The primary objective was to provide high-quality customized memorabilia wear at an affordable price. Up On Deck company mission is to develop into a premier uniform store. The realization of this objective necessitates offering a wide selection of commodities that keeps the customers feeling immaculate about their visit to the company and purchases. The company’s effort toward innovation played an essential role in Up On Deck’s success in launching ready-to-wear jerseys for men and women. Up On Deck is the sole company that offers customized commodities per the customer’s request and ready-to-wear jerseys. Our products reduce hurdles like finding spray paint and other items to label military flight deck jerseys. This makes our client take pride in wearing Up On Deck-made jerseys while serving our nation.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There are many great restaurants in New Orleans but my all time favorite is Oceana. I’ll suggest ordering the Louisiana Crab Meat Cakes as an appetizer and for an entrée ordering the Mardi Gras Pasta paired with a Lemon Drop Martini. The best part is their location. It’s located in the heart of the city at the corner of Bourbon & Conti Street. So after enjoying a delicious meal be sure to explore the French Quarter’s vibrant nightlight!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to share some messages of appreciation and gratitude to various people who have backed me during some challenging times and have contributed to the success of Up On Deck Company.

First, I acknowledge my wife, Caprice Newcomb, and mentor, Ashley William. They have tremendously contributed to the success of this company by offering advice that has helped me face various hurdles along the way.

I want to give a shout-out to Caprice. Thank you for always believing in me and my dreams. Thank you for always keeping it real with me and telling me the real things, even in instances when I do not want to hear the feedback. You are one of my true and most prominent supporters.

Finally, I would like to give a shout-out to Ashley. You have always called and offered a hearing ear when I need a vent. Thank you for the many hours that you have helped brainstorm to develop solutions to various difficulties I have faced in my journey of setting and running Up On Deck. I appreciate everything you do for me and the Up On Deck company.

Website: www.shopupondeck.com

Instagram: @upondeck

Facebook: Up On Deck LLC