Meet Jeevan Brown: Author, Orator & Clothing Designer.

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

Hi Jeevan, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The thought process behind starting my own businesses like The Maskquerade, Unite Apparel and my book A Lesson Learned was to create a product that would have purpose and serve the community around me. I’ve always loved clothes since I was a child. In in high school I won Best Dressed and always tried to be presentable with my own style. I’ve also loved English and telling stories, so I intertwined all of creativeness and birthed these businesses. My thought process for writing A Lesson Learned was to inspire and help the younger generation avoid the mistakes me and my friends made in college. Some would say me and my friends lived a “wild, but fun” college life and we learned many lessons from it – good and bad. So, I decided to write A Lesson Learned, where I interviewed 16 of my friends about their collegiate trials and tribulations. A Lesson Learned covers a wide spectrum of topics such as grief, abuse, STD’s, drugs, student loans, sports and a lot more. With my book I’ve been able to impact thousands of student with the lessons my friends and I have learned, they have the blueprint to avoid the same mistakes we made and be great. Since releasing A Lesson Learned, it is now incorporated in 13 schools – Tuskegee University, Bowie State University, Morgan State University, Livingstone College, Mississippi Valley State University, Doane University, Kentucky State University, Calvin Coolidge Senior High School, Ron Brown Charter High School, Alliance Boys School in Kenya, Africa, Kanungua Boys High School and Limuru & Kambui Girls School also in Kenya Africa. For my clothing businesses Unite Apparel and The Maskquerade. I came up with the idea to design clothes with style, purpose and meaning that would inspire the African American community. The designs are centered around African American activist who were trailblazers within the Black diaspora. We are all one, but there is still much division with the African American community and my clothes display unity which is way it’s called Unite. The Maskquerade was created in March of 2020 when COVID made it’s ugly presence widely known in America. I took a flight to my hometown of Landover, MD in the beginning of March, but a few weeks before my flight I saw how COVID was taking over in China and Europe and noticed how some people were wearing mask, but nobody had any with style. I went on Amazon and there were only about three that had designs. I ordered a plain black one and hand sewed a heart I made and Polo Bear on the mask. I really just did it to see everybody’s reaction in the airport and oh did I get what I was looking for people were looking at me left and right, plus I had on gloves and around this time nobody was really doing it. I laughed to myself a few times because I know some people were looking at me like I was crazy. Then I noticed I was literally the only one with a stylish mask! Then the idea hit me like a ton of bricks. I said to myself this is about to be a trend and take off. I started smiling on the inside because I knew I had something special. Once I got back to Atlanta, I started working on how to buy mask in bulk, but there were literally only a few and they were all the way in China. Then I remembered my Grandmother gifted me a sewing machine a few years ago, but I never learned how to use it. I went to YouTube and learned it in about a week. I had a few hiccups, but with time and patience I’ve now sold over 500 masks.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The road to my success was no easy task, being a self published author takes a lot of hard work and dedication. For two years I cut everything out of my life that wasn’t meaningful. Pasto Keith Battle said “If it doesn’t add up you have to subtract it, because if you can’t add then you can’t multiple and go to the next level.” I had immense focus in order to publish my book, I didn’t attend any clubs or date. Was it hard? Yes, but it all payed off. Writing and self publishing the book was only one part, but getting A Lesson Learned incorporated into 11 schools was a different ballgame. I literally drove to numerous campus up and down Highway 85 with no meeting to pitch my book. I had the faith and confidence that at least one school would say yes and within 4 months of the book being published, 3 schools said yes, two of which I walked on campus. I also have a regular 9-5 job, but everyday on my 45 minute lunch and 15 minute break I was calling numerous colleges to pitch my book and that also worked. Pitching a product also came with a lot of disappointment that could easily deter somebody from pushing forward and at times it did. Hearing “we’re going to move in another direction or we don’t have the budget from numerous schools can be disappointing and it takes a hard blow to your ego, but through faith I knew God would come through like he always did. During my time of doubt I had to constantly remind myself that if God did it before he will do it again and he did just that and because of this my faith is as strong as it can be. I applied this same knowledge to all of my other businesses. No matter the circumstance I know with hard work, being calculated, creative, thinking out the box and having faith anything is possible.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
A few of my friends have already visited me and I’ve took them all over. I would start with one of my favorite healthy restaurants, True Food at Lenox Mall. I would also take them to my favorite grocery store the Dekalb Farmers Market because they literally have everything and I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. I’ve taken a few family members and friends their and they were blown away. I would also go to the Trap Music Museum because a lot of my friends love Hip Hop and this is Atlanta, one of the best musical cities in America. I also am a part of the Museum in tiny way, OZONE Magazine is showcased in the magazine and I use to write for the magazine so that always makes me proud when I go there. I would also take them to Copper Cover Lounge, Pappadeaux is a must, Compound Night Club and of course Magic City. For brunch depending on the day I would go to Rays On The River or Boogaloo. If they wanted to work out I would take them on a hike to Stone Mountain.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I will dedicate my shoutout to various individuals that have played key roles in my life and success. First is my mother, just thinking about her sometimes makes me emotional because of everything she has done and continues to do for me. Ever since I was a child I’ve had numerous ideas, dreams and aspirations and not once has she told me I couldn’t do it. There were times I thought she might say “I don’t know about that, Jeevan,” but she never did. Her and my aunts have always told me I was a King and to act on my ideas, they instilled confidence in me that not too many people are blessed to have. They are a true blessing. My father has also played an important role in my life, he has supported me every step of the way and left me with numerous words of wisdom that I carry with me to this day. Growing up I was pretty blunt and did what I wanted to do, which got me in trouble numerous times. But one thing my father always said is “think before you talk and act, ask yourself should I say this or should I do this and what are the consequences to this.” Because of this I think about every possible outcome before I do anything. He’s the best father anybody could have. One book that made a significant impact is Malcolm Gladwells The Outliers. I couldn’t put it down, to see how much research he did on so many prominent figures like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and The Beattles was outstanding. His 10,000 hour rule, which states “that 10,000 hours of “deliberate practice” are needed to become world-class in any field” is law to me and one that I find true after taking into account the number of hours I put into creating, writing, self-publishing and marketing my book. The last person I would give a shoutout to is God. Through him my faith is strengthen and I know for fact with prayer and hard work I can accomplish anything I set my mind too.

Website: www.jeevanbrown.com, www.uniteapparelshop.com, http://www.themaskquerade.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeevanabrown/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeevanBrown
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JeevanABrown
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/JeevanBrown

Image Credits
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