Meet Joseph Brake | Territory Sales Manager & Entrepreneur

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

Hi Joseph, other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success?
Not listening to outsiders and people who aren’t here to help. Being a new business owner and more specifically starting to work for yourself you can get a lot of people telling you how you should do things and how some products should be and what you’re not doing right. One of the best decisions I made was to stop giving energy to those people/words because they were here to hinder my growth instead of help it. You can feel when someone is really, intentionally trying to help you with constructive criticism and when they are not.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My full time job at the moment is that of a Territory Sales Manager for Altria Group Distribution Center. The road to this job isn’t as straight forward as any other typical job would be, because I didn’t even know about the company until my Junior Year in College. I learned about the company during my time as a Thurgood Marshall Leadership Institute Scholar during the week long institute scholars had the opportunity to meet and interview with many company’s like Amazon, Boeing, Chase, and Altria. Being a Social Work major, I was worried that my degree/major wouldn’t fall into any of the needs of those companies so I went in trying my hardest to shine and show what skills I could bring to the table. I was able to leave the institute with 3 Job offers and ended up taking the Altria offer because I loved their company’s vision and how they accepted me. I would like anyone who reads this to take away that don’t close doors on yourself, always bring the best version of you, because you never know who is watching.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would probably take them to the to all of the food cafeterias in the area, because she sends me all types of food restaurants all the time from tik tok. We would start at the belt line and walk around the entire thing visiting all the bars and restaurants there (got to work up an appetite and get a little lit), next hit the Chattahoochie Food works, and maybe oak street eats. Next I would take her to the prince city rooftop for the views, vibes and activities. Followed by a movie at Atlantic Station and then find a bar to grab some drinks. Last, but most importantly not least, we would hit up Iron Age Korean Steakhouse.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Some people who are always there to help me along the journey would be my big brother Elijah & my brother Jalen Gibson. Anytime I need advice whether it be spiritual, business, or just life they are always there to give me a piece of advice that makes me think and help me get the answers I need.

Website: Fiveseven.com

Instagram: _lilvisionary & 5iv.e7even

Twitter: Bluebenjiss_