How This Young Black CEO Went From Food Stamps To Million Dollar Businesses

Added: 2026-05-19

[00:00:00]Now tell me because it's got to be a different strategy in play. I've not done either Mhm. ice cream or skin.

[00:00:05]Uh-huh. Uh but tell me how you had to approach the two different areas differently.

[00:00:10]>> Yes, I um I have a bunch of staff. I do.

[00:00:14]So at the ice cream shop, we average around 15 to 20 employees just in the summer time alone. So dealing with that is way different than dealing with a team to launch a skin care product. And then dealing with that is different than a team that like helps run my personal brand. So I think the difference is just um learning how to communicate. That's been the biggest thing. And I'm not a big communicator sometimes. Like I said, I don't have a lot of people around me.

[00:00:39]So if you kind of make make me mad or do something wrong, I just write you off, you know? But when it comes to my companies and you are making the team money and you're making me money, it's like I actually got to talk to you, you know? So I think the biggest thing was communication and understanding that do what your boss did. Yeah.

[00:00:56]>> Right? Your boss talks to you. You have a lead, you have a supervisor. So if you can't beat them, join them, right? If you can't beat I always say this, if you can't beat the CEO, then be the CEO. You know?

[00:01:07]I couldn't beat my boss. They got They got 300 400 employees. So let me just do what they did, you know? No, I'm using that.

[00:01:13]>> join them. Yeah. No, that's powerful.

[00:01:15]>> beat them, beat them. I yeah, I was talking yesterday at a conference of a pastors from around the country and I wanted to ask you in your business and your life and in social media, do you use AI at all? I do. To do what? So I use I love a good good chat GPT. That's like a good little therapist, I ain't going to lie.

[00:01:36]>> What is it?

[00:01:36]>> Chat GPT. But I changed my settings to not agree with me. So I can't say something like, "Ooh, I just cussed somebody out. Am I right?" And they don't They're not going to tell me like, "You were absolutely correct, Trishana.

[00:01:45]You were just going through something."

[00:01:46]No. Chat GPT will be like, "Trishana, now come on now." But I use that and it also helps me um you know, just create a bunch of ideas. But I also um use Claude. So I use Claude.

[00:01:58]>> got on the Claude. Same. Yeah. So, I don't have a bunch of to tell you on Claude. So, I'm me and Claude new together. We just, you know, we don't go together real bad yet. We new. But, I also just bought the Mac Mini to do Open Claude.

[00:02:09]To do Open Claude. Tell me what that is.

[00:02:12]>> So, the Mac Mini is like a >> I know what the Mac Mini What's Open Claude?

[00:02:16]>> So, Open Claude is like a AI service that you can connect with Open Claude that you can connect together and you basically tell it what to do. So, now it will go in the back end of your stuff and it will send all your emails and all your text messages, build all your funnels.

[00:02:28]Um it does everything. It's like a real person.

[00:02:30]>> I'm hustling backwards. Me, too. That's why I had to spend it.

[00:02:33]>> Yeah, I didn't know.

[00:02:34]>> Mhm. So, I'm I'm using that now. I'll come back with a full review, but that's what I'm starting right now.

[00:02:39]>> When you were looking at making the decision about going into skin care, did you consult Chat GPT? I did. Mhm. I did.

[00:02:50]>> Tell me the prompt. Tell me the prompts now.

[00:02:52]>> So, I always say to Chat GPT, well, first of all, when I'm doing approaching business, I always look at the end game first. So, a lot of us start businesses Let me ask you a question. When you're building a house, what's the first thing you start with?

[00:03:06]You supposed to do the foundation first.

[00:03:08]>> Wrong. Eh. That's not right.

[00:03:10]>> No. What you supposed to >> The plan. Oh. You don't know what color the house is? Oh, yeah. No.

[00:03:15]>> Mr. Bryant, come on now.

[00:03:16]>> Yes. You right.

[00:03:16]>> So, if you don't if you're building a house with the foundation, you're starting your business like that. You're starting at the very bottom, so you don't understand how to scale it. But, when you start with the plan, you know, how big the house is, what color of the house, how many trees, how many windows.

[00:03:28]So, when you're building your business, I always start from the plan, right?

[00:03:32]Where do I see the next 3 years? Where do I see the next 5 years? Um what do I need to take? And then I work reverse engineer. So, now I see the bigger picture. Now, what are the steps to get me to point A so I can get back up to point 100, you know? So, I always build my business that way. So, when I'm talking to Chat GPT, I'm like, I want to build a skin care line. I want to get it to, you know, such and such sales.

[00:03:52]>> Right. Um I want to make this much money. And I just reverse engineer so that way I can cuz I don't build brick by brick. I build the house first and I reverse and be like, okay.

[00:04:02]In this social media world, this AI universe, Mhm.

[00:04:09]and all of this technology, what you have not mentioned, Mhm.

[00:04:13]is how do I get to the access to capital? Ooh. It's my favorite question.

[00:04:18][laughter] But you know what? Before we even talk about how to get into capital, we're so afraid of it. Yes. How many times have you went to a restaurant and the food was nasty? A lot. And who's keeping them open?

[00:04:29]Not the people.

[00:04:31]Capital.

[00:04:32]Money for marketing. Wow.

[00:04:34]>> inventory. Yes.

[00:04:35]>> Food nasty as all get out.

[00:04:38]Not calling no names, Arby's. But you see what I'm saying? Listen, if you haven't had a Arby's cherry turnover, you got to go back and give them another chance. I'll only do it cuz you said it.

[00:04:47]I like the fries. No, the curly fries are not good. Okay. But the cherry turnover Okay. is going to change your life.

[00:04:53]>> Okay, and write him a check, y'all.

[00:04:54]Yeah, listen. You named Arby's first off. I would have never said anything.

[00:04:59]But I but I Okay, I'll try it. I'll try it. But I will say Um what was the question? I'm sorry.

[00:05:07]Oh, access to capital.

[00:05:08]>> Yes. Access to capital. That And then how many times have you heard a bad song?

[00:05:12]A lot. And what's keeping them going?

[00:05:17]I don't know.

[00:05:18]>> times have you heard a singer who can't sing?

[00:05:20]Everything is backed by financial backing, right?

[00:05:22]>> Yes.

[00:05:22]>> So as long as you have the money, you can do anything. And so I always say this, our favorite brand, Skims, borrowed $270 million to be worth $4 billion. You know? Yes.

[00:05:31]>> Walmart borrowed $2 billion to be worth you know, $64 billion. So it's really just about having access to capital.

[00:05:37]Okay.

[00:05:37]>> CDFI lenders, micro lenders, they give us anywhere from $50,000 to $250,000 with typically just a 500 credit score to start.

[00:05:44]>> I need 250.

[00:05:46]Come on, man. I need 250. I got to start three girls off. You got the right person to talk to. I'd love to talk to them.

[00:05:51]>> No, I'm bringing them to you. I'm hand delivering them to you. I would love to talk to >> I I've been asking you questions all day. Mhm. I want you to be able to ask me a question.

[00:05:58]>> Yes. Okay, my question to you is, and I know we kind of touched this a little bit, but how do you manage it all, one, and then how many people do you actually have on your team? Yes.

[00:06:09]So, you are only as good as the people around you. Mhm. I learned something from uh studying the life of Dr. King.

[00:06:18]Mhm. Dr. King was the speaker, but he was not the organizer. Mhm. And we say it for John Maxwell's quote, "Team make Teamwork makes the dream work."

[00:06:29]>> Mhm.

[00:06:30]You will only go as far as your team.

[00:06:32]Mhm. And so, the people who are around you can really make or break you. Mhm.

[00:06:37]And a lot of the things that I have accomplished in life, I would have got to sooner Mhm. and better if I had better people. Right. I And so, now uh I am more discerning Mhm. and discriminating about who I have in my space Mhm. and how long they last. My compassion as a pastor say, "Oh, give him another chance."

[00:06:58]>> Right. "Oh, they'll grow into it." Mhm.

[00:07:00]"Oh, it ain't that bad. How they going to feed their family?"

[00:07:04]That's not my job. Right. My job is who is going to be team Jamal. Right. Who got a burden to let me cross this finish line and make it to the top? And so, that that has been the leadership lesson and the business lesson I want to add that I have failed many times.

[00:07:23]>> Really? Uh but I am now getting a sharp and focus and understanding how important the most important person We have 56 people on staff at the church.

[00:07:33]>> Woo. And one of the most important people is HR. Mhm. Are you bringing me the best person? Mhm. And are we able to retain them? How often are you checking in and having meetings with them?

[00:07:44]I meet with them I meet with all of my senior leaders uh every week. Okay.

[00:07:50]>> I and I speak to the whole 56 once a month. Okay. But they my senior leaders meet with their their different teams.

[00:07:57]>> Got you. Should I be meeting with them more or less? No, I'm I'm still learning. So I really genuinely want to ask that cuz I come up I told him I said I see his face on a bunch of stuff. I'm like you got a team you got >> yeah, I got a great team. They work hard Mhm. day and night and they work me to the bone. Mhm. Uh but the only way I'm able to do what I'm doing outside of my pastoral space is because I got a team that gives me the freedom to be able to do it.

[00:08:22]>> And so like you have a team for like social media, a team for the clips cuz you have the clips online. You have Okay, so how did you get to that point?

[00:08:29]Evolved.

[00:08:31]So we're just now curating a AI team.

[00:08:35]Okay. Uh so we're doing cartoons now. Oh wow.

[00:08:38]>> Uh we're just now evolving to realize you can't put the same content on every platform.

[00:08:43]>> Uh-huh. Uh Facebook is a older demographic.

[00:08:46]>> Right. Mhm. Uh Instagram is a middle >> uh notebook?

[00:08:50]>> Yeah, is a middle is a middle demographic and then Tik Tok Mhm.

[00:08:54]>> really got the whole oxygen out the room Mhm. where young people are. Most Gen Z's Mhm. get their news from Tik Tok.

[00:09:02]>> Tik Tok. Yeah, so So we're saying well we said a line cuz I said Tik Tok is the number one for money. Mhm. Absolutely.

[00:09:08]>> And what what piece of advice would you give me just from like knowing my story on camera off camera?

[00:09:14]To tell your story more. I I would say to tell your unfiltered story. Mhm. You have a generation who is drawn whether we agree with it, think it's ratchet or not reality television has impacted the culture.

[00:09:33]Mhm. So the more real you are, the more authentic you are, the more identifiable you are, the more people buy in. There's nobody in the world, this is no shade, I'm making a clinical observation.

[00:09:44]Nobody in the world thinks Cardi B is the best rapper. Mhm. But people like her.

[00:09:50]>> Oh, you about to go viral again.

[00:09:51]>> No, no, no, no. People like her and it is her likability that makes her sell.

[00:09:56]>> is true. It is not her rhymes. And I'm saying to you, if people are seeing your success, but are only seeing the highlight footage, Yeah.

[00:10:05]>> that your base will expand where you're able to share share more. And I want to give a caveat that you're comfortable with. Because I think even as a public person, you deserve a private life.

[00:10:18]>> Yeah. I and everything is not for public consumption. But I think there there's more of more of the tackles that need to be seen cuz we see all of the touchdowns. Got you. Yeah. You got that? My team Okay, they paying attention. Yeah, they got it.

[00:10:34]>> Okay. You are the best. Thank you so much.

[00:10:36]>> Thank you. I'm coming to join you on tour.

[00:10:38]>> Yep. Y'all see that? I'm coming.

[00:10:40]>> Get your tickets before they go up.

[00:10:40]Absolutely.

[00:10:41]>> Today today's price is not It's not yesterday's price. And I'mma go live from the back room while they teaching there to get my numbers up. I'm appreciative. I'm going to do a group field trip. We going to do a pop-up at your ice cream place.

[00:10:53]>> Oh, love that.

[00:10:54]>> Yeah.

[00:10:55]Okay.

[00:10:55]>> Let's do a pop-up.

[00:10:56]>> a pop-up.