Brandon Blackwood x ShopifyNYC.
- Smoove The Source.
- Aug 9, 2022
- 4 min read
By: Smoove The Source.
Thee Brandon Blackwood graced the halls of ShopifyNYC at the top of March. Being able to listen to the phenomenon talk about his life & his success story was such an experience.
Transparency that was disclosed during the duration of the discussion was definitely refreshing. Something that I, personally, don't feel like we see or hear enough.
Bed-stuy native grew up in a traditional Jamaican home. Where the goals for the children were to either become a doctor, scientist or a lawyer. Going off to college and working jobs in fields that were non related to fashion, Brandon eventually got a job at Beacon’s Closet. Beacon’s Closet is a buy, sell, trade clothing shop around New York. Which was the perfect segway into his fashion career.
Blackwood made it very clear that during his time of starting and growing that there was such a lack of resources. Not attending to fashion school but wanting to develop life in fashion, wasn't going to be easy.
During his time at Beacon’s, Blackwood had created his first product. The Portmore Backpack. After creating his personal bag, he received nonstop compliments. After a while, Blackwood began to really consider dipping into developing more.
During his time of development for BRANDON BLACKWOOD, he stated that a lot of friends and family didn’t support until he was the BRANDON BLACKWOOD. From starting his brand six years ago and telling everyone to check his website out to provide feedback to being one of the leading handbag lines is the definition of a success story.
Within the year of 2021 alone, BLACKWOOD’s sales grew 50,000%. Of course, that doesnt come easy. Usually big corporations grow about 10-12% yearly. Having to learn, grow & manage so fast. Blackwood states, his team is built for anything.
Topic of owning your own business came up. Someone asked about what are some takeaways on his journey of entrepreneurship. “You have to work harder than anyone else. No matter what, it’s worth it in the end. Because its yours.” He states that he loves making his own schedule, decisions & not having anyone tell him what to do. (Which I can def relate lol.) Patience is key.
“When it does hit, you’re built for it.”
People do think that Brandon Blackwood the brand is an overnight success. This has been a brand since 2016 and in 2021 is when the traction really hit. “Had to scale super quickly. People dont realize theres warehousing, sample, logistics.. etc. By the time you get the bag, its gone through 11 different phases. — “Your time is meant for you. Dont ever be bitter. Keep going. Keep growing. Document EVERYTHING. Failure. Growth. Everything is a learning process.”
Social media as we all know, is free promotion. Bedsides networking, passion, and physically showing up, Brandon understood the social media assignment. Expressing that, “if you have more than 2000 followers, you can be something.” Something we all have experienced as consumers on social media, is comprising out lives to what we see others displaying on the timeline. Blackwood suggested to just not even think about it. Comparing other brands to yours will never work in your favor because they’re not you & you’re not them.
When it comes to marketing, Blackwood brings up the fact that the content he pushes is organic. Bringing up the example of one day out of boredom, he thought of the idea of just recording a video displaying his bags in his kitchen. His boyfriend looked at him confused but he participated in BBs antics. That video happens to be one of the best videos of Blackwood’s. Once that video was posted he said it was one of his best selling days.
”Use the tools you have. Be as authentic as you can.”
Even Brandon experiences nervousness. During the discussion, an audience member mentioned the topic of fear. Fear of starting and/or fear of putting yourself out there. Whether its via entrepreneurship or overall just trying something new, its something we all experience. No matter how confident one could be. Blackwood assured us that he gets nervous every single drop. No matter what is dropping. You’re going to be scared. If you’re REALLY scared, its probably a great idea. Embrace it.
Going beyond his vision board, we are seeing manifestation at its finest. Visionaries know how often we dream and legit see our higher selves. As we also know as dreamers, we wake up and forget about it the second we open our eyes. Blackwood told us to not dream.
“You have to wake up and consistently want it. Motivate yourself a lot & be beyond resilient.“
In the BB office in Soho, the team works as a family. I got to stand next to the Blackwood team as the discussion was taking place and you can tell this is deeper than a brand. This is a family. The love that was in room off the 10 of them, was a beautiful thing to see and feel. They work on assignments as a big group rather than having a corporate outlook. It adds density, stress, and just sucks the fun out of the work. In the office, first of every month, the team comes together and puts together a manifestation box. What goes into the box, after manifestations regarding Life, Love, Home, and Career. At the end of the month, they open their boxes and see what they manifested.
Looking forward to seeing what Blackwood and the team has in store for us besides outerwear and footwear. Cheers to those involved. Well deserved.
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