Age is But a Number
At the young age of 17, two teens from Atlanta, GA decided to create an urban clothing line called the Young Moguls Brand (YMB). Jordan Williams and Brandon Iverson have trademarked the slogan, ‘Wear Your Story,’ and have made it their mission and passion to educate teenagers to become entrepreneurs and chase their dreams.
The two have known each other since they were in diapers and foreshadowed their business interests early on by collecting old games and toys and selling them online. By the age of 13, the two had created, Making Money Teens, a financial education company which produced a CD series and books that taught teenagers about becoming an entrepreneur.
Williams and Iverson have been featured in many publications, on the Steve Harvey Show, the Tom Joyner Radio Show and on FOX & PBS. They also do many speaking engagements at schools, youth organizations and churches. I recently caught up with co-founder Jordan Williams to discuss the YMB and its future…
Why did you create Young Moguls Brand?
We created Young Moguls Brand in order to promote entrepreneurship to youth in a way they could relate to. We wanted to create a clothing line that had appealing designs, but that also had a positive message behind it that was even more appealing. The goal was to start a movement that would encourage young adults to identify their gifts or passions and use them to start their own companies and ventures. In addition to this, YMB was a way for us to express our creativity and create our own financial opportunity instead of waiting for one to come to us.
What have you learned about entrepreneurship since you launched it?
I’ve learned how challenging entrepreneurship truly is. Entrepreneurship is full of failures, obstacles, and risks. It is all about embracing the process, learning, and adapting on a daily basis. I’ve also learned that entrepreneurship gives you the ability to take control of your life and make a genuine impact in the world. Through entrepreneurship, I’ve been able to take a step toward financial freedom and inspire others in the process.
How are you planning to grow your brand?
We utilize social media as an important resource to help us expand our brand’s reach. We focus on engaging with our followers and building a unique connection with them. In the future, we hope to do more pop-up events on college campuses around the country and more speaking engagements. We have also recently launched “The Young Moguls Podcast” which we hope will help us promote our brand to new audiences. The podcast features a discussion of all things business related, but from our perspective as two young entrepreneurs. We also feature and interview young entrepreneurs that are doing big things in their community. We hope that this show will provide interesting and useful insight to people who want to start a business, but have questions or don’t know where to start.
What advice would you give to other teens with the dream of launching a business?
My advice would be to write and plan out your goals, stay committed and accountable, and eliminate all excuses. Many people use excuses to justify why they haven’t started chasing their dreams. “I’m too young”, “I don’t know where to get the money”, or “I would but I’m too busy.” When you accept these excuses, you already rule out the possibility of achieving the goal. Instead, I encourage others to cross out all the excuses and completely focus on creating a masterplan that circumvents all obstacles and challenges in the way.
How have you adjusted to the geographical separation of your partner now that you are both in college?
Now that we are in college, the challenge has gotten even harder. With Brandon attending Georgetown University and myself attending the University of Pennsylvania, it requires us to communicate even more since we aren’t operating out of the same city. Developing constant communication habits allows us to make sure we are on the same page and staying organized. Being in different locations is a challenge, but we also see it as an advantage because it allows us to promote and advertise our company in two major cities at the same time.
To support the Young Moguls Brand clothing line, visit youngmogulsbrand.com and follow them on Instagram (@youngmogulsbrand).
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