Hello people😃, how are you doing? Welcome to another episode of #BoldSteps; one foot in front of another.
I hope that the content of this conversation would inspire you to get up and run with your vision.
Meet Joseph Mclean Arthur, whom I first knew as a Ghanaian poet, blogger and model before he launched his brand: “The suit guy”. Interesting already right?
Just sit tight as we take a ride.
Truthfully, what I like about this episode is its simplicity.
The inspiration you have been searching for may just be right under your nose.
How has your day been?
Today has been amazingly stressful.
Lols that’s an unusual combination of words …what happened?
Woke up at 6:00am as usual then responded to messages and orders from clients through till 10, got ready to leave home. I had 7 orders confirmed at different locations so I had to move really fast.
Hmm…interesting.
I got to the warehouse, then called an okada driver because Taxi couldn’t solve my problems – ACCRA Traffic!
Chale…slow down…is this how it is everyday or this season is just unusual?
This is a typical day.
Took about 1 hours to sort out all the orders. Then I had to meet up the guy working on my packaging before the deliveries started. First destination was TV3 because I provide suits weekly for a program they have.
That’s amazing, but it sounds like hardwork…plus you still make time for other things. I’m curious, how did it all begin?
It was actually funny o. I like to take pictures in suits and people kept asking me for suit advice and occasionally I’d help them purchase suits.
Hmmm lol you really love suits. The first time I saw you, you were putting on a suit😅
Lol really?
So I was on my bed one afternoon and I was playing with PhotoGrid and I decided to make a logo with the name suit guy because that’s what people refer to me as.
Listening…
I did it and created an Instagram account and posted and in 15 mins I got my first order and so has it been till now.
That’s the logo.
Wow…just like that? Awesome stuff.
So I leverage on my social media following because, as I always say, I sell to my friends and I have at least 1200 people I know on a personal basis.
Hmm so just like that, a simple love for suits that anyone would have ignored has become such an amazing brand today?
Yes, it just happened. The things that make the most impact are the simple things. My story is nothing too fancy, it just happened.
Not too fancy? I think it’s cool because, this is an idea that anyone could have overlooked, but just look at this 😮
So, I want to know, when you put the logo out there on instagram, sincerely, were you expecting an order?
Lol no. I was just playing around, but the order was a phone call and delivering was pretty straight forward.
So how do you get your suits and at what point did you decide to take this brand more seriously?
They are pre-tailored imported suits.
Hmmm. It was when my boss told me that I need to think about what is more important to me: my suit business or my 9-5 job?
He was trying to get me to quit the suit brand and focus on his business.
Lols. So you had been combining the business with your 9-5 job. How did you handle that though and was it a good job?
Yes o.
I worked as en executive assistant to CEO. It was exciting. I met almost 60% of the CEO’s of the Ghana Club 10. Good salary too, but see, your passion will take you places your job won’t.
Hmmm word! “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.”
But have you experienced that yet?
Yes, I’m meeting CEOs on the regular. I quit and it felt good.
Hmm that’s really a brave thing to do.
Well it is scary at first but when every plan starts materializing you realize it’s the best decision you could have ever taken.
That’s true, but this looks like an adventure though, one where you just have to be ready to make the best of every opportunity. Keep on keeping on.
Where do you see your brand in the next 5 years?
The business model is targeted at the budding pool of recent graduates and working class and as there are always going to be graduates and people working in the formal sector, my brand will remain relevant with growth.
So in 5 years time, the Suit Guy brand would be the biggest single suit retailer in the whole of Ghana with the prospects in neighboring countries and an export line for the premium services as well.
In addition, men’s grooming will be a niche I will be exploiting.
Nice and sleek. You are doing a good job leveraging on social media. I wish you all the best. Thank you for your time.
I hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as i did. Go check out his brand and make sure you show some love, today is his birthday too 😃.
Instagram: Suitguy_the
Twitter: Suitguy_the
Facebook : The Suit Guy
Phone : +233279940041
In 2018, take #BoldSteps and don’t be afraid to start over and lol don’t quit your job if you don’t have a well laid plan biko😅.
See you next week.
You can listen to #Breathe Spoken word Ep:
You can watch spoken word videos here:
