I started FUBU in 1989 but ran out of money three times and closed it down.
As an entrepreneur, you love your business like a child, and you're taught to be laser-focused on the business.
One of my business partners would remind me that no fashion line lasts forever, that we would hit the down curve eventually, and that we needed to look for new brands that complement the first one.
No matter what business you're in, business is business, and financing and money are critical. I would have made a lot fewer mistakes if I had more schooling in that area.
I've learned, like with anything else, business is only as good as your connections and your resources. And some of the resources that I have are the fact that I work with huge artists.
A lot of times, I can put a product together with a distributor when I go into my Rolodex for distributors. I can then put it together with a face, such as an artist. And then I can go into my databank of retailers and people that I've been working with through the years of retail, and then also manufacturing.
FUBU is pretty well licensed out in China and Asia. In America it's a little more of a challenge, obviously, because it's a branded sport.
As an entrepreneur, you never stop learning.
I think African Americans are resilient and hustlers by nature. I think they need to understand that you can take that hustle to the boardroom, but it has to be an education process.
I'm a firm believer in utilizing celebrities because they tap into people on an emotional basis.
If you don't educate yourself, you'll never get out of the starting block because you'll spend all your money making foolish decisions.
Most brands started from a strong base and kept a strong belief.
