In societies eyes America’s Black men are considered the most difficult to educate and lack adult guidance. But Black men at our nation’s 107 historically black colleges and universities HBCUs continue to break those stereotypes.
Starting your own business is one difficult task but being a young black innovator as a college student can be difficult to sustain and commit to. For Mississippi Valley State University student Vinte`vion Lake, he makes it enthusiastic and meaningful.
Here’s what he had to say:
Buzz: What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur or innovator?
Lake: My favorite aspect is being able to share a vision with others and seeing your passion grow. I want my friends and people who look up to me realize that you can do and be anything you want despite the odds. It is more than getting paid to me. I love getting compliments from my peers. It makes me want to continue to grow as an idealist. I don’t believe in being stagnant. I want to continue to come up with new ideas to make me better as a designer and innovator.
Buzz: Why did you institute this particular type of business?
Lake: This business was instituted because I felt to share my sense of fashion and creativity with others. The idea came from when creating my own shirt and after receiving good comments about the style/message I considered sharing it. My thing is if your friends see potential in you then you should take it into consideration that you have something special, something you didn’t even see in yourself and when they considered that idea to me I said why not. I think I have a unique taste of fashion and I would always get compliments on my style so I wasn’t afraid to take initiative to create my own brand of clothing.
Buzz: Where do you see your business in 5-10 years?
Lake: I see my business not only carrying out through Mississippi but through other states as well. I want everyone to share my sense of style and creativity. I’ve been doing this for almost a year now and my clientele has expanded ever since. It’s a continuing revenue. I’m doing custom crewnecks’ right now and I have floral jerseys dropping again. It started off as a t-shirt business but I wanted to expand my brand and become more creative. It is more than just a logo on a t-shirt, and now crewnecks and jerseys. My ideas and innovation come to life on these shirts and I am forever grateful for my cliental who continue to support me and my business, my passion.
Go Valley!!! #MVSU #ValleyNation