Oh hello and welcome to today’s episode of pros and politics podcast where we are polished and poised for greatness and impact my name is Kahala and I’m your host well we all know that a lot of people associate the pearls of pearls and politics podcast with Greek life or
Greekdom and you know that’s okay um but today we also know that we get into you know that Greek life and all those other types of things and we all love come on now everybody loves a good subscription box okay I don’t care whether it’s Greek or whether it’s makeup or whatever we
Love a good subscription box and we support black business here at pros and politics podcast so it is my honor to have the owner the creator of noop Swag subscription box for the me of Kappa Alpha side fraternity incorporation y know I got a little bit of
Little bit of love for the men of Ka Alpha and so we have James Jimmy Daniels with us today to tell us all about no swag sir yes yes yes appreciate being here thank you thank you thank you I’m honored and pleasured to be here and uh
And I’m excited to talk about new swag yes so I had to have you okay because you know as a woman of alpha cap Alpha stin Incorporated the absolutely amazing Alpha Beta Zeta Omega chapter um we we all love the ivy box right we Ivy box
And all that and so but to have the new Swag Box in your backyard yes yes like I’ve known you for what 20 years at least 20 years abely at least 20 years and I’ve known your wife longer than that okay my Sor n Daniel so I’m just
Like the subscription box for the C is in my backyard like it was a no-brainer okay it was a no-brainer so here we are and I’m just so happy for you thank you like it is just growing and it is just yeah so we going to talk about it we
Gonna talk about it so first tell us all about Jimmy so all about Jimmy well being a script Spock owner never realizes be one I am a lifelong technology person I’ve been in technology over 20 years you are 20 years very talented by the way thank you
So much went to school for it practice it now but kind of fell in technology box been married as you mentioned you know my wife forever 23 years have two beautiful daughters a girl dad for all the girl dads out there um uh uh also just uh just love life love technology
That that’s that’s really all I’ve known proud member as you mentioned of cap alasi uh Evansville alumni chapter um wow working on almost 20 20 years now so just uh just just living life a person who loves and lives life and and here I am with this Adventure o o over five
Actually just turned 5 years now congratulations thank you thank you so much yes yes so so that’s me and a nutshell you know I I I know the people didn’t turn in to hear about that just just about me but that’s me and a nutshell okay so five years it seems
Like it was yesterday I remember when you launched and I just thought it was I was like that is amazing I’m I’m going to be honest I was like get that bag I’m like cuz I love to see black people create Prosper you know all those things and
Like I said having known you for so long and then your babies right we all got babies you got girl dad I was a boy mom forever and then along at 40 um Along Comes My Little Legacy my little future Legacy but yes I love to see black people prosper and then especially
People that are closely connected to me and so obviously you have a relationship with my husband yes okay who came through the East St Louis alumni chapter so it the connections it just it’s just everywhere right so I said I am so happy that you had that amazing idea and that
Were you the first and are you still the only I am the first and the only licensed it’s important licensed subscription box for cap alide and I remember when you were the first and for the longest the only and I said I’mma ask him when he comes on if he is still
The only I love that still the only yes yes cuz you know we love that that first thing you know we we kind of get into that I get it yes so please tell us um what inspired you to do it because again I’ve seen your work forever whether it’s
Souvenir journals or ad books or whatever um I recently in an episode wore one of your wife’s sweatshirts okay membership has its privileges because you know we ain’t mad at nobody but you know membership has its privileges in Alpha Capa Alpha so what LED you to um
To this and the look the name like tell us fill us in so so I’ve always been like I said a technology person but I’ve always tinkered out outside the fringes and we’ve always been in the realm of you know making t-shirts and sweatshirts and things of that nature but re what
Really the inspiration came is going to our our our our conferences and our our our SE rise Roan leaderships and our our regional provincial meetings and and at least in our in our region we were hard pressed to find uniqueness in our in our paraphernalia and the things we wanted
To wear and you know we’d always have we’d have a a table or two of sweatshirts and t-shirts but they were the same so if I was going to buy the sweatshirt I would look like everyone else at the conference right yeah that’s true so and then we’ get into the cost
Of things right so you know everything was nicely priced you know there was rarely anything that was reasonable and unique that we’d find at these conferences you know unlike the AKA where You’ have gazillions of vendors that you can find that uniqu no limit No Limit you find that uniqueness so you
Know was like okay I understand how to make I understand how to design can I now make something unique make something that’s affordable that you don’t have to travel to a conference or if you don’t have that paraph store CU let’s be honest not everyone has a paraphernalia store in
Their town right that’s right so and where can I represent my fraternity that I love so much MH that’s where the inspiration came from so then it became how do I make this happen where can I get the goods where can I get the product where can I get it consistent
That I can provide a quality product at a great price That’s Unique that my brothers would like new swag was born from there you know new swag was born from there now how do we brand this thing right we just can’t C here’s the Box you know something to put it there
What we going to put on you know what we going to call it so you know we’re we’re sysly known as kappers and noops you know and we know we bring the swag I I I I love all my other fraternities but we bring the swag let’s be honest we bring
The swag y’all ain’t pretty boys for nothing okay is so we bring Noob swag together Noob swag the embolism i b TI other other fraternities may say they brought it too but we brought it first okay like it just what it is so the clean cut the glasses the deire
The sve the image on the front I personally like AR and with that in the argal it has our Diamond it has what we’re we’re sonatus being known as as well so bringing that all together is the the the name the design and everything within that box wow
Um I’m a very visual person and so when whether I’m reading or whether I’m listening and so I’m just watching in my mind this box come together cuz I’m the name the bow tie the the AR with the diamond I mean I’m just a lot went into
That yes and so um it’s I was going to say gorgeous but I’m trying to think of a we can use gorgeous gorgeous is okay yes it is gorgeous thank you and so I’m just like that it takes a lot to really bring an idea together and so it’s all about
Excellence and black Excellence for me so to know that you know this wasn’t something which nothing about you or your family is something that you like oh they just threw some stuff together like you all are synonymous with quality and Excellence right and so just been
Able to know how you brought it together and that it wasn’t just something that oh I just oh there’s a AR gal print on Google and let me just slap it on my box right to know that you were like nope we got the diamond I like Aral that’s my
Personal addition to my company and then of course we know the NES are everywhere so absolutely and they do and you do bring the swag so okay so we have the idea right and then we have The Branding and the vision um how has it grown like
How did you because so many people start and then stop like podcasting is one of those things like there are literally hundreds of thousands of podcasts on the books but but very few make it past seven episodes or very few keep going and so but that’s also with business
Right people start then it’s just like the the overnight sensation doesn’t happen and it’s like forget it so you’ve grown how have you sustained growth and pushed past like any times you just was like I’m done yeah it it as you mentioned it’s it’s definitely definitely a challenge
And it it’s it’s been a challenge even from the beginning so when cuz Co was in there yeah we we I’m glad you mentioned Co so right before Co we started in in 2019 we shipped our first box in January uh of 2019 and the story behind it is we
Were planning it we we had dropped our launch page a new swag is coming something different uh you’ll be excited hop on board uh we had designed our first uh product that we’re going to box boxes you know and everything and then over Christmas break we we usually I’m
Originally from Chicago so we always go home take the girls home for Christmas and our home flood oh the tragedy and our home flooded yes so yes we were all prepared and and geared up to produce out of our house so at that point M we
Rush back and uh realize our home uh whole lur Lev flooded so we were displaced we had to move to a hotel and we’re already told every Everybody we’re shipping we’re ready to go in January how do we do that so even from that
Point it had been a labor of of love to get this box produced so we’re in a hotel room making items making boxes making it happen put cuz because that’s how passionate that we felt uh as a family my wife and I in the very Beginnings that this was
Something that we knew we wanted to be successful that we felt could be successful and that was needed that from that point with 17 subscribers that we start up that that first shipment that we just had to get done you know and and and subsequent from
There was Hotel then we upgraded to an apartment the next couple months and then you know of course we finally moved back in our home we were doing it out of our home then we had our first Warehouse yeah got to be too much Jesus that had
No heat in in in no air so in the middle of summer and you know St Louis St Louis Summers joury so then you know we we we’ve uh been blessed to move to another warehouse and actually we’re looking for a third warehouse now um but it’s been
Blessed and and and we’ we we’ve truly had an opportunity to to ship out several thousand a month now we’re continuously growing even through CO as you mentioned and and most companies took a decline in Co and and and as I said we’ve been blessed to be able to
Continue to grow even through Co when everybody was cutting back and saving and and the traged of people being unable to afford some of the luxuries they had before still supporting uh us in our Endeavor in our effort and it it’s just been great you know and
And and it’s it’s it’s truly been uh something that you know our family has been able to you know enjoy and and have been blessed to provide a product that people actually like you know and you you always have that you know uh people aren’t going to like it or people say I
Don’t like this is not good and it’s not for everybody tell you know it’s and it’s a subscription box you know and we all have subscription and it’s kind like I tell people sometimes that you get something you don’t like in the beginning right but it’s like a song
Maybe a couple months that’s the J and it’s kind of like that you get like okay I didn’t like it at first but that’s hot I’m glad I did get it it’s you know and and and that’s how sometime subscription boxes work you’re not going to love it maybe the first time but
Maybe a month later a month after that man I got that new pair of shoes wo that’s go that sweater I’m looking at that sweater like Sir with some glasses I mean let’s just bring it all together I appreciate so that is very inspiring right because what did you say trust me
The first thing I thought about when you said the flood happened but you had a a release date MH because when I what what was it June of what 22 and we started launching the podcast 7 6 5 4 3 and I was like well Jesus is
Out there now there you go so we go just your thing on June 17th and it’s going to be what it’s going to be Lord and it has just grown from there but when you have when you put yourself out there with that date come hella hot water you
Got to make good on that date and that’s what you did so even in spite of everything and so of course you wanted to start out with 17 million subscribers but it’s good it was 17 17 and here look I launched on June 7 17 is a good number
For me so that’s good but the fact that it was manageable right because you probably would have have but the way the Lord would have it yes it was still enough for the two of you to manage in that moment but the fact that you weren’t like oh my house is flooded me
And my wife and my girls are displaced so we just going to put it off like that could have been the difference between where you are now yes and completely folding in Co because you weren’t consistent from the beginning so that’s amazing so now you know we’ve gone from
17 to like you said several thousand and so um your membership though runs the damn it right you have you know your local frat and then you got your you know your NEOS and then you got oldheads you got some celebrity subscribers yes we we we we’ve had a few and and
Continue to have a few celebrity uh subscribers we’ve what was that like what what was that scream like when y’all was like oh my God we so it’s it’s it’s rewarding it it was rewarding um so the first one actually my my my one of the ones my wife discovered we were um
Uh we were we were packing and um she noticed the the name on the label DeBarge like yeah it’s not necessarily a common name I like dear but it was a woman’s name I’m like a woman dear like that’s a that’s a familiar name I’m like
That ain’t every day okay so we we I looked up so when I looked up it was finesse Mitchell from uh he’s from the Disney Channel Ant Farm uh show my my kids I’m like y’all yeah he’s from an Farm his slept I’m like oh my goodness
So he has comedy special he been on you know bet and some other things so you know that was the first one then you know we had had launched a couple products and a couple boxes then we had a phone call from Jamal Bryant’s people saying hey we that’s the first one I
Know I was on Instagram like is that that no swag sweater pass the BR on yes stop it yes so so he came and he preached in one of our our products and gave us a shout out then we had another call from Marvin app uh for our products
So and so it’s so we’ve continued to to have uh celebrity uh noops that have reached out and wanted our product and and wanted to subscribe and you know I said we run the gamut from from from local you know we’ve got our our uh our Province no censor Province poll Mark
Who subscribes you know we’ve got um our uh own Illinois state senator Christopher belt who’s been a subscriber of that 17 from day one uh five years later he is a a devoted subscriber so we we’ve been blessed to have a product that people really believe in once they
Get it they they like the quality and let’s be honest for $40 a month you get product you get at least two to three items a month you get potentially a sweater uh a shirt underneath or a t-shirt or you get a a sweatsuit you get
A either a lapel pin cuff Lings you get get multiple items depending on what the fraternity calendar is so you get quality items you get items well worth more than the $40 you that you pay a month and and it’s quality and and it it
Stands a test of time and you know it’s it’s much uh a value add than going to a conference and and and maybe having spend 400 yes four items for four items and and knowing that and knowing that 90% of the brothers you see are going to have
The same item as you have so it’s the uniqueness and then if it’s an event that you go to locally that you don’t have an opportunity that you’ve been to a conference previously or you don’t necessarily may not go to conferences and you don’t have a store locally that
You can get it from now you have the opportunity not having to go anywhere and you know it’s your next event in your area com right to you right it comes right to you it’s like Amazon okay it’s the it’s the the cap of Amazon is
What it is and we believe in God for Amazon numbers absolutely okay absolutely um so I just really just love it and like I said I had to have you come on and tell the story because again like I said there’s so much you know I
Know you’re from the shy and and you know we love the shy around here we love Illinois and all those things but we also know that you know your wife is from the city of Champions and so you uh you raised your girls in this community
And to have the first and only license of description but like I started with the episode here in this area it it was a no-brainer to say well you know what people really need to know the story behind it and people really need to know the level of commitment that goes into
That because a lot of people as we continue to support black business sometimes we all know black business doesn’t have the best reputation and sometimes it’s warranted true sometimes we always do what we supposed to do but then most of the time it’s not though
And so for somebody to be able to sit and act actually you know cuz you have followers and people can go on to your Instagram and do all those types of things but they don’t always hear Jimmy right hear the enthusiasm right the way you can sit and just with pride the
Pride is just coming off of you okay on your product what you and your family put into it what it means to your family and everything that you all do on a monthly basis to make sure that your frat brothers are so fresh and so clean
Every month you know and the desire to make it affordable like you some people out here trying to break folks trying to get over on folks but nothing about you is saying that’s what I’m as a matter of fact I want you to be completely swagged
Out n for something that you can afford and thank you for traversing the pandemic with us thank you for continuing to support our subscription box like you may not always love it but TR trust keep going with us and you’re going to love it more than
You know you have the one off that you like okay but I have not seen anything that I’m I’m like that is I’m telling you I’m sitting here like I know I can’t wear that sweater but I’m just sitting there like I like that sweater I appreciate it I appreciate it yeah and
And and that’s the key of it all is is that we just want to provide a product and and like I said earlier you’re not going to love everything and and that’s the benefit of subscription B no one loves everything in subscription we all have other subscriptions that we
Subscribe to but the point is is that you’ll get a quality product for the value that you’re going to at some point wear or you can give to another deserving brother you know and and that’s the other thing because we all know NEOS and we going to be real honest
Neo going to wear anything you know if they have an opportunity to wear it they’re going to wear it so is it is an opportunity to if not keep it for yourself but have the opportunity to to gift it to another to another deserving brother and at that price point it
You’re you’re ahead anyway absolutely abely absolutely so tell us well one how we can follow right and what your platforms are and then tell us how how we can get that favorite n that subscription box absolutely so we are on all social platforms at at noop swag um
We have our hash noop swag boox which when you do get your box and you do believe you’re so fresh and so clean which we are already go ahead tag us hashtag ush people please absolutely and we will definitely repost you on our page and uh we love to see that because
The more brothers that see it the more Brothers will be swagged out in our in our paraphernalia as well as as I said before the box is uh $40 uh plus shipping it’s been that way since our Inception and we plan to keep it that way um as well and another thing that
That you may not be aware of that we are that we are working towards we are have just been announced as the official vendor for the north central Province uh which in in come on allows us to become produce North Central Province paraphernalia with their information
With their insignias on it as well and uh hopefully in the future as we expand new swag we hope to have a partnership with our uh with the national uh entity as well amazing thank you amazing thank you well thank you so much for coming on
Like I know you’re busy I know Nik is busy I mean what’ you say like y’all pushing out thousands at this point and y’all got kids and y’all got each other and y’all got jobs so you know I I get that okay cuz this is a whole second job
Like I it didn’t start that was not the intention okay that was not the intention for this to be a whole full-time job but it absolutely is and so I can appreciate it um and then like I said from you know one pretty household to another okay we get it and
So thank you so much for coming on will you come back cuz it sound like it’s going to just really be bananas with new swag so you going to have to come back for something hey I will I will definitely come back it it’s it’s been my pleasure um this is a phenomenal
Platform uh it is great at what you do I’ve seen and I and I follow uh what you do and it and it’s it’s outstanding thank you thank you so much thank you and thank you for tuning in today to pros and politics podcast where we are polished and poised for greatness and
Impact thank you for this oh so pretty episode today no swag make sure you follow make sure you subscribe and make sure you do them hashtags okay when you subscribe to that box in the meantime we’ll see you next week and please like Love And subscribe see you later bye- Bye Yeah
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