Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Hughes.
Hi Emily, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Micah and I met in entrepreneurship class sophomore year. It’s quite an interesting story, actually. We were both really excited for the class and had our own businesses we were working on. A year later, Micah launched Mall Racer, a simulation racing machine setup in malls across the east coast. He hired me as the branch manager for the Haywood location, and we got to know each other better that way. About ten months ago, we were brainstorming business ideas and said, “let’s start a business together!” I knew Micah’s work ethic and he knew mine- we both felt comfortable working with each other and that we could trust each other. After a couple of weeks of throwing business ideas around, we settled on Driversified Marketing- a hyperlocal marketing company that would pay drivers to advertise through the real estate of their cars, all while making passive income. Little did we know, we would have an angel investment four months later and spend our entire summer in Greenville focusing on the startup. Now we are juggling our senior year of school at Bob Jones University and working on the company as much as time allows.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t know that I would say it has all been smooth- like all founders, we have come across obstacles and setbacks, both relating to our company and our partnership. We’ve learned that everything takes 5x longer than you expect it to; we’ve had to accept and be upfront about mistakes we’ve made; we’ve had to learn how to manage stress and prioritize time like never before; and we’ve learned a lot about humility and teamwork!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Proclaim Apparel Co.?
Proclaim Apparel was my first business, launched in 2021, and the one that really helped me to understand marketing, media, advertising, and the logistics of running a business in real life as opposed to what I was hearing in my classes or listening to on Youtube. Proclaim Apparel is a clothing brand that specializes in Christian apparel dyed with natural dyes from third-world countries, that also gives back 40% of its profits to Liberia, Africa. After taking a trip in 2019 with my dad, I felt overwhelmed with the need to help the churches and communities that were so obviously hurting. This was my way of giving back.
Micah has also started several companies, including a lawn care company that he sold out of high school, a drone videography company specializing in sports car videos, a storage company, and a racing simulation company.
These experiences have molded us immensely and taught us more than most of our lecture-based classes could have. There is something about real-life experiences, mistakes, and success that just beats anything else.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
I have learned so many different things and in so many different areas, I don’t know that I could pick just one. I guess the two biggest things I’ve learned are 1) to embrace doing things out of my comfort zone, and 2) to fail often.
Two years ago, I would have told you I absolutely hated public speaking (and franking stunk at it). I would have NEVER volunteered to do sales calls or walk alone into a room of experienced professionals and company executives at a networking event. But my experience in business the past couple of years has made me face all of these things, and over time, I’ve come to really enjoy them.
I’ve also learned that through every failure, I discover something I didn’t know, and ultimately become a better person for it. I am currently reading a book called “Loonshots”. The book emphasizes the great skill of “investigating failure”, or learning to separate a “true fail” from a “false fail” (one that was caused by a flaw in design or execution rather than the idea being wrong). Failure prompts many questions in my mind. Failure causes me to learn and always better myself, my idea, or my product. Of course, no one wants to fail. But failure, to some extent, is inevitable. It’s up to us to use that failure for the better.
That was probably a long answer, but I would say those are the two things I have learned the most from my time working a startup!
Pricing:
- Pricing starts at $299 for a decal advertisement (per car per month) and ranges to $599 and higher for vinyl wraps.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.driversifiedmarketing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/driversifiedmarketing/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/driversifiedmarketing
