JOSHUA A AINA

Frank Sinatra’s song aptly describes me. To quote, “But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out, I faced it all and I stood tall, I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway, I did it, I did it my way.” But let me tell you about me, my life, my trials and how I am standing tall. I have faced adversity since a young age. At age ten, I was diagnosed with prediabetes. I could not believe that was what fate had in store for me. It was a challenge that would be overcome through planning, discipline and resilience. I knew that I could reverse this diagnosis with lifestyle changes.

I began the journey that has made me who I am today- resilient. I would go out and run miles, play basketball, and swim, which I only learnt after the diagnosis. I would lose over 50 pounds within 2 months and drop my weight from 160 pounds to 110 pounds and was able to reverse this diagnosis. With this level of determination I adopted, it became apparent that I could get through difficult circumstances, and this has continued to help me succeed in different areas of my life.

This sense of discipline and resilience was what led me to begin researching ways to get engaged during the COVID-19 pandemic and then I saw an opportunity in online business hence the birth of a clothing business https://purpozapparel.com/ was conceived, an online clothing brand that caters to teenagers spreading positive massages through clothing. Though I did not have design skills, my younger brother did and so we became partners in the business. I was able to establish connection with manufacturers in China to source for products, define our brand’s purpose and picked a brand name for the brand.

At the onset, the business would go through challenges and would lose money. However, my resilience and determination would not let me quit. The business currently has over 70,000 active followers on social media and consistently makes an average of $30,000 monthly since the past year. This success is only possible through resilience, intense hard work, and the ability to manage my time as I combined running a business, playing varsity basketball, and keeping up with my grades. Additionally, I completed a lot of service hours - cleaning up after a fair, cleaning up in the zoo, volunteering at the local Scottish renaissance festival near my school, and composting - where I visit local farms to drop off food waste for farm use and cleaning up trash over the weekends around my local community.

I have continued to challenge myself to being a better businessman and serving my community. My goal other than profitability in business, is to continue to send positive messages to help equip teenagers with acquiring skills that can help them create financial independence. I have unique skills, which can be utilized in a myriad of ways, whether that be critical thinking or decision making. I have a strong online presence where I go on live sessions on TikTok and talk about my business, giving young men and women advice on how to be financially responsible.

Growing up, I aspired to be a pilot, an NBA player, a lawyer and then an FBI agent. I finally started to consider marketing and business when I became an entrepreneur. Honing a degree in this field would not only help run my business better but will afford me the opportunity to impact teenagers by teaching them business skills through my online platform. The future looks very bright for me and with eagerness and business acumen that I possess, and my no fail mentality, I can do all things.