Bryan Rhode is the founder of ACUMEN Apparel, a new men’s clothing brand keeping dress shirts tucked and tight all day. He served in the Marine corps infantry and practiced corporate law before becoming a prosecutor. Bryan served as Secretary of Public Safety for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Entrepreneurial Role Models:
When business started difficulties overcame:
“When I started it was challenging because one I didn’t have a background in the apparel industry so I had to figure out a lot of things from scratch. In some ways that was an advantage because it allowed me to think differently but it also took time to source things… The sourcing component was something that I had to feel my way through and eventually did and right around the time we hit our stride in terms of our supply chain Covid hit…”…[Listen for More]
Favourite Books:
- Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike Book by Phil Knight
- Steve Jobs Book by Walter Isaacson
- Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance Book by Angela Duckworth
- The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph Book by Ryan Holiday
- Richard Branson Books
- Sam Walton: Made in America book by John Huey and Sam Walton
Favourite Quote:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” The Man in the Arena – Theodore Roosevelt
Recommended Online Resources:
- Upwork – You can find The Perfect Freelancers for Your Projects! It’s easy and affordable with secure Payments and will help you to increased your productivity
- ImportYeti – Find Quality Suppliers. ImportYeti finds suppliers manufacturers based on actionable data
Best Advice to Other Entrepreneurs:
“My best advice is just to stay at it. It’s a lengthy process… There are going to be million reasons to turn your back along the way and just stop particularly when you see how long process is. But if you are really committed to it my advice to you, is you have just got to stay with it, stay with it, stay with it, stay with it, keep going. It seems long, it seems hard but you will look back and it will have gone by in a blink and you will be amazed at what you can achieve”…[Listen for More]
More About Bryan Rhode:
Neil’s Quote at the Beginning:
“If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.” Lemony Snicket
Other Quotes From the Chat with Bryan Rhode:
- “Maybe spend a little less time on the front-end worrying about worrying about some of the technical components of doing the branding or the marketing or how you are going to sell. And really focus on finding the right people to help you take those first steps. Building a team first as opposed to building a team along the way. Because if you can find the right people in with the right expertise it will make your job enormously easier. You will probably do a little less feeling around in the dark than I did. And sometimes that just takes time…”
- “The biggest thing is just to keep going. Don’t quit and when you face an obstacle… And you will face some and you will wake up at four morning sweating wondering what you are doing and thinking how did I get here… But it’s just getting up every morning. Keep at it. And it’s just knowing that as the day goes on you solve that problem and you move on to the next and you are going to feel better about it… ”
- “If you have great and determination and you worked harder than anybody else over time you will either equal or overcome people who are naturally talented ”
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