Today we’d like to introduce you to Marquis Jackson.
Hi Marquis, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Since I can remember, I’ve always been a hustler. Even in my early elementary days, I used to sell dry kool-aid mixed with sugar in sandwich bags, and for an 8-year old I made pretty good money. In middle school and high school, I was the candy/snack man. That hustle made me some good money too. During all those years, I realized that I had a lot of ambition, but I later learned that ambition that isn’t guided with wisdom can lead to destruction. That’s what happened in my case.
At 17, my ambition led me to selling drugs, which in turn led me to getting into some legal trouble. In the state of Georgia at the age of 17, you are charged as an adult so because of my thoughtless actions I was hit with three felonies. Little did I know how my life would be impacted for years to come. One temporary mistake had permanent consequences and it was very hard for me to get jobs due to my background. But that’s when I started educating myself about different avenues to legally make money. I knew that if no one would give me a decent job, I had to create one for myself. My ambition was now led by wisdom which in turn gave me a different mindset.
Last year was my personal development and growth year, I started applying everything I was learning and things started happening for me and my family. And speaking of family, my co-owners of Paper Don’t Sleep Apparel are like brothers to me. We’ve known each other since 2005 so our foundation as a team is solid as a rock. Late last year we started our clothing brand and the support from our peers and community has been amazing. We rolled right into 2021 with all the momentum we needed to stay consistent. And that is exactly what we intend to do, stay consistent. The phrase Paper Don’t Sleep was something my partner Emanuel said all the time and because it was so catchy and simply understood, we all thought we could capitalize on the phrase by making clothes with that catchphrase and that is how Paper Don’t Sleep Apparel was formed.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road wasn’t smooth at all, and it started with us as a team. We wasn’t always consistent which each other and our business meetings were sometimes sporadic, which led to nothing getting done, sometimes bringing our momentum to a halt. Also, social media marketing was very new to all of us, so trying to master that was a challenge as well.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Paper Don’t Sleep is more than making money while you sleep, it is a lifestyle that we stand on to teach, uplift, and build. We stand on universal principles that can be applied to ALL areas of our lives. We strive to make an impact with ourselves, for our families, and for our communities. We want to teach, uplift, and build people up, especially our youth who look up to us. We want to encourage people to follow and achieve their dreams. We want to motivate people to put in the work by becoming informed of what steps need to be taken in order to achieve those dreams. We want to encourage people to work hard and grind with a sense of urgency at all times. We want prepare people for obstacles they will face during their journey. We want to motivate people to follow through and not fold under pressure. We want to uplift people when they get discouraged and motivate them to get back up and keep trying. We want to stress the importance of always trying to make improvements no matter how good they may get with their craft. We want to motivate people to continue to elevate so as not to become stagnant, which in turn will lead to their goals dying.
We want to build a foundation for people to stand on universal principles within themselves so that they can stand on principles in ALL areas of their lives while at the same time aspiring to inspire others. At Paper Don’t Sleep, we are known for always trying to support each other and other people. Just like one of our shirts say, we Aspire To Inspire. When you wear our apparel, we want you to feel good about yourself that day, we want you to be motivated to face each day head-on while striving to achieve your dreams. I am very proud that we have been in business for a little more than a year and now we are getting doors opened up to us. You know the saying: hard work never goes unnoticed and always pays off, so now we are enjoying the fruits from our labor. Another proud moment is us creating the “Inspiration Collection,” which relates to anyone in any situation. We want to inspire others to attain greatness. You can find these sayings on all of our “Inspiration Collection” #DreamAndAchieve #Information2Application #GrindWithASenseOfUrgency #FollowThroughOrFold #ElevateOrDie #Aspire2Inspire We plan on doing great things for our community this year. We’ve had so much support from our communities so it’s only right that we strive to give back to the communities that made us.
What does success mean to you?
I define success as a person setting life goals and achieving them. We should all have life goals which might include spiritual goals, personal goals, family goals, and even financial goals. Once we work hard at finding a good balance between the goals we can gradually start to achieve those goals. So it doesn’t matter what type of goals I have, just having a peace of mind knowing I tried my best is a feeling of success no one can take from me.
Pricing:
- Our “Inspiration Collection” shirts are $35
Contact Info:
- Email: Paperdontsleep404@gmail.com
- Website: www.paperdontsleepapparel.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paperdontsleepapparel/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaperDontSleep
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DontPaper
Image Credits
Treon Rainey
