Today we’d like to introduce you to Christan (Chris) Duncan.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Christan. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I have an interesting journey, well at least to me lol. I am from a low-income neighborhood in St. Louis, MO…literally fivr mins away from Ferguson (Yup, that Ferguson). I mention my neighborhood because this is where I learned how to work hard and think outside the box to accomplish whatever goals I had set for myself. We didn’t have access to capital and I didn’t even know capital was a thing until after I had graduated college (Alabama A&M #GoBulldogs, lol). Without access to funds, we learned the true meaning of necessity breeds innovation.
With this as my foundation, I have always had a passion to help people connect the dots and break down the path to whatever goal they wish to reach. After college, I started working with a large company in Birmingham, AL and I hated it! I couldn’t understand how people really enjoyed doing something the did not like day in and day out. So…I planned my exit strategy. I was told that the Atlanta office was looking for people to come join their team and I could transfer…this was my ticket out. Like most people, I assumed ATLANTA was the land flowing with milk and honey…the Mecca of “the grind”. I didn’t receive any funds for transportation and I was broke so I took out the largest payday loan I could and moved (I later found out it is illegal to move out of state while owning a payday loan smh).
In Atlanta, I join forces with an old college friend, Joshua McCoy, and we set out to manage social media profile for all sorts of businesses. This was back in 2010 when you still needed to convince a business why they needed to be on Facebook (oh how times have changed). I still was working 40+ hours a week at my day job but hitting the pavement once I clocked out. My job announced they had to lay off some people, I volunteered, got a severance package, and went out to start a social media agency. Oh, it failed…like bad. I recall our first check was for $250 and we went to the club. The next day I ask Josh how much money we had left because I needed gas or food (or something else essential) and he said we blew it all last night.
The good thing that was happening while I was hitting the pavement was I made a ton of relationships! One of those relationships lead me to work with a boutique agency which showed me what was possible and how to really handle business. I freelanced with that agency and later became a full-time employee. I moved up from an entry position of copywriter (which is amazing I was that considering how much I suck at grammar, lol) to Director of Social Media operations. It wasn’t the most ideal situation but it was what I needed to develop my plan to own my own business.
After I left the boutique agency, I started to work for a larger agency. The pay was great but it still wasn’t what I WANTED. Apparently, this showed in my work because six months after being hired, I was fired. The only job I have ever been fired from…well I was fired from Six Flags on my day off when I was 14 but that’s a story for another day. Literally, in the parking lot, I called two people: My mother and my mentor. My mom told me to celebrate because she knew how much I wasn’t in love with the job and my mentor told me to start the business I had been talking about for years.
So in that parking lot at that very moment, THRSHLD went from a concept to being born. I launched THRSHLD in Feb 2016. Initially, it was going to be a full-service agency because I was trying to prove something to myself and others. About a month later, and after I realized I didn’t have “agency money” I shifted the focus of THRSHLD to help people reach their business goals. This was typically through some sort of strategy (marketing, management, or branding). Fast forward three years and I am still here and so is THRSHLD. I am a team of one with some amazing contractors for execution. It has been an amazing journey and I look forward to continuous growth.
Great, 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?
I don’t think life is smooth…I believe the bumps and pothole (avoidable and unavoidable) are God-given to develop our character. My personal struggles include depression, doubt, lack of money, lack of focus, heartbreaks…hell all of the typical “it is only me going through this things” type of struggles. Survive the moment and onto us to live/love…with this in my heart, I know I will be okay.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about THRSHLD + Honor Roll Clothing – what should we know?
THRSHLD is a consulting studio. I pride my self on helping people understand their business better to make smarter decisions and pushing people from their current state to their desired state. We offer three focus areas: Management, Marketing, and Branding.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
#1 Faith in something bigger than you. I believe that God is leading and guiding me so that makes this journey a whole lot easier because I truly believe everything is intentional.
#2 Perseverance! Just because it’s intentional, doesn’t mean we don’t have to hustle. I do not subscribe to the “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” philosophy but I do believe we the proper support system and affirming words (internal and external) we can all make our dreams our reality.
Contact Info:
- Address: WeWork -1372
1372 Peachtree St NW
Atlanta, GA 30311 - Website: www.THRSHLD.co
- Phone: 6787049651
- Email: chris@thrshld.co
- Instagram: instagram.com/Christan.Duncan
Image Credit:
Ron Hill Photography
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