To many students on campus, Jayson Wilder is a football player and resident assistant. However, many students may not realize that Wilder is also an entrepreneur. Wilder’s recently launched clothing brand, Genie Wrld, has taken the campus by storm. His products have been seen worn by many members of the student populace, and his business has also grown immensely.
Producing a brand name can be by far the most demanding thing that can happen. Owners want the name to be catchy and easy for people to remember. If owners do not do that then they will lose customers. “The reason I chose it is because my whole brand is manifestation. I am a big believer that I believe it, pray for it, work towards it, it is going to happen. A genie is a big thing in New Orleans and Louisiana and their favorite saying is ‘Your Wish is My Command,’ so I put two and two together. Before Genie Wrld it was going to be called Genie Boys, I did not go with it because it did not seem I was targeting everyone. I took Wrld from Juice Wrld’s name.” With a catchy name, owners need to have a catchy phrase, which Jayson stated that genie’s sayings is: Your Wish is My Command.
Since Wilder is involved in mulitple groups on campus, he has found that it can be tough to balance everything that he has going on in his life to make a successful clothing brand. “Managing all three [residence life, football, and his brand] is super hard, but it is not as hard for me. I do not have any classes this semester besides Co-Op which is just my work experience with being and RA. That gives me a little bit of down time to work on my brand. Being an athlete, you do have that schedule. What’s practice going to be? What time are the games going to be? I find time in between to draw up ideas for my brand or talk to my main manufacturers. My main manufacturers are from around the wolrd. When it is morning there, it is nighttime here. I usually talk to them at three in the morning. I am up late anyways, so it fits perfectly with my schedule right now.” Wilder was relieved to have found a balance between work, sports, and his brand this semester.
With every business that people start, there will be challenges. Every company on the Earth will face a challenge that they will have to adapt and over come from. “The greatest challenge that I have faced is to never know what to expect. Being in a business like a clothing brand, some days you have great sales and some days you have zero sales. It is all about being consistent and knowing that nothing is going to happen overnight, nothing is going to happen right away, it takes time and patience. That is the biggest challenge for me, being consistent.” While m Jayson stays positive knowing that everything will turn out okay in the end.
Starting a business is one of the hardest things to do. Investing money and time to try to make it successful and keep it going. Jayson has made a statement on the campus of Lakeland University and has many supporters that will take his business far.
