12MAR16 1939

12MAR16 1939

I've been a bit busy these past couple of days and didn't allocate my time properly so I missed a few blog days. My bad. I'm still a work in progress. But here's an update on today (which was a really cool day).

I stayed up late Friday night reading the Bible. I know, wild and crazy night right? Lol. So I didn't get to sleep until 4 am, which led to me "sleeping in." I woke up and started to sort through all the sublimation printer information I received from the NBM conference. My goal is to produce all the hoodies and our other products here in the states so we can decrease our lead time, create jobs and get our products to our customers faster.

I'm prepping for my radio interview with Kennie Long from the Texas Youth Football Association. TYFA is the league that is on the show Friday Night Tykes. My nephew, John Harris (the irony, right? lol) who works as my Sales Manager put me in contact with him. We sent emails back and forth and we spoke on the phone Friday about H.E.A.R.T Athletics and the Helmet Hoody. He suggested I come onto the radio show and speak at length about our products, myself and the company. Needless to say, I stoked. The interview will be Monday, March 14th at 8 PM Central time. You can click here for the link ----> TYFA Radio Interview

I uploaded a video promoting the show time and will continue to do so until it airs. I'm not really a "look at me" guy anymore but I have to be when promoting the business because I want you to look at the business. Damned if you do, damned if you don't...

Other than that, I've just been sitting back and thanking God for bringing me this far. I don't have any issues at all with self-confidence, but starting something from scratch is kind of nerve wracking and at times there is some doubt that creeps in. *Every time I here the word creep I think of TLC. Weird...* Whenever that happens, I have to force myself to think positively because what you plant in your mind, your mind will return. So, just remember to plant only positive thoughts in your mind. And I'll do the same.

John Harris
CEO - H.E.A.R.T Athletics LLC

09MAR16 2047

09MAR16 2047

So I didn't PT this morning and that SHOULD be the first thing I do, other than brush my teeth, but the teeth got that work. My body did not. Went to a job fair. Trying to get on while here in Texas, but it's a process. So. I just gotta work the process. I applied to several places and I got a call back from once place I interviewed last week. Still holding out though. Not sure if I want to "settle".

I called back the people at FanPrint. They're really cool. I'm still trying to get these hoodies in their store but it's going to take a lot of work to do that. I'm not scared of work though. So they will be hearing from me a lot...Lol.

Did some social media marketing. Thinking about uploading more videos online instead of just Snaps. I can't front though, I love SnapChat. You should follow me by the way. Because I'm really funny. @kinghenryII.

I was excited to know that all of my Helmet Hoody deliveries made it to their destinations on time today. Everyone was stoked with them. So if you're happy, I'm happy. I'm just that simple.

Spoke with my oldest nephew today and he suggested I contact Kennie Long from the show "Friday Night Tykes". So I did. Cool thing was, he hit me up almost instantly. I sent him an email about the company and our products and hopefully we can make a deal. The least I'm working for is to get onto his radio show. So that's another avenue.

Still waiting to hear back from Shark Tank. I know it's coming, I'm just impatient. Sidenote, impatience is one of the WORST attributes to have as a DB. Thank God for "makeup" speed...

Went to Whataburger with my cousin E tonight. That shit is sitting in my stomach like a cinder block.

Anywho, I'm heading over to a garment printing event in Fort Worth tomorrow. Looking to get some insight on the process so I can make all my products inhouse to increase turnover time and reduce overhead. Thanks for listening. Peace.

John Harris
CEO - H.E.A.R.T Athletics LLC

08MAR16 1129

Man, today was different. But to be honest, I'm really tired and all I want to do is go to sleep. So we're going to make this a rapid fire synopsis.

- Woke up early, or late, depending on how you look at it (0630)
- 100 Pushup Challenge, Week 4 Day 1
- Drove to Hurt, TX in a minor monsoon (felt like Korea)
- Trying to lock down this Employment Specialist gig to help Vets (I loved that job)
- Networked with a dude from a job I applied at
- Didn't realize dude liked to drink so much before noon
  -- No bull, shot pool with dude, he had 3 beers in 40 minutes
  -- I didn't and by default became the DD
  -- He also made me stop at a 7-11 so he could get a couple of High Gravity Tall Cans
     -- True Story...
- Fired off emails to potential business partners
- Worked the phones in the same manner
- Tracked the hoody orders I sent off yesterday (can't wait for them to be delivered...)
- Finally got a haircut. My cousin Elias said, "you look like Baron Davis". Hopefully he means the      UCLA Baron Davis, not the L.A. Clippers Baron Davis...
- Politiced with my Barber (cool ass dude)
  -- If your Barber is a Counselor/Mentor/Comedian/Life Expert etc. He's a shitty barber...
- Got grilled by my Uncle Chucky on what I need to do business wise (He IS Shark Tank...)
- Called Linds
- Farted then laughed about. Sike nah, I just added this to see if you were actually reading.

John Harris
CEO - H.E.A.R.T Athletics LLC

07MAR16 - 2055

07MAR16 2055

Today started out crazy. Kind of overslept being that I went to bed at like 0400. It was really weird. I just got into one of the modes where I'm reading and just can't stop. So I kept reading. Then I had this crazy dream which to me translated into, "keeping your mouth shut at times can be beneficial." Yeah, still working on that one.

Anyway, I woke up to an email about setting up a meeting with a potential mentor here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, which was really cool. This company does business with the NFL and over 150 college teams. So....

By 0900 my orders for Helmet Hoodies finally came in. Let me tell you. China can really put it to you at times. The dude I work with seems cool, but once I get that investment to do everything inhouse, I'm ghost. I'm tired of longass deliver times. Peace. I can get them jawns out in 2-3 days doing it inhouse, I just need that bread to do it.

So I have 10 orders I have to ship. Sidenote for anyone planning on shipping. If you buy your own boxes, and make sure they're the right size, you'll save a ton of money shipping that way instead of with the Priority or Express boxes at the Post Office. So I get these orders out and put in a handwritten thank you note to each customer. It's the least I can do. I mean, without them I'm just a dude with a hoody. So...

The rest of my day was spent looking for a job while I grind on the business side. I mean, I'm not eating off of H.E.A.R.T Athletics just yet. I don't want to have a business and live under a bridge. Kind of defeats the purpose. Moving on. I drove down to Dallas for a networking event. The concept was cool but the people were really cliquish, so I stayed as long as I could before I dipped.

Now I'm back at the crib. Bout to fire off some emails, read the Bible for a bit then hit the sack. Planning on getting up at 0600 for a run. That's the plan anyway. Oh, and a haircut. It's been almost 4 weeks since my last cut and I officially have no hairline. It's just a gaggle of hairs adhering to no official set boundary...

John Harris
#PlayWithHEART

07MAR16 0153

I've decided to chronicle my journey as an entrepreneur from the botoom to my goal of running a sucessful business. I'm doing this in hopes of providing not just a blueprint for others to emulate, but as a way of showing anyone who is interested, the ups and downs of the DIY (doing it yourself) method/model. And also, when we do make it, that this wasn't luck. At all...

I will try to be as transparent and honest as possible. Some things will be embarrassing, some depressing, some cool, possibly paint dry boring, but most importantly, open and honest.

Starting a business is not only stressful and agonizing at times, but it's also fun. It's really a parallel of life; the same way sports are. The basic concept of H.E.A.R.T (Having Enough Attitude Resilience & Toughness) that helps you succeed in sports is the same thing you need in life as well as in business.

I hope you guys enjoy the ride. I can't promise you anything other than I'm going to grind my ass off, and the only thing that will make me quit is death...

John Harris
CEO - H.E.A.R.T Athletics LLC

#PlayWithHEART