Episode 41 - Adam Khafif: Do What You Love But Something That Benefits Others

Purpose in the Youth

Episode 41: Since Adam was a kid his father would always tell him, “do what you love but something that benefits others.” When he was first launching his streetwear brand “Lisn Up Clothing”, that advice stayed with him and he decided that he was going to donate 50% of all profits towards charity. Six years later he still holds himself accountable and allows each customer to pick from a list of which charity the money will go towards. Growing up in Saugus, MA he saw firsthand the lifestyle of an entrepreneur as his parents ran a business, Toni’s Own Cookies, and he watched them go the extra mile with each and every customer to ensure they were satisfied with the transaction. Adam attended Babson College, one of the best entrepreneurship programs in the country where he learned quickly that you always want to create a team of people who’re on the same page, understand the vision and are willing to do whatever is necessary to make things happen. With inspiration from hip-hop artist Lupe Fiasco and his ability to create socially conscious music and the world’s first t-shirt bakery Johnny Cupcake’s attention to detail with products and experience, Adam has incorporated both into his brand. Each new clothing line that releases is a new “album”, every product is a new “track”, the collection is printed on “CD booklets” and when the product arrives at your door it is packaged in a cardboard “boombox” with business cards and stickers inside. They’ve hosted different pop-ups across the country as what they refer to as their “tour.” With an industry full of competitors, he has made sure that the customer feels valued and satisfied with each step of the process so that if they do make a purchase they feel their money wasn’t wasted. It not only got them a tangible product but there was also this experience connected with helping a bigger cause with profits being contributed to a charity. In the past he’s been featured on Forbes, Huffington Post, Business Insider and more and he believes it’s only been possible because he’s always stayed focused on making sure the customer was happy and never letting the money get in the way of any of it. In this episode Adam discusses what it’s like to be a Muslim in America today, how he got the name “Lisn Up Clothing”, why he has entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk and hip-hop artist Logic on his iPhone home screen, having a public phone number for followers and fans to call, learning from a mistake of announcing a release date when he wasn’t fully ready, how to tell if someone is being authentic versus a salesperson and dealing with negative people. — Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for new interviews (and more) weekly: http://bit.ly/2zprpon Follow us on Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/2hcSBws Subscribe to iTunes: http://apple.co/2yE0u9l Follow us on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2j82AHF Follow Bobbbaaaay on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2Ap24ce Twitter: http://bit.ly/2hj6Ljm