Building a lifestyle brand

In 2019, I set out to fulfill a dream I'd had since I first started designing.

As someone with diverse creative passions, I've always juggled multiple interests. Apparel design is something that holds a special place in my heart, and creating a lifestyle brand was my ultimate goal.

I envisioned a brand that would unite all my passions—design, photography, motorcycles, tattoos, leather goods, writing, and apparel.

The idea came from solving a problem I personally faced. I noticed a gap in the market: motorcycle enthusiasts aged 25–45 who resonated with brands like Harley Davidson but felt disconnected from their apparel, which targeted an older demographic.

This is how Whiskey & Wolf Supply Co. was born.

I launched on Shopify, and the response stunned me. Orders started rolling in from day one—I knew I had something special.

Whiskey & Wolf quickly became my passion project for the next few years.

During this time I managed all aspects of the business including:

• Product concepts & design

• Sourcing & working with manufacturing partners

• Packing & shipping

• Website design & updates

• Photography + sourcing photographers

• Managing social media influencers

• Managing social media accounts

• Customer service

• Finances

I’ll be honest, running a brand on your own is a lot of work, but it’s also super rewarding.

During my time running this business I met so many amazing people, and learned how the right brand, targeting the right demographic, solving the right problem, can turn customers into passionate brand ambassadors.

I shipped hundreds of hats, t-shirts, hoodies, crewnecks, beanies, keychains, and leather wallets.

There was so much to be excited about, but here’s the catch. Running my dream brand was slowing killing me. I was working tirelessly behind the scenes while working a full-time job, and managing a busy family life.

What nobody tells you is that during your first few years running a brand you won’t make a profit. You’ll have many expenses that are required to manage and grow the business, and turning a profit is hard with slim margins on physical goods like hats and apparel.

The brand I grew to love, was bringing me down a path that I wasn’t prepared for. Going into debt, working late nights and weekends. Missing quality time with my wife and kids. I started to wonder if it was all worth it.

The brand represented everything I was passionate about, and it was growing, but not fast enough. I was years away from being able to go full-time with the business and I knew I couldn’t keep up with everything the brand demanded of me.

I was faced with a tough choice, tough it out and risk my personal life suffering, or make a change and let the brand go.

After a few months of debating my options I ultimately decided that I needed to get my personal life back. I decided to put the brand up for sale. I quickly found an eager buyer who loved the brand and sold it.

I view everything in my life as a learning experience that leads to opportunities for growth.

While I would do things differently if given another chance, this kind of knowledge only comes from diving in and trying.

For those considering launching their own brand, here are some key lessons I learned:

• People don’t buy products, they buy a lifestyle that they connect with on a human level.

• Find your why. Create your brand story before you even start. People will get emotionally invested in your brand if you do this right.

• My why looked like this “Live Free. Live True.🤘 We create quality apparel & accessories for the free thinkers, the adventure seekers, the artists and ramblers.⁠ We've designed our products to be classic, simple, rugged and long-lasting.”

• Every piece of content you create should stem from your why.

• You’ll need to spend most of your time doing the boring things if you want to brand to succeed.

• Invest in great photography. Use models who exude your brand vibe. This was one of my biggest expenses but was a game changer for me.

• In hindsight, I should have found a partner to share some of the workload, and cost. A smaller % of the brand is better than burning out and having no brand at all.

• If people resonate with your brand, opportunities will come. I had large retail outlets contact me but I wasn’t prepared for wholesale orders.

• Choose one social media channel and go deep on that. You’ll burn yourself out trying to manage multiple channels. Learn where your customers are and spend all of your time there. For me that was IG. That’s where I found my tribe.

• The feeling you get when you create a community of people who love your brand is amazing. Customers, manufacturing partners, and influencers become friends.

• You’re not just creating products, you’re building a community of people who see the world the same way you do. Learn how to speak your customers language and use this tone across all of your marketing.

• Once you start to grow, everyone will want to offer you their paid services. Marketing, photography, video, coaching etc…just be careful how much time you invest here.

• Screen printing will always produce better quality than print-on-demand, but your profits will be lower. This is hard to balance.

• Customers gravitate toward affordable items under $50, especially hats and t-shirts. If I were starting over, I'd focus exclusively on these products.

• Make your customers the heroes of your brand story. Treat them like gold and they'll become loyal fans.

So, was it worth it starting my own brand? Hell yes! I loved every minute of it…well not every minute, but it was a special time in my life.

There were a lot of stressful moments, but there were also moments of joy and excitement. There’s nothing that beats that ding you hear when you make your first sale on Shopify. It’s exciting, and addictive.

Maybe I’ll consider starting another brand in the future when life is less hectic but for now I’ve made peace with my decision and am enjoying more quality time with my family.

If you’re considering starting your own brand, or are struggling running an existing brand let me know. I’ve probably been where you are.

For anyone interested, I put together this helpful guide to walk you through the entire process. You can access it here → How to create your own apparel brand

Did you know I’m on Instagram?
If you’re interested in seeing more of my daily content and videos, feel free to give me a follow → https://www.instagram.com/_themikem/