All Episodes

June 27, 2022 • 15 mins

John has started several businesses: a T-shirt company, a barbershop, a beauty shop, and most recently, a culinary industry.

He joins the podcast to share his grandfather's influence on his entrepreneurial spirit, how he managed to build capital for his business pursuits, and rebuilding the Black Wallstreet of Mississippi.

Host IG:@itstanyatime

Guest IG: @johnnytsbistroandblues

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, Money Movers, Welcome back to Money Moves, the daily
podcast determined to give you the keys to the Kingdom
of financial stability, wealth and abundance. Today's guest is a
man who has had the idea of becoming an entrepreneur

(00:22):
ever since he was a child. He started several different businesses,
a T shirt company, a barbershop, a beauty shop, and
most recently he has been involved deep into the culinary industry.
Money Movers please welcome John Miller. John, welcome to the podcast.
Thank you for having me. I'm glad to be here. Well, John,

(00:42):
you certainly have a long history of entrepreneurship, and on
the Money Moves podcast we love to really discover and
delve into the backgrounds of how you got here. What
was your first sort of foyer into entrepreneurship. I guess
early on it had to be my grandfather. I grew
up in Home, Nebraska, and he was a businessman in
the community. He had several bars and nightclubs on lots

(01:05):
of real estate and things of that nature. So early on,
even in our you know, when we spend time together,
he'd often talk business to me. Whether I understood or not,
he would talk it into me, and early on he
kind of instilled in me that it wasn't necessarily to
gain an education and get a job. It was more
gaining an education and provide jobs. So early on that

(01:27):
was just kind of the brain set that was instilled
in me. And watching him over the years, I knew
that I would own a business or I would run
a business. I just didn't know early on what it
would be. So he was definitely my first, uh experience
with entrepreneurship and business owner and and whatnot. I I mean,

(01:48):
I love this because I think, you know, the more
and more we explore this on the podcast, we've talked
to a range of successful people in different industries, and
it feels like, you know, for our generation, if you will,
it was either one or the other. We had parents
who are entrepreneurs that talked a lot about entrepreneurship and
that hustle and great or others who perhaps their circumstances
were different and they didn't in part that teaching and

(02:10):
yours came from like a very early age, you know,
talking about business, talking about how to be successful. It's
pretty incredible. Absolutely, So you know, in growing up in Nebraska,
it was a little different than me when I moved
down south at the age of eleven. So I moved
away from my grandfather at the age of eleven to
play tennis. So I moved to Houston. I went to

(02:32):
high school, junior high, and I met a coach that
was worldver now John Wilkerson. So over the years, I
went to junior High in high school, and then I
moved to Jackson, Mississippi, and I took a scholarship to
Jackson University of Jacksons State University, and that's where major
name in business. I really got a chance to kind
of find tunes and things and decide what area of

(02:57):
business that I wanted to go into. And uh, I
can't thank my HBC you experience. It meant the world
to me. We hear that a lot too. I grew
up in Canada, so I feel like I really missed
out on that. I want to ask you too about
your grandfather. He seems to be like a very influential
force in your life. When he was teaching you about,

(03:17):
you know, entrepreneurship, running your own business. You know, was
he very intentional about giving you these ideas of like
how to save, what credit meant, or was he just
like high level about achievement now. Actually absolutely he was.
He would always talk about you have to save your money,
and to me, that's one of the biggest piece of
advice I can give to anyone is to stay ready,

(03:40):
hold on to your capital because when you're an entrepreneurship,
things come up. Owners anything can happen, and you have
to be ready. I mean, opportunities can come to you
and if you're not in a position to take advantage
of them, then you know, you can lose out. You can.
For him, he talked about credit, He talked about the
importance of real estate. He talked about the importance of

(04:02):
always doing what right, treating people how you want to
be treated. Those were core values for him and anywhere
we when he would light up the room, so he
he was a force not only just with me, but
I think in the community itself. And that's why we
get so involved in the community here Johnny Keys and
over the years, I mean we're you know, anything we're
asked to do well will take part. I love that

(04:24):
because it's truly like the epitome of like building a
legacy based on like core messaging and core tenants that
were important not just to you, but passed down to you. So,
I mean it makes such a big difference. I think,
you know, just understanding and really receiving the messages that
you know people taught us. Absolutely, I've seen Uh it
was a mean the other day, but it was saying
that worked really hard to get yourself in a position

(04:47):
of financial stability so that you can use your pockets
to bless other people. Yeah, that's kind of you know
what I'm on. I want to be able to help
and I want to be to a point where we're
no longer money. We're not worried about the money, the
money's coming in, but being able to help and take
part and do things in the community and show by
example there's other people out here, there's other African American

(05:10):
businesses here in the city, but we set the bar
and we do things to encourage others to take part
as well. On that note, I want to take us
all the way back to you know, you're fresh out
of your HBCU, you've graduated. What sort of was next
for you at that point? I mean there's so many choices,
like how did you know where to start your first business? First?
I was like, you know, because there was some pressure

(05:32):
to from your parents. They want to you know, what
are you gonna do. That's a ton of money in
your education, in your tennis. What are you gonna do?
So immediately what idea was I went back to grass
school in Southern That bought me some time figure out
what you want to do. If it's this T shirt
company you want to start, you can go ahead and
start your business plan and whatnot. You got a little

(05:52):
time to get it together. But now is the time.
So I went to grad school with Southern major in
public policy, and around the same time, I was producing
some prototypes for the clothing company that I wanted to introduce.
In college, I ended up meeting some friends that were locals,
and they were really popular locals. But the thing that
they didn't have going on is they didn't monetize anything.

(06:15):
They were just popular and being popular, and I put
it on their backs and with that became a tremendous
amount of local support and it allowed me to test
my designs, reinvest, do it again, flip it again, and
with that, you know, segue into entertainment. Because you're dealing

(06:35):
with a hip hop oriented clothing line that runs you
right into maybe some musicians and artists and things of
that nature. So that was my first business, was the
T shirt printing company. I started with a very small
shoestring budget. My grandfather gave me three thousand dollars, which
was not nearly enough, but it was enough to produce

(06:57):
that prototype, enough to you know, produce some items for sale.
And since I had so much support and it would
sell out as soon as they were produced, it just
allowed me to grow and I continue to invest in
the business itself. I also just want to comment on
that because oftentimes, you know, I work a lot in
venture capital, and you know, the narratives are for people

(07:19):
of color, like we don't have some trust fund where
we can be like, hey, Grandpa, I've got an idea.
I need a million dollars for you to fund my business.
But you know, that small investment of three thousand dollars,
which was probably a lot, you know at the time,
like it was meaningful. And so I think, you know,
as we look to help fund other businesses, as you know,
like you say, you get more and more successful. Even

(07:40):
a three thousand dollar investment into an early stage business
is life changing. It was it was for me. I
didn't know at the time. It wasn't enough for me
to have a store front, insurance and all the other
things that came along with it, but it did allow
me to start, and it showed him too that I
was serious, yeah, and that you know so. But after

(08:03):
that I never asked for anything else. Okay, so what
was next? What came next? After the T Shirt cream Company,
I was selling those out of my trunk, and after
I raised enough capital, I went and got a storefront.
Not having enough to put shelves and racks, register and
all that, I had to grow into that space. So

(08:24):
this was in a mini strip mall. So I opened
the brick and mortar. Now I didn't have to drive around.
The customers came to me, and as those suites became
available next to me, I purchased them, and I purchased
the whole plaza. So next to me was a barbershop.
On the other end, I had one for the ladies,
which was a duty shop called the Red Room. And

(08:44):
then years later, maybe four years after opening the T
Shirt Shop, came my very first restaurant. But the whole
idea was to control your environment. Because I had made
such a huge investment in the T shirt in the barber.
I didn't want anybody to come to me ill repute
and have a certain business that didn't necessarily wasn't equally yokes.

(09:06):
So I bought the whole plaza and place businesses in
there and owned all of them. So that was my
uh management, being able to you know, work on my
management skills because not knowing that when I fully embarked
into the restaurant business, I would need all the accounting,
the marketing, the management. So it was kind of like

(09:28):
the Mr. Miagi effect. Yeah, So after you know, sharpening
all those skills, it allowed me to you know, embark
upon the hospitality. So I can't take anything away from
that whole experience to starting out of my trunk and
you know, shoes string budget and you know, reinvesting and

(09:52):
taking some of that capital and you know try and
get in the in the concert business because those things
were running hand in hand and it kind of led
led me into being a local promoter. After that, where
do you think you got the confidence to sort of
continue to scale and start different businesses. You know a
lot of people are like, hey, I've got this one

(10:12):
barbershop or I've got a one duty supply, But I
mean I understand the vision. It made sense for you
to sort of control, But how like what really inspired
you to know that you could do it? Well, I
guess first my grandfather, But next was I didn't want complacency.
So once achieving some of those things, it's like, okay,
what's next. We can't just sit here. This isn't enough.

(10:35):
We need more of it because the things that we
want to do and the goals that we have is
going to take more. So I think once we were
in a position where we had some of the capital,
I wasn't scared. Um, you know, I invest strategic and
I'm you know, my next move had to be my
best move because we didn't have a whole lot of
money to lose. So that made sure that we did

(10:57):
our due diligence and we we made sure that when
we make this that you know it's gonna be promising. Um.
But I think between my grandfather and also just becoming
a serial entrepreneur, like, that's that's what drives me. And
you know, I'm at a point now where we talked
about earlier. I want to I want to help. I

(11:18):
want to be able to embark upon the community and
do all sorts of things. So we recently just started
on non profit called The Joy Spreaders. Wow. I love
that The Joy Spreaders. Yeah, all right. He catered to
the elderly in their golden years. So whether it's building
a ramp, whether it's providing a meal service, or even
some of our entertainment that we have here at our

(11:40):
locations on Friday nights, taking them to maybe a nursing
home or senior living and giving them a Uh. That's
so incredible because it's, you know, honestly our aging population,
the elderly. They're often overlooked in terms of a lot
of the programs and stuff, especially for younger people who
were coming out and doing stuff. It's it's kid focused,
education focus. But I mean, these are these are legacy

(12:03):
builders in the community. So that's a that's great. I
really love to hear that. Yeah, we're excited about it.
So tell me a little about you built all these
businesses in Jackson, Mississippi. Tell me about this historic street
that you're building around. Oh wow, so Ferris Street. When
I was in my strip mall, you know, I kind

(12:24):
of dove into the history of this area and what
it was during the times when this area was segregated.
This is where the blacks had to shop, eat the mall.
I mean, well not the mall, but this is where
the lawyers were, This is where the movie theaters, this
is where black people had the shop. So it was
a mecca in the South. So it really thrived at

(12:46):
one time. All the buildings were built by black contractors,
and this area started as downward spiral once integration came,
once black people were allowed to move. And it sounds
very much like Greenwood and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Absolutely so, Um,

(13:07):
this building became available maybe like we've been here seven years,
so I knew that with that history, I could repackage it,
branded and present it again. And that's what we did
with Johnny T. S Um. We really pushed the whole
Fair Street historic district aspect of it. And now you'll
see businesses and we're not starting to come back. So

(13:29):
I really like to think what we did here, we
showed by example, and uh now it's it's starting to
become this. They like to want to call it a
entertainment district, but I like to think of it as
the whole mixed use aspect, mixed use, multi purpose. I
really I like, I like that term a lot better.
I think it gives us a broader sort of reach

(13:50):
in the community, and you're doing so much more than that.
Oh well, thank you so much, John, thank you for
your time on the podcast today, and we're going to
have you to come back again for a deeper dive
into more of your business pursuits. But before you leave,
can you tell our audience where they can find you
on social media where they can check out your restaurants. Absolutely. Um.
We're located in Jackson, Mississippi at five thirty eight North

(14:13):
Fair Street in the Downhound Store district. We also opened
our second location in Omaha, Nebraska. It's at thirty North
thirty Industreet. You can see us on social media at
johnny ts b Strow and Blues and our website is
Johnny Tees Be Strong and Blues dot com. Okay, well,
there you have it, folks. Thank you so much for

(14:33):
your time. Make sure Money Movers that you check out
John on all his social media platforms and stopping for
a bite at his restaurant. Thank you so much again, John,
and we'll see you in another episode for our deep dive.
Thank you all right, Money Movers. That's all the time
We have for today, but again make sure you check
out John and all his social media and if we
have helped you make your money move, please make sure

(14:54):
to let us know by sending us alike, sharing the
knowledge on your social media, or perhaps leave us a
review on Apple podcast and make sure you tune into
Money Moves Monday through Friday and subscribe to the Money
Moves podcast powered by Greenwood, so that you too can
have the keys to financial freedom you so rightly deserve.
Thank you so much for tuning in Money Moves audience.

(15:14):
If you want more or a recap of this episode,
please go to the Bank Greenwood dot com and check
out the Money Moves podcast blog. Money Moves is an
I Heart Radio podcast powered by Greenwood Executive produced by
Sunwise Media, Inc. For more podcast on I heart Radio,
visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

(15:37):
you get your podcasts from
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

24/7 News: The Latest

24/7 News: The Latest

The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

Therapy Gecko

Therapy Gecko

An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.