April 8, 2025 • 37 mins
Season 2 Premiere is here and we’re kicking it off with an unforgettable conversation that blends innovation, resilience, and generational wisdom. Join us as we sit down with Sonny Sneed and Takesha Mingo, a dynamic grandfather-granddaughter duo, to explore their inspiring entrepreneurial paths.
From Sonny’s humble beginnings in the cotton fields of Georgia to becoming a trailblazer in the punches and dies industry, to Takesha’s journey as a boutique owner navigating the world of personal branding and community impact, this episode is filled with powerful lessons on grit, growth, and legacy.
Tune in as they share how trade schools, family values, and a relentless drive for excellence shaped their stories, and how their businesses continue to uplift their community.
This episode is more than a conversation, it’s a celebration of purpose, perseverance, and the power of believing in your vision.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
Welcome to season two of Media Rugged World Club.
I'm your host, Janice Becker, and we are starting off the season in such a great way.
A very inspirational story with a grandfather and granddaughter duo, Steve and TakeshaNgo.
Sunny is an inventor and entrepreneur in his own right, and we're going to learn so muchabout his journey and his invention today.
(00:28):
to Takesha, his granddaughter is also an entrepreneur.
Takesha would you start us off and tell us about yourself and what it is that you do andwhat your business is?
I am an entrepreneur.
have a clothing boutique.
We were in the Cleveland area at Beachwood Mall for about three years.
We are now renovating a space.
(00:49):
We're going to be in Merriman Valley.
So very excited about that.
I sell women's clothing.
We're going to branch off into men's and cosmetics as well.
So that's awesome.
What's the name of your company?
I imagine having a grandfather like Sonny must have played a part in your journey.
Absolutely.
For as long as I can remember, ever since I was a little girl, my grandfather has alwaysinstilled in me that education is the only way to go.
(01:16):
He's always dressed very well, so he definitely played a part in fashion.
I've never seen him dressed down ever until today, ever.
And you know, it's just his work ethic, his resilience, everything about him as hisinfluence, not only me, but my entire family.
audience at Sonny, for those who are watching and only see that he's dressed down justbecause he had surgery.
(01:39):
He's still nice enough to grace us with his presence here today.
So thank you for that.
How long have you been an entrepreneur yourself?
I've been an entrepreneur now for about the last four years.
Before I began my journey there, I was in sales.
I sold life and health insurance.
I was licensed in about maybe four states.
(02:00):
I sold maybe 1,600 policies a year.
So I worked very hard doing that and enabled me to go ahead and be able to start mybusiness, which has always been a lifelong dream.
I feel like it's something that's really ingrained in our DNA too, especially when youcome from somebody who has inspired you to be an entrepreneur and you've seen, I'm sure,
his ups and downs along the way.
(02:22):
Sonny, how long have you been an entrepreneur now?
Well, like I'm my first patent in 1980 and I began my journey at that time, 1988.
But I didn't know what the word meant when it was the time.
But as I went along, you know, that I found out what it meant, you know, is to maybe besomeone that started a business and also inspire others, you know, to also to go in that
(02:46):
way of being on.
But I tell you, my journey has been a long, long journey.
All right.
You know, up and down, you know.
And especially what I invented in the first black man in the history of the world, not onthis country to produce Punches and Dies, you know.
But I revolutionized the Punches and Dies, got a patent on it.
(03:06):
And I finished some pretty big companies, know, companies like Ford Motor Company, GeneralMotors, Chrysler, Lockheed Martin, and a few other companies.
So my journey has been started, I started my journey in 1988, but I ups and downs.
But eventually, know, I met a gentleman by the name of Mr.
Mike Kormushoff as I went on, that's about 20 years ago.
(03:29):
He was big, very big, inspired gentleman that helped me to move forward, among a fewothers.
know, but I would go and try to call out the name that I met, you know, and have helped meon my journey, you know, we'll be here forever.
But that's, that's how I lie so far for me.
Yeah, I think that's so important for all other business owners and entrepreneurs to hearis none of us have gotten here on our own.
(03:53):
And, know, it's one of the reasons that we created the podcast was so that others,especially women, would feel supported and empowered and inspired and to know that they're
not alone in their journey and that it's so important to find a mentor, especially earlyon in that and to have people who are so well educated and educated in the field that
you're also involved in can be such a big.
(04:15):
Sonny, what?
And I know you said you invented a punch, correct?
And you're the only black man to invent the punch and die.
Yeah, well I'm the only black that revolutionized it.
Punches and Dies have been in existance for, I don't know, maybe a hundred years or sobetter.
Because what it does, you know, it holds into metals, right?
(04:36):
But I'm saying, you know, this here in essence that I am the only black man thatrevolutionized it and invented a product like that.
And the only black man in the history of the United States, probably would have.
Of course, we know, we get a lot of research to be able to be in that business.
So it's a pretty huge business, you know, that we have never.
So far, I've seen anybody that produces punches and dies that people of color are blindto.
(05:02):
So that's how go, you this is controlled industry out there.
Holes is needed in product.
We've got holes in our product, then the whole industry will stop.
You take punches and dies out of the automobile companies, they will come to a stopbecause you need holes.
It's a very important thing that the average person doesn't think about.
(05:25):
And here you are.
How did that invention come to be?
How did this pop into your mind?
We need a better way of doing this and I can figure it out.
Well, what happened is that I was a machine operator at a company that was laughing atsession when I first started there.
And then I began to move up the rank and I became to operate machines, you know, thatproduce nuts.
(05:50):
right.
And that's just, you know, they got to have holes in them them, you know, put the producttogether.
And so as I went up the ladder, I was running these big machines, know, big as a room, totell you the
That's one product, you know, that always gave us a problem.
was the last piece of the metal, you know, that has to have a hole in it.
But they wore out real fast.
(06:12):
Okay.
Because with metal going metal onto metal, all right, like a brake on a car, you know,when you hear squeaking, you know, on a car brake, I mean, car brake, you know, I mean,
you know, you better change it because it's going to wear out because metal on metal.
And so we was having a problem with that.
So I just come up with a way to design one.
you know, that was better than what they're using in world today.
And mine was a double, I call it a double head, but the, uh, uh, the industry out therecall it a double tilt.
(06:39):
So I designed one, you know, that, uh, worked a little different and lasted, you know,maybe about 75 to a hundred percent better than what they're using today.
And so I came up with it because I was tired of running about and I'm still saying thistool all the time.
And so as I just picking the way out, you know, and I finally, you know, uh, the companytested, but I had a problem with.
company because they wanted what they see up their face just and found out how well itworked.
(07:03):
But I thought, you know, that it's got to be a better way to save, you know, this product,you know.
So I just came with the idea to make it just a little bit different than what is used nowin the world.
I think that's how every invention has come to be.
It took one person to say there's a better way to do this and I'm going to figure it outmyself.
(07:23):
And then you ran with it though and that takes so much courage in itself to go, all right,I'm going to figure this out.
I may not know how to patent it.
I'm going to start doing this and I'm going to, no matter what anybody else says, I knowthis is the best product out there and keep going.
I'm sure that that also inspired you to Takesha to see that willpower that he has had tonever give up.
(07:44):
Absolutely.
I mean, it's like I said, I'm 41 ever since he's been, you know, he lives and breathesthis and he's been so resilient.
He's never given up.
You know, most people even probably myself would have probably scrapped the idea and justsaid, okay, I'm not going to go anywhere.
But he is as resilient and as serious about his invention as he was when he first did it,you know, and very patient and
(08:09):
He believes in it.
never known anybody believe in something so much.
So it really teaches me just to never give up, you know?
resiliency is so important and I'm sure that has evolved over your lifetime of overcomingadversity.
So where do you feel like you really, where did you really initially get that resiliencefrom?
(08:33):
I'll tell you the truth, you know, from the cotton field of Georgia.
You know, I recall, you know, that the first time, you know, that I was six years old whenI began picking cotton, you know, and still talk about mothers in the majority while I was
born and raised there.
I recall, you know, that my mother, you know, that what she was taking was called acrocosect.
And I was watching her as she was preparing this crocosect for me to go to cotton field,go to the cotton field to pick cotton.
(08:56):
My thing was to make money, all right?
to make money, although, you know, at six years old, you know, I might have worked all dayand made about 20 cents or something like that because I couldn't pick very much cotton.
But the resilience came because I saw the older ones out there and picking all thiscotton, they was making money, you know, not a whole lot of money, but, you know, 200 and
(09:17):
300 pounds of cotton.
And I was very young and I said, you know, I know I can do this one day, someday, youknow, I, I, it just was a thing, you know, that I,
I just had the opportunity that I could do this here.
I could get up there and make me two or three dollars a day or something like that.
six years old, you were like, I can go me.
(09:37):
That's when I started, yeah.
Hard worker.
Yeah, but I had to go on and on with it.
Yeah.
So I just kept picking cotton and kept picking cotton because I got older and older andwent off the line until I became a great cotton ticker, you know, and I made money.
So I think, you know, that a lot of the kids today, you know, have to look at a lot ofkids today, I would say that doesn't know what the word resilient means.
(09:59):
It's to go forward, you know, and stay forward.
All right.
Don't give up.
All right.
Although you know that it might seem to be hard, a lot of things are harder as well foreveryone.
Not just the people of color, but everyone, right?
It's hard for us.
It's not easy for no one, you know, but you must believe in yourself and carry on withwhat you think you can carry on.
It's gonna be up and down now.
You ain't gonna be able to just squat there and say, okay, I can go and I'm gonna make it.
(10:25):
It's gonna be up and down.
And I don't think anyone should feel sorry for themselves because they're colorblind.
I say that's the way the world is.
and that's the way the world is going to be, then you go forward.
I believe in forward and backward and don't look back.
So a lot of things that I went through, but I've met a lot of people, white and black,have been very, very of solution to me, okay?
(10:51):
They helped me go on, all right?
At some point, that we be named that I could call as voice for black and white, has reallyinspired me to keep going.
And so...
That is about it for me.
Let's come down to Sam being resilient.
think it's very inspiring because it is very easy to quit.
And I think in the moment when we're like, all right, it's time to quit is normally whenwe have to push the hardest.
(11:21):
It's not that we're on the precipice of something amazing happening when you're justthere.
The dream you're about to give up on is about to happen.
And I think we see that in about every good movie that there is.
Absolutely.
speaking of movies, I hear there's a documentary that we're trying to have put togetherabout your life.
Yeah, they're working on one.
in Niagara-on-Hall by the name of some Mark Greer, they're working on it.
(11:45):
So I think it would be a great story to be told.
Not because of me.
Not because of me.
I think, know, in the Black race, you know what mean, that education is a very big part ofthe Black race in the United States and what's going on in the country right now.
A lot of the Black kids right now...
I've grown from being the time that I invented this tool to see them, what's going on inour communities.
(12:10):
And I would say to anyone that would listen to this podcast and especially to the blackcommunity, education is key to the black race.
And we're working on a documentary that will show, as far as saying trade schools, as faras saying, you know, get an education.
Don't be looking back because the color of your skin is black.
(12:30):
That's not gonna, you can't feel sorry about that.
That's the way you were born, but you have a brain.
Think.
Do a lot of thinking, you know, before you make a mistake.
Of course, we make a lot of mistakes, and a lot of the younger us, young ones out therethat are in the black community, make mistakes, but they can overcome those.
They can overcome those mistakes, you know, by listening to someone, you know, that hasgot older and have been through the rings, all right?
(12:56):
But as I see today, like I said, know, education is the key.
Education is key to the black race, and I will stick with that.
I'm gonna stick with always saying, forward and never back.
Education is key for everybody and trade schools are such a big part of that.
My kids themselves are going to trade school.
have one in HVAC right now that's graduating.
(13:16):
I one that wants to go in carpentry and another one wants to go in electrical.
And we as a country have put so much into getting your associates and your bachelor'sdegree and not saying that you should not.
But you can start at trade school and then go on to evolve your education further, whichis what I'm trying to tell my senior right now.
You might be graduating in HVAC right now and it might be tempting to go into the unionright out of high school, but you need to further your education.
(13:38):
Even though he is one that has never felt education was for him because he's not somebodywho does well in a textbook.
does great with hands on.
He's like a mechanical genius, but if you give that boy a textbook, he couldn't tell youwhat he just read.
That's my 24 year old.
Very smart if he's interested.
Whatever he's interested in, he'll excel at.
And he's hands on too.
(13:59):
And I think that's what's great about trade schools and younger kids, especially videogames, right?
They're all hands-on in the video games and it's almost like the same thing.
can do that in trade school.
It's like a live video game when you're in there and you're putting things together andyou're using your brain on how you work.
Right?
Well, you got a lot of the kids today, know, black and white, you know, that are lookingat going to trade school today.
(14:24):
schools are becoming a big deal today, all right?
Yeah.
I think, you know, that they are you know, that because of education and to the college,they cost so much to go to, all right?
But you can get a trade.
You can go to school and get a trade, all right?
You know, and it doesn't mean that you don't have to stop your education going anyfurther.
Yeah.
You can take up a trade and pursue and be young as you go and then you can fund theeducation if you go if you want to move up to a higher position.
(14:52):
But we're also talking about that as we do this documentary about trade schools, know, andwhat we're planning on doing is forcing a scholarship that we would generate from the
sales of the product, the sales of the documentary, the sale of anything, you know, thatwe do to generate money is to put back.
(15:13):
into communities where the white or black doesn't make a difference.
You know, to say, okay, you want to go to trade school, you go to trade school, you wantto go to college, you want to go to college, we'll start you out, okay?
And that's what I plans as we move you know, the product forward all right?
So, but we must look at one thing, like I said, you know, that, and I will stick with it,I will say it again, education is the key.
(15:35):
And as you say, education is the key to matter what's coming, you know, education is thekey.
Get an education and you can go far
We'll go for it this night.
Yes, I think my son ended up realizing this.
It's in high school.
Trade school is free for him right now.
I yes, you have your minor fees and your uniforms.
And he goes, mom, you know, they do have adult trade school.
I didn't realize how much it was.
(15:56):
I'm so glad that I'm going in high school so that I don't have that expense.
And I think that's really important that even our high schools educate them on tradeschools because you have to prepare for that.
Your grades have to be really good.
You to get in some programs sooner than others because they fill up really fast.
I think right now the one for hours globally was mechanical and carpentry and electrical.
(16:18):
They fill up and you have like a whole one-year waiting list to get in.
And then from there you have to try to find another one closest to you.
But I think that your position with your product sales going to helping others to go totrade school is very inspiring.
How did you come up with?
No, the idea of the sales would go to help others go to trade school and further theireducation.
(16:42):
Well, the gentleman, like I said, know, that I met him 20 years ago Mr.
Mike Kormushoff He's been a part of the education of University of Akron down there.
When I met him, know, that he and I began to, he began to work with me as I moved throughmy journey.
And as we talked and looked at things, you know, that he's an educator and also Miss JoyceAnderson, you just met she's the educator, okay?
(17:09):
And so they kind of talk to me, concerned about trade schools.
And that's how we got to, you know, talk about, you know, trade schools and, and, how, youknow, how, how it would be.
good, just good for the, education that they want that really don't think they did notcollege material.
(17:29):
Okay.
You've got a lot of them, you know, a lot of kids out here think they're not collegematerials.
They don't want to go to college.
want to, they want to be hands on what they can do.
All right.
And so we talked about that and that's how we come up with, know, not just saying tradeSchool will a thing, you know, for a lot of the kids, it was a white or black doesn't make
any difference.
You trade School, trade School is going to be one of the big keys that is going to beexisting here in United States.
(17:53):
Of course, I know, I don't know about other part of the world, but I know it's going to bea big field here in the United States.
And so we're constantly working on that.
My product that we have here, what we're planning on doing, we're planning on dealing with
We want to start out with the big three.
Saying, you know, that you buy our products, you know, to produce better product.
And as the sales go through, you help the community, all right?
(18:14):
Because, you know, we'll take part of that and put back into community with trade schoolsand education scholarships.
So actually, you know, that we can start out with them right now.
But there'll be a lot of them that we will start out with.
Not only them, but Uncle Sam armies You're doing ships and all that, people.
We'll put back.
You know, you buy a better product.
You know that if you don't want to use our product, you still want to do business, knowthat with the company that you're doing business with, we just want to do a fair share.
(18:42):
know, give us some of the market and we'll put back and the market is so big, you know,that we'll be able to fund trade schools, you know, not only in our backyard, here in
Akron but all over the United States.
That's a great model to have.
Not only will they be getting a better product, they're going to be helping thecommunities as well further educate
with back in the community what you'll be doing, right?
(19:04):
Same thing, you It's not about the Sonny Sneed project, you know, that whereas, you know,that Mr.
Kormushoff and I put together.
It's not so much about that, you know.
It's about what we want to do as voice and what we see as the community towards the youngyouth, you know, moving forward as we move forward in this land today.
(19:24):
So your invention, it's dual-tip punch is what you're calling it.
Yes, I call it, they call it a Dual Tip, but I, when I first invented it, I called it adoublehead.
Okay.
But the industries out there, they call it Dual Tip.
So we have a company called M.O.M.2.
This is what, when they were dealing with General Motors and Chrysler and all thosecompanies out there, they used the word Dual Tip here.
(19:48):
So that's what I call it now, the Dual Tip.
The way it's designed, know, designed, know, like when the front head wears out like asingle head, the second head come in, takes over.
but it doesn't have the nearly the work to do.
The front head, you know, start off doing.
So it's keeping it tolerance.
You'd be surprised, you know, when you get a blueprint, you know, they want these holes tobe precise, you know.
(20:11):
You just can't put a hole into a piece of metal and say, put it together.
It doesn't work.
This is my complaint with all my Amazon purchases.
When the holes aren't drilled right and I can't put it together.
I understand a little bit the frustration.
Yeah, and also, you know, like I said, you know, when you come down to all this likeelectronic stuff, you know, but best automobiles and the self-driving cars and all this
(20:35):
coming to the future and planes and things, you know, I can see, you know, they vibrate,you know, and they've got birds in there, you know, it's going to cut the wires, right?
It's going to cause a problem.
So all this here, that my invention you know, would help out with that.
We're not saying 100%.
(20:55):
But we can say 90 % Alright?
I we got a thing to wear out now.
Wear it out some point.
But yours lasts longer than others, from what I've seen.
What's the lifetime of yours versus what's normally in the market?
No, no.
Anywhere from 75 to 90 percent longer.
Oh, wow.
So that's pretty long time.
Yes, it is.
That's about it.
(21:15):
In fact, we have documented that to show that some of the biggest companies, companies inthe United States that we have, know, put in.
And as matter fact, we sold to some of the biggest companies in the United States, 45companies.
That's very impressive.
And so that's what we're realizing right now.
Very impressive.
All right, so I need to hear more about Sonny's fashion.
(21:39):
He's always very sharp, very clean, slacks, you know, a nice collar shirt, very niceshoes, very well kept all the time.
So my mom, who's his daughter, obviously she's the same way.
She's, I mean, she's just always very well put together.
So ever since I was a little girl.
You know, when he'd come by, he'd always say, girl, what do you got on?
(22:00):
And so I know when Grandpa Sonny's coming, like everything's got to be perfect.
You got to get it together.
He wants to know what's going on with school.
You know, you got to, it's just, everything's got to be up to par and on point withGrandpa Sonny.
And I appreciate that.
It's kept me on my toes.
Yeah.
can only imagine.
I'm sorry that we didn't get to see him dressed to the nines today.
I hope that documentary come out that I'm getting much better after that operation that Ihad to have.
(22:26):
hope when the weather is getting ready to change that I didn't want to get out in theweather because I had a serious operation.
I'm not a young man and you want to get out like that.
But hopefully after the weather changes that I can begin to look the way that Sonny likesto look I think everyone that I just don't like to see these kids running around with
(22:48):
their pants hanging down on them.
Yeah fashion's not what it used to be.
No, because I tell them all your pants hanging down, know, down to your ankles and allthat, you know, that doesn't look good.
You you never know who you're gonna meet.
You never know who you're gonna meet.
It might be someone, you know, and they may look at you, it might be someone you want totalk to.
(23:09):
Say something, know, like someone that might be able to inspire you to move, you know,better in life, you but you look like some that you don't want to talk to, you know,
they're not gonna talk to you.
that's the first impression that people take from you is your appearance.
Sadly, it really is, you know, and how you present yourself and also what it embodies ofyou as a person and your personalities and it's also very important with fashion.
(23:33):
But you're the expert on that, Takesha.
Yeah, I have a really unique style.
So I've been an artist as well, which is something I picked up from him as well.
I remember being a little girl, you when we go see him, he'd be on the phone talkingbusiness.
He'd be sketching his little sketches.
And I was just always so mesmerized by it.
So I developed a passion for art as well.
I actually didn't go to a traditional college.
(23:53):
I went to an art school.
went to the Art Institute of Philadelphia.
Took some courses there.
And so my style is very unique.
know, sometimes I got like a mix of
conservative, but I can also do fun as well.
So it's a really good mixture of things that I have at my boutique.
I always say it depends on my mood and what personality you're getting.
(24:15):
Me too, but when I'm coming with him I know conservative.
So what is your boutique specialized and what's the trend?
the trend.
So a lot of people seem to appreciate my selection.
I have very unique pieces that you normally wouldn't find anywhere else.
I love denims.
I love really good denims.
You know, I love really good quality, which is why I call my boutique the upper echelonboutique.
(24:39):
I don't just like go order stuff and just throw it in.
take really good, I take my time.
I take pride into my inventory.
I like when people come into my store and they're wild and they leave happy and they'relike, my gosh, I'm so happy with this purchase.
You know, and they come back and they tell me I got a ton of compliments.
So I would say probably the selection.
(25:00):
My pieces are very unique.
Do you look for a particular artist or somebody that's more original?
You know, can't go into the mall and find it.
It's something very special.
So I have different vendors and I just kind of choose what I like.
My sister and I, we've always dressed very well.
My sister, she got best dressed in high school.
We've always been known for our style and the way we dress.
(25:21):
So I trust my own style and my own judgment.
People seem to like it.
I just go for what I would like.
And I check the style trends too, you know, of course, but yeah.
Yeah, but that's good.
has to your store has to embody yourself.
Not just who you're trying to cater to.
Yeah, but it is a representation of yourself.
Just like when you walk in here, I want you to kind of feel what the Media Rebel brand isall about.
(25:44):
Hopefully people do get that when they come here.
It's to feel welcomed and to feel at home and you know that I want to learn more abouteverybody that comes here and everybody's story and share that with the world.
So what really was the breaking point for you out of insurance to go?
want to
go into my business, I've had enough of the insurance world.
Yes.
So I would say the breaking point for me is, I remember sitting, I was brought rightaround the pandemic.
(26:09):
was the top sales agent, at, my whole company and every office, the offices in Georgia,Florida, the top sales agent every month, I was very competitive.
So maybe like 150 policies a month, the average person sold maybe 50.
And so first of all, it was very competitive.
As you can imagine, was a lot of pressure to keep that going.
(26:32):
You know, your teammates aren't so happy with you sometimes.
I just started thinking to myself, wow, I just started kind of calculating the amount ofnot only money, obviously, but just my time and what I could do if I just kind of went
independent.
You know what I mean?
I just remembered.
feeling very unfulfilled, getting up, going to my desk, making tons of cells every day,you know?
It just didn't really fulfill me anymore.
(26:54):
I want to kind of do that for myself.
So I saved some money.
I was able and I said, I think now's a good time for me to start my own thing.
So that's what I did.
So did you go to your grandfather for advice before I jumped into it?
You know, we did talk.
Actually, I don't do it.
My family were all very close knit.
So I talked to my mom, my aunt, my grandfather, my whole family, and they're all like,yeah, you know, and I had their I have their help whenever I need it.
(27:17):
And it just felt right.
So I did it.
great to have a whole family behind you that supports what you're doing.
I can relate myself when I started my journey.
had to go and talk to the family and the family sounds very mafia-esque.
I was family, right here I am.
I'm finally doing it.
That's such a big leap.
It's a big leap of courage to and yourself and to see that your family has that supportbehind you.
(27:39):
I know that had to mean it.
It means a lot.
great family.
I have a really, really good family.
I'm very blessed.
So if anybody wanted to shop your store, can they shop you online or do they have to cometo you?
So they could shop us online.
We're redoing our website just because we're getting the new space and that they come tothe store as well.
We plan to shoot for opening for May 1st so we're almost done with renovation.
(28:02):
Awesome.
We'll make sure that we put your website in the description of everything for you to helpdrive traffic once it's up and ready.
Because I think everybody would love to see what it is that we're talking about.
What advice would you give to others that are looking to start their own business?
The advice that I would give is to do it.
You can't really, I mean, obviously you have to be smart.
(28:25):
You know, have to make sure you're going to be able to sustain yourself and you know,timing is everything, but don't wait for the perfect time.
Don't wait for everything to be perfect.
You just got to kind of feel it.
You got to kind of believe in yourself, you know, set a plan, but don't get too wrapped upin the details because then you'll never start, you know, just kind of go for it.
A little bit of planning, you know, obviously, but just go for it.
(28:48):
And never give up.
This is not my first boutique, by the way.
This will be my third.
So if it doesn't work out the first time or if you don't get the results you want thefirst time, just start over.
know, just got to plan strategically, start over, learn your target audience, and believein yourself.
Just never give up.
love that.
So I always say there's no such thing as failure as long as you're taking away a lesson.
(29:08):
So there's always something that you can learn from it.
A lot of business owners, fail the first time, second time, third time, but it's again,it's resilience that you don't give up and you just keep on persevering.
Yes.
I love how you all embody that.
Sonny, what advice would you give to not only a business owner, but somebody that'slooking to invent something or has an idea for invention?
(29:29):
Well, advice I can give like that, you know, and saying that I had a lot of, you know,young folks and older folks too, you know, that has ideals, you know, that came to me, you
know, an ideal.
But, you know, we were dealing with a company in Akron the National Museum of educationand we had a lot of, you know, come through with ideas But it's pretty hard, you know, to
(29:52):
give someone an idea, you know, to say how to go forward with that product, you know,because...
They would look at you and say, you you can't tell me anything about my product becauseyou don't know anything about my product.
So I kind of just said to elect what my granddaughter was saying here, you know, I mean,it's going to be failure, you know, it's going to be good and going to be bad.
So, you know, what you have to do, you have to believe in yourself and carry on with it.
(30:15):
All right.
My journey, you know, that I had quite a few failures and I had, you know, some upliftthat kept me going.
That boy said, give us some advice, you know what mean?
I can say just like you said, you believe in yourself.
First of all, believe in yourself.
Believe in yourself and move forward.
You're going to have some ups and downs.
You believe in yourself, just go forward with it.
(30:38):
As I say, forward or backward is never.
Don't look back.
That's all I can say.
But I try not to, if someone comes to me, try not to put them down in any kind of waybecause I was put down in a way.
especially I hate to say it but I'm gonna have to say the truth especially in the blackcommunity when I was talking about my adventure with them you know I mean the first thing
(31:01):
they say they're gonna take that they're gonna take that from you it was some verydiscouraging words you know that came from them you know I mean but I'll be frank with you
you're gonna tell the truth tell the truth I had more problem with my own kind.
then I had that with white alright because of that because blacks do not understand
(31:22):
the punch and die business because none have never been in that business.
But it was mainly controlled by white, you know, and so I kind of understood that a littlebit.
I've been on by a named Mr.
Byrd Davis, you know, that worked with me at the plant, you know, and he said the words tome that I told him, said, I don't understand, you know, why are they just slacking me
(31:43):
because this?
Why are saying this?
He said, because they don't understand and they did not understand, know, so those words,you know, that stick with me.
All right.
And still today, know, when someone come to me with a product, you know, ask my advice,the only thing I just tell them is believe in yourself.
Believe in yourself.
I just give them the advice that I could give them, you know, but it's pretty hard to talkto someone about their product and what they're inventing because a lot of the stuff, you
(32:12):
know, that they probably created, I don't understand, you know, and I just tell them tobelieve in yourself and go forward.
know, it's the only thing I can say to them, you know, so.
I think that's great advice.
It's hard to believe in ourselves.
We've talked about it a lot on the podcast about self-love and self-care.
I think there are times we can be our worst enemy.
We can really talk ourselves out of a good thing if we spend enough time.
(32:36):
For me personally, that's when I turn to God.
When I go, I'm beating myself up too much.
I need somebody else that knows way more than me.
A question that we always ask our guests on the podcast.
I'll start with Sonny and then we'll go to Takesha.
is what gets you through your day.
What get me through my day?
It was leaving me Sonny It believed in what I'm doing, all right?
(32:56):
That's what gave me through the day.
You'd be surprised, you know, that when one is sleeping at three or four o'clock in themorning, I'm up thinking, all right?
How do we move forward?
You know, and I guess my business partner, Mr.
Mike Kormushoff he's taking the phone and he go straight to voicemail why?
Because he know I'm gonna call him.
About two minutes I think, you know what mean?
I'm gonna give him a chance, eight o'clock, I'm gonna call him.
(33:16):
But we gotta talk here.
But, yeah.
gave me through my journey, like I said, is believe in what I'm doing.
You got to believe in what you're doing.
You got to, you got to, just got to believe in it, you know.
that's what get me through the day.
And that's what got me through the time, you know, when I first got the patent in 1988,ups and downs, what I believed in, what I was doing.
I believed in Sonny okay?
(33:38):
And that's what gave me through the day, all right?
It's not going out talking to a whole lot of folks about my invention.
Just believe in myself.
And that's what I say, believe in yourself, trust in yourself.
It's going to be up to down, but trust in yourself and keep going forward.
And that's what you meet through the day.
⁓what about you Takesha?
Um, what gets me through the day is, uh, my family, I I would say my family and just, youknow, having a real passion to make sure that, I don't know, I definitely want to leave a
(34:10):
legacy behind for my boys.
My son has kids for his kids, for my family, my grandfather, my aunt, my mother, who areall getting older.
You know, I feel they've given me such a great life.
It will be my responsibility and a pleasure for me to be able to provide them with that aswell.
And to be able to get.
Just some, just a good legacy going in my family to have something for my kids, mygrandkids.
(34:34):
If my family needs me, they can pull back and make sure I'm strong enough financially,mentally, physically to be able to be here for my family.
That's what gets me through.
I can respect both of your input.
think it's going to be very beneficial for people out there looking to start their ownpersonal journey.
If they haven't already or if they're going through it and questioning if they shouldstick with that business that they've created or the invention that they have in mind that
(34:59):
maybe they haven't executed yet, I think you both have given people a lot of the insightthat's going to be very inspiring to them.
Thank you.
So if they're looking to learn more about Sonny, where would they go?
Well, to look for more about Sonny We go to sonnysneedproject.com.
So Google my name up, Sonny Sneed you know, and it began to tell you a lot about me.
But of course, you know, that it's a lot, quite a bit on that website that we have, youknow, a lot of one look at it, you know, and so much.
(35:26):
You stop looking.
You guys keep strolling and strolling, you know, that they can just go tosonnysneedproject.com, you know, and start to read about me.
That would be very, very inspiration to a lot of us.
to see that, you know, to my journey.
We definitely plan on putting a little snippet from that on your website of thedocumentary that they're working on.
(35:49):
we're going to be including that for everybody to see here and learn a little bit moreabout you.
And Takesha where can they learn more about you and your company?
So like I said, we do have a website.
We're just reconstructing it.
It's the upperechelonofficial.com I have social media as well.
I have Instagram upperechelon underscore Kesh would be the Instagram and That's prettymuch all I got right now
(36:15):
Sounds good.
We'll update it as you update and grow.
will keep our audience updated on both of you and your journeys and how everybody can takepart in the Sonny Sneed project and stay up to date on that documentary as it's coming
about.
I wish you both the best of luck.
I'm so excited that you came here today to share your story.
(36:37):
Sonny, thank you for being the first man on Media Rebel Unplugged.
like that.
I like that.
when history goes down, if they Sonny Sneed was not only the first black man torevolutionize and invent a tool he was the first black man to be on this show.
And not only the first black man, but the first man period.
I like that.
I like that.
I think that sounds good.
(36:57):
That sounds good.
I think that was kind of sprung on you, you know what mean?
You just might get the other men out there want to come and talk to you.
the time but I only take the best.
Well thank you all for listening and for tuning in.
You can learn more about Media Rebel by going to media-rebel.net and you can find us onall of the social and podcast channels that you're listening to as well.
(37:26):
So we look forward to having you subscribe and like us and follow along with Sonny andTakesha as they go on their journey.
Keep watching and listening for scenes from the upcoming documentary on Sonny Sneed andhis amazing journey.
At the time, they call it the dual tip punch.
If you make a better mousetrap, the world will be the path to your door.
(37:50):
There are people in life that we meet whose filter they're using to see the world in is alittle bit different than what ours might be.
A lot of engineers, I would say they feel embarrassed that the black man walked out ofshop and did what I did.
They couldn't do it.
(38:10):
We ran a test.
It got to the point where we were like 70 times better.
Our minds were just running wild.
With this tool, we'll be the last man standing.
It's knowing that the product was very successful in port, Lockheed Martin, General MotorsChrysler it was better than bread, okay?
(38:31):
But for some reason, you know, they don't purchase it.
Sonny has been on a very long journey, a very difficult journey as a kid growing uppicking cotton in the 40s and 50s.
Jim Crow was very much alive.
I can't even imagine what that would be like.
(38:57):
I don't have no giving up on me.
I feel that I am successful.
I ain't make that billion of dollars or the million of whatever you want to say, but Iprove that I have the best tool in the world.
Welcome to season two of Media Rugged World Club.
I'm your host, Janice Becker, and we are starting off the season in such a great way.
A very inspirational story with a grandfather and granddaughter duo, Steve and TakeshaNgo.
Sunny is an inventor and entrepreneur in his own right, and we're going to learn so muchabout his journey and his invention today.
(00:28):
to Takesha, his granddaughter is also an entrepreneur.
Takesha would you start us off and tell us about yourself and what it is that you do andwhat your business is?
I am an entrepreneur.
have a clothing boutique.
We were in the Cleveland area at Beachwood Mall for about three years.
We are now renovating a space.
(00:49):
We're going to be in Merriman Valley.
So very excited about that.
I sell women's clothing.
We're going to branch off into men's and cosmetics as well.
So that's awesome.
What's the name of your company?
I imagine having a grandfather like Sonny must have played a part in your journey.
Absolutely.
For as long as I can remember, ever since I was a little girl, my grandfather has alwaysinstilled in me that education is the only way to go.
(01:16):
He's always dressed very well, so he definitely played a part in fashion.
I've never seen him dressed down ever until today, ever.
And you know, it's just his work ethic, his resilience, everything about him as hisinfluence, not only me, but my entire family.
audience at Sonny, for those who are watching and only see that he's dressed down justbecause he had surgery.
(01:39):
He's still nice enough to grace us with his presence here today.
So thank you for that.
How long have you been an entrepreneur yourself?
I've been an entrepreneur now for about the last four years.
Before I began my journey there, I was in sales.
I sold life and health insurance.
I was licensed in about maybe four states.
(02:00):
I sold maybe 1,600 policies a year.
So I worked very hard doing that and enabled me to go ahead and be able to start mybusiness, which has always been a lifelong dream.
I feel like it's something that's really ingrained in our DNA too, especially when youcome from somebody who has inspired you to be an entrepreneur and you've seen, I'm sure,
his ups and downs along the way.
(02:22):
Sonny, how long have you been an entrepreneur now?
Well, like I'm my first patent in 1980 and I began my journey at that time, 1988.
But I didn't know what the word meant when it was the time.
But as I went along, you know, that I found out what it meant, you know, is to maybe besomeone that started a business and also inspire others, you know, to also to go in that
(02:46):
way of being on.
But I tell you, my journey has been a long, long journey.
All right.
You know, up and down, you know.
And especially what I invented in the first black man in the history of the world, not onthis country to produce Punches and Dies, you know.
But I revolutionized the Punches and Dies, got a patent on it.
(03:06):
And I finished some pretty big companies, know, companies like Ford Motor Company, GeneralMotors, Chrysler, Lockheed Martin, and a few other companies.
So my journey has been started, I started my journey in 1988, but I ups and downs.
But eventually, know, I met a gentleman by the name of Mr.
Mike Kormushoff as I went on, that's about 20 years ago.
(03:29):
He was big, very big, inspired gentleman that helped me to move forward, among a fewothers.
know, but I would go and try to call out the name that I met, you know, and have helped meon my journey, you know, we'll be here forever.
But that's, that's how I lie so far for me.
Yeah, I think that's so important for all other business owners and entrepreneurs to hearis none of us have gotten here on our own.
(03:53):
And, know, it's one of the reasons that we created the podcast was so that others,especially women, would feel supported and empowered and inspired and to know that they're
not alone in their journey and that it's so important to find a mentor, especially earlyon in that and to have people who are so well educated and educated in the field that
you're also involved in can be such a big.
(04:15):
Sonny, what?
And I know you said you invented a punch, correct?
And you're the only black man to invent the punch and die.
Yeah, well I'm the only black that revolutionized it.
Punches and Dies have been in existance for, I don't know, maybe a hundred years or sobetter.
Because what it does, you know, it holds into metals, right?
(04:36):
But I'm saying, you know, this here in essence that I am the only black man thatrevolutionized it and invented a product like that.
And the only black man in the history of the United States, probably would have.
Of course, we know, we get a lot of research to be able to be in that business.
So it's a pretty huge business, you know, that we have never.
So far, I've seen anybody that produces punches and dies that people of color are blindto.
(05:02):
So that's how go, you this is controlled industry out there.
Holes is needed in product.
We've got holes in our product, then the whole industry will stop.
You take punches and dies out of the automobile companies, they will come to a stopbecause you need holes.
It's a very important thing that the average person doesn't think about.
(05:25):
And here you are.
How did that invention come to be?
How did this pop into your mind?
We need a better way of doing this and I can figure it out.
Well, what happened is that I was a machine operator at a company that was laughing atsession when I first started there.
And then I began to move up the rank and I became to operate machines, you know, thatproduce nuts.
(05:50):
right.
And that's just, you know, they got to have holes in them them, you know, put the producttogether.
And so as I went up the ladder, I was running these big machines, know, big as a room, totell you the
That's one product, you know, that always gave us a problem.
was the last piece of the metal, you know, that has to have a hole in it.
But they wore out real fast.
(06:12):
Okay.
Because with metal going metal onto metal, all right, like a brake on a car, you know,when you hear squeaking, you know, on a car brake, I mean, car brake, you know, I mean,
you know, you better change it because it's going to wear out because metal on metal.
And so we was having a problem with that.
So I just come up with a way to design one.
you know, that was better than what they're using in world today.
And mine was a double, I call it a double head, but the, uh, uh, the industry out therecall it a double tilt.
(06:39):
So I designed one, you know, that, uh, worked a little different and lasted, you know,maybe about 75 to a hundred percent better than what they're using today.
And so I came up with it because I was tired of running about and I'm still saying thistool all the time.
And so as I just picking the way out, you know, and I finally, you know, uh, the companytested, but I had a problem with.
company because they wanted what they see up their face just and found out how well itworked.
(07:03):
But I thought, you know, that it's got to be a better way to save, you know, this product,you know.
So I just came with the idea to make it just a little bit different than what is used nowin the world.
I think that's how every invention has come to be.
It took one person to say there's a better way to do this and I'm going to figure it outmyself.
(07:23):
And then you ran with it though and that takes so much courage in itself to go, all right,I'm going to figure this out.
I may not know how to patent it.
I'm going to start doing this and I'm going to, no matter what anybody else says, I knowthis is the best product out there and keep going.
I'm sure that that also inspired you to Takesha to see that willpower that he has had tonever give up.
(07:44):
Absolutely.
I mean, it's like I said, I'm 41 ever since he's been, you know, he lives and breathesthis and he's been so resilient.
He's never given up.
You know, most people even probably myself would have probably scrapped the idea and justsaid, okay, I'm not going to go anywhere.
But he is as resilient and as serious about his invention as he was when he first did it,you know, and very patient and
(08:09):
He believes in it.
never known anybody believe in something so much.
So it really teaches me just to never give up, you know?
resiliency is so important and I'm sure that has evolved over your lifetime of overcomingadversity.
So where do you feel like you really, where did you really initially get that resiliencefrom?
(08:33):
I'll tell you the truth, you know, from the cotton field of Georgia.
You know, I recall, you know, that the first time, you know, that I was six years old whenI began picking cotton, you know, and still talk about mothers in the majority while I was
born and raised there.
I recall, you know, that my mother, you know, that what she was taking was called acrocosect.
And I was watching her as she was preparing this crocosect for me to go to cotton field,go to the cotton field to pick cotton.
(08:56):
My thing was to make money, all right?
to make money, although, you know, at six years old, you know, I might have worked all dayand made about 20 cents or something like that because I couldn't pick very much cotton.
But the resilience came because I saw the older ones out there and picking all thiscotton, they was making money, you know, not a whole lot of money, but, you know, 200 and
(09:17):
300 pounds of cotton.
And I was very young and I said, you know, I know I can do this one day, someday, youknow, I, I, it just was a thing, you know, that I,
I just had the opportunity that I could do this here.
I could get up there and make me two or three dollars a day or something like that.
six years old, you were like, I can go me.
(09:37):
That's when I started, yeah.
Hard worker.
Yeah, but I had to go on and on with it.
Yeah.
So I just kept picking cotton and kept picking cotton because I got older and older andwent off the line until I became a great cotton ticker, you know, and I made money.
So I think, you know, that a lot of the kids today, you know, have to look at a lot ofkids today, I would say that doesn't know what the word resilient means.
(09:59):
It's to go forward, you know, and stay forward.
All right.
Don't give up.
All right.
Although you know that it might seem to be hard, a lot of things are harder as well foreveryone.
Not just the people of color, but everyone, right?
It's hard for us.
It's not easy for no one, you know, but you must believe in yourself and carry on withwhat you think you can carry on.
It's gonna be up and down now.
You ain't gonna be able to just squat there and say, okay, I can go and I'm gonna make it.
(10:25):
It's gonna be up and down.
And I don't think anyone should feel sorry for themselves because they're colorblind.
I say that's the way the world is.
and that's the way the world is going to be, then you go forward.
I believe in forward and backward and don't look back.
So a lot of things that I went through, but I've met a lot of people, white and black,have been very, very of solution to me, okay?
(10:51):
They helped me go on, all right?
At some point, that we be named that I could call as voice for black and white, has reallyinspired me to keep going.
And so...
That is about it for me.
Let's come down to Sam being resilient.
think it's very inspiring because it is very easy to quit.
And I think in the moment when we're like, all right, it's time to quit is normally whenwe have to push the hardest.
(11:21):
It's not that we're on the precipice of something amazing happening when you're justthere.
The dream you're about to give up on is about to happen.
And I think we see that in about every good movie that there is.
Absolutely.
speaking of movies, I hear there's a documentary that we're trying to have put togetherabout your life.
Yeah, they're working on one.
in Niagara-on-Hall by the name of some Mark Greer, they're working on it.
(11:45):
So I think it would be a great story to be told.
Not because of me.
Not because of me.
I think, know, in the Black race, you know what mean, that education is a very big part ofthe Black race in the United States and what's going on in the country right now.
A lot of the Black kids right now...
I've grown from being the time that I invented this tool to see them, what's going on inour communities.
(12:10):
And I would say to anyone that would listen to this podcast and especially to the blackcommunity, education is key to the black race.
And we're working on a documentary that will show, as far as saying trade schools, as faras saying, you know, get an education.
Don't be looking back because the color of your skin is black.
(12:30):
That's not gonna, you can't feel sorry about that.
That's the way you were born, but you have a brain.
Think.
Do a lot of thinking, you know, before you make a mistake.
Of course, we make a lot of mistakes, and a lot of the younger us, young ones out therethat are in the black community, make mistakes, but they can overcome those.
They can overcome those mistakes, you know, by listening to someone, you know, that hasgot older and have been through the rings, all right?
(12:56):
But as I see today, like I said, know, education is the key.
Education is key to the black race, and I will stick with that.
I'm gonna stick with always saying, forward and never back.
Education is key for everybody and trade schools are such a big part of that.
My kids themselves are going to trade school.
have one in HVAC right now that's graduating.
(13:16):
I one that wants to go in carpentry and another one wants to go in electrical.
And we as a country have put so much into getting your associates and your bachelor'sdegree and not saying that you should not.
But you can start at trade school and then go on to evolve your education further, whichis what I'm trying to tell my senior right now.
You might be graduating in HVAC right now and it might be tempting to go into the unionright out of high school, but you need to further your education.
(13:38):
Even though he is one that has never felt education was for him because he's not somebodywho does well in a textbook.
does great with hands on.
He's like a mechanical genius, but if you give that boy a textbook, he couldn't tell youwhat he just read.
That's my 24 year old.
Very smart if he's interested.
Whatever he's interested in, he'll excel at.
And he's hands on too.
(13:59):
And I think that's what's great about trade schools and younger kids, especially videogames, right?
They're all hands-on in the video games and it's almost like the same thing.
can do that in trade school.
It's like a live video game when you're in there and you're putting things together andyou're using your brain on how you work.
Right?
Well, you got a lot of the kids today, know, black and white, you know, that are lookingat going to trade school today.
(14:24):
schools are becoming a big deal today, all right?
Yeah.
I think, you know, that they are you know, that because of education and to the college,they cost so much to go to, all right?
But you can get a trade.
You can go to school and get a trade, all right?
You know, and it doesn't mean that you don't have to stop your education going anyfurther.
Yeah.
You can take up a trade and pursue and be young as you go and then you can fund theeducation if you go if you want to move up to a higher position.
(14:52):
But we're also talking about that as we do this documentary about trade schools, know, andwhat we're planning on doing is forcing a scholarship that we would generate from the
sales of the product, the sales of the documentary, the sale of anything, you know, thatwe do to generate money is to put back.
(15:13):
into communities where the white or black doesn't make a difference.
You know, to say, okay, you want to go to trade school, you go to trade school, you wantto go to college, you want to go to college, we'll start you out, okay?
And that's what I plans as we move you know, the product forward all right?
So, but we must look at one thing, like I said, you know, that, and I will stick with it,I will say it again, education is the key.
(15:35):
And as you say, education is the key to matter what's coming, you know, education is thekey.
Get an education and you can go far
We'll go for it this night.
Yes, I think my son ended up realizing this.
It's in high school.
Trade school is free for him right now.
I yes, you have your minor fees and your uniforms.
And he goes, mom, you know, they do have adult trade school.
I didn't realize how much it was.
(15:56):
I'm so glad that I'm going in high school so that I don't have that expense.
And I think that's really important that even our high schools educate them on tradeschools because you have to prepare for that.
Your grades have to be really good.
You to get in some programs sooner than others because they fill up really fast.
I think right now the one for hours globally was mechanical and carpentry and electrical.
(16:18):
They fill up and you have like a whole one-year waiting list to get in.
And then from there you have to try to find another one closest to you.
But I think that your position with your product sales going to helping others to go totrade school is very inspiring.
How did you come up with?
No, the idea of the sales would go to help others go to trade school and further theireducation.
(16:42):
Well, the gentleman, like I said, know, that I met him 20 years ago Mr.
Mike Kormushoff He's been a part of the education of University of Akron down there.
When I met him, know, that he and I began to, he began to work with me as I moved throughmy journey.
And as we talked and looked at things, you know, that he's an educator and also Miss JoyceAnderson, you just met she's the educator, okay?
(17:09):
And so they kind of talk to me, concerned about trade schools.
And that's how we got to, you know, talk about, you know, trade schools and, and, how, youknow, how, how it would be.
good, just good for the, education that they want that really don't think they did notcollege material.
(17:29):
Okay.
You've got a lot of them, you know, a lot of kids out here think they're not collegematerials.
They don't want to go to college.
want to, they want to be hands on what they can do.
All right.
And so we talked about that and that's how we come up with, know, not just saying tradeSchool will a thing, you know, for a lot of the kids, it was a white or black doesn't make
any difference.
You trade School, trade School is going to be one of the big keys that is going to beexisting here in United States.
(17:53):
Of course, I know, I don't know about other part of the world, but I know it's going to bea big field here in the United States.
And so we're constantly working on that.
My product that we have here, what we're planning on doing, we're planning on dealing with
We want to start out with the big three.
Saying, you know, that you buy our products, you know, to produce better product.
And as the sales go through, you help the community, all right?
(18:14):
Because, you know, we'll take part of that and put back into community with trade schoolsand education scholarships.
So actually, you know, that we can start out with them right now.
But there'll be a lot of them that we will start out with.
Not only them, but Uncle Sam armies You're doing ships and all that, people.
We'll put back.
You know, you buy a better product.
You know that if you don't want to use our product, you still want to do business, knowthat with the company that you're doing business with, we just want to do a fair share.
(18:42):
know, give us some of the market and we'll put back and the market is so big, you know,that we'll be able to fund trade schools, you know, not only in our backyard, here in
Akron but all over the United States.
That's a great model to have.
Not only will they be getting a better product, they're going to be helping thecommunities as well further educate
with back in the community what you'll be doing, right?
(19:04):
Same thing, you It's not about the Sonny Sneed project, you know, that whereas, you know,that Mr.
Kormushoff and I put together.
It's not so much about that, you know.
It's about what we want to do as voice and what we see as the community towards the youngyouth, you know, moving forward as we move forward in this land today.
(19:24):
So your invention, it's dual-tip punch is what you're calling it.
Yes, I call it, they call it a Dual Tip, but I, when I first invented it, I called it adoublehead.
Okay.
But the industries out there, they call it Dual Tip.
So we have a company called M.O.M.2.
This is what, when they were dealing with General Motors and Chrysler and all thosecompanies out there, they used the word Dual Tip here.
(19:48):
So that's what I call it now, the Dual Tip.
The way it's designed, know, designed, know, like when the front head wears out like asingle head, the second head come in, takes over.
but it doesn't have the nearly the work to do.
The front head, you know, start off doing.
So it's keeping it tolerance.
You'd be surprised, you know, when you get a blueprint, you know, they want these holes tobe precise, you know.
(20:11):
You just can't put a hole into a piece of metal and say, put it together.
It doesn't work.
This is my complaint with all my Amazon purchases.
When the holes aren't drilled right and I can't put it together.
I understand a little bit the frustration.
Yeah, and also, you know, like I said, you know, when you come down to all this likeelectronic stuff, you know, but best automobiles and the self-driving cars and all this
(20:35):
coming to the future and planes and things, you know, I can see, you know, they vibrate,you know, and they've got birds in there, you know, it's going to cut the wires, right?
It's going to cause a problem.
So all this here, that my invention you know, would help out with that.
We're not saying 100%.
(20:55):
But we can say 90 % Alright?
I we got a thing to wear out now.
Wear it out some point.
But yours lasts longer than others, from what I've seen.
What's the lifetime of yours versus what's normally in the market?
No, no.
Anywhere from 75 to 90 percent longer.
Oh, wow.
So that's pretty long time.
Yes, it is.
That's about it.
(21:15):
In fact, we have documented that to show that some of the biggest companies, companies inthe United States that we have, know, put in.
And as matter fact, we sold to some of the biggest companies in the United States, 45companies.
That's very impressive.
And so that's what we're realizing right now.
Very impressive.
All right, so I need to hear more about Sonny's fashion.
(21:39):
He's always very sharp, very clean, slacks, you know, a nice collar shirt, very niceshoes, very well kept all the time.
So my mom, who's his daughter, obviously she's the same way.
She's, I mean, she's just always very well put together.
So ever since I was a little girl.
You know, when he'd come by, he'd always say, girl, what do you got on?
(22:00):
And so I know when Grandpa Sonny's coming, like everything's got to be perfect.
You got to get it together.
He wants to know what's going on with school.
You know, you got to, it's just, everything's got to be up to par and on point withGrandpa Sonny.
And I appreciate that.
It's kept me on my toes.
Yeah.
can only imagine.
I'm sorry that we didn't get to see him dressed to the nines today.
I hope that documentary come out that I'm getting much better after that operation that Ihad to have.
(22:26):
hope when the weather is getting ready to change that I didn't want to get out in theweather because I had a serious operation.
I'm not a young man and you want to get out like that.
But hopefully after the weather changes that I can begin to look the way that Sonny likesto look I think everyone that I just don't like to see these kids running around with
(22:48):
their pants hanging down on them.
Yeah fashion's not what it used to be.
No, because I tell them all your pants hanging down, know, down to your ankles and allthat, you know, that doesn't look good.
You you never know who you're gonna meet.
You never know who you're gonna meet.
It might be someone, you know, and they may look at you, it might be someone you want totalk to.
(23:09):
Say something, know, like someone that might be able to inspire you to move, you know,better in life, you but you look like some that you don't want to talk to, you know,
they're not gonna talk to you.
that's the first impression that people take from you is your appearance.
Sadly, it really is, you know, and how you present yourself and also what it embodies ofyou as a person and your personalities and it's also very important with fashion.
(23:33):
But you're the expert on that, Takesha.
Yeah, I have a really unique style.
So I've been an artist as well, which is something I picked up from him as well.
I remember being a little girl, you when we go see him, he'd be on the phone talkingbusiness.
He'd be sketching his little sketches.
And I was just always so mesmerized by it.
So I developed a passion for art as well.
I actually didn't go to a traditional college.
(23:53):
I went to an art school.
went to the Art Institute of Philadelphia.
Took some courses there.
And so my style is very unique.
know, sometimes I got like a mix of
conservative, but I can also do fun as well.
So it's a really good mixture of things that I have at my boutique.
I always say it depends on my mood and what personality you're getting.
(24:15):
Me too, but when I'm coming with him I know conservative.
So what is your boutique specialized and what's the trend?
the trend.
So a lot of people seem to appreciate my selection.
I have very unique pieces that you normally wouldn't find anywhere else.
I love denims.
I love really good denims.
You know, I love really good quality, which is why I call my boutique the upper echelonboutique.
(24:39):
I don't just like go order stuff and just throw it in.
take really good, I take my time.
I take pride into my inventory.
I like when people come into my store and they're wild and they leave happy and they'relike, my gosh, I'm so happy with this purchase.
You know, and they come back and they tell me I got a ton of compliments.
So I would say probably the selection.
(25:00):
My pieces are very unique.
Do you look for a particular artist or somebody that's more original?
You know, can't go into the mall and find it.
It's something very special.
So I have different vendors and I just kind of choose what I like.
My sister and I, we've always dressed very well.
My sister, she got best dressed in high school.
We've always been known for our style and the way we dress.
(25:21):
So I trust my own style and my own judgment.
People seem to like it.
I just go for what I would like.
And I check the style trends too, you know, of course, but yeah.
Yeah, but that's good.
has to your store has to embody yourself.
Not just who you're trying to cater to.
Yeah, but it is a representation of yourself.
Just like when you walk in here, I want you to kind of feel what the Media Rebel brand isall about.
(25:44):
Hopefully people do get that when they come here.
It's to feel welcomed and to feel at home and you know that I want to learn more abouteverybody that comes here and everybody's story and share that with the world.
So what really was the breaking point for you out of insurance to go?
want to
go into my business, I've had enough of the insurance world.
Yes.
So I would say the breaking point for me is, I remember sitting, I was brought rightaround the pandemic.
(26:09):
was the top sales agent, at, my whole company and every office, the offices in Georgia,Florida, the top sales agent every month, I was very competitive.
So maybe like 150 policies a month, the average person sold maybe 50.
And so first of all, it was very competitive.
As you can imagine, was a lot of pressure to keep that going.
(26:32):
You know, your teammates aren't so happy with you sometimes.
I just started thinking to myself, wow, I just started kind of calculating the amount ofnot only money, obviously, but just my time and what I could do if I just kind of went
independent.
You know what I mean?
I just remembered.
feeling very unfulfilled, getting up, going to my desk, making tons of cells every day,you know?
It just didn't really fulfill me anymore.
(26:54):
I want to kind of do that for myself.
So I saved some money.
I was able and I said, I think now's a good time for me to start my own thing.
So that's what I did.
So did you go to your grandfather for advice before I jumped into it?
You know, we did talk.
Actually, I don't do it.
My family were all very close knit.
So I talked to my mom, my aunt, my grandfather, my whole family, and they're all like,yeah, you know, and I had their I have their help whenever I need it.
(27:17):
And it just felt right.
So I did it.
great to have a whole family behind you that supports what you're doing.
I can relate myself when I started my journey.
had to go and talk to the family and the family sounds very mafia-esque.
I was family, right here I am.
I'm finally doing it.
That's such a big leap.
It's a big leap of courage to and yourself and to see that your family has that supportbehind you.
(27:39):
I know that had to mean it.
It means a lot.
great family.
I have a really, really good family.
I'm very blessed.
So if anybody wanted to shop your store, can they shop you online or do they have to cometo you?
So they could shop us online.
We're redoing our website just because we're getting the new space and that they come tothe store as well.
We plan to shoot for opening for May 1st so we're almost done with renovation.
(28:02):
Awesome.
We'll make sure that we put your website in the description of everything for you to helpdrive traffic once it's up and ready.
Because I think everybody would love to see what it is that we're talking about.
What advice would you give to others that are looking to start their own business?
The advice that I would give is to do it.
You can't really, I mean, obviously you have to be smart.
(28:25):
You know, have to make sure you're going to be able to sustain yourself and you know,timing is everything, but don't wait for the perfect time.
Don't wait for everything to be perfect.
You just got to kind of feel it.
You got to kind of believe in yourself, you know, set a plan, but don't get too wrapped upin the details because then you'll never start, you know, just kind of go for it.
A little bit of planning, you know, obviously, but just go for it.
(28:48):
And never give up.
This is not my first boutique, by the way.
This will be my third.
So if it doesn't work out the first time or if you don't get the results you want thefirst time, just start over.
know, just got to plan strategically, start over, learn your target audience, and believein yourself.
Just never give up.
love that.
So I always say there's no such thing as failure as long as you're taking away a lesson.
(29:08):
So there's always something that you can learn from it.
A lot of business owners, fail the first time, second time, third time, but it's again,it's resilience that you don't give up and you just keep on persevering.
Yes.
I love how you all embody that.
Sonny, what advice would you give to not only a business owner, but somebody that'slooking to invent something or has an idea for invention?
(29:29):
Well, advice I can give like that, you know, and saying that I had a lot of, you know,young folks and older folks too, you know, that has ideals, you know, that came to me, you
know, an ideal.
But, you know, we were dealing with a company in Akron the National Museum of educationand we had a lot of, you know, come through with ideas But it's pretty hard, you know, to
(29:52):
give someone an idea, you know, to say how to go forward with that product, you know,because...
They would look at you and say, you you can't tell me anything about my product becauseyou don't know anything about my product.
So I kind of just said to elect what my granddaughter was saying here, you know, I mean,it's going to be failure, you know, it's going to be good and going to be bad.
So, you know, what you have to do, you have to believe in yourself and carry on with it.
(30:15):
All right.
My journey, you know, that I had quite a few failures and I had, you know, some upliftthat kept me going.
That boy said, give us some advice, you know what mean?
I can say just like you said, you believe in yourself.
First of all, believe in yourself.
Believe in yourself and move forward.
You're going to have some ups and downs.
You believe in yourself, just go forward with it.
(30:38):
As I say, forward or backward is never.
Don't look back.
That's all I can say.
But I try not to, if someone comes to me, try not to put them down in any kind of waybecause I was put down in a way.
especially I hate to say it but I'm gonna have to say the truth especially in the blackcommunity when I was talking about my adventure with them you know I mean the first thing
(31:01):
they say they're gonna take that they're gonna take that from you it was some verydiscouraging words you know that came from them you know I mean but I'll be frank with you
you're gonna tell the truth tell the truth I had more problem with my own kind.
then I had that with white alright because of that because blacks do not understand
(31:22):
the punch and die business because none have never been in that business.
But it was mainly controlled by white, you know, and so I kind of understood that a littlebit.
I've been on by a named Mr.
Byrd Davis, you know, that worked with me at the plant, you know, and he said the words tome that I told him, said, I don't understand, you know, why are they just slacking me
(31:43):
because this?
Why are saying this?
He said, because they don't understand and they did not understand, know, so those words,you know, that stick with me.
All right.
And still today, know, when someone come to me with a product, you know, ask my advice,the only thing I just tell them is believe in yourself.
Believe in yourself.
I just give them the advice that I could give them, you know, but it's pretty hard to talkto someone about their product and what they're inventing because a lot of the stuff, you
(32:12):
know, that they probably created, I don't understand, you know, and I just tell them tobelieve in yourself and go forward.
know, it's the only thing I can say to them, you know, so.
I think that's great advice.
It's hard to believe in ourselves.
We've talked about it a lot on the podcast about self-love and self-care.
I think there are times we can be our worst enemy.
We can really talk ourselves out of a good thing if we spend enough time.
(32:36):
For me personally, that's when I turn to God.
When I go, I'm beating myself up too much.
I need somebody else that knows way more than me.
A question that we always ask our guests on the podcast.
I'll start with Sonny and then we'll go to Takesha.
is what gets you through your day.
What get me through my day?
It was leaving me Sonny It believed in what I'm doing, all right?
(32:56):
That's what gave me through the day.
You'd be surprised, you know, that when one is sleeping at three or four o'clock in themorning, I'm up thinking, all right?
How do we move forward?
You know, and I guess my business partner, Mr.
Mike Kormushoff he's taking the phone and he go straight to voicemail why?
Because he know I'm gonna call him.
About two minutes I think, you know what mean?
I'm gonna give him a chance, eight o'clock, I'm gonna call him.
(33:16):
But we gotta talk here.
But, yeah.
gave me through my journey, like I said, is believe in what I'm doing.
You got to believe in what you're doing.
You got to, you got to, just got to believe in it, you know.
that's what get me through the day.
And that's what got me through the time, you know, when I first got the patent in 1988,ups and downs, what I believed in, what I was doing.
I believed in Sonny okay?
(33:38):
And that's what gave me through the day, all right?
It's not going out talking to a whole lot of folks about my invention.
Just believe in myself.
And that's what I say, believe in yourself, trust in yourself.
It's going to be up to down, but trust in yourself and keep going forward.
And that's what you meet through the day.
⁓what about you Takesha?
Um, what gets me through the day is, uh, my family, I I would say my family and just, youknow, having a real passion to make sure that, I don't know, I definitely want to leave a
(34:10):
legacy behind for my boys.
My son has kids for his kids, for my family, my grandfather, my aunt, my mother, who areall getting older.
You know, I feel they've given me such a great life.
It will be my responsibility and a pleasure for me to be able to provide them with that aswell.
And to be able to get.
Just some, just a good legacy going in my family to have something for my kids, mygrandkids.
(34:34):
If my family needs me, they can pull back and make sure I'm strong enough financially,mentally, physically to be able to be here for my family.
That's what gets me through.
I can respect both of your input.
think it's going to be very beneficial for people out there looking to start their ownpersonal journey.
If they haven't already or if they're going through it and questioning if they shouldstick with that business that they've created or the invention that they have in mind that
(34:59):
maybe they haven't executed yet, I think you both have given people a lot of the insightthat's going to be very inspiring to them.
Thank you.
So if they're looking to learn more about Sonny, where would they go?
Well, to look for more about Sonny We go to sonnysneedproject.com.
So Google my name up, Sonny Sneed you know, and it began to tell you a lot about me.
But of course, you know, that it's a lot, quite a bit on that website that we have, youknow, a lot of one look at it, you know, and so much.
(35:26):
You stop looking.
You guys keep strolling and strolling, you know, that they can just go tosonnysneedproject.com, you know, and start to read about me.
That would be very, very inspiration to a lot of us.
to see that, you know, to my journey.
We definitely plan on putting a little snippet from that on your website of thedocumentary that they're working on.
(35:49):
we're going to be including that for everybody to see here and learn a little bit moreabout you.
And Takesha where can they learn more about you and your company?
So like I said, we do have a website.
We're just reconstructing it.
It's the upperechelonofficial.com I have social media as well.
I have Instagram upperechelon underscore Kesh would be the Instagram and That's prettymuch all I got right now
(36:15):
Sounds good.
We'll update it as you update and grow.
will keep our audience updated on both of you and your journeys and how everybody can takepart in the Sonny Sneed project and stay up to date on that documentary as it's coming
about.
I wish you both the best of luck.
I'm so excited that you came here today to share your story.
(36:37):
Sonny, thank you for being the first man on Media Rebel Unplugged.
like that.
I like that.
when history goes down, if they Sonny Sneed was not only the first black man torevolutionize and invent a tool he was the first black man to be on this show.
And not only the first black man, but the first man period.
I like that.
I like that.
I think that sounds good.
(36:57):
That sounds good.
I think that was kind of sprung on you, you know what mean?
You just might get the other men out there want to come and talk to you.
the time but I only take the best.
Well thank you all for listening and for tuning in.
You can learn more about Media Rebel by going to media-rebel.net and you can find us onall of the social and podcast channels that you're listening to as well.
(37:26):
So we look forward to having you subscribe and like us and follow along with Sonny andTakesha as they go on their journey.
Keep watching and listening for scenes from the upcoming documentary on Sonny Sneed andhis amazing journey.
At the time, they call it the dual tip punch.
If you make a better mousetrap, the world will be the path to your door.
(37:50):
There are people in life that we meet whose filter they're using to see the world in is alittle bit different than what ours might be.
A lot of engineers, I would say they feel embarrassed that the black man walked out ofshop and did what I did.
They couldn't do it.
(38:10):
We ran a test.
It got to the point where we were like 70 times better.
Our minds were just running wild.
With this tool, we'll be the last man standing.
It's knowing that the product was very successful in port, Lockheed Martin, General MotorsChrysler it was better than bread, okay?
(38:31):
But for some reason, you know, they don't purchase it.
Sonny has been on a very long journey, a very difficult journey as a kid growing uppicking cotton in the 40s and 50s.
Jim Crow was very much alive.
I can't even imagine what that would be like.
(38:57):
I don't have no giving up on me.
I feel that I am successful.
I ain't make that billion of dollars or the million of whatever you want to say, but Iprove that I have the best tool in the world.
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