Meet Kensley Septs of Rich Korp in Midtown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kensley Septs.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Kensley. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
First I want to start by giving all praise to God because without him there’s no way I would’ve made it this far. I started this company while in College because it was impossible to maintain a job while trying to maintain the school, my family, and football. It was the perfect way to make ends meet because clothing was a big thing at school, especially at a HBCU. But then the business became unmaintainable because with everything I had to do at school it made it nearly impossible to keep up with the demand. It caused me to make the decision of postponing my business because I would rather put it on hold than ruining it too early due to bad customer service. I chose to focus on school and football and pick it back up once I graduated. During that time I was also in the process of pledging Omega Psi Phi. This made things even more impossible, but not knowing that same decision would boost my business more when I chose to pick it back up.

A couple of years went by and I finally graduated from college to most this is a very exciting moment but for me, it was a wake-up call. Now it was time to be a real adult and do real adult things like pay bills and become the man of my household. By this time my son was five years old and my Fiancé had just graduated college also. We then made the decision to step out on faith and move to Houston where my mom and more of my family members already lived. Even though I had plans on resuming my business once I graduated, those plans seemed impossible because I didn’t expect to be able to take care of my family by just selling t-shirts. I chose to pursue a job in my field but it seemed everywhere I went either they were underpaying or I was underqualified and needed more experience. This became very frustrating because I didn’t understand how would they expect me to have 3-5 years experience already with me just graduating. I’ll never forget riding in the car after leaving an interview and I broke down crying because I just couldn’t understand what was going on. I was under the impression once you finish school that there were several opportunities to make the money I wanted with a degree. I quickly found out that wasn’t the case and I remember saying to myself “I know what I can do for anybody’s company that hires me but why can’t I do this for my own”? I remember my mom being home and her seeing me look kind of down when I came in. She has always been a big motivation in my life and at that very moment, she motivated me to do what I should’ve been doing. She told me there’s no reason I should be down when I can put the same energy, I’m putting in finding a job back into my own company.

I chose to step out on faith again and put all my focus back into Rich Korp, but this time I wanted to do the business differently. Outside of just a t-shirt/clothing line, I chose to add custom clothing to my credentials. At the time I had no money but with the help of my mom, my fiancé, and my aunty I was able to get all the equipment to make this possible. My very first order was to my chapter brothers that trusted me enough to do a shirt order for a big event we had on campus. I was scared because this was my first time actually producing the shirts myself. The order was about 50 shirts and I was able to complete them within about 2-3 weeks. I was surprised because everyone loved them and that boosted my confidence and made me want to practice my craft even more. About a month later orders were flying in and at the time I was still working from home. My mom had a three-room office she wasn’t using and I once again stepped out on faith by taking up one of the rooms.

Of course, this meant I was adding another bill to the list but that pushed me even harder because I knew I would have to get the orders in and out to make sure I could keep it paid. No one can ever tell me what God can’t do because without him my journey would have come to an end a long time ago. Till this day I’ve been in the office for six months but with the way, business is going it fills like much longer. My company is now producing between 200-300 shirts a week and if you know anything about a t-shirt business, that is amazing for the first six months of business. I’m now in the process of getting my social media and website together because sometimes with all I have to do it seems impossible to do both. I give all thanks again to the man above and everyone who has helped along the way. Nothing is impossible, whatever you put your mind to you can do. Sometimes it may take others around you to light the fire inside but that’s why God places those people in your life.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I am very grateful for the opportunities I have now but we all know nothing in life comes easy. This has been a long road with many obstacles along the way. God only gives his strongest battles to his strongest people, so I expected it to be this way. This can be a day by day struggle sometimes because this is a “One Man” business. My fiancé helps also but she has a full-time job so sometimes that can be hard on her. Now I can say things are becoming smoother with time but when I first began it was a real headache. I started this business back up merely on faith because I didn’t have a dollar to my name. That made things ten times harder because not only was I struggling with building my foundation but I was trying to build with no resources. I can’t say I didn’t have a little help from the people close to me but it was only so much they could do.

Please tell us about Rich Korp.
I have a custom T-shirt and printing company. We specialize in customizing and designing clothing and products ranging anywhere from t-shirts and t-shirt line on down to even car decals. At first, we were doing just shirts but over-time based on clients needs, the business became very broad. Anyone that knows me knows how much I love fashion and I think that’s what sets me apart from any other printing company. A lot of companies will just print what you want but I’m known for mixing my ideas with your ideas and bringing your designs and product to life. I’m very proud of the growth of my company in a very short time because it continues to expand day by day. The more people I can get to see what I do I feel will increase my opportunity of taking my business to its highest potential.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would definitely do things differently, I believe if I wouldn’t have postponed the business for so long it’s no telling where I could be at today. You live and you learn though but that decision gives me an extra push till this day.

Contact Info:

• Address: 6260 Westpark Drive
  Houston, Tx 77057
• Phone: 346-410-8070
• Email: Richkorp@yahoo.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/_richkorp_/

Image Credit:
Michala Newsom in the black two piece, Ashley Septs in the All Black, Vince in the Green shirt, Craig Johnson in the black shirt with black jeans

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