D.J. Duncan thanks God for guiding him to AU, starting his clothing brand business
D.J. Duncan believes there’s one major reason everything has worked out so well for him in his life, particularly at Ashland University.
“The way things have lined up for me, there is no other reason than God,” said the AU senior who will graduate in May. “I don’t know how the opportunities have come my way except for because of God. I have just put my head down and worked hard and believed in him.”
One of those opportunities came during his junior year at AU when he started his own business, 2 Tapped Threads, a clothing brand he hopes will help people with positive messages on them, including “The World Is Yours” that also has a graphic of a hand controlling the Earth like a marionette, according to Duncan, reinforcing that the world is at our fingertips.
The 2 is because he is a big Tupac “2Pac” Shakur fan, Threads is for his products and Tapped is for, well, Duncan can explain that best …
“I am tapping into untapped potential in lower economic areas,” said Duncan, who grew up moving around several of Mansfield’s lower economic neighborhoods. “There’s a lot of potential in Mansfield as low as its economic status is. I knew people with a lot of potential who went down some wrong paths because of what they were exposed to.”
Through his positive-messaged clothing, Duncan hopes to help at-risk kids avoid those wrong paths.
His mother has been a positive influence in his life
Duncan said he avoided those paths because of one person that God put in his corner.
“That was my mother, a single mom raising two boys by herself,” said Duncan, whose younger brother is a freshman at AU. “She never said we couldn’t do anything. She always provided us with what we needed.”
Because Duncan performed so well in the classroom and on the track (he won a state title in the 110-meter hurdles his senior year) at St. Peter’s High School in Mansfield, AU recruited him for track and convinced him to choose a smaller college setting. Duncan said he’s thankful they did.
“I can say for the last couple of years, things have been aligning the way God wanted it,” Duncan said. “I say that because Ashland was never on my radar. I obviously knew about it, but I wanted a big-college experience.”
While excelling at track, being a national qualifier in both of his hurdles events indoors (60) and outdoors (110), Duncan also has succeeded academically as a business administration major with minors in entrepreneurship and marketing.
He’s appreciative of the mentorship from many
Throughout his time at AU, Duncan said God has brought him into contact with many outstanding professors who have helped him with his business, particularly Kenneth Brubaker, associate professor in sport management and marketing.
Creating a business was an assignment in one of Brubaker’s classes.
Because he thought Duncan’s idea had potential, Brubaker encouraged him to enter the university’s ideaLabs business contest, where Duncan earned honorable mention status and was featured on a video that highlights experiential learning.
Brubaker also has continued to offer Duncan business advice and looks forward to a collaboration with him.
“He is going to create a shirt related to my books,” said Brubaker, who has published a pair of books aimed at inspiring young kids, especially boys, and is working on a third one. “I want him to go with me on school readings to sell his product and get his name out there. Kids love shirts. I can guarantee they would want a shirt from him with inspirational sayings.”
Eventually, Duncan said he wants to add other comfortable clothing items with positive messages on them in addition to T-shirts, such as sweatshirts, hoodies and beanies.
His idea also caught the attention of Tom Sudow, director of the Burton D. Morgan Center for Free Enterprise & Entrepreneurship on campus.
Sudow said he has been more than happy to meet with Duncan on a regular basis to discuss his business. Duncan also earned a $3,000 grant from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation, which included 10 hours of mentorship from Sudow, who has happily spent more than 10 hours mentoring the eager Duncan.
“Once he realizes all the resources available to him, he avails himself and is eager to learn,” Sudow said. “He’s like a sponge who absorbs everything. D.J. is very focused.”
He is developing “a clothing line that includes and helps everyone”
Instead of telling him his idea wasn’t feasible, Duncan said Sudow and Brubaker have challenged him to show them how he will make it work.
“That was the first thing Sudow and Brubaker said to me, ‘You want to sell clothes? Whoop-de-do. What differentiates you? Show us,’ ” said Duncan, who added that he has been very grateful for the mentorship from both of them.
Because there is so much saturation in the clothing market, Duncan said his differentiator is clothing with motivational messages at a lower price to appeal to a lower socio-economic audience but not limited to that audience.
“If I can keep it at $18 to $20, instead of $30, for a decent shirt that promotes a positive message, I think that’s a pretty good deal,” Duncan said. “It’s a clothing line that includes and helps everyone, why not buy it?”
Having a sales internship with Bill Harris Auto Center in Ashland the past two summers also has improved his business skills, Duncan said.
He said he looks forward to what God has in mind for him next with his business, which he plans to really focus on once track and his classes are finished at AU. He hasn’t done much selling or promotion yet. Instead, he’s been laying the foundation.
“I have been a walk in faith,” Duncan said. “It’s been an amazing thing.”
