Julio is a driven entrepreneur, owner, and operator of “Positive Vibe” an online clothing store. Julio is a Jamaican-born, Dennis resident whose positive outlook on life has become a catalyst for his growing business. The Positive Vibe apparel is stitched with the company's motto “We Are One”. Spreading his message of positivity around the Cape Cod region and beyond. The busy Girl Dad of three also works three jobs while running his online business. Continuing to grow his social media platform and boost his clothing apparel sales while paying it forward.

Julio moved to Cape Cod from Jamaica out of high school, looking for work and better opportunities. Even from a young age, he had a dream of owning his own shoe store. “When I was a kid I thought about opening a sneaker shop, I always wanted to have a physical store where people can come, see the merchandise, and feel the product. Get the quality you're paying for.”All of his hard work continues to pay off as he is closer to his dream now than ever before. “It’s coming about now, just falling into place, So I don’t even question it.” Julio’s Positive Vibe is more than a business, it’s a way of life.

Amplify- What does Positive Vibe offer?

Julio- We offer a wide variety of merchandise. We sell tank tops, hoodies, beanies, bucket hats. Our slogan is, together we are one. That came about from me not being from this country. Being in an environment where I don't know anybody, you know what I mean? Back in the day, I used to work at Wendy’s. We used to have gatherings, we were like each other's family. I just sat back in the corner, just watching everybody partying and I just said, you know what? There's no difference between us, you know? Color, race, sex. There's no difference because we're all here for the same purpose, which is to make new friends, feed our family, and to have fun.

Amplify- What inspired you to get into this business?

Julio- Growing up I've always been into clothing, you know, black folks, we love to dress up and we love to look nice all the time. So that was a thing for me. I love sneakers. When I was a kid I thought about opening a sneaker shop, I always wanted to have a physical store where people can come, see the merchandise, and feel the product. Get the quality you're paying for. It’s coming about now, just falling into place, So I don’t even question it.

Amplify- When did you start your business?

Julio- Early 2018 I started mingling with the idea. It wasn't anything crazy yet. I just started with a few hats. I had different color hats from, pink, gold, black, just as a test to see where that would go but I wasn't really focused on that. I was more family-oriented. I had my babies, my three girls. I have an eight-year-old and twin girls that are two years old. During the pandemic I said, you know what? I'm gonna try again and see what happens if it doesn't work now, it will never ever happen again.

So I just tried it from my driveway in July 2020. I started with like two t-shirts on a table, right in my driveway, and just started moving from there. In the fall I'm like, okay, it's kind of getting cold. We got to hold it inside. I don't have a physical store yet so I created an online store through Shopify. I make everything on my site myself. I stay up, long sleepless days and nights to do this, I work three jobs. I have my girls during the week but live with their mom. I'd take them and go out, we play, go get ice cream, take them to the park, do all that stuff. Then I dropped them off. I work at a gym in Yarmouth from 4: 45 am to 12:45 pm. Then I go to work at a marketplace in Orleans for a couple of days, And then the back half of the week, I work security in Hyannis.

Amplify- How did you go about starting your business?

Julio- Just by going and doing research. Shopify popped up on my social media and someone told me that they make online stores and stuff like that. It's a really handy site. You get all the tools you need in order to start up. They walk you through everything you need to know. I went with them and created the online store. I do everything by myself.

Amplify- What obstacles did you encounter?

Julio- There is the obstacle of breaking into a market when you are a person of color. Breaking through a market where businesses are already established, It's very different. Especially on the Cape where there are plenty of clothing stores. That's one of the challenges. Another is to get people to know your stuff and to know who you are. The financial challenges are the same because when I work for myself, I put the money from my jobs back into the business. I don't have a loan. You know what I mean? I try to invest what I work back into my business. I got to do all that stuff for my girls, pay my bills. So that can be a challenge in itself as well.

Amplify- Has COVID-19 or the current financial climate affected your business in any way?

Julio- To be honest, I think the pandemic helped my business. The pandemic itself kind of helped people to open their eyes to a lot of different things. People used to be so stuck up in themselves. For example, the socialization people took for granted and they can't see their family and can't see their friends. They can't see anybody. So they appreciate stuff like that more. You know, seeing people trying. Getting up every day and going to work. It opens a lot more eyes and a lot more doors for me too. That in itself kinda helped a lot to grow my business.

Amplify- Where do you see your business in five years?

Julio- I see it on a bigger scale. I see myself having a nice store somewhere. Either on Main street in Hyannis or, you know, one of our local towns somewhere. But that's my goal, to have a physical store where people can get the background and the story behind why and where it all started.
--Tamora Isreal

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Visit the Positive Vibe website
https://positivevibeonline.com/‍

Check out the Positive Vibe Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/positive_vibez_only1/