Today we’d like to introduce you to Lorenzo Lewis.
Hi Lorenzo, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Born in jail to an incarcerated mother, I struggled with depression, anxiety, and anger throughout his youth. At 17, he almost re-entered the system of mass incarceration he had come from. It was then I snapped in and began my journey to mental health wellness. It started with my own education and continued with me facing my own emotional challenges, eventually becoming a mental health advocate. Then came the idea of The Confess Project of America. The Confess Project of America. an initiative that empowers barbers to become mental health advocates for men of color, to help others to begin to build a better process of living. Which has been transformed to a national grassroots movement. the Confess Project of America. To date, my team has trained over 3000 barbers in more than 29 states. Fast Company named The Confess Project as one of “The 10 most innovative health companies of 2021.”
My parent nonprofit, L&J Empowerment, supports several other of my initiatives, including the Arkansas Barbershop Network for Youth Criminal Prevention, which helps prevent at-risk youth across Arkansas from entering the juvenile justice system through education and by providing opportunities for them to live healthier and make more responsible choices for a brighter future.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I like to say it has; due to my faith, I have only gotten closer to God in the moments when the ship felt as if it was sinking. Also due to gratitude and being focused has helped me to see the light at the end of the tunnel. When I first began my entrepreneur journey, I felt like I complained a lot. When it came down to it, I prayed for my life to be this way. Also, it’s not the end of the world when you are facing a hard time. Find the lesson in each struggle. Most of the time, optimism will come out of each situation. You truly have to love the good and bad of your path; It is what creates you to become the best version of yourself. Running an organization to help people but running on a small amount of funding. Overcoming depression: Getting my daughter full-time and going through the transition of her leaving traditional school and attending home school. Having my wife leave corporate America and join the ranks of entrepreneurship. Ultimately it all worked out; I am glad for each moment of our path.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
The Lewis Family of Businesses. (LFOB)
We are a minority-owned and woman-owned business that provides values through products and services to help better human kindness. We are one of the few companies that exist with a social impact related mission but also increasing cash flow in return to help create jobs and give back to our communities. We are a service-based business at the core that offers a range of consulting from public speaking, publishing, media, philanthropy, and professional development services. We specialize mainly in mental health-related products and services and racial equity, dealing with a myriad of audiences and specific gender-related issues. We have a national brand that has reached over 4M people across 32 states in 60 cities. That company has now become our foundation of how we do business and create innovation in everything we do. We built our personal narrative and used stories to activate a contagious brand that has now attracted some of the best of kind from near and far to partner and work with us. Look up The Lewis Family of Businesses and Lorenzo P. Lewis, we are truly making a difference in the lives of others and also creating employment while building cash flow.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I see LFOB as our holding company having a corporate board, in addition, I see us doing many Mergers & Acquisitions in markets such as hospitality, healthcare, Agriculture, manufacturing and machine/equipment sectors. At the center of these new sectors, I see philanthropy and social impact being at the center of our company. It’s how we began; it’s truly who we are as a family business. We are excited for healthcare and particularly using healthcare as the vehicle for everything we do, Me and my wife collectively have over 25 years of combined experience in healthcare; we are excited to take that as a grain of faith and turn it into more momentum in the years to come.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lorenzoplewis.com and www.theconfessprojectofamerica.org
- Instagram: @lorenzoplewis @theconfessprojectofamerica
- Facebook: @The Real Lorenzo P. Lewis
- Linkedin: @lorenzoplewis
- Twitter: @lorenzoplewis
Image Credits
Clinton Global Initiative
