Today we’d like to introduce you to Malachi Fuller.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Malachi. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m from the DMV originally… PG County, MD to be specific. I moved to LA a little over three years ago when I graduated from college. I think I’ve always been a creative at heart. I think my creative journey most notably started through a clothing line I had in college called The Hyyer Life. It opened my eyes dramatically to many creative aspects because I had to learn how to do them myself early on. So when I got to LA, I immediately got on my creative hustle: photography, videography, graphics, websites, merch, helping other clothing lines, social media management, anything freelance I could get my hands on to get some extra income – especially in the entertainment industry because well, that’s all I knew how to do forreal, hustle-wise. This was before I got a full-time job in the entertainment industry.
I then started working in finance at Revolt TV, a music cable network owned by Sean “Diddy” Combs. This helped bring my love for urban millennial music culture and business full circle. While working there though, I was still doing all of my creative hustles on the side. So I was working 8-9 hours a day for them then leaving and going to different gigs and shooting or working with clients on a daily basis. I was also moving up the latter with one of my good friends B-Hen (@djbhen), with who I started as a social media intern when I moved to LA and am now his brand manager. Literally was working 12-16 hour days with everything I had going on. Sometimes, I would be in the office at REVOLT for 13-14 hours a day… working on stuff for the company and then when everyone would leave, I’d work on my side hustle til 1-2am. It seemed like a lot but I loved it. Eventually, after putting in two years with the company, learning a lot, and building a lot – I decided it was time to step out on faith and put my ambition and entrepreneurial mind to the test to build something of my own…
I left in April of 2018 and Hyyer Creative was formed by June the same year. I knew that if I was able to create as much as I was making on my own as a side hustle, I could do so much more with a team of creatives and we could create something so much bigger. I also knew that working within just one company was limiting my growth. So, my agency Hyyer Creative was born (the name still being a play on my first creative roots with the clothing line and the meaning behind that). It’s been almost nine months and quite a journey. Learning more and more daily…
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Nahhhhh… Not at all. Not even close. It’s actually been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done (so far)… but it gets easier to bear daily. The first couple of months were like running into a brick wall. I was dealing with so many new things that I didn’t even think about. But I wouldn’t take it back for the world. I’ve learned so much about myself in the process, become a stronger person mentality, a better businessman and entrepreneur, and smarter/wiser. I think the biggest challenge in it was learning to stand completely on my own two and unlearning the idea that I need someone else’s company or work for someone else to survive (nothing wrong with that, but just for the journey I embarked on, it was necessary to stand on my own two).
Finances were the first struggle I faced. I quickly saw money start to deplete because I often found myself working on the business structure and not doing any creative tasks to earn my income. And if I took a liking to the creative tasks for any particular month, then the business side of things wouldn’t have any progress.
This led me to realize quickly that I needed a full team, it couldn’t be a one-man show. So I started building that out and I love the team that we are building now. Getting people to see your dreams as tangible is often hard, but luckily (and tactically I’m supported by people that believe in me and that I also believe in).
Other struggles are the things they just don’t tell you when building: lack of time for other things like friends, family, activities, etc… My time management took an L. My fly wardrobe took an L cause I stopped buying clothes and liabilities to start investing more into my business. I stopped going out as much unless I was getting paid to be there or it involved networking. I had to get low and build for a while…
But don’t get me wrong: I’m stronger than ever, in a better space than I’ve ever been, happier than ever, and hungrier than ever! This is what I prayed for and I see it manifest itself more and more daily.
Please tell us about Hyyer Creative.
I am the Founder and Lead Creative at Hyyer Creative Consulting Group, LLC (aka Hyyer Creative). Hyyer Creative is a boutique creative agency that focuses on targeted content development, marketing, & strategy for creative entrepreneurs, brands, and businesses rooted in urban millennial culture. We are most proud of the impact we are making with our work. Our tagline is: creating a world of unlimited possibilities through content. And for us that means inspiring our current and future generation of leaders through the content they digest.
The same way we as millennials were influenced and molded by everything we saw growing up (on tv, music, internet, newspapers, books, stores, etc) and it helped shape the lenses that we see the world through today, we want to also help shape and tell stories through content for the next generations of consumers… to inspire and promote positive innovation therefore, “creating a world of unlimited possibilities.” I think that goal helps to sets us apart, as well as our methods – and our work… our work speaks for itself.
Btw man… shout out to my team (if you reading this, go follow them/ check em out. Some dope individuals… @iamneither, @roseenatalie, @djbhen, @aquartertil, @charlesjorden, @a_exclusive, @king_kaashif, @giannadorseyphoto, @mercinaryforhire, @cali.son, @ak.foryou). We’re building something special…
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over, I would have taken the time to start really studying the game in a more serious manner a lot earlier on in my career than I did. I learned a lot through trial and error and a byproduct of just understanding trends and paying attention to culture shifts, and I don’t take anything away from trial-and-error. But I also think that a lot of things could have come from just proper research & studying to be on top of the game and then applying it.
I would also have saved more gwuap $$$. I’m in a good space, but I look at all the money I’ve blown on things that I didn’t need to in the past seven years (I’m 25), and I’m like wow, my savings should be a lot higher than it is. But I’m getting it there now.
Also note: I’m only saving to start investing, not just to save for rainy days. I would have started investing at an earlier age as well. But hey, we steady learnin’ …and I still have a few prime years left in my 20s, so I’m making the necessary life adjustments. Excited to show what’s next up on the plate…
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @mal.full / @hyyercreative
Image Credit:
All Images & graphics courtesy of @hyyercreative
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