Inspiring Conversations with Mike Smith of Titafit Company

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Smith.

Hi Mike, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My story begins back in 2015 at Southgate Anderson High School. I was a junior at the time and started dabbling into the idea of marketing and entrepreneurship. I decided to take a few business classes and had some exceptional teachers and mentors. Fast forward into college, I attended the University of Michigan – Dearborn where I played soccer and studied marketing. During my freshman year, I decided to start a fitness clothing brand. Given I was in the fitness space already, my goal was to build an amazing team full of motivated people. In November of 2016 – Titanium Fitness Company was born (after about six months of research on brand building, manufacturing, etc. I wanted to prove the concept and started with 100 t-shirts with an overseas manufacturer. I was nervous yet ready. I knew that I could sell and was excited to finally to start something of my own…a legacy. Our first batch of shirts ended up becoming a major success and we sold out within a month. Like any brand, the concept was proven and it was go time. There was many ups and downs or ebs and flows, but the goal remained the same.

We started an ambassador program and slowly built that to 500+ people all over the globe. These were not only our customers but our loyal family, which is what I attribute our entire success to. Without our people, the brand was simply a brand of shirts with a logo on them. By the time 2018 hit, we have made pretty large strides in the fitness space. With a flourishing team, increasing sales, and a pretty nice growth curve, there was nothing that could stop us! Other than a cease and desist….from a very large corporation in the clothing and apparel space. We got hit with this because of a trademark infringement on the word “TITANIUM”. We were given two options for our brand – we could either shut the brand down or change the name and never use the word “TITANIUM” again. After a very difficult and stressful weekend, we decided to keep on keepin on. I had to change our name and we decided to go with TITAFIT (which was basically a condensed version of TITANIUM and FITNESS. It worked! This put us on a month or so setback, but soon enough we were back up and running with all new clothing and gear. I think at this point, I learned a lot about business and how quickly things can change. I started to look for alternate ways to grow the business and also started looking into new avenues.

In the time, I started doing some freelance Instagram growth work, stock trading, website development, etc. I always stayed true to our brand and the people we had. I kept our ambassadors in the loop every step of the way. As I was getting closer to graduation and finishing my time in college, I realized something. TITAFIT was getting a lot of traction on the wholesale side of our business. I also realized that there was a major problem in the clothing industry and I had the solution in my back pocket. It is VERY tough to deal with an overseas supplier when you are in the states. The main problem is that 90% of all clothing in the US comes from overseas. It is very tough to negotiate and deal with a custom manufacturer. My solution was to bridge the gap and create a company that helped people acquire clothing to their spec. After this, we had a ton of start-ups, gyms, supplement companies wanting to know where we produced our clothing. I started focusing on that side of the business, and we slowly quit producing our own TITAFIT clothing and went full-scale manufacturing in 2019 when I graduated. At the time, we had probably close to 20 brands that we would supply for. Fast forward, we now manufacture clothing for 350+ brands all over the globe. We are a fully customizable cut & sew clothing manufacturer, with a low MOQ (min order quantity) of 50pcs per item, color, design.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Anytime something that involves a legal team getting involved, it’s never really a smooth road. Just like most business there are good days and bad days. Dealing with overseas manufacturing can be a struggle of its own. Whether you are dealing with pricing, payments, quality, fabrics, customers, etc. it can be a very frustrating process. My greatest advice is to just adapt and overcome. There really is no situation that should make you quit. You may come across the idea, but there is always something you can do to just adapt. I tell anyone who starts a brand, it will take 4+ years to see your actual growth and success. We are going on year 5-6 now and I can truly say I am grateful for every failure that I encountered, I do not regret a single thing and proud of the resilience. This is still just the beginning in my eyes…road to 1m+ dollar company. Then once we hit 1m, the next goal is 10m.

We’ve been impressed with Titafit Company LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
TITAFIT Company LLC or TITAFIT Manufacturing is a fully customizable cut & sew clothing manufacturer. We focus mainly in the fitness space, but we have the ability to replicate or create pretty much any type of clothing. We offer lower MOQs (min order qty) than most custom manufacturers – 50pcs per item, color, design. We offer price breaks at every 50-100pcs depending on fabric and designs. We specialize in items like athletic shorts, hoodies, tanks, crop tops, joggers, leggings, long sleeves, tees, etc. We also have a partnership with a brand in the US for custom hats. I am most proud of our customer service. You are able to get on a phone call with a member of our team pretty much 24/7. We give our personal cell phones and able to answer questions within a few hours max. I truly believe customer service and relationships go a long way! I also am always available to chat marketing, branding, and sales. Of course the better our brands sell, the more items they will order from us. We want to be here as not only a supplier but also a full resource for you and your brand. We work with small start-ups ordering 50pcs to multi-million dollar brands spending thousands per month.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I have always been a big self-learning type of guy. I watch a lot of Youtube….for business. Find someone you find entertaining and valuable at the same time. I find visuals very helpful and always try to take one nugget of information from everything I watch or do. I follow a few fitness entrepreneurs on Youtube, and they always provide some great knowledge in a unique content type-of-way. You do not need to sit and read a book to get the value, there are thousands of ways to learn. There is so much free content in our world, there is no reason to not take advantage of that. I have never paid for a business mentor, there have been a few who have came into my life, but not a consistent person I look to for advice or help. Much of my success has come from trial and error. You may fail, but it’s important to realize why you failed and figure out a solution to success. I also give a ton of respect to all of my close friends and family who consistency push me to be greater! I am the type of person who can always be doing more, and that has really helped me grow as a person.

Contact Info:

• Email: titafitco@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.titafitco.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/titafitco/ and my personal https://www.instagram.com/mikesmithceo/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100070479316146