The Campbell Business Spotlight highlights students who go above and beyond with involvement in extracurricular activities and opportunities.
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Jonathan O’Neal has his hands full at Campbell Business. A junior marketing major, he splits his time between the classroom and competing with the university’s men’s tennis team. In his own time, the aspiring entrepreneur is grinding away at a design business he launched at just 14 years old.
A native of Greenville, N.C., O’Neal is the owner of J. Anthony Designs. It began simply enough, editing photos for friends and ultimately leading to designing flyers and logos. His mother, a pastor, changed the trajectory of his enterprise with a single remark in the middle of a conversation.
“You should be so proud of your faith that you could wear it on a t-shirt,” she said.
From that point, O’Neal knew what his mission was. He started off with 12 t-shirt designs with phrases highlighting his faith. Those quickly sold out, and he continued to receive requests.
“Things really took off after a famous gospel singer, Tasha Cobb, who happened to be a good friend of my mom’s, came to our church,” said O’Neal. “She liked the shirts that I made and then posted a picture in one. The next morning, I woke up to 300 new orders for t-shirts on my website!”
O’Neal later met Brandy of television and pop music fame, who posted a picture with one of his t-shirt designs. Once again, the sales climbed.
With plans to pursue his MBA at Campbell Business next year, O’Neal’s current studies have helped him improve, refine and expand his homegrown business.
“Campbell Business has helped me so much especially with marketing skills and advertising skills,” said O’Neal. “In particular, Mr. Rubin’s retail management class helped me one day in particular. I hosted a pop-up shop and that was the true test of putting together everything together that I learned from Mr. Rubin and Dr. Lawrence’s classes.”
As a student, he’s been able to combine his love for Campbell and his passion for design throughout his tenure on campus, designing institutional t-shirts for multiple events over the past three years.
“The Christian heritage and values helped draw me to Campbell,” said O’Neal. “I’ve known that I wanted to get into business since I was 14 years old when I started my business.”
ABOUT CAMPBELL BUSINESS:
The Campbell University Lundy-Fetterman School of Business strives to be recognized as a premier business school known for its free enterprise based curriculum, distinctive academic programs, practical work experiences, and values-based entrepreneurial emphasis. For more information, visit http://www.campbell.edu/business.
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