Meet Lester Johnson | Founder & CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lester Johnson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lester, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor for the tremendous success of my Businesses is the direct reflection of the faithful promise that I made to Jesus Christ 10 years ago sitting in my apartment after the death of my grandmother Hattie Johnson. My God assured and guaranteed to me that I could have all the desires of my heart, if I submitted to his will and allowed him to use me accordingly. He taught me how to properly pray to him and how to verbalize my thoughts and wishes aloud into the universe so that he could latch onto my words and use them in the physical atmosphere. He continues to instill into me the perfect amount of confidence and information on how to maintain and scale multiple businesses. My God has always had the desire to use me but firstly he had to recondition my heart and mind so that he could properly order my steps along this journey. He is and continues to be faithful in his promises to me and my family and I am and will forever be indebted to my Lord and Savior for his grace and mercy on my life. I give him all the glory for my success and global notoriety. During this process I have worked very hard creating and developing the logistics for my brands. I can remember long nights and working a full time job after only 3 hours of sleep. There would be days sometimes weeks when I couldn’t walk from the pain in my feet and back due to the stress and tension of maintaining Credentials Certified Clothing and Accessories. I also remember times when I contemplated closing the business because I was afraid that I was spending too much money maintaining the brand and that I was neglecting the materialistic needs of my family but I came to realize that this was a tactic used by the enemy to distract and discourage me from my destiny. I am a tremendous competitor and I thrive on the competition aspect of building my brands against other already established brands. I would say that this is the driving force behind my motivation of continuing to grow and develop my businesses.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I can recall fighting in the Crestwood neighborhood in Miami, Florida everyday as well as walking out of my Elementary school (Allapattah) during class because I wasn’t being challenged by the curriculum and my mom would be so upset with me. She would eventually place me in a private school (Aukela Christian Academy) but I would eventually jump over the gates and walk out of this school as well until the Director and Owner of the school (Ms. Rodriquez) would dedicate two hours during the day for me to either play outside, draw, color or listen to music and this would make a tremendous impact on my development as a child as I would become the Valedictorian of my 5th and 8th grade graduating classes. I utilized those 4 years to perfect my drawing and creative skills which was pivotal in my development as a Artist. I suffered from a mild form of Dyslexia growing up but I was able to overcome these challenges in a more controlled one on one learning environment in the private school setting.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am a home body and find the most joy in spending time with my family and kids. I enjoy listening to music and relaxing, so a good concert or comedy show would be ideal. I enjoy playing miniature golf, creating and riding roller coasters.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Firstly, I would like to thank my Wife and Kids (Rodney, Lauren, Giovanni and Brooklyn) for being extremely supportive and patient with me during this process and allowing me to become the Father and Businessman that you see today. There were numerous times that I had to isolate myself outside of the house or in a room to try to find the perfect creative space to develop the ideas, logos and designs for the brand. My Mom for her unconditional love and never believing that my dreams were too big to become a reality. The Tuskegee University Social Work secretary (Denise Fitzpatrick) for believing in a kid for Miami and also holding me accountable with obtaining my College Degree. My Tuskegee College Professor (Eva Goodwin) who believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself and giving me the opportunity to become a College Teacher Assistant for the University that ignited the greatness deep down inside of me. Lastly, I would like to thank everyone who has supported me and my Brand from the start. I sincerely appreciate each and every person that has helped me through the difficult times of this journey.

Website: www.credentialscertified.net

Instagram: https://instagram.com/credentials_certified?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lester-johnson-87338411a

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theFINESTBRAND?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@lesterjohnson5248

Other: https://instagram.com/certifiedembroideryanddesigns?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==