Meet Philippe Auguste Jr., the man behind the viral handcrafted patriotic artwork from Nashville. This art piece is a staple in the homes of people all over America. But more than his hit artwork, Philippe is a testament to grit, guts, and passion.

Building a business can be difficult to navigate, but Philippe poured in all of his willpower and hard work to get to where he is now. Philippe is a proud American entrepreneur and CEO who manages Nashville Metal Art, the largest steel American flag company in the country. The company’s mission is to donate proceeds back to military organizations that fought for the country’s freedom and start-ups run by people of color. 

Nashville Metal Art only started as a side business for Philippe. While working on his full-time job and keeping his side business going, he realized that his full-time job had slowly become a bottleneck for him to continue his hustle. He has already generated more income from his side business than his job that initially funded it early on. After that, he knew he needed to take a leap of faith and leave his day job to focus on Nashville Metal Art. 

By doing so, it turned out to be one of the best choices of his life. His business opened many doors for his family to work with him, especially his mom. “​​I am thankful to have her at the shop with me every day. Not many people have the ability to see or speak with their mother every day,” Philippe said.

Before becoming the CEO of his own company, Philippe has always been obsessed with being the best. For him, whatever work he needs to do, he will do it full on. “All the jobs I have had, I have gone above and beyond. I did not mess around with that ain’t my job mindset,” he shares. “I clocked in, and whatever needed to be done to complete a task was done to the best of my ability.” 

Later on, he found out that he did not have total flexibility to increase his capabilities working for another person’s company. As a result, he constantly runs against ceilings that prevent him from developing his skills. “There was a cap, and no matter what I did, there was no advancement,” Philippe said. After becoming an entrepreneur full-time, he realized there was so much left for growth, and he has done so many more new things he has never done before.

As such, as a CEO, he continuously strives to improve his leadership skills. He continues to learn new knowledge and skills every day. “Positivity, resiliency, empathy, and honesty are some characteristics necessary for an effective leader,” explains Philippe. “These four are only the tip of the iceberg; there are many more.”

Philippe proves success looks different for everyone. For him, it’s thriving every day balancing his side hustle and a full-time job and successfully transitioning to entrepreneurship. After all, it’s all about that strong drive to make things happen that led him to where he is now.