Haitian-American businesses are on the rise and I’m proud I can continue introducing you to the young talented owners behind the brands. If you are a shoe lover like me, you’ll be happy to know you can purchase cute affordable shoes which goes up to size 12 from one of our own, Newark, New Jersey’s Liz Paul.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.
My name is Liz Paul, my mother is from Port-au-Prince and my father is from St Louis du nord, Haiti. I was born in Newark, NJ and the only girl on my mother’s side of the family. I have two little brothers and an 11-year-old going on 30 lol. I am the proud owner of Simply U.B.U which means U being U.
To what do you attribute your success?
Consistency and listening to the customers. Listening to what they want, listening to what makes them, you (U) being (U) you. On my company’s social media, I allow the customers to pick and choose which shoes they bring into our inventory. I also allow them to name the shoes. We’ve had phenomenal names like snake bite, black widow, and others, but that’s what the customer chooses to wear. The consistent aspect as well has made me successful, giving the customers what they ask for.
What would you consider your biggest challenge as a small business owner?
Supply and demand, not having enough inventory. When you’re a small business owner, you often times take your own income and invest it into the business and you keep reinvesting into the business. So when people gravitate to your business, you need to have enough inventory and the problem I’ve had in the past is not forecasting for it.
What motivates you and who has been your greatest inspiration?
I would say the smile on my daughter’s face, the laughter of my 2 boys [brothers] and the thought of knowing that I am making my dad that passed away the happiest man in heaven. I don’t know how to fail or start something and not finish it. So I don’t need a particular item or thing to motivate me, just those things right there. My dad would always say at dinner ‘mange, mange, mange’ which means eat, eat, eat, and I think about that often. That’s all I know how to do, eat, not litera
lly, but eat everything alive, understand everything, research things and make it happen.
What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Helping people. Being an entrepreneur you have your good days and your bad, there are weeks where you’re working 600 hours a week, and there’s weeks were you’re working 20 hours a week. I have people who I’m able to pay it forward, people who I’ve never met.
prescription pharmacy
For instance, there was a person that I donated 100 dollars to, I remember looking at someones social media profile and seeing that he was recently diagnosed with leukemia, and I remember telling myself when I get a couple of dollars I’m going to give him something, but realistically when do you ever get a couple of dollars, so I just gave him what I could right then and there. But it’s about being able to help people and being able to embrace and love what I do.
Your instagram alone have over 62,00 followers, how do you deal with such a large client base?
We listen. We reject the status quo. Our culture across the board and we live by it. We pay attention to little minute details. Listening is the biggest key. Listening to the customers concern. Sometimes there will be certain situations where hiccups may occur, lets say shipping is delayed due to weather, listening to the customers concerns and assuring them that we will correct and fix it, most customers truly just want reassurance, they want someone to reply and know they’re listening, that we will address it and take care of it. So my biggest thing is listening and rejecting the status quo.
Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most and why?
I remember about 5 or 6 years ago a company called GoJane.
I remember buying shoes from them and they had excellent customer service. I always liked their boldness and their bold and chicness of their site. Not gravitating towards one culture or industry or demographic, but more of a wide demographic. They’re about 11 years older than me, and I would like to be where they are within the next 2 years, so I would say GoJane.com
What advice would you give to an upcoming business owner?
Be consistent, don’t quit. Find that one niche, that one thing that you love that you’re interested in, that no matter what happens you’ll stick it out with that niche and get it done. Don’t wait for tomorrow. Even if you have $50, put that into you logo, when you get another $50 put that into your business cards, when you get another $50 put that into getting your email domain, you get another $50 put that into flyers. Don’t put it off, don’t wait, just continue to do it.
Shoot for exactly what you want to do. People typically think when you start a business, you’re going to become rich within a year, you’re actually broke your first few years.
You’re broke because you’re reinvesting back into the business. You don’t start making money and truly seeing a profit until year 2 or 3, so stick it out. You might be that lucky company that may start seeing a profit within the first 3 months, but if you want to grow your business just make sure that you’re reinvesting back into your business.
Simply U.B.U Website | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest
![Three of the Haitian music industry’s most recognizable names did not roll on Eastern Parkway for this year’s West Indian American Day Parade. The West Indian American Day Carnival Association says T-Vice, Tony Mix and SakPase Nation were barred because they failed to meet carnival rules. The bands tell a different story. T-Vice says it was not refused and chose to stay off the route. Tony Mix publicly announced he would not take part.
The annual parade stepped off Monday, Sept. 7, along Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway. Days earlier, The Haitian Times reported that WIADCA had kept the three groups off the official lineup. As of that Thursday, five other Haitian groups had been approved to participate. Haitian flags, mas and music were still on the Parkway. The missing piece was the big konpa trucks that usually stop traffic.
Cecile Ford is WIADCA’s board secretary and chair of the Mas Committee. She said organizers had warned the groups that the rules would be enforced.
“We’ve tried to work with them and each year there was a promise… they just take it as a joke,” Ford said. Ford later pointed to overcrowding on trucks as a safety problem.“We have pictures & photos [they] were not compliant with the number of people they have on their trucks, which is a security issue & safety issue,” she said.
WIADCA’s written rules state only bands with a WIADCA permit can enter the parade. Participants must be costumed. Artist trucks, advertising trucks and “T-shirt bands” are excluded. Band leaders are required to put marshals on the route, keep vehicles insured and stay within height and safety limits set with police and the city. Failure to comply can mean removal from the parade.
T-Vice answered Ford by name. The band said it was not refused. T-Vice said the Parkway absence was its own choice, while the carnival association said the group was barred. Tony Mix also spoke with an official announcement circulated that he would not take part in the 2026 Labor Day carnival. SakPase Nation did not respond.
Haitian mas and music was still on the route, including Lespri Ayiti and RAM among groups carrying the Haitian presence.
#lunionsuite #haitianamerican](https://www.lunionsuite.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/809209156_18633930094023307_3630959692441275516_n-512x640.jpg)
![Three of the Haitian music industry’s most recognizable names did not roll on Eastern Parkway for this year’s West Indian American Day Parade. The West Indian American Day Carnival Association says T-Vice, Tony Mix and SakPase Nation were barred because they failed to meet carnival rules. The bands tell a different story. T-Vice says it was not refused and chose to stay off the route. Tony Mix publicly announced he would not take part.
The annual parade stepped off Monday, Sept. 7, along Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway. Days earlier, The Haitian Times reported that WIADCA had kept the three groups off the official lineup. As of that Thursday, five other Haitian groups had been approved to participate. Haitian flags, mas and music were still on the Parkway. The missing piece was the big konpa trucks that usually stop traffic.
Cecile Ford is WIADCA’s board secretary and chair of the Mas Committee. She said organizers had warned the groups that the rules would be enforced.
“We’ve tried to work with them and each year there was a promise… they just take it as a joke,” Ford said. Ford later pointed to overcrowding on trucks as a safety problem.“We have pictures & photos [they] were not compliant with the number of people they have on their trucks, which is a security issue & safety issue,” she said.
WIADCA’s written rules state only bands with a WIADCA permit can enter the parade. Participants must be costumed. Artist trucks, advertising trucks and “T-shirt bands” are excluded. Band leaders are required to put marshals on the route, keep vehicles insured and stay within height and safety limits set with police and the city. Failure to comply can mean removal from the parade.
T-Vice answered Ford by name. The band said it was not refused. T-Vice said the Parkway absence was its own choice, while the carnival association said the group was barred. Tony Mix also spoke with an official announcement circulated that he would not take part in the 2026 Labor Day carnival. SakPase Nation did not respond.
Haitian mas and music was still on the route, including Lespri Ayiti and RAM among groups carrying the Haitian presence.
#lunionsuite #haitianamerican](https://scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/809209156_18633930094023307_3630959692441275516_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=108&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0FST1VTRUxfSVRFTS5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=x34GLS09I-MQ7kNvwFqHCNl&_nc_oc=AdowqDCN9YT1Ab6Xr9C2sg7ga-9vqDxpgpSPQVu_SMkTWY4MV-DSZ2lzrsiKmJkeEI4&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=2f3tKpSHAJNNIszwm0tyKg&_nc_tpa=Q5bMBQLIpZEqgQDnphx0TmPT9icwi0J-O_MGI1KGi5jdccW47lewVDO4DN_eFuv1IqR1uouRCrKYADL-&oh=00_AQL93pgJKIBXIqb5mKc9J3yHu4BJxawQQc6KvGaon236tQ&oe=6AB38FDD)
![Three of the Haitian music industry’s most recognizable names did not roll on Eastern Parkway for this year’s West Indian American Day Parade. The West Indian American Day Carnival Association says T-Vice, Tony Mix and SakPase Nation were barred because they failed to meet carnival rules. The bands tell a different story. T-Vice says it was not refused and chose to stay off the route. Tony Mix publicly announced he would not take part.
The annual parade stepped off Monday, Sept. 7, along Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway. Days earlier, The Haitian Times reported that WIADCA had kept the three groups off the official lineup. As of that Thursday, five other Haitian groups had been approved to participate. Haitian flags, mas and music were still on the Parkway. The missing piece was the big konpa trucks that usually stop traffic.
Cecile Ford is WIADCA’s board secretary and chair of the Mas Committee. She said organizers had warned the groups that the rules would be enforced.
“We’ve tried to work with them and each year there was a promise… they just take it as a joke,” Ford said. Ford later pointed to overcrowding on trucks as a safety problem.“We have pictures & photos [they] were not compliant with the number of people they have on their trucks, which is a security issue & safety issue,” she said.
WIADCA’s written rules state only bands with a WIADCA permit can enter the parade. Participants must be costumed. Artist trucks, advertising trucks and “T-shirt bands” are excluded. Band leaders are required to put marshals on the route, keep vehicles insured and stay within height and safety limits set with police and the city. Failure to comply can mean removal from the parade.
T-Vice answered Ford by name. The band said it was not refused. T-Vice said the Parkway absence was its own choice, while the carnival association said the group was barred. Tony Mix also spoke with an official announcement circulated that he would not take part in the 2026 Labor Day carnival. SakPase Nation did not respond.
Haitian mas and music was still on the route, including Lespri Ayiti and RAM among groups carrying the Haitian presence.
#lunionsuite #haitianamerican](https://scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/788924694_18633930097023307_3043638025784358712_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=110&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0FST1VTRUxfSVRFTS5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=2C7Wl-aKuL0Q7kNvwF0SU-y&_nc_oc=AdqS67UJ5kM67AfhglIGf79iRqaHlSsnp0FyZd7KoG7qEtb5unEgcDoOFORhGwog7BI&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=2f3tKpSHAJNNIszwm0tyKg&_nc_tpa=Q5bMBQLviGIZE3iGrcVklJlYxF7JA3iyzjnbeB1jQ6dks49prMC5VvU_TPYydNNXSHHmU0XuCz4YlFPX&oh=00_AQJ45J6ZyNkR7r3pnlIPJU32TuGhz5HeCr1uyHeCNZas_Q&oe=6AB37C46)
![Three of the Haitian music industry’s most recognizable names did not roll on Eastern Parkway for this year’s West Indian American Day Parade. The West Indian American Day Carnival Association says T-Vice, Tony Mix and SakPase Nation were barred because they failed to meet carnival rules. The bands tell a different story. T-Vice says it was not refused and chose to stay off the route. Tony Mix publicly announced he would not take part.
The annual parade stepped off Monday, Sept. 7, along Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway. Days earlier, The Haitian Times reported that WIADCA had kept the three groups off the official lineup. As of that Thursday, five other Haitian groups had been approved to participate. Haitian flags, mas and music were still on the Parkway. The missing piece was the big konpa trucks that usually stop traffic.
Cecile Ford is WIADCA’s board secretary and chair of the Mas Committee. She said organizers had warned the groups that the rules would be enforced.
“We’ve tried to work with them and each year there was a promise… they just take it as a joke,” Ford said. Ford later pointed to overcrowding on trucks as a safety problem.“We have pictures & photos [they] were not compliant with the number of people they have on their trucks, which is a security issue & safety issue,” she said.
WIADCA’s written rules state only bands with a WIADCA permit can enter the parade. Participants must be costumed. Artist trucks, advertising trucks and “T-shirt bands” are excluded. Band leaders are required to put marshals on the route, keep vehicles insured and stay within height and safety limits set with police and the city. Failure to comply can mean removal from the parade.
T-Vice answered Ford by name. The band said it was not refused. T-Vice said the Parkway absence was its own choice, while the carnival association said the group was barred. Tony Mix also spoke with an official announcement circulated that he would not take part in the 2026 Labor Day carnival. SakPase Nation did not respond.
Haitian mas and music was still on the route, including Lespri Ayiti and RAM among groups carrying the Haitian presence.
#lunionsuite #haitianamerican](https://scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/793639979_18633930061023307_6775081790007234048_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=103&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0FST1VTRUxfSVRFTS5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=959UMb3qNvsQ7kNvwH6rJK5&_nc_oc=AdoHvjiCVJ4RZCft2Zf1MqTKYnS3MeeZCdOl2uaqrtKnTljvUZTVU0tPPq5vVVaaMfI&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=2f3tKpSHAJNNIszwm0tyKg&_nc_tpa=Q5bMBQIYyGyeL5aNzfrqriI00GOptSTI43oscooqF6S-aM-OrOvYP9D1-BiK_Gp2JJ5cxYGveeqSGVb1&oh=00_AQLnetvUk_Em31LFU7ptk0vxNWd3A7N4V7eM1RfxpZOwyw&oe=6AB35D94)
![Three of the Haitian music industry’s most recognizable names did not roll on Eastern Parkway for this year’s West Indian American Day Parade. The West Indian American Day Carnival Association says T-Vice, Tony Mix and SakPase Nation were barred because they failed to meet carnival rules. The bands tell a different story. T-Vice says it was not refused and chose to stay off the route. Tony Mix publicly announced he would not take part.
The annual parade stepped off Monday, Sept. 7, along Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway. Days earlier, The Haitian Times reported that WIADCA had kept the three groups off the official lineup. As of that Thursday, five other Haitian groups had been approved to participate. Haitian flags, mas and music were still on the Parkway. The missing piece was the big konpa trucks that usually stop traffic.
Cecile Ford is WIADCA’s board secretary and chair of the Mas Committee. She said organizers had warned the groups that the rules would be enforced.
“We’ve tried to work with them and each year there was a promise… they just take it as a joke,” Ford said. Ford later pointed to overcrowding on trucks as a safety problem.“We have pictures & photos [they] were not compliant with the number of people they have on their trucks, which is a security issue & safety issue,” she said.
WIADCA’s written rules state only bands with a WIADCA permit can enter the parade. Participants must be costumed. Artist trucks, advertising trucks and “T-shirt bands” are excluded. Band leaders are required to put marshals on the route, keep vehicles insured and stay within height and safety limits set with police and the city. Failure to comply can mean removal from the parade.
T-Vice answered Ford by name. The band said it was not refused. T-Vice said the Parkway absence was its own choice, while the carnival association said the group was barred. Tony Mix also spoke with an official announcement circulated that he would not take part in the 2026 Labor Day carnival. SakPase Nation did not respond.
Haitian mas and music was still on the route, including Lespri Ayiti and RAM among groups carrying the Haitian presence.
#lunionsuite #haitianamerican](https://scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/809209149_18633930070023307_3587221757907574561_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=107&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0FST1VTRUxfSVRFTS5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=cDkcXmtXmgUQ7kNvwG7_XWE&_nc_oc=AdqUNRkUmiI2HDlMNYW2RKlBoNeNg1nBz8vDkWeMc4a-QdkiQcmzu3lNwHbR-qzwvNY&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=2f3tKpSHAJNNIszwm0tyKg&_nc_tpa=Q5bMBQI8pwRGQYUom2b_EsYpoiKaQkuNYNGRU7fJkNaOXbCNAiwAmc7eBVlWe0FU9ZJsyxJAhJoY_3wt&oh=00_AQJEnyuFInBYWSc033aedhdpfyEQCJUYUUcIWAw9r4cPOQ&oe=6AB38BFE)
![Three of the Haitian music industry’s most recognizable names did not roll on Eastern Parkway for this year’s West Indian American Day Parade. The West Indian American Day Carnival Association says T-Vice, Tony Mix and SakPase Nation were barred because they failed to meet carnival rules. The bands tell a different story. T-Vice says it was not refused and chose to stay off the route. Tony Mix publicly announced he would not take part.
The annual parade stepped off Monday, Sept. 7, along Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway. Days earlier, The Haitian Times reported that WIADCA had kept the three groups off the official lineup. As of that Thursday, five other Haitian groups had been approved to participate. Haitian flags, mas and music were still on the Parkway. The missing piece was the big konpa trucks that usually stop traffic.
Cecile Ford is WIADCA’s board secretary and chair of the Mas Committee. She said organizers had warned the groups that the rules would be enforced.
“We’ve tried to work with them and each year there was a promise… they just take it as a joke,” Ford said. Ford later pointed to overcrowding on trucks as a safety problem.“We have pictures & photos [they] were not compliant with the number of people they have on their trucks, which is a security issue & safety issue,” she said.
WIADCA’s written rules state only bands with a WIADCA permit can enter the parade. Participants must be costumed. Artist trucks, advertising trucks and “T-shirt bands” are excluded. Band leaders are required to put marshals on the route, keep vehicles insured and stay within height and safety limits set with police and the city. Failure to comply can mean removal from the parade.
T-Vice answered Ford by name. The band said it was not refused. T-Vice said the Parkway absence was its own choice, while the carnival association said the group was barred. Tony Mix also spoke with an official announcement circulated that he would not take part in the 2026 Labor Day carnival. SakPase Nation did not respond.
Haitian mas and music was still on the route, including Lespri Ayiti and RAM among groups carrying the Haitian presence.
#lunionsuite #haitianamerican](https://scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/806298814_18633930079023307_5240743489890819950_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=110&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0FST1VTRUxfSVRFTS5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=Tu1p_3GnXYcQ7kNvwHCBznE&_nc_oc=AdoGAfypL7XDJNz56JST3QfXiJSWyQ3GRr6VD4WmE5UkMYkQmRxbf7qH83ujiaRfzbQ&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=2f3tKpSHAJNNIszwm0tyKg&_nc_tpa=Q5bMBQJ4zb5qJLAtTDpjTUL5EUs6BYjZyOOZnlX7coC_9CvZCfyZ1SzWB1oegBZpEBM0I_VzUTokV6IX&oh=00_AQKQeQdeU0H95CA2Cuvo3-0keV1q4wC9oJ4moXFkewGp7A&oe=6AB36579)
![Three of the Haitian music industry’s most recognizable names did not roll on Eastern Parkway for this year’s West Indian American Day Parade. The West Indian American Day Carnival Association says T-Vice, Tony Mix and SakPase Nation were barred because they failed to meet carnival rules. The bands tell a different story. T-Vice says it was not refused and chose to stay off the route. Tony Mix publicly announced he would not take part.
The annual parade stepped off Monday, Sept. 7, along Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway. Days earlier, The Haitian Times reported that WIADCA had kept the three groups off the official lineup. As of that Thursday, five other Haitian groups had been approved to participate. Haitian flags, mas and music were still on the Parkway. The missing piece was the big konpa trucks that usually stop traffic.
Cecile Ford is WIADCA’s board secretary and chair of the Mas Committee. She said organizers had warned the groups that the rules would be enforced.
“We’ve tried to work with them and each year there was a promise… they just take it as a joke,” Ford said. Ford later pointed to overcrowding on trucks as a safety problem.“We have pictures & photos [they] were not compliant with the number of people they have on their trucks, which is a security issue & safety issue,” she said.
WIADCA’s written rules state only bands with a WIADCA permit can enter the parade. Participants must be costumed. Artist trucks, advertising trucks and “T-shirt bands” are excluded. Band leaders are required to put marshals on the route, keep vehicles insured and stay within height and safety limits set with police and the city. Failure to comply can mean removal from the parade.
T-Vice answered Ford by name. The band said it was not refused. T-Vice said the Parkway absence was its own choice, while the carnival association said the group was barred. Tony Mix also spoke with an official announcement circulated that he would not take part in the 2026 Labor Day carnival. SakPase Nation did not respond.
Haitian mas and music was still on the route, including Lespri Ayiti and RAM among groups carrying the Haitian presence.
#lunionsuite #haitianamerican](https://scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/806298829_18633930142023307_1624406619840916561_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=107&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0FST1VTRUxfSVRFTS5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=DE1aFJcvdYoQ7kNvwGMRE4Y&_nc_oc=AdrbSY8j7ijpV3E193emKk-Sf2zlSBMkLFgVx-mlruFEt57U2WROiBFUjBEcGlb2Jcs&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=2f3tKpSHAJNNIszwm0tyKg&_nc_tpa=Q5bMBQJoYROpI7U22EoUocsvVqAAxbMs09zf8Lfo_CnH1uEtfY_fUmhSxDPFPTn2QilcPSQS_mYRGOHc&oh=00_AQLQelzghsQ2U-2xVKnUHczIcVSwQ-TO46Fmpk45mZQw3Q&oe=6AB36772)
Congratulations ! Wish you and all your endeavors lots of successes. This is the best motivational story for our young and not so young people that I have heard. I’m praying that we all reflect on it and follow. Thanks for sharing and caring.
Roger i will make sure she see your comment, very inspiring. Thank you