Down 2 Business

Send us Fan Mail If someone asked you what fuels your fire on a daily basis, would you have an immediate answer or would you have to take some time to contemplate? Devien knew what his true motivation was for getting into music, but he had to take a step back to realize he wasn't living fully in his purpose. Yes, he was making music and doing what he loved but he felt like the music wasn&apos...

Send us Fan Mail Hash tags are common use on social media when it comes to promotion, sponsorships, etc. But in the recent years they have taken on a more serious meaning when they became names of minority lives taken by police brutality. From young children to grown adults, it seemed as if with every new day, came with a new name. Brian Wilturner, as both an African American male and father refus...

Send us Fan Mail Before coming into business, Ka'Von attributes a lot of his background and how he grew up to both Philadelphia, PA and Clinton, NC. These areas were able to light a fire under him to want to give back to not only his family but the community as well. While in Philadelphia, although Ka'Von was confined to wearing uniforms throughout his academic years, he never lost his l...

Send us Fan Mail When you see the word 'REAL' as an acronym, what are some thoughts that come to mind? Originally, that wasn't the first word that JB wrote down, but after much thought he decided to keep it simple, yet meaningful. After all, everyone just wants to keep it real, right? Enrolling in the Fashion Institute of Technology allowed JB to really hone in on his love for fashi...

Send us Fan Mail When something starts off as nothing more than a hobby for you, but then grows into a lifestyle you may adopt a special appreciation for it. For Rod, that special appreciation came in the form of posters on his walls. These posters ranged from musical artists, athletes, scenes from movies, you name it. Each one had its own meaning and rightful spot on the wall. However, as the wor...

Send us Fan Mail A picture can be worth a thousand words depending on who you ask, but what about who is behind the lens? What was the perspective of the photographer as they captured said picture? For Deonna, the answer is never the same and that is what she finds to be one of the amazing things about the creative process. Deonna has come to truly love beauty in all forms and that is why she take...

Send us Fan Mail Is there anything in your life that you have dedicated yourself to for over 10 years? Well for Dj Double O, or Hood it would be Big Wave Promotions, LLC. From the outside looking in, you may think it is all promotional content and events, but it is truly a FAMILY that extends far and wide throughout North Carolina. A family that over the years has been able dabble in a lot of diff...

Send us Fan Mail What does the journey to building a 7-figure skincare brand look like? For Meagan, it is something that she can walk you through firsthand because she is living it day in and day out. GetFlawlessSkin emerged as a result of Meagan wanting to step away from her 9-5 and enter the entrepreneurial space. As we may know, when taking on a new venture it can often be met with adversity bu...

Send us Fan Mail The beauty about creativity is that it comes in many forms and brings out different things in all of us. For Rachel, her inspiration comes from not only her past experiences but the growing love for wanting to connect with people from all walks of life. She is able to translate her creative process through music, storytelling and public speaking which Rachel is looking forward to...

Send us Fan Mail After countless years of doing the behind the scenes work and manifesting the life you truly want to live, there is no better feeling than watching the stars align right before your eyes. This couldn't be more true for Kenny The Plug especially with the constant evolution of social media, it really allowed things to propel for him. However, even with wearing so many different...

Send us Fan Mail Often times in our lives we are given certain opportunities where the reality may exceed our expectations and this is especially true for Hugo V. Things began to shift when he was originally assigned to open up and reveal step one at a retreat for compulsive gamblers. However, Hugo ended up having to wrap things up at the retreat and end on step 12. After some reflection, Hugo rea...

Send us Fan Mail Imagine being able to debunk myths earlier on and thus for generations to come more families would be better off financially. For Keon, Tristan and Akeel that was the one of the main goals behind getting started with Millennial Finance Network. After realizing their combined knowledge and expertise in real estate and life insurance, they wanted to continuously spread this to their...

Send us Fan Mail Adversity can come in many different forms and certainly has no timetable attached to it. However, Shae ending up using the difficult times in her life to take risks and invest in herself. When carbon is put under an overwhelming amount of pressure it then goes on to form a diamond, so it is no surprise that the name of Shae's boutique is Pressured Diamonds. The name doesn&ap...

Send us Fan Mail "You never get a second chance to make a first impression" is a saying that speaks volumes when it comes to networking and meeting new people. First impressions mean the world to Constant and he takes pride in being able to make a difference in the lives of others whether it comes physically, spiritually or mentally. By taking this approach with all of his clients for Ma...

Send us Fan Mail Growing up and seeing the daily sacrifices and grind from his parents motivated Dope Da Vinci unlike anything else. From creating his own apparel line to becoming a music artist, he fully embraced the arts and the messages within it all. When you hear the story behind his journey from Haiti to the United States, you'll realize that O1 Visa Apparel is more than just clothing a...

Send us Fan Mail Bernard has always taken an interest in sports and doing whatever he can to strengthen the mind and body. After graduating from Morehouse College last year, he noticed that the students in the AUC didn't really have access to reputable facilities and equipment. After taking matters into his own hands, WorkNard was started with the mission to help others develop the mind of a...

Send us Fan Mail Ivan attributes his original love for music to 'Left Eye' from TLC and finding out particularly that his father and uncle grew up on the same block as her in Philadelphia. From there, it went on to him becoming interested in documentaries and the behind the scenes of the music industry and was always thinking about creative ways to promote music (album covers, rollouts,...

Send us Fan Mail Often times those close to us notice things that we may attribute to simply being a part of our personality. For Nish, or "Lucky" as most call her it was her flashy accessories and how she loved to wear all types of colors. In other words, you can say she really pushed the limit when it came to fashion but her friends and family agreed that it always worked for her. Howe...

Send us Fan Mail When life places obstacles in your path, how do you respond to the challenge ahead? For Joydan, it was about honing in on a skill she had learned while taking a course at ECU and really allowing that to propel her away from the 9-5 lifestyle. As she reflects on her time in North Carolina, relocating to Atlanta was the best decision she could've made not only herself, but her...

Send us Fan Mail It doesn't take being a business owner or entrepreneur for you to experience epiphanies throughout life. There is also no timeline as to when these moments can happen and what the outcome can be. However, Imani came to realization that she wanted to be a resource for other business owners and entrepreneurs when helping them elevate their brand by any means. But at what moment...

Send us Fan Mail Coming into business, Courtney knew that she wasn't going to have it all figured out in the beginning. However, having a strong support system and not being afraid to ask questions propelled her into a smooth and successful launch of DRIPD Collection Beauty. From the moment her friends at North Carolina Central University knew of Courtney wanting to get into the beauty indust...

Send us Fan Mail There can be many motivations behind choosing to start your own business, but for Levi Hardy it stemmed from the idea of wanting to provide generational wealth for this family. After his son Declan was born, he truly kicked things into high gear and from working late nights and early mornings there was nothing he wouldn't do to ensure his family was always taken care of. Levi...

Send us Fan Mail After giving a presentation for his 'Entrepreneurship' class in high school, it resonated with Dom Wyche that he wanted to have a business of his own. His uncle was in charge of Wyche's Barbershop in West Philadelphia and that is where Dom's interest in hair sparked from. However, he wanted to take it a step further and not only focus on textured hair but also...

Send us Fan Mail For most, whenever you hear anything dealing with arson it brings about a negative connotation but not for Covania. Adopting the title of 'The Brand Arsonist' is her way of telling other entrepreneurs and brands that working with her company will literally set your brand on fire and take it to the next level. Covania started her social media marketing company, Bomb and B...

Send us Fan Mail Alyssa always enjoyed making her own organic concoctions that could be used on the hair and skin. As someone with sensitive skin, she often found that the best products were things that she was able to carefully handpick. She soon came to the realization that the idea of waxing yourself isn't so far-fetched and started doing it on her own. After having the opportunity to orga...