Down 2 Business

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...

Send us Fan Mail For as long as she can remember Melanie has always had a love for shoes, particularly anything that she can throw on to glam an outfit up or down. This love was translated into a business venture when she was given the task of pouring her life out in an essay in order to get into college. At the time, Melanie wrote about a boutique that would specialize in women's shoes and s...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever left a car wash dissatisfied after having spent a good amount of money? For Isaiah, after the answer was yes too many times he came to the conclusion that no one could clean his car the way he could. He took it a step further and began offering the service to those in the Philadelphia area. This past summer, Zetailed was born as a luxury car detailing service and thi...

Send us Fan Mail Brionna's journey as a self-taught seamstress dates all the way back to 7th grade when she first started experimenting with sewing machines. As time went on, it was an activity that was pushed to the wayside but the passion was never lost. It didn't take long for Brionna to hone in on the art of sewing, from binge watching YouTube videos for hours to experimenting with o...

Send us Fan Mail It's one thing to run your own business, but for Magi it's a completely different feeling when you can run a business with your family as well. Magi and her siblings noticed that her mother's recipes for various skin and hair care products were all hits from the smell to the feeling. So what did they decide to do? Order supplies for her and take matters into their o...

Send us Fan Mail Brianna Taylor's business involvement dates all the way back to 2016 when she first started selling mink lashes in Philadelphia. Being that this particular industry wasn't as populated as it is now, Brianna was one of the few business owners specializing in this product and was able to see success from it. But some years and a new mindset later, Brianna's approach t...

Send us Fan Mail Being from Uganda, Celina was able to see first-hand the disparities and lack of resources that are impacting African countries all throughout the continent. On top of that, with knowing everything about the government in Africa, she was able to see that it isn't designed to benefit its citizens. With the help of some connections in Uganda, Celina was able to take matters int...

Send us Fan Mail At a time where she needed direction from God, Janae Carlee decided to put all the faith in Him. As a result, she was led on a spiritual journey unlike any other that is still continuing to this day. From temporary positions to even feeling like time was running out Janae never lost hope and continued to always put her best foot forward in whatever she embarked on. Her interest in...

Send us Fan Mail Keylynne always had a passion for dance but it was taken to greater heights once she started noticing the positive and long-lasting effect it can have on others. Joining FAME Modeling Troupe in college strengthened this passion and eventually inspired her to open her own studio dedicated to women of color. However, the process of securing and opening the studio was far from easy....

Send us Fan Mail Starting a business may not always go the way we would like it to in the beginning, but instead of letting that deter you from your end goal take some time to sit down and truly develop a plan. This hits home for Briana Hayes of Bello Bach because coming into business in 2015 she had a totally different mindset revolving around fashion and wanting to get things out there. However,...

Send us Fan Mail When you hear the word radiant, what comes to mind? Do you think of a light shining through the darkness no matter what? For Boom, that was exactly his thought process in developing his brand, Proven Radiant in 2019. Boom combined his love for fashion with the mindset that we all have trials and tribulations that we must overcome throughout the course of our life. Proven Radiant i...

Send us Fan Mail Jalae Simpson, or JB branded herself early on and originally started in graphic design just as a way to get additional practice. On top of that, she also was able to add hair, makeup and lashes to her skill set. Over time JB began to receive a lot of inquiries from friends and others because of the quality of her work. As a result, she truly began to hone in on her skills and even...

Send us Fan Mail Kendrick Harris accompanied us on this episode for our FIRST ever live interview in which he details his company, For The People LLC. Originally, it started as a bail bonding company, but Kendrick didn't want his services to stop there because the community needs more. As a result, power washing came about along with landscaping and transportation services. Kendrick was never...

Send us Fan Mail Jewel Payton Goldsmith's involvement in the dog business dates all the way back to 2018 where she worked at different vet offices and clinics. However, as of February 2020 she officially embarked on her own business journey where she started Barks for Biscuits SC. Based out of S. Carolina, Jewel's company provides homemade, organic dog treats for ALL dogs, no matter size...

Send us Fan Mail When you have multiple avenues that you would like to pursue in life, how do you go about getting things off the ground? For Jordan Rawlings, the motivation and drive that he developed from sports was all he needed to take matters into his own hands. Fitness, sports and photography are just some of the main things that Jordan decided to dabble in, but the creativity doesn't s...

Send us Fan Mail Inspiration can come in many forms when you really sit down and think about it. For Xavier Brodie the inspiration to make music came during an early age from his mother and paying close attention to the genres and artists that she listened to. Then, after becoming an artist he received inspiration from J. Cole to make his stage name XBrodie. For XBrodie, making music is more than...

Send us Fan Mail From drawing clothes as a kid to pursuing graphic design for his undergraduate studies, Naquan Jackson has always had the idea for developing his own brand. Originally, it started out as 'Jayweather' which was a nickname he made for himself but then later was revamped to 'NJacks & Co.' because of the majority of his family having either the letter 'N&a...