CEO of Black Billionaire Institute, Dina Davis, Brings Business To Doorsteps of Black Communities
Today we’d like to introduce you to Dina Davis.
It’s an honor to speak with you today. Why don’t you give us some details about you and your story. How did you get to where you are today?
The journey of entrepreneurship while helping others, I feel, has always been one that I has been destined for me. I remember being in elementary school selling candy so my friends could have the latest flavors. Today, that desire, to create and address a need, has evolved into something that will change black communities across our country. I was raised by my mother and grandmother, who instilled in me to always do your best to make a difference in the world. They would say “leave people better than how you found them”. This is what I have lived by. I would have never imagined that those very words would be the footprint to a mission that is far greater than we could have ever dreamed. Over the years, I have worked in Corporate America, facilitating a variety of training programs. I began to develop deeper understanding of the needs of our minority communities. During that time, I would mentor my students and teach them things about life and business. I could see clearly there was a desire to do more but a lack of knowledge of where or how to start. Shortly afterward, me and my partner took the leap of entrepreneurship and became first generation business owners. In the first 3 years we made over $1.5 million during the pandemic! It became clear, that I needed to share what I have learned with the very communities that we came from. The Goal : To bring business development tools to
I’m sure your success has not come easily. What challenges have you had to overcome along the way?
If you find a person that says success has come easy, then you, my friend, have found someone that is not being honest with you or themselves. Success is something that happens when you do not allow the lessons of life the opportunity to overshadow your belief in your abilities. So, yes, if I were being completely transparent, life has its challenges – but I call them lessons. Being raised by a single parent, not knowing who my father was, had an effect on my self-esteem, self-image and self-worth. I struggled for a long time with feeling rejected and unwanted. Then, at the age of 19, I lost my mother, which made it even more difficult to navigate through life. Through the years, I have survived domestic violence, homelessness, depression and poverty. All of these life events, lessons. As traumatic as those lessons were, they have become the building blocks to who I am today. The very things that I thought would break me, has now become the thread to how I can relate to black business owners who need help, have experienced loss, or are struggling with understanding self-worth. These intangibles have a significant impact on how you function in life and operate your business. I want each person reading this to know, that challenges you face (whether personal or business) are only challenges if you don’t overcome them. Otherwise, they are simply lessons that have just made you stronger.
Let’s talk about the work you do. What do you specialize in and why should someone work with you over the competition?
If I were being honest, the vision of Black Billionaire Institute, came from God. This is not a fly by night business but something that was created with future generations in mind. I would like to start out by saying that we put God first in everything that we do within our company – God is at the core. Being black female entrepreneur, I understand the plight being a minority business owner. Black Billionaire Institute was birthed with the desire to help provide both aspiring and seasoned entrepreneurs learn about business and transform their ideas into thriving empires. Through our exclusive membership, we plan to level the playing field for minority entrepreneurs. We simplify complex business concepts into step-by-step roadmaps that makes navigating the world of business easy to understand. Then also provide tools to execute what you have learned. With the combination of education and tools our organization is slated to become the first of its kind. We are changing the way that black communities learn about business both online and in person. Whether you are a solo-preneur or a growing business that has already started but may have missed a few steps. Black Billionaire Institute will be offering a broad spectrum of assistance – ranging anywhere from startup assistance, mentorship, monthly book club meetings and so much more. Black Billionaire Institute is building a community of resources curated with minority businesses in mind.
What’s your best piece of advice for readers who desire to find success in their life?
My advice is… to allow life to happen, things will not always go the way that we plan – and that’s okay. When life will happens to us – focus on what you can control. For years, I spent time over obsessing over things I had no control over. The moment that I learned to control “MY controllables”, my life began to shift in a way I never could’ve imagined. I found myself spending less time focusing on my circumstances and more time creating opportunities to change them. It took time and trust A LOT of trial and error ( plus A LOT of conversations with God ). But once I realized that I had more control over my life than I thought, something inside of me changed. So here are a few tips: 1. Start with managing your time more effectively. Repurpose the time spent on social media into personal development. Use every experience as a lesson to make you into a better version of yourself. 3. Become an excellent communicator. If you cannot communicate well, your message can become easily lost or misinterpreted 2. Learn how to transform the hard moments you experience in life into opportunities to understand and grow with others The reality of it is, most of us are all on a journey that at times we do not know where it will end up.
Speaking of success, what does the word mean to you?
Success isn’t something that reflects how much money you have in your bank account or how many followers you have on IG. Success to me, is knowing that you left a footprint in this world, a legacy of sorts. When you do not allow yourself to give up on your hopes and dreams, when you make the very best of everyday that you are here. Success is when do your best to not only become a better person than you were before – but to help others do the same. That is what the definition of success is to me.
What’s next for you?
The beautiful thing about the future is that, we never truly know what it holds. As far for Black Billionaire Institute, we are planning on launching the first book of our series “The Billionaire Playbook ” starting in 2022. We have so many great community initiatives that will be rolling out in 2022 and beyond. This includes an exclusive workshop curated to walk businesses through the steps of launching and scaling their new business. We also hope to be rolling out our business credit building program along with an access to capital initiative near late fall of 2022 to early 2023. There are many more things that we plan to spearhead in the community. So, you’d just have to connect with us on social media and subscribe to our email list to get exclusives on how we plan on creating a community of resources that will change black businesses around the world.
Finally, how can people connect with you if they want to learn more.
We would love to connect . If any part of this interview resonated with you and you are interested in joining, partnering, working with or sponsoring any of our community events, I’d love to take a moment to learn more about you and have a chat on how we can collaborate. There is a link on our website for contact us, please feel free to reach us at www.blackbillionaireinstitute.com. You can also text or DM us on social media. Our handle is @blkbillionaireinstitute on Facebook and IG. Otherwise, you can give us a call at 855.686.2022. I truly appreciate you all taking the time to meet with me and look forward to speaking with you in the future.