We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful D’ondre Coleman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with D’ondre below.

Hi D’ondre, thanks for joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I believe that it takes a few factors to become successful, when it comes to business. These factors include, pressure, a healthy obsession, passion, sacrifice, and determination. In December of 2019, I finished college and got a Bachelors degree in Marketing. I figured I would take a few months off before I try to get a job in my field. My goal was to work in the Social Media Marketing industry for awhile, before branching off to start my own social media marketing business. Little did I know that the whole world was going to shut down for the pandemic. Virtually every job had 1000’s of applicants or they weren’t hiring, so I had to make a pivot. Instead I had to gain my experience with a start up record label called Dyffrent Entertainment, which was ran by my cousin and brother. I knew this was what I wanted to do, so I did everything I could to create opportunities for myself to learn. While in my learning phase I took every opportunity, even though most of them were sweat equity. Because of this, I had to keep my original job while also having side hustles to maintain my life. This is the sacrifice, determination, and passion that I had to exhibit just to create my business. I don’t feel like I am successful as a business owner yet, but actually realizing my dream of starting a business is a success within itself.

D’ondre, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is D’ondre Coleman and I own a Social Media Marketing/Strategy business, called Dondre.Social in San Diego, CA. I got into my industry through choosing to study traditional marketing at SDSU. I knew that I wanted to get into the digital space, but I wanted to learn traditional marketing to have a solid foundation in the field. In my business, I provide social media management, strategy, and content creation for small businesses. I basically help create the digital representation for their business, which in return helps them target their specific audience. I think what sets myself apart from others is my commitment to learning. My education didn’t stop in college with my degree, I went on to obtain several Meta and Hubspot certificates. I also make it a habit to research the latest social media updates on a daily basis. I am most proud that, I am chasing my goal and I haven’t given up along my journey. I would like potential clients to know that in working with me, you gain a partner that is dedicated and committed to helping your business thrive in the digital space.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

To start I would like to say that for my business I am very lucky that I don’t need inventory or a brick & mortar location to operate my business. I learned how to obtain the capital to start my business, from two family members that shared how they were able to fund their business. I went on to clean up my credit, which qualified me to obtain a credit line. I used a combination of personal savings and credit to start my business.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I don’t have the biggest audience on social media, but I feel like I have a community of people within the same niche who support me. I grew this relationship by carving out my niche, which is social media updates and creating content informing other users of this update. I think it is also very important to note, one huge factor that most people forget to do on social media. If you want to grow on social media you can’t be selfish, if you want people to support your content, you have to return the favor. In my opinion that’s how you grow a mutual beneficial relationship on social media.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dondresocial.com
• Instagram: dondre.social
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/d-ondre-coleman-543302170
• Youtube: dondre.social