We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Darnelle Brown Jr. a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Darnelle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?
Honestly, I do wish I would’ve started The F.A.M.O.U.$. Brand (TFB) sooner. I first started this business in September of 2019. At the time, I had (and still have) a 9-5 going pretty good for me. However, I was also dealing with some legal issues to where I actually had to go jail for a few days. Upon sitting in jail is what actually gave me the time to really sit and come up with all the ideas on how I wanted to start/run my business. Although business has been fairly well and a learning experience overall, sometimes I wish I would’ve started T.F.B. back in my hometown of Elizabeth City, NC while I was in college. As a student majoring in Business Administration concentrating on Marketing & Management, I feel like it would’ve been REAL beneficial to implement everything I was learning right then and there into my business first-hand. On top of that education, I am fairly well-known in my hometown and very respected, so that would’ve added to the success of the business. Given the different parts I have under T.F.B., starting sooner I think would’ve mainly helped catapult my “Stepping For F.A.M.E.” series since I was still in the prime of dancing, stepping, and performing. Although I have taken a break from Stepping for F.A.M.E. at the moment, I still have aspirations to turn that into some kind of Non-Profit organization and/or Mentoring Program for the youth. Starting T.F.B. in Elizabeth City would’ve made that pretty easy given the work I have already put in and the connections I have down there. Overall, starting earlier would’ve presented a lot of benefits utilizing my education, resources, and individuals. Now I will say on the flip side, I do believe it took me moving from Elizabeth City to get the motivation and inspiration to do something different from myself because although I do love my City for what it is, EC is a small town with a small town mindset overall, and it’s really like “crabs in a barrel”. It’s like the saying goes, “the shark will never outgrown its environment.” So I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to move away and took it, and here we are today.
Darnelle, 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 initial thought process behind starting my own business was essentially working for myself, being my own boss, and trying to do something to create opportunities for others. I learned the hard way that no matter where you work, no matter your position, you can always be replaced in these big companies/corporations. On top of not wanting to work for someone else in the long run, I also came upon new knowledge over the years such as the original Black Wall Street in Tulsa, OK and how we, as black people, are the nations biggest consumers, yet we circulate our money within our community the least. This helped to put things in better perspective for The F.AM.O.U.$. Brand (TFB). The long-term objective is to bring back Black Wall Street both physically and virtually by tapping into different markets while collaborating with other black businesses to create opportunities for OUR people & truly circulate the black dollar. FAMOU$ was a nickname that I came up with back in the day that just so happened to stick. So I used that and turned it into an acronym which stands for “Fine Awesome Marvels On Unparalleled Success” because TFB is not just about me. It is about MY people because I firmly believe that we are the “Marvels” of the world. This is not to take away from anyone in particular or their contributions, but as stated, this is what I believe.
The first product/service I provided was The Dip King, an assortment of different freshly made dips to consume such as Buffalo Chicken, Shrimp & Crab, and Philly Cheesesteak Dip, which is probably my best seller to date because I don’t know anywhere else where you can find a Philly Cheesesteak DIP. Then, I added The FAMOU$ Brand Merch Collection starting with T-shirts with the help of my sister Jillainna Evans and her business, Creations By Lainna. Later, I also incorporated Shanequa Mitchell of Tingz By Tigress services as well. Since then, I’ve expanded to offering hoodies and crewnecks for women, with plenty more in store. I also started doing a live broadcast called Stepping for F.A.M.E. (Fun And Major Empowerment) teaching individuals how to Step/Dance over Facebook and Instagram Live, then posting on YouTube. However, that is on a hold at the moment. I have the FAMOU$ Fragrance Collection by Poetic Scents, which is collaboration with Chimere Moody. Under the collection, I have my own cologne, fabric/car spray, and incense. Last but not least and one of my favorite things is a collaboration with Black & Unfiltered Entertainment, LLC called The B&U FAMOU$ Brand Business Spotlight. This is a show I host to have conversations and shine light on fellow black business owners & entrepreneurs by virtual interview. This opportunity definitely helps bring the main objective of TFB into full circle. Essentially, TFB is not meant to be put in a box.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Building and running a business is an every day learning experience. The highs are extraordinary especially when you get that “starting out” rush offering a new product people aren’t accustomed to. But with all the highs you may get/feel, there comes a drought, or droughts, at some point. Droughts are the real testers because droughts lead to doubts, and doubts lead to “outs” meaning you’re pulling out of your business. The best resilience is and always will be CONSISTENCY. Now granted, you have to constantly evaluate your business, productivity, income, expenses, etc. But if nothing else, you have to remain consistent. I can recall the time I went through my first drought by first quarter in 2021. My numbers started to decline from the previous year. It got to a point where I even had to call my dad for some business advice, as he has been running his own tinting business for over 30 years. And he reminded me about consistency and that its not always going to be great. You have to look for patterns. Find out what works, what doesn’t and always be able to adjust. Always keep record of everything as much as you can so you can compare things and trends. It was nice to talk to him because majority of the stuff he was telling me I was already doing or in the right direction of doing it. It definitely helped that he reassured me that I have a great product in my Dips, and that I should look into some kind of expansion whether it be a food truck, or talking with others on some kind of collaboration like selling dips alongside their products. Nevertheless, my advice for when things get tough or droughts arise, you have to always remember to stay consistent. You also have to know what’s going on and how to keep things in your business fresh. You can’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. You have to remember your WHY. But the biggest form of resilience is like the old saying goes, “Consistency Is Key”.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I remember when I lost my job to the pandemic in 2020, and although my business was doing decent, it honestly wasn’t to the point where it was solely paying the bills. So although I picked up a side job from home, my business was my main priority and I had to remain consistent with promo, evaluation, and coming up with new ideas, which is actually where Stepping For F.A.M.E. came about. Thanks to a variety of participants and watchers, I was able to receive donations/tips to my business because I didn’t charge for the Lives/Content. I am very thankful for that time period because it taught me a lot. It humbled me at a time where I thought after seeing certain people on social media who took the leap of faith to leave their job, focus solely on their business and it worked for them; that definitely is not the case for everyone nor is it that easy as it seems. It helped me get back to my passion of stepping/dancing. It gave me a way to push myself and slightly step outside of my comfort zone again. It helped me to learn new things about content creating, editing videos, even down to creating presentable thumbnails for the videos. It opened my mind to more possibilities for my business, thus wanting to make Stepping For F.A.M.E. into a Non-Profit and/or mentoring program down the line. A couple of my best qualities are that I am very adaptable and versatile. That time definitely put it to the test and I think I did an exceptional job of doing just those.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://drum.io/the_famous_brand
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smoothd620/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darnellebrown620
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SMOOTH__D
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SmoothD620
- Other: https://theblacktube.com/@SmoothD620 If you would like to be apart of “The B&U FAMOU$ Brand Business Spotlight” to tell your business/entrepreneurial story, please send all inquries to [email protected] to discuss details and scheduling. Interviews are generally conducted on Sundays at 3PM EST Live on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter through Streamyard.