We recently connected with AKilah Love and have shared our conversation below.

AKilah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I am much happier being a business owner as Im able to create programs to help those in need based on my experiences, create my own schedule and not be limited to a pay grade chosen by an employer, the option to hire and empower people who are worthy of it, based on energy, motivation, vision and worth, as opposed to gender, education, degree lists and state appointed mandates for community work initiatives and or minimal wages. I love building a business with no ceilings and unlimited opportunies to explore ones passion and purpose for not just the executive team, but for all. I love allowing for profits organizations to feed into the non-profit organizations consistently and not based on trends but based on commitment of a certain percentage without a cap. I do sometimes think about what it would be like if I had a regular job. The guarantee of a certain amount per year can help with automation and end of year accounting for tax returns, but certainly is a trade off to give up on my personal goals and dreams and potential.
The last time I had this thought, as things were a bit strapped financially and after putting in 70 hours for the week, and making less than minimum wage; I thought perhaps it would be good to have guaranteed income with set hours which would force me to stop at an time of the day which would allow me quality time with my family and evenings that are actually work free. I then thought again, I would be trading my dreams to help someone else build theirs, which would also teach my children to do the same. I reminded myself that it took, sacrifice, long hours, low pay and no sleep for most owners of business too, and that I just had to keep going, with no quitting and allow for the blessings and success in the business to flow with consistency and hard work. I reminded myself to get down on my knees and to pray thanking God for all I have and to pray asking for continued guidance and governance of my footsteps as I continue on the path to my dreams; as sometimes we have a vision that only we can see until it comes to fruition.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hello, My name is Akilah Love, and I am the co-founder of The DNA Brand Group of Companies. I started The DNA Brand in 2017 with my husband Douglas Johnson as DNA Music. We would host and curate several events, concerts and shows. Being so committed to helping those in need, my husband and I, decided to create some of the events we produce to be “for a purpose”. Each year we would have 3 events to fundraise, we would also host food, toy and back to school drives for impoverished communities. This was such a great feeling that soon, The DNA Brand Foundation was born. From 2017 to current 2024, the passion to help others improve their lives in mind, body, soul and finance inspired the birth of additional divisions for the brand bringing it to 9. These divisions are now, The DNA Brand Foundation, The DNA Health Shoppe, DNA Music, DNA Travel, DNA Academy, The DNA Diamond Ball, The DNA Financial Network, The DNA Flavor and DNA Clothing. Due to the diversity of our brand, we are proud to share that we provide solutions and resources to empower and improve lives, this multifaceted global empowerment organization and its impact, sets us apart from others.

I am most proud of our impact globally and The DNA Foundation which enables us to do so. The main things that we want our clients to know about us is that our priority and commitment has always been and will always be to make a positive difference in the lives of others. It is important to us that the community understands that our brand was structured to empower and elevate everyone, through every division lead by myself and my husband Douglas, our work will always be for the betterment of others.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

A story in my life in which both my husband and I had to pivot in life, was during the pandemic in 2020. At this time, DNA music and fitness was our main focus and interaction. Once the pandemic began and public events and buildings were closed to the public, we had to reinvent the wheel – so to speak. We were now unable to host public events or coach clients in group fitness settings. Since we were unable to do much of what we were use to in business, and were fortunate enough to have shelter and food through our own savings, and social subsidized programs, it was perfect timing to help others across the world who wouldn’t have the same resources. The DNA Brand Foundation was born and able to help 193 orphans in Ghana almost immediately through our personal donations and with the generous donations from our friends, families and community. This was brand new for us and took hours of learning, filing, communication, creating and taking the lead from others who had foundations and were kind enough to mentor us. This pivot ended up being in business as this would become our main focus and career as we became such proud and passionate philanthropists as the foundation work became our actual lives. This unexpected pivot was the best pivot during the worst times in our lives and across the world.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

I’d like to share a story with you that may not be a favorite story but was certainly one of the most impactful stories of my life and business to date. This story was a time when I took a huge risk to pull off an event where the odds were stacked against. Following having severe Covid twice for both myself and my husband, we were both experiencing severe health issues especially my husband. My husband had always been my partner in marketing and promotions for all events that we had hosted since 2016, and had been the stronger side of promotions while I handled the Public Relations and contractual and administrative tasks mostly. Since his experience with covid, he was living with long covid and debilitating symptoms which would leave him bed ridden for a full year. We were going to have our annual event, which we started in 2016, and I was going to have to manage, create, promote, host and lead the whole event. The initial date was scheduled for September 2022, and after hundreds of hours hospitalized and thousands of dollars in medical care, we had to reschedule the date for a time that would give us more time to create the perfect fundraising event. The new date was set for March 2023, only 6 months later. I would have to fill some big shoes, form a team, cover some big expenses and work around the clock and outside of tending to the needs of the children and my ill husband. By this date, we would have a village in Ghana in which we support, and had opened an elementary school in Accra, Ghana. The DNA Brand had sourced land in a nearby community and commited to building a community of homes, a school, a community area, crops and medical and sports facilities. The community in which the orphans were living in, was becoming a dangerous area and was an overpopulated set of rented apartments for the 193 children that we were supporting. It would be a huge undertaking, it would not be easy to fill a ballroom and cover all expenses, and to pull off a successful event. I took the challenge as my goal was to keep my word to the children of Ghana and to continue to support their nutritional, educational and health needs. I also needed to give my husband a reason to live for, I needed to continue on with The DNA Brands annual events of giving back and fundraising, and I needed to continue what was started by showing people a good time, empowering and awarded “diamonds” in the community, and to keep on keeping on. By this stage I had personally survived a stroke, covid related, and I had been recently diagnosed with questionable tumors, my husband was fighting for his life daily, and I felt the need to be as resilient as I possibly could be, as I would want my kids to always fight through adversity and to never quit on their dreams. Because of all of the tests, I was compelled and motivated to make them testimonies and to overcome without letting anything stand in the way of our goals not just for our brand, but for our hopeful, growing and elevating children and hope and in Ghana and other regions in which we’ve supported and would be supporting into the future.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thednabrand.com
• Instagram: @iam.akilah.love
• Facebook: facebook.com/iam.akilah.love
• Other: IG: @thednabrand

Image Credits
@keithsaundersphotos ( photos) @frenchkiss4you (makeup) @aoagwllc (PR)