We were lucky to catch up with Danielle Jeter recently and have shared our conversation below.
Danielle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.
My life changed in 2009. I was 19 years old, a student at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA, the #1 HBCU in the world for women of color. At that time, one of the biggest things in the news was the great recession which hit close to home for so many college graduates. Thinking ahead and being strategic I knew that there was an opportunity I would graduate from college with a well-earned degree but no job offer to match. As a well-involved student, I always excelled inside and outside of the classroom. I studied abroad, completed internships, and worked, and I was very serious about my professional future. Knowing all of these hard facts, I took my senior year off of the dance team and performed to focus on launching a business. I needed a Plan B in case my Plan A to land a corporate job did not work out. I am sure at this point you can guess that Plan A didn’t work out. So here we are…
My entrepreneurship journey has been about creating opportunities. To create opportunities for people who look like me, for those who dream like me; for women and black & brown people like me. To fill a void for more than myself, but for my community. AOI Events & PR was founded out of a need. Founded to solve a problem. Founded to create change and the opportunity to fill a void.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
VISIONARY LEADER & FOUNDER, WOMEN IN MEDIA GLOBAL CREATOR & HOST, The WIM Speaks Show
“Creative, visionary, and inspiring” are just a few words used to describe Danielle P. Jeter. Jeter’s a 2010 graduate of Spelman College, where she majored in history, dance, and theater arts.
This dynamic change agent is an award-winning travelpreneur, garnering 12 years of business ownership, has curated over 400 events during the past 15 years, and is also a trusted advisor to governors, politicians, institutions, CEOS, and youth. DPJeter’s proven strategies have garnered her opportunities to share the stage with many greats like Master P, Kindred The Family Soul, Wale, Wise Intelligent, James Lindsay of Rap Snacks, Bonin Bough Governor Tom Wolf, Senator Bob Casey, Yandy Smith-Harris, Sonia Sanchez, Angela Yee, DJ Aktive, Ronne Brown, DJ Spinderella, and David Shands Sleepis4Suckers. She has been quoted in over 20 national and regional publications for her abilities to advocate, inspire, lead, and build community.
Women In Media GLOBAL (WIM Global) was created to empower, equip and encourage women from all walks of life who are in the media field or seek to enter it to own their voices. Above all else, our goal is to increase diversity and build unity within the industry. Over the last 8 years, WIM GLOBAL has impacted the lives of 15K women and students all over the world through annual conferences, educational scholarships, leadership programming, and media production.
I help Black CEOs & Women CEOs build notable brands through media publicity and business features positioning these incredible change agents as subject matter experts who are credible, influential, and verified brands across digital/social media. I specialize in media production, media placements, solutions-driven business strategy, and branding. I pursue this because it is a part of my life’s mission through business to create opportunities for women and people who look like me while building a lasting legacy of my own.
My goal is to build 1,000 black-owned notable brands in mainstream media with blue check verification as well as create a movement of new media makers who own media distribution platforms. I want to change the negative stereotypes in the media about black people and input only positive uplifting narratives about the black community.
As a result, my clients will utilize the power of their stories to impact social good and change lives! By promoting positive black agendas, it will stimulate the black economy to exchange resources and buy black-owned media opportunities! The media & entertainment industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that drives the opinion, messages, and minds of the people because of its powerful influence. There is no turning back. If we are going to impact change or drive a movement, we must control the message. And how do you control the message in America? By controlling all forms of media through ownership, representation, and narrative shifting.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
When I started my business the biggest challenge I had to overcome was being young, black, and female. Access to capital was limited and people challenged my authority all the time. I also was not very aware of my worth and did not charge appropriate prices when I started out.
Then came Covid-19, due to more than 50% of our business being in the event production industry, all of our live events for the year 2020 have been wiped off the table. As a result, we were positioned to be creative to replace the income stream our company thrived off of since 2012. Our tour management contract was delayed until further notice. In addition, our conference planning and event planning contracts did not happen. We are currently only operating on a project-to-project base without the opportunity to provide daily work for our team members. Our office space was also closed due to the pandemic. Our team has downsized and is not able to work every day. The special events & production industry has been completely interrupted and it may be that way for an extended time now. This has impacted income streams for our company and our staff. A large percentage of the clientele we have are not spending or increasing their marketing / pr budgets and are unable to utilize our services. Our profit margins have been severely hit.
When I came back home to Philly, I added different services, including public relations, community relations, digital marketing, and strategic development. I also started an internship and mentoring program called Pipeline that has helped dozens of high school students gain hands-on experience in the media field. I also launched the Women in Media Global Network (WIM Global), an organization that serves to empower and equip women who work or aspire to work in the media industry through year-round meetups and networking events. Above all else, our goal is to increase diversity and build unity within the industry. Over the last 8 years, WIM GLOBAL has impacted the lives of 15K women and students all over the world through annual conferences, educational scholarships, leadership programming, and media production. I also have my MeetUp2Millions Mastermind quarterly events and Notable Brand Coaching.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
We are committed to making a measurable difference in the communities we serve. Established with the vision to assist people in turning their event ideas into magical affairs, AOI emerged as the feminine but versatile elite communications firm founded in 2009 in Atlanta, GA.
AOI proudly services the world’s most impactful brands with creative and intrepid strategies to establish them as household names.
We accomplish this through media placements, branding, and a growth solutions-driven strategy.
AOI Represents Black CEOs and Women CEOs who are Thought Leaders In the Following Industries: FinTech, Women’s Interest, Wellness, Luxury & Lifestyle, Cryptocurrency / NFT / Blockchain Technology.
AOI has embedded itself in the public circuit through involvement in community development, women’s empowerment, politics & government.
What we do best is connect the messages of our socially conscious clientele to that of their desired audiences assisting them with building notable brands. We position our clients as highly credible, #1 authorities and thought leaders in their industry We also connect them with the opportunities, resources, and networks necessary to achieve their overall marketing goals.
We accomplish this through social media campaigns, media relations campaigns, lifestyle experiences, and digital marketing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.aoieventspr.net/?r_done=1
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dpjeter/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dpjeter/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-paige-jeter-57407b16/
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/dpjeter/