We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Darian Brewer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Darian, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
Back when the iPhone 4s just came out I noticed everyone in school had one of them except for me. I still had an old school phone that ran on minute plans and had to watch how many text messages I would send friends. Eventually I ran out of minutes and couldn’t stay in contact with friends outside of school which drove me crazy, eventually I came to be obsessed with the idea of having an iPhone myself.
I asked dad if I could get one which he then did some research and said it was to much, if I really wanted it I’d have to work for it. I was too young at the time to get a real job (6th grader) so he suggested cutting grass to make some money to buy the iPhone with. I began knocking on everyone’s door in the neighborhood until I got 3-4 people to say yes to me. Eventually I was making $250 a week which was a lot at the time and ending up buying the iPhone and getting a data plan which I paid for myself.
This may seem like a normal story you’d hear from anyone my age but this childhood memory would lead me to despise working a normal job where I wasn’t in control of my own destiny and of course making as much money as a business owner.
This led me down the road to provide high ticket service and have a networking ability that has landed me high level clientele (realty tv show stars, celebrity chefs, famous entrepreneurs, etc).
Without this kind of childhood structure I wouldn’t be where I’m at today.
Darian, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I got into my industry because I had a severe case of yellow stained teeth myself. One day I needed a quick way to get white teeth and started looking into options, however, I read how long results would take with whitening strips and whitening trays which led me to look into more drastic options.
I came across a dental office that offered the service but would cost me upwards to $700-$900 which wouldn’t be covered under insurance because Teeth Whitening is considered a cosmetic procedure.
I then came across a business that only offered teeth whitening in my state and had very reasonable prices, but noticed they were practically the only business doing what they did.
I later looked into the laws and regulations, got the certifications and licensing I needed, learned from a Dental Hygienist of 20+ years and set up a wholesale account for the supplies.
From there I got into this business and started offering very cheap service to friends and family which branched out to more and more clients later on. After establishing some reviews and testimonials I opened a suite location and began networking with higher level people to try my service for free in exchange to talk about it on their social media platforms.
Surprisingly I connected with very high level individuals within my state and from there new clients would be showing up everyday to get their teeth whitened.
Have you ever had to pivot?
There was a in-between moment from doing the service only mobile to opening the suite location up.
At this time business was slowing down drastically and I found it harder and harder to find new clients, especially clients who were okay with a total stranger coming to their home to work in their mouths.
A normal logical business owner would have never opened up a suite location and took on the investment of a monthly lease while struggling to get new clients in the door but I took this as a opportunity to take this business to the next level.
Moral of the story is leaps of faith exist and I took this leap because I was more scared of closing the business down at the time and wondering “what if” the rest of my life than possibly just trying and failing.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Using other people’s platforms and attention to educate and bring brand awareness.
In-Chair Teeth Whitening isn’t being searched for online, I personally never knew it existed until I really needed it.
I took this simple fact and used it to my advantage in my marketing.
Just by offering the service for free in exchange for bringing more awareness to In-Chair Teeth Whitening and my business has been very profitable in the way I save big on paid advertising and usually when someone hears good things from someone they have followed for years the credibility is much higher.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.marylandteethwhitening.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marylandteethwhitening?igsh=dGg0cHBvbXMyOHBm&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darian.brewer.9?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darianbrewer?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@MarylandTeethWhitening?si=x9YQZCx1lgBOLuZM
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@marylandteethwhitening?_t=8j5XMor9P46&_r=1