We recently connected with D’Authentic Purpose and have shared our conversation below.
D’Authentic , appreciate you joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
I’ve always wanted to do something better with my life and help make a difference in the world. I just didn’t know where to start at the time. It was the beginning of 2018 and at the time I was dealing with stress and depression because of a life changing situation that I had just gotten out of. I knew if I wanted to make a difference I had to start figuring it out. So I bought a 3 ring binder, along with notebook paper, and some clear sheet protectors. I started to research a lot of different things, from how to start a t-shirt business, to becoming a motivational speaker, to how to start a nonprofit. Day in and day out. A lot of late nights and early mornings doing nothing but researching and filling up my binder with a lot of information. I knew my dream was too big to stay in my small country town, so I took a leap of faith and moved to the Dallas area in June of 2018 to follow my dreams. I took my binder with me and never looked back. I had some major setbacks when I got to the city and kind of put my dreams on the back burner. I got back in the working world to make ends meet and had to put my dreams on hold for a little while. I finally had found a good paying job in March of 2019 but quickly was furloughed in March 2020 when Covid first hit. After that happened I knew it was time to pull out my binder again and execute the plan of helping people because I had nothing but time on my hands at that point and I wanted to make the best of it while I had it. July 2021, I started my nonprofit organization, Unite The Community Project Incorporated (UTCP), helping the homeless and others in need. With already having the info that I needed in my binder from 2018, all I had to do was execute it and that’s exactly what I did.
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?
I am 33 years young and like most people, I have a story to tell. I have experienced a lot throughout my life but you grow through what you go through. I have experience a lot for my age. I’ve been homeless before, having to sleep in my car at times, I slept in a laundromat before and have been to a women’s shelter as well. Some people have asked why didn’t I just go back to my parents house or at least notified them of the things I was going through and the answer to that is because I wanted to figure out life on my own. With the strength from my Mama and with God on my side, I knew I would be okay and was able to get through. Of course I had help from genuine caring people, whom made a big difference in my life. I’ve had to cook in a fireplace in the apartments I was living in because I had no lights, I had to make due with what I could and figure adult life out. The struggle was definitely real for me but I never gave up even though I wanted too a few times, I just kept going. I was blessed with great survival skills and whenever I found myself in a tough situation, I just figured it out. I didn’t worry because I knew God had me. October 2010, I went through the most tragic experience that I could ever go through. I was cut on my left forearm due to a domestic violence relationship that I was in at the time. I lost 4 pints of blood and a main artery and 4 nerves was damaged in the process, which left me with permanent nerve damage. I haven’t been able to do a lot of the normal simple everyday things since the incident. I struggle with doing a simple push up or even lifting a gallon of milk. That experience really opened my eyes to bigger things and I knew after surviving that, I was destined for greatness and that God kept me here for a reason.
I’ve always been a go getter with a go getter mentality. I started a summer job when I was 12 working at a sno-cone stand. I worked there every summer until I turned 15. When I turned 15, I was able to get a real job and started working at McDonalds. The rest is history. I never hesitated to get a job so I could make my own money. I knew I didn’t want to continue my life working for somebody else, helping them build their dreams. I wanted to work for myself, making my own hours. I’ve had the vision of helping others in need for quite some time. The way people have helped me along the way, I wanted to do the same for others and now I have my own organization to be able to do just that. I want the people to know that’s reading this right now that the goal is to keep going even when you can’t see a way. It’s only cloudy for a little while. It can’t rain forever. The sun will shine again. You can do and be whatever you want. Just don’t give up. I am providing a way for my son so that he doesn’t have to go through or experience the things I did, leaving a legacy behind for him.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
When it comes to building my audience. I definitely can say it takes time and patience. I follow a lot of marketing strategies and have also researched the information to obtain the knowledge of building a social media presence. What worked for me may not work for others but I want everyone to be successful. I just started posting and using the correct hashtags to go along with the post. I always hashtag myself first, which in this case it’s #unitethecommunityproject and #utcp. I follow up with about 15 more hashtags including #explore/#explorepage. Staying consistent is the main thing. I have been watching my social media grow and all it took was for me to just go for it and start. It’s not going to happen as fast as you want it to but if you stick with the plan and stay on it, you’ll build your audience in no time. Post everyday.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
One thing that I know for sure is that when there’s a pivot in your life, it doesn’t mean you have failed or given up. It just means you’re making room for you, your goals, your dreams, your vision of where you want to go and where you want to be in life. Taking another route. Sometimes we have to pivot in our life to get to where we’re trying to go. I have so many stories involving pivoting in my life but the real start of my pivot came about when I was 19. At that age, as most young adults, I was young and dumb, definitely not making the right decisions in my life. Hanging with the wrong people who had no inspiration and was cool with their situation. There came a point when I was left alone and no one was coming around anymore, not even my own cousins. That alone time gave me room to breathe, space to think. I was able to actually stop and take a sec to look at my life and what I was doing and what I wanted to change in my life. My thoughts started to go crazy with ideas and things that I wanted to do in my life to get to a better place in a better situation. I remember just like it was yesterday. I was spending some time at my parents house and a commercial came on about Le Cordon Bleu, a culinary school. I always enjoyed cooking. I cooked with my Mama all the time as a child and it carried me along the way the older I got. So I decided right then from that commercial that I wanted to go to culinary school to become a chef. That was the pivot that I needed in my life to kickstart my future. I took that leap of faith and had no fear of failing. I realized that God removed those people out of my life for a reason. My vision was cloudy and blurry. I couldn’t see clearly what God had in store for me. Although I didn’t complete culinary school because of a tragic incident that I was involved in. I got to experience the vibe of being a chef and was able to cook things and make things that I had never made before. I’m thankful for the pivot because it taught me that I can do and be whatever I want too, that dreams do come true if you just take that leap of faith and go for it. Whatever situation that you’re in at this moment, don’t look at it as if you’re stuck or that your life doesn’t consist of anything, make that necessary pivot in your life now and go for it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/unitethecommunityproject
- Instagram: @unitethecommunityproject
- Facebook: D’Authentic Purpose
- Twitter: @iamdauthentic
Image Credits
Vanessa Natteal Demitria