We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Denzel Demby. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Denzel below.

Denzel, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Being successful starts in your mind. You have to see the vision that God has given you and prepare for it daily. You have to sacrifice temporary desires that will fulfill your flesh but ultimately derail your journey. To be successful you have to be willing to be wrong and fail at a few things. There’s no shame in building your foundation and sometimes you have to rebuild until you create the right formula. All great entrepreneurs and entertainers had to build their foundation with little to no capital from outside parties. It takes more than making a claim or affirmation that you will be successful, you have to work for it. We live in a society that has thrown away hard work and sacrifice. Nothing will come easy and instant success is not realistic. My steps to becoming successful is to put God first in everything you do. Secondly, have a written plan and make sure you rewrite the plan often. When I was in grad school I would write down the classes I had left and the desired grade weekly. Third have accountability partners that will help you stay on track. Fourth make time for your dream, research, network, read, and study your craft. Lastly, be disciplined and understand that you will not always feel motivated.

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?

My name is Denzel James Demby and I’m from Ferriday, Louisiana. I’m 30 years old and I have a twin brother. I’m a businessman and entrepreneur with a Master’s degree in Business Administration. I’m the founder & designer of my jewelry brand “discernjewelry”, a jewelry line that I started in 2012. I’m also a poet, model, and overall creative. I started making jewelry in 2011 after I graduated from high school. One of my friends at the time borrowed a necklace from me and I never got it back. So one day I decided to make my own and after making my first design I was hooked. I started buying supplies and tools to make my bracelets and necklaces. I started selling to close friends in 2012 during my freshman year in college. I launched my first website in 2015 and begin doing pop-up shops in 2018. During this time I was also doing custom designs. As of now I’m not doing custom designs but I plan on getting back into creating custom pieces. My main goal is to provide quality jewelry without spending thousands. I only use the finest materials such as stainless steel, titanium steel, sterling silver, for chains. For my bracelets I use lava stone, Jasper, and glass beads. I’m also a content creator, for my personal IG @mr_demby where I showcase an array of stylish looks and tutorials.

Have you ever had to pivot?

During the pandemic, I could no longer do pop-up shops. I make jewelry for my pop-up shops that are not good online. It’s an exclusive treat that I like to provide for my loyal customers that ce out to support me during events. Due to the pandemic, I had to come up with new strategies for my online business presence. I did this by launching a new website with more inventory and sales increased tremendously.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to learn that money will not solve all of your problems. Money is nothing more than a tool to gain access to things that we need like shelter, food, transportation, and expenses. The misconception that money will erase your hardships and pain is a lie. I’ve work with people who were well off financially but broken on the inside.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.discernjewelry.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/mr_demby
• Linkedin: www.LinkedIn.com/in/denzeldemby
• Twitter: www.Twitter.com/mr_denzeldemby
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/ImThaBoss21
• Other: TikTok @mr_demby

Image Credits
All images were taken by me. -Denzel James Demby