We recently connected with Kent King and have shared our conversation below.

Kent, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

I think the title of “strategist” comes with a certain desire to appear the smartest in the room, where as for me, I tend to enjoy making my clients feel and appear smarter than they anticipated. I consider myself as more of a translator in the sense that my role is to translate the “unknown” or hidden factors of digital branding and marketing into a game plan that is both easy to digest and duplicate. One of my main tactics is to use analogies and case studies of major brands and relate them to the client’s comprehension level of the subject. Or use song titles and lyrics that have been cemented in our memory and help clients discover and develop their own version of that sticky substance that will enhance the brand or business.

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

I am a marketing maven who got his wings by building a personal brand as a DJ and grew that to a multi-6 figure business. From that brand I have toured all across the country and even as far as Japan, I have been featured in numerous publications and even appeared as a guest DJ on Hot97. My brand became so large and encompassing I dropped out of college in my last year to focus on the business. I was a music major who got persuaded to switch to Sales and Marketing by my college professor after taking one course and placing 3rd in the sales competition as a Freshman (the competition was reserved for Junior and Seniors). This led to offers from companies like Ebay, Hasbro and ThyssenKrup all of which I declined to pursue my own career in the entertainment industry. After working my way through clubs and venues across the country I got approached to help rebrand a particular restaurant called Ginger & Olive into more of a lounge named Three60. This was the first time I had been paid to help shift and grow a brand. This opened my eyes to the possibility of growing a brand outside of my own and led to opportunities to work with multiple restaurants and lounges as well as many indie recording artist projects. After seeing the disconnect from artists and marketing I built Loftnine Creation Space, a 4k square foot facility to aid creatives in the creation, performing and marketing of the arts. This business went on to do 6 figures for over 5 years and even thrived through the pandemic. We have just recently decided to end the business and exit the brick and mortar industry to spend more time catering to the demand of my growing digital brand. Currently I enable clients to grow a digital brand for both businesses and individuals by helping them develop their voice and design their story. I think one of the things that I am most proud of is that one of my largest and highest paying clients is a marketing firm based in Florida. The irony is that in another life I may have been an employee but now because I decided to carve my own route we are able to collaborate in a different capacity, one that gives me freedom of time and agenda. I think the main thing to take away from this particular story is that you should never feel the need to conform to a paradigm not even one built off of success. I have had offers from fortune 500 companies, been a world class DJ, built widely renowned businesses and still have the confidence to shift my agenda based on what I feel serves me best and where I feel I can add the most value. Some people get so caught up in chasing new levels of success they never stop to see if there is another avenue that could bring them closer to happiness, and I am living testament that one of the best things I have ever done is not be afraid to jump into a new field that may be paved with uncertainty. I’ve had my bumps and bruises along the way but i can honestly say I wouldn’t be who I am without the growth from those experiences.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Due to poor maintenance in my previous building, I decided to rehouse Loftnine into a new facility in December of 2019. As luck would have it the pandemic struck a few months after and shut down any opportunity of revenue. But rather than to sit and sulk I decided to pivot and saw an opportunity to teach both marketing and money management to my digital audience which at the time was around 13k followers. Financial literacy was a subject I had learned firsthand throughout my journey of entrepreneurship and was something I saw as a need in my community, and so I began to teach lessons from a personal perspective in an easy to digest and relatable format. Marketing and branding was something I had an affinity for and had been formally trained and educated in. What i didn’t know was how much of a demand there would be for the information and how hungry my audience would be to hear it from me. After growing that following to over 70k followers on multiple platforms I decided to double down and go all in. I developed a mantra that said “double down on who you are and not who you think the world wants you to be”. I had personally expected my messaging to fall on deaf ears because it was a drastic shift from my normal online persona. But after multiple people discussed the impact I had on them I knew this was where I could add the most value and so I went all in and haven’t looked back since.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

The way i built my audience was by being authentic and consistent. Early on I had a close friend and business associate tell me they would only take financial advice from a guy who looked a certain way and I should clean my image and put on a suit. Luckily I chucked that advice out the window and stayed true to myself and continued to show up for my audience and add as much value as possible, this allowed me to stand out and develop my usp as well as appear relatable and approachable. most people feel they can not learn from someone they do not relate to, majority of my audience do not wear suits and use a certain vernacular so it was fitting for me to do the same. My advice for any trying to amass a following is define your audience, design your message, and deliver consistently. Know who you’re speaking to, decided what you want to say, and don’t shut up about it. These platforms are based around community and they will help you attract the people who have a desire to partake in what you and your tribe have to offer.

Contact Info:

• Website: illegallyretired.com
• Instagram: djdarkkent
• Facebook: djdarkkent
• Twitter: djdarkkent