We recently connected with Mr. Daniel Dickey and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Mr. Daniel , thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

The Resource Guild was birthed out of my desire to figure out how to get paid to simply be myself while bringing people together in 2013. I have always been a fun-loving, brilliant, talented, magnetic, positive and productive leader who was always beloved by people of all races and creeds. People typically light up when they see me and want a hug, that goes for men and of course women, and they also want to know how they can be a part of my endeavors/journey. My spirit brings something deeply affirming to people and their desire to authentically connect with me made me want to find ways to authentically support as many people as possible! Before I officially launched The Resource Guild, I was the Executive Vice President of The Garner Circle PR, one of the top 5 Black Owned PR Firms in the country. During my time there, I realized so many business owners only knew certain aspects of business ownership but rarely did they understand branding, marketing, advertising, consumer engagement, experiential marketing, publicity, etc….They knew how to make their product or perform their services, but not much more. So many of these businesses were NOT ready for PR, they actually needed many other things before they could be ready for PR. I noticed that essentially everything they actually needed were things that I knew multiple reputable people that could do for them. So I decided to formally launch the first of it’s kind, 360 Degree Brand Management & Strategy Consulting Agency, The Resource Guild. A guild is a collection of artisans and masters in their desired/preferred trades and industries. That collection of resources have been personal and professional contacts that I hold accountable for their actions on behalf of my clients, myself and my team. I’m a solution based thinker knowing businesses need so many things to be successful that are outside of their scope, The Resource Guild meets them there and takes them where they want to go. Being one of the most diversely accomplished black men on this Earth has given me a perspective that is typically more thoughtful and more multifaceted than likely any consultants in the country, coupled with being one of the most connected men makes the endeavor completely worthwhile for me and keeps me in flow with the anointing of Daniel in biblical times. Daniel in the bible was an interpreter of dreams who found favor with kings in castles and with the kings of the jungle (ie: Daniel in the lion’s den) I feel that anointing on me! I’ve always had in the back of my mind that figuring out how to get paid to be myself was the ultimate play for me and a high-level way to utilize my gifts, skills and abilities to help others. Fast forward 9 years, and here we are with an Award Winning Agency that has worked with some really dope brands including: Ferrari, Maserati, Lincoln, MOET Hennessy, MillerCoors, Emory University, Georgia State University, Tunecore, SESAC, Shea Moisture, Sally Beauty, BET, BRAVO, We TV, 2 Chainz, Snoop Dogg, Swin Cash, Stacey Abrams, Steve Canal, Daymond John and many more… ALL BY WORD OF MOUTH!! So solving lots of problems, building lots of bridges and creating win/win situations for all parties involved is a part of the unique approach happening in my heart and within the framework of The Resource Guild, NOBODY HAS TO LOSE for our businesses to WIN!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I think as a black owned business owner and someone put on this Earth to be a sage/guide and connector of people there are SO MANY unlearnings that are necessary. 1. We are the ancestors of the people who created essentially everything dope on this Earth…science, medicine, art, music, math, agriculture, fashion, healing, culinary arts, engineering & the building blocks for civilization as a whole. Oftentimes, Blacks in America don’t understand that with Black History and a reluctance to teach the truth, causing our people to connect more with slavery than the truth of our people. 2. We have to unlearn the fact that business isn’t personal. I imagine whites during slavery as the people who coined that statement. As an entrepreneur, if someone screws me in business, I will/should take that very personally because you aren’t screwing over some major corporation, you screwing over a small business owned by ME! Business is very personal to entrepreneurs! 3. We have to unlearn the fact that black owned brands aren’t as good or as valuable as brands owned by other ethnic groups. It bothers me greatly that we define luxury based on brands made by others when as I said, we derive from the people who created essentially EVERYTHING! These luxury brands are making a fool of blacks, they are selling our own tribal patterns, symbols, etc to us at SIGNIFICANTLY higher prices than we would pay any black owned brand for anything. These brands have us looking down on ourselves and the value of things created by OUR PEOPLE in favor of spending 10x-20x the cost of the material based on their brand names using OUR symbols, etc…We look really dumb globally as Blacks in America for these things and it totally mocks our ancestors and their sacrifices as well.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Owning an award winning agency that has worked with iconic brands and small businesses alike, it has ALWAYS been about my reputation personally and professionally as our clients have come exclusively by word of mouth. We don’t advertise, we don’t do RFP’s, we don’t compete, our clients come to us based on resounding endorsements from colleagues, clients, friends & other collaborators. Oftentimes when I’m out and about, people tell me that they feel like they’re in the right place because I walked in, that value transcends me and extends to any event, any brand and any endeavor and covers my clients as well. If The Resource Guild is involved, there are some inherent things that come with that for the reputability of that brand based on the prowess and integrity of our brand. It has helped us significantly because we never have to go to the pond with rods and reels in order for us to eat fish. That speaks to something very deeply rooted and not often found in the marketplace. A big part of it though is being people who do simply what we say we will do, I never knew how marketable something that simple is but in this INSTA-famous society, integrity is oftentimes a missing link.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theresourceguild.com
• Instagram: @MrDanielDickey @ResourceGuild
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrdanieldickey
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrdanieldickey
• Twitter: @MrDanielDickey @ResourceGuild
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/mrdanieldickey
• Other: SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/mrdanieldickey

Image Credits
The Resource Guild