Today we’d like to introduce you to Dej’A Lawrence.
Hi Dej’A, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Dej’A I am a proud Detroit Native, and NC local. I have been in the fitness industry for about five years now, and have a wide variety set of skills and talents that I have compiled into a business to offer my services in the triad and surrounding areas. My original business inspiration derived from making video content in college and watching others that liked to do the same on YouTube. Through that, I began to see how people who posted were testifying about their journeys in entrepreneurship and how they took their passions and skills to combine them into revenue while doing something they love. So many, different people doing whatever they could fathom and making money! I loved the inclusiveness and boundless opportunity that the internet can provide.
I remember when I had my first hair client in college a good friend of mine GiGi, and I did my own faux locs and got stopped on the street by someone inquiring if I was available to book and at the time I wasn’t, I remember the woman saying to me “Girl, You could be making some serious money.”
I finished my B.S. in Kinesiology and gained some valuable experience training with MiLB as well as collegiate sports while pursuing my passions as a health career professional teaching fitness classes and training in the Kaplan University Center as well as at franchise gyms like O2 fitness. Soon after graduating, I had friends that not only would want to get their hair styled by me but train with me as well!
After a few years and seeing how I would return to that skill set of doing hair to make money and had gained a new skill set to help others reach their fitness goals, I took the opportunity during the pandemic to begin my venture of working for myself.
I branded myself as a Fitness and Beauty Empire doing business as Service By D Co. A temporary services company that currently provides an array of my skill sets at an affordable cost! As of now, new supporters can follow my business IG: @service.by.d.co
There you will find updates on the services I do offer currently available through postings, our website is currently under a rebrand to introduce exciting new Services By D to you! Including more beauty features and services as well as content creation and event hosting!
So overall, my name is DejÁ and I am the CEO of Service By D Co. I am excited to see how I can offer my services to help anyone reach their desired outcomes. I am currently working very hard on a rebrand so my first brand launch was on Oct. 1, 2020. Although I have held many certifications for my skill sets as well as a degree, I am currently pursuing more training to offer the best fitness services, working with a new hair vendor to provide the best hair options at an affordable price, and gaining content inventory, and partnering with other black-owned businesses like The Black Canvas located in Fayetteville to offer event and hosting services.
I am currently available to book through my IG: @service.by.d.co until our upcoming official relaunch when the website will be available to book through!
I believe in the power of black ownership and pursuing your talents and passions while making an income and I hope this can inspire someone to start, because that’s the first step, believe in yourself and don’t be hard on yourself, entrepreneurship takes time and don’t be afraid to fail forward. There’s no such thing as perfection, only progress!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
So getting my website up has been one of the most difficult things, I have recently decided to just outsource the entire task and have it done by another black professional because I am not tech savvy at all lol.
Another challenge has been moving during the pandemic and post-pandemic. I use this challenge to my advantage to market myself in whatever city in NC I go to, and hopefully get more clientele and spread awareness of my services to the community!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
My company is proudly black-owned and female-run. As a person who experiences fewer opportunities in the professional realm, I seek to break down doors and offer more opportunities for women.
I am a professional fitness trainer currently the first female trainer at my franchise gym. I am also a multimedia creative, I do hair, I do music, I paint, and I love to capture photos and film. Anything I put my mind to and dedicate myself to I try to succeed at.
What I am most proud of is I have had the pleasure of offering my sports marketing services to the Detroit Pistons with the Marcus Graham Project. This was a proud moment for me as an owner because I saw the true breadth of how I could offer my services to a community, and with Detroit being my home town I was elated to go through the entire NBA experience, it’s something I will never forget that was central to pushing me harder as a black professional especially working with such a prestigious intern program.
I believe my brand is something I’m proud of that sets me apart because it is the crossroads of all of my passions and talents, I want to be able to show people no matter what you wanna do there’s a way to market that, and bring in money while doing what you enjoy.
Readers should know where to follow me on IG: @service.by.d.co and get ready for some exciting relaunch sales!! I have some special partners in mind for the rebrand and I hope you all are gonna enjoy it!! I am currently offering training and hair services in NC at affordable costs!!
I am to achieve great things for myself and for my company and hopefully influence the world in a strong and positive way.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Something important that being an entrepreneur has reinforced in me is that it’s okay to ask for help, to pace yourself, and to be open to new experiences, and people. The more you network within your own field and even across others, the more opportunities you create for yourself and others to expand and collaborate. I think it’s also important to work with people who look like you and can understand your story. In my opinion, I believe that black generational wealth is the black responsibility to one another to support each other in the ventures of ownership and opportunity. It will never hurt you to help the next person, everything God has for you is already yours and nobody can change that. Some of my favorite black owned enterprises are Hippy KY @hippyky on IG, a fashion designer that upcycled garments, TEF @tommi_lee on IG a savvy real estate owner, and EnvyTati a influential youtube and IG beauty brand and content creator @3nvytati on IG. These driven individuals are a great example of how interacting with other like minded individuals can be a continual motivator for you to keep evolving. Believe in who you are and in each other that everything you need God placed on the inside of you. As long as you keep Faith, anything is possible. I’m so grateful for all of the ways that God has and continues to bless me. Even in the hard times pray and praise, and see how far God will take you and how he changes the situation.
Pricing:
- Box Braids (Hair Included) $200
- Faux Soft Locs (Hair Included) $200
- Goddess Braids (Hair Not Included) $150
- Design Your Own Program Training $50
- Dance GX Class $12
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @service.by.d.co
- Twitter: @dejawins
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCx7sVZoe6YLFTLhts_Pbzkg
- Yelp: Service By D Co.
- Other: https://youtube.com/channel/UCx7sVZoe6YLFTLhts_Pbzkg
Image Credits
@ceegeewiththapic and Chance
